CHAPTER 16

Even with every window propped open and the air conditioning system running on the highest setting, it felt like about a thousand degrees in the Illéan palace. Vivienne supposed that she was lucky —her white linen dress must have been far cooler than the suits the councilmembers donned. Even so, she could feel the powder her maid had applied earlier slipping off her face, and the backs of her knees were becoming uncomfortably sticky.

It probably didn't help that she was walking as fast as she could manage without breaking decorum. She had exactly seven minutes to hand off her stack of papers to one of the foreign affairs secretaries and then to return to the other side of the palace for the selected's lesson.

Vivienne abhorred being late, but since she couldn't be early, not late was the best she could hope for.

Andrew kept pace with her easily, his longer strides doubling hers. He had offered to drop the papers off for her himself, but Vivienne had refused. She didn't want word of that getting back to her father. She could handle delivering a few measly trade agreement forms herself.

"It is…over…here," Vivienne said, doing her best not to pant.

"I know," Andrew answered. "My dad's old office used to be two doors down."

"Hmm," Vivienne looked inside the drab office, which seemed to be barren of both decor and employees. She supposed that made sense. It was nearing lunch time, but she couldn't afford to wait for the secretary to get back. "They are not here."

"Oh. Maybe just put it in the mailbox?" Andrew suggested, tapping a cheap-looking bin that had been nailed to the wall.

"The mailbox? This is not some promotion notice, it is—" Vivienne checked the time on her phone and grimaced. "I suppose it is fine."

She reluctantly tipped the papers into the white plastic bin, frowning.

"Are you okay, Viv? You seem stressed," Andrew commented, looking at her. Vivienne suddenly felt self-conscious. She was sure that her make-up had all but faded from her face, and her hair was probably damp with sweat.

She didn't meet his gaze when she answered. "It must be a hundred and fifty degrees in whatever bizarre measurement you Illéans use. Of course I am stressed. I am probably going to have a heat stroke."

"Okay, first of all, it's ninety-four degrees out, but, why don't you just take the day off? You've already done those forms, and it's Saturday. We can go to the pool."

The pool.

Vivienne wanted to accept so badly. She had never been to the pool at the Illéan palace. Something about the invitation seemed so exclusive, like she had finally crossed the boundary between being a guest and being family.

She would have thought that barrier would have been broken a long time ago, she was engaged for heaven's sake.

"I have a lesson planned," she murmured.

"I'm sure whatever you have planned is brilliant, but, no offense, there's no way any of those girls are going to listen to what you're saying. You're right, it is really hot out."

Vivienne frowned. "I cannot just cancel. They need structure in their lives."

"They're not dogs Viv, they'll be fine."

Sometimes Vivienne wondered about that. Andrew must have seen that she wasn't fully convinced though, and changed his tone. "Why don't they come too? We can all have a pool day. You can give them a pop quiz later on CPR or something if you'd like."

"I do like giving tests," she whispered. It seemed like such a terrible idea. Vivienne never strayed from her meticulous calendar. Her days were planned out to the exact minute. She had a system, and the system worked, but it was hard when Andrew was looking at her like that. His handsome face grinning, his dark brown eyes bright with promise.

"What the hell. Okay."

It had been seven minutes since Ellis' fellow selected had filed into the makeshift classroom, and the sound of bored yet hopeful voices had started to fill the room.

It had started off as a whisper, a low undercurrent of noise that had swept throughout the room. Then it grew to a quiet rumble as girls became bolder, more sure that the Princess wasn't arriving. Now, it had mounted into a steady stream of conversation, complaining, joking, and that one annoying girl with the short hair proclaiming that if Vivienne didn't arrive in eight minutes, they could legally leave.

Moron, Ellis thought to herself. Did they actually believe schoolroom rules carried any sort of weight here?

Ellis herself had stayed silent, her posture still perfect in her seat, her pen poised over a fresh sheet of lined paper, ready to take notes on things she already knew.

It was a bit silly how laxly her fellow selected treated these classes. Ellis knew that they weren't learning opportunities, but rather auditions. The Princess would judge them on every correct answer and every misstep. Even if she didn't consciously hold it against them, it would influence her actions, how she treated them, and who she wanted to emerge victorious.

The favor of a princess was a very good thing to have, not that Ellis particularly wanted it. She wouldn't delude herself into thinking Princess Vivienne was stupid enough to not inevitably hate her.

