"Harold?" Lillian looked to her husband, the merriment of the evening over.

They had remained upbeat and happy for their daughter and the festivities, but the party had finished. Everyone was gone. The relief and pride for their daughter had thoroughly worn off. The queen had carried her husband in her hands to their bedroom, neither of them looking towards nor acknowledging anyone they passed. Most of their staff didn't speak their usual greetings at them either - shocked at their state or understanding of the seriousness that donned Lillian's expression. The royals couldn't blame them either way. They didn't even speak to each other until the door was firmly closed behind them. Harold had hopped out of her hands onto the bed, and his wife had taken her seat beside him. The princess and the frog prince glanced at each other, the secrets unravelling in just one look.

"I'm sorry, Lillian." He turned his gaze down to the ground. "I'm sorry about everything… the past, Fairy Godmother, and this." He gestured to himself.

"It took us four years to have Fiona and we were never able to conceive again." Lillian ignored him. "That wasn't a coincidence, was it?"

He paused, deflating further. "I-I fear not."

"Our only child being a daughter, that wasn't a coincidence either," she continued to press him.

"Fairy Godmother kept me in the dark, but… no." He didn't want to look at her, they both looked elsewhere.

After a small period of contemplation, Lillian's gaze almost startled him.

"What did you know?" She interrupted his tired inhale, "No. I know enough for now," it wasn't the answer she sought. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh." He hopped away from her. "Many different reasons," he tried to wave her off.

She turned towards him. "Tell me all of them."

Harold gave a shrug. "My reasons… my excuses... changed over the years. The Fairy Godmother made me a deal, humanity for my firstborn daughter." He felt his wife shift in her seat, reminding him that this was the first she'd heard of the arrangement; the secret he'd kept for so many years forgotten. She stayed quiet, he pressed on. "It seemed like a reasonable deal, it was only to marry her son. I was young, reckless, and in love. Remember how we used to speak of the many children we would have? One daughter would be fine. I didn't even think to tell you, even when we first began trying." He continued to avoid her gaze. "When she was born I realised she was the one I'd traded in so carelessly. She was… perfect, and we loved her. I feared that if you knew you would leave and take her with you." He paused to let her have input, throwing a glance her way. She remained quiet. "Such a selfish fear that was. You had every right to know and leave if you chose to, especially so to protect her. I didn't dare say a word."

"Fairy Godmother would have found her anyway, even if I'd have left," Lillian commented.

"Indeed." He nodded, finally turning to her. "A part of me believed everything would be fine, I only listened to that part. Prince Charming would grow up as perfect as his mother kept claiming him to be, Fiona would fall in love with him, and the whole thing wouldn't matter. I was a great fool, wasn't I?"

"Yes," Lillian responded, though the corner of her lips curled upwards a little. "You've always been a fool, Harold, it's a wonder you manage to run a kingdom."

"I wonder what will happen to our kingdom now," he referred to himself again.

"We go on as normal," his wife was quick to respond. "We can find magic to turn-"

"No," Harold interrupted her. "No magic." He sighed. "Quite frankly dear, I've had enough with magic. This, this is what I deserve."

Lillian considered him for a moment. "We can revisit the idea later." She too sighed. "I believe you've redeemed yourself." She stared at the opposite wall, hollowness in her eyes. "Thank you for saving him, Harold."

He peered up at her.

"I think it means more to Fiona than we could ever know."

"Of course." The statement only made him sad. "I should have given them my blessing the moment they arrived. That was irredeemable."

Lillian only paused, holding back any agreement she may have had. "We sent her to a tower for thirteen years of her life and she came back." A smile finally flashed across her features. "We're incredibly lucky to have such a forgiving daughter."

"I would love to conclude that she is all that matters, and truly, she is. But, Lillian, we have a kingdom of curious and rather nosey people who want to know what happened… not only to me but to Fiona."

"Of course. Well, we shall have to tell them the truth."

Harold sighed. "The truth that we tried so hard to hide for so many years."

"Yes. We're both great fools."

They fell into silence once again. There was so much to think about, plan, and consider. Neither of them felt up to the task at that very moment, but they stayed quiet anyway as if they were.

Lillian finally broke the silence, "You never told me what she said in the tower room…"

"She didn't want to come to the ball. Her words weren't important, more so I realised that she loved him."

"The curse having been broken didn't give that away?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

He smiled fleetingly at her. "No. The Fairy Godmother designed the curse and…" he paused as his wife furrowed her brow at another small sliver of the truth. Once again she remained quiet and allowed him to continue. "...And perhaps she had been smart enough to consider the fact that Fiona wouldn't fall in love with Charming right away. True love's kiss may have just been the first kiss she shared with someone. I thought perhaps we failed her, Lillian. After all, we conditioned her to want to kiss the first person she saw, and by some cruel fate it was an ogre who showed up to rescue her. Perhaps she didn't even know what love was…" he trailed off. "I was wrong."

"Yes," she spoke quietly.

"And he came back to rescue her… again. I'm her father and I…" he faltered. "He rescued her from me I fear. The least I could do is save the person who would be bold enough to do that."

They fell into silence.

"Lillian, do you like him?" he asked pensively. She sighed resoundingly in response. "No, no, dear, I've resigned myself to the fact that he is indeed staying in our lives. Just, truly, do you think he is good for our daughter?"

The queen didn't respond to him right away, continuing to stare ahead of her, lost in thought. "I don't know, Harold."

"Neither do I."

"It's besides the point." She found her resolve. "Our opinion doesn't matter anyway. We must embrace him for Fiona. You must knight him for saving the kingdom from that… that creature who is finally out of our lives. Heavens know what would have happened if her son had become king."

"Yes, good idea, darling."

"And then we try our best to see everything Fiona sees in him." Something about the statement drew her resolve to an end. "Or at the very least watch how our daughter loves him and learn to love that."

"Yes. I believe we're going to be taught quite a lesson."

"We already have been."

"Me more so than anyone."

"Yes."

. . .

It's been a while since we checked in on Harold and Lillian.

This is a very talky one, though, most of them are very talky. Except for the ones where Fiona has no one to talk to :(

I hope you liked!