Ah well. Her father had always said that Vivienne looked nicer than she was. Ellis could see it, underneath the pale blond hair and frail statue, she was just as cutthroat as any king in the world.

"What do you think happened?" Charlotte asked, from her seat next to her. Ellis had selected her as her desk buddy because she was undeniably smart, and if there was one thing Ellis had no patience for, it was idiots.

Still, she was tired of having to always be perfectly sweet to a bunch of strangers. "I'm not sure. It hasn't been that long. I'm sure she'll be here soon."

Almost on cue, the door swept open and Vivienne strolled in. Prince Andrew —what was he doing here— stood towards the side, barely glancing at the rows of selected. Except for Finley, who he nodded at in a brief acknowledgment.

Huh. Interesting.

"Hello everyone. I hope you can excuse my lateness. I had several matters to take care of. As I am sure all of you noticed since the air conditioning system is obviously broken, it is very hot outside. So, I thought we could all do something fun today instead."

Vivienne sucked in a breath, as if the words pained her to say. "Instead of the normally planned lessons for today, we will be spending the afternoon at the pool."

The reactions would have been typical of a game show audience. Gasping, turning excitedly to friends, Avary even clapped her hands together. Ellis fixed her face into a respectable yet enthusiastic smile, though she loathed the idea of acting as juvenile as the other girls.

Vivienne waited for the room to quiet, looking vaguely disgruntled at the reaction. "I suggest you all get dressed. If you do not know where it is, then one of your maids would be more than happy to show you."

There was a rush towards the door. Some girls threw things into their bags, others who had never bothered to unpack at all raced out of the room. Ellis, on the other hand, calmly placed her pen back into her pencil case, and slipped her paper back into its neat navy blue folder.

She was the last one out of the room, hearing Vivienne whisper, "Do they truly hate me that much."

Ellis shook her head to herself, silently agreeing, but she didn't stay to hear Prince Andrew's response.

Oh no, because this, this was her chance to set phase two of her plan into motion.

Phase one had been easy enough. Cadence was predictable, easy to understand. He was an orphan, his sister was in a foreign country, and the country hated him. All he needed was someone bold enough to put them self out there, because Lord knows the boy wouldn't do it himself.

All Ellis had to do was pretend to not think he was completely incapable and he was over the moon. Technically speaking, she probably didn't need to go the extra step of making out with him, but hey, she had committed to the part.

And besides, Ellis had stood silently in enough of the council's breakrooms to know that Cade's romantic experience totaled about zero. She might as well do him the favor.

So now that there was no risk of Cade kicking her out, Ellis was ready for the second part of her plan.

But that plan was proving much more difficult to start.

But, if Ellis' suspicions were correct, then Prince Andrew had been the one to give Vivienne the idea of going to the pool. Which meant that the prince himself probably wanted to go swimming. Which meant that Prince Andrew would most likely be joining them at the pool.

Ellis wasn't foolish enough to believe in things such as luck or fate, but what she did believe in were coincidences, and this coincidence could not have been more perfect for her.

Her maids were surprised to see her back so early, Chloe's eyes nearly popped out of her face.

"There's been a change in plans," Ellis said brusquely. "I need a bathing suit and a cover up."

Fifteen minutes later, Ellis was dressed to her satisfaction. The deep green bikini (she was far too pale to wear white) fit her well, and was modest enough for her to retain some resemblance of professionalism. She had chosen a gold eyelet cover up to go over her swimsuit, and her entire face of makeup had been wiped off and waterproof versions applied. She looked perfect.

A rather large group had congregated by the staircase. Blythe and Finley, who seemed to be nearly inseparable these days, Charlotte, and Nora Louise

"What are you all doing?" Ellis inquired, glancing at each of their faces.

"Do you know how to get there?" Nora Louise asked, sighing. "None of us do."

"Yes, but you could have asked your maids, you know."

Blythe shrugged, her dark hair falling in perfect unison. Did it always look like she was in a movie? "I didn't want to burden anyone."

"How do you know?" Nora Louise pressed. God, that girl was annoying.

Ellis knew because one of the back offices faced the gardens of the palace, and if you truly craned your neck, you could see the corner of the luxurious pool.

But she shrugged, giving them a small smile. Their imaginations would concoct a better story. "I can show you."

What a group they must look like, five girls in swimsuits, cover-ups and brightly colored flip-flops padding their way across the gilded halls of the palace, past the portraits of long dead kings and sunken ships. If the council saw her now, they would probably revoke her apprenticeship on the spot.

Well, whatever. If she pulled this off they would forever be in her debt.

"This is it," Ellis announced as they reached the gated enclosure. It was tucked behind the tennis courts, away from wandering girls.

Finley gasped. "Oh my God. Is that a slide?"

It was in fact a twisty green plastic slide. There were two of them, and a diving board. The pool itself was rotund, a squiggle that didn't really resemble any shape at all. Lounge chairs, covered by sunny yellow mats, were placed around the perimeter, glass drink tables and bright umbrellas interspersed between them.

They were the first to arrive, the only others being Princess Vivienne, who was dangling her legs in the water, and Prince Andrew, who looked like he was going to splash her.

"I think so," Ellis giggled for good measure. "It looks fun."

"It does." Finley turned, "Blythe, I'll race you."

"To the slide or down the slide?"

"Either. Let's go!"

Finley kicked off her sandals and raced towards the slides. Blythe followed at a slower pace. Nora Louise followed them, squealing with childish glee, and Charlotte turned to Ellis, shrugging before following the group. Although she chose to use the staircase rather than jump in.

Ellis didn't move, watching the couple. Vivienne gave Andrew an annoyed look, before swinging her legs out of the water. Andrew said something to her that Ellis couldn't hear.

Ellis had never broken up an engagement before, and this was a rather high-profile one to start with.

Well. She had to look at this logically. Vivienne had more to lose by this. She was going to be the queen of France, and no one wanted to listen to a woman anyway, they wouldn't stand listening to one who's husband constantly outshined her. That made her the weaker link in this relationship.

So instead of jumping into the pool like the rest of the girls, Ellis sat herself in one of the lounge chairs, the chair next to the one containing the expensive tote bag and plain iPhone. Hopefully the one Vivienne was sitting in.

The girls trickled in, some like Avary and Penelope alone, whereas others came in pairs or trios. They were chatting animatedly, excited to spend an afternoon by the pool. Some of their wide-eyed gazes made it seem like they had never seen such a body of water before. How silly.

Eventually, Vivienne, looking faintly repulsed at the amount of people in the pool, came back to the lounge chair. "Hello, Ellis," she greeted sullenly, the greeting more a formality than anything.

"Your Highness," Ellis responded, watching as Vivienne laid back in her chair.

The princess took a magazine off the side table, flipping through the first few pages. Ellis looked towards the pool. It seemed that the girls became utterly childlike—Catalina was giggling, backing away from Mona. She supposed they were playing Marco Polo.

God, what were these people? Did they have no idea of the precarious position they were in? Did they not care that this was a matter of not only their future, but the country's? How could a group of girls who seemed so reasonable be so stupid?

Vivienne followed her gaze. "Do you not like swimming?" Her tone was detached, distracted. Bored almost.

"Honestly, it just seems silly. It's nice to have a day off, but they're so…rambunctious."

"Rambunctious" Vivienne mused. "Hm. I agree with you. This is silly."

Ellis kept her voice as even as possible, "I thought this was your idea, Your Highness."

"My idea? No, I had a lesson planned on the introduction to the waltz. My fiancé thought this would be…beneficial?" Vivienne turned the page of her magazine.

"Oh. Why did he think that?"

"It is hot out, and Saturday. I suppose they are all having fun. Goodness, are there truly no drinks here?" Vivienne looked around, obviously not entirely focused on the conversation. Ellis was though, because just like that, Ellis saw her opening.

"So why did you listen to him?" Her voice was as sweet as molasses..

"I beg your pardon?" Vivienne asked, still searching for the nonexistent drink tray.

"If you thought it was stupid, why did you listen? You don't have to, you know."

"I did not say it was stupid," Vivienne's voice was icy, sharper than most members of the council. It shattered the sense of camaraderie the buttery sunshine and warm, slightly chlorinated air, had created. A weaker girl than Ellis would have been scared into submission. It contained the type of deadly edge people spent their lives working towards.

She must have been born with it.

Ellis would know. She too had been born with it. But she couldn't use it, she had to be able to pretend for just a little bit longer that this was a friendly conversation.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I must have misinterpreted." Ellis paused for an appropriately long amount of time, "But, you know, you don't have to always listen to him. I've heard he has a strong personality, but that doesn't mean you have to do whatever he says."

"Ah. So this is some Illéan girl power nonsense. I see. Thank you for your concern, Ellis, but I do not think you understand anything about what you are talking about," Vivienne snapped, finally making eye contact with Ellis.

Ellis forced herself to smile. "Right. I'm sorry. I guess I did."

The pair was silent, Vivienne continuing to flip through her magazine, each page seeming to bore her more than the last. Ellis focused on the scene in front of her. The cerulean water gleamed in the sunlight, and she almost considered going in. But she didn't. She had a job to do, and that job didn't involve wading in water, even if it was nearing a hundred degrees out and even if nothing seemed more relaxing than a nice swim.

Ellis shooed those thoughts out of her mind. "He is really cute though," she added.

"Who is?" Vivienne asked, and Ellis could feel the note of disgust in her voice.

"Prince Andrew. I mean, I think everyone has seen those photos of him on that beach from when we were eighteen, but somehow he's gotten even better-looking."

There was nothing particularly scandalous about the photos, or even the accompanying articles. They were just that; photos of Andrew on a beach in Hawaii. The only reason why they were so infamous was because he happened to be shirtless in them, and plenty of stupid lovesick girls had swooned over his abs, because apparently just his face wasn't enough.

Still, Vivienne reddened. "Perhaps," she answered curtly.

"You're so lucky," Ellis continued, "Lots of girls in Illéa would kill, and I mean that literally, to be marrying him."

"I am lucky, he is a very good partner."

"What made you decide to propose?" Ellis asked the question casually, matching Vivienne's distracted tone.

Vivienne was quiet for a moment, then she said, "he proposed to me."

Ellis knew that. Anyone in the western hemisphere would have known that. It was highly improper, against nearly every tradition created since monarchies began. The heir to the throne cannot be proposed to. Plenty of theories had surfaced about it, outrageous ones, and slightly more believable ones. Personally, Ellis always thought that they had agreed beforehand and it was simply a publicity stunt.

"Oh!" Ellis forced her voice to be shocked, as if she was learning of this information for the first time. "I didn't know that was possible."

"Well, it is."

"Right. You're still very lucky though, there aren't many guys like him left."

"I would not know," Vivienne answered. "Anyway, is Cadence not left? I suppose you should go talk to him." She nodded her head towards Cade, who had opened the gate, looking wary and wildly out of place in a suit complete with a blue tie.

Ellis managed to not roll her eyes in annoyance. Damn it, this would complicate things. Instead, she gave him a cheery little wave, which he returned before walking over to the edge of the pool.

"I didn't know you were all coming out here," he said.

Finley answered first, pausing from hitting Mona with a noodle. "We didn't either. It was a surprise!"

"Oh, that's nice."

"You should come in, Your Highness," Mona suggested, after grabbing the noodle from Finley. "I need help, she's sneaky." Mona complained, as Finley made another stab at her.

Ellis could see the reluctance in Cade's expression. He was too open about his emotions. Sitting eight feet away, she could still see every thought play out over his face. He really needed to get a grip on that if he ever became king. Which hopefully, he wouldn't.

"I don't know…I have some work to do."

There was a chorus of disapproval from the girls. Nora Louise made a sad little sound and even Avary looked a little disappointed at the revelation. Ellis wouldn't humiliate herself by making any strange noises, but she frowned just to fit in.

"Hey, hey, he said he's busy." Andrew spoke over the girls as he pulled himself out of the pool. He stood next to Cade, and even that close together, it was almost impossible to see how they were related. Andrew's hair was so much darker than Cade's blond locks, and he stood about half a head taller, his jaw wider and his shoulders broader.

"What are you doing anyway?" Andrew continued.

"I just have to answer a few emails. It's pretty boring," he mumbled.

"Yeah, you're right."

"I am?"

"That does sound pretty boring," Andrew agreed. Then he pushed Cade into the pool.

There was a moment of pure silence. The only sound was the gurgle of the slide, but even that seemed muted. Everyone's eyes were drawn to the water, their expressions ranging from pure shock to a tinge of fear. Ellis caught herself before anyone saw her look of surprise, and pressed her lips together.

Then Cade resurfaced, sputtering and rubbing the water from his eyes. He looked ridiculous, his suit jacket clinging to him and his tie dripping. Everyone burst out laughing and talking, they all looked so weirdly amused as if he didn't just unexpectedly get thrown into a pool.

"Oops, sorry," Andrew said, not looking at all remorseful. "Must've slipped."

"I…I guess I'll go get changed into a swimsuit," Cade resigned.

"That's the spirit."

Ellis almost laughed at that, but managed to bite her cheek before she made any sounds. Still Vivienne, who seemed utterly unimpressed by the whole affair, gave her a suspicious glance.

Well, it wasn't like Ellis was here to make friends.

"Andrew," Vivienne called, "Come here."

He did, and, Ellis noted dully, this was the first time she had ever been in such close proximity to him. Sure, she saw him across the room at parties out with his parents for state dinners, but she had never truly been near him. The way the council and her father constantly spoke of him, and his aptitude, and his hobbies, she felt like she knew him personally. Hell, she had even seen a copy of his last school transcript, but she had never actually had a conversation with him.

That was weird, when she stopped to think about it.

"That was mean," Vivienne said in English, so she obviously wanted Ellis to hear. Interesting.

"Yeah, I guess it was, but come on, it was a little funny right. Just a little?"

Vivienne's stony expression broke. "Yes, it was very funny," she agreed, laughing like all the other girls. "But still, it was not nice."

"It was for his own good," Andrew protested. "He's going to have a heart attack at twenty-five if he continues like this."

"I didn't think it was that bad," Ellis piped up. "It was really funny."

Andrew smiled at her, "See, she agrees with me."

Vivienne rolled her eyes, "Do you even know her name?"

Andrew's smile dropped a little, twisting in an embarrassed sort of confusion. He thought for a few moments as Ellis felt indignation rise in her chest. Did he actually not know her name? She had sat in on council meetings for four years, and granted he almost never came to them, but he must have at least recognized her father and made the connection.

His smile returned, "Of course I do. Miranda, right? Miranda Livingston."

Oh, absolutely not. "It's Ellis actually. There's no M or R or A or N or even a D in my name," she said, this time not bothering to mask her annoyance.

"Ah. I'm sorry about that. I'll keep it in mind." To his credit, he looked a lot more sorry than when he had apologized to Cade

"Yeah," was the only thing Ellis managed to say.

"So, Ellis," Andrew continued, perhaps to try and remedy his misremembering of her name, "why aren't you going swimming? Not your thing?"

No, it was not her thing. The water would smudge her eyeliner. She could get a sunburn. She could cut her leg on the side of the pool. She could get whacked in the head with a noodle, "Well, is the water cold?"

Andrew shrugged. "Eh.

"Andrew, can you get me a drink?" Vivienne asked suddenly, obviously disgruntled with their conversation.

"A drink?"

"Yes. It was your idea to come out here, and the air is scalding and I am thirsty."

That must have made sense to Andrew because he sighed. "Yeah, sure. What do you want?"

"Tea. Cold tea."

"You mean iced tea?"

"I guess so."

Finley turned quickly, the water splashing around her as she called from the pool. "Wait, are you getting drinks? I would get an iced tea too. Or a sparkling water."

"May I have water too?" Blythe asked, barely raising her voice from where she sat in the shallow end.

"Oooh, I want a drink. I want something pink!" Nora Louise called enthusiastically. Several other girls shouted their orders, each becoming increasingly absurd. Mona asked for some drink that Ellis had only seen at a European convention two years ago, and Avary wanted a gross-sounding sport drink.

Andrew waved his hand, cutting them off. "Okay, so, I need to get a tea, two waters, four lemonades, a Beverly and something pink? Should I take food orders too? Don't hold back."

Nora Louise tentatively raised her hand, "If you're offering-"

"I'm not. That was a joke." Andrew lowered his voice, turning back to Vivienne, "Can you pass me my shirt? And maybe a footman uniform."

Vivienne handed him the folded cloth. "It is not that many things."

"Right. Only nine."

"I can help you if you want," Ellis offered, seeing her opening. Obviously Vivienne wasn't going to volunteer to help. "I don't mind, I'm not going swimming anyway."

"Really? Sure, thanks." Andrew said.

Elli stood quickly, slipping on her sandals and walking over to the gate. Hopefully Cade was still up in his room, she knew he would be too much of a people-pleaser to not help, and she needed this time with Andrew.

Oh, she didn't have any delusions that she would convince him to take the crown right this day. Too many people tried that already, and too many people had failed for Ellis to be even slightly confident, but all those people were frankly unattractive middle-aged men and the occasional middle-aged women. None of them had looked like Ellis.

She never particularly liked having to rely on her looks. Her exterior, although beautiful, was the least remarkable thing about her, and somehow, Ellis didn't get the feeling that Andrew would be swayed by a pretty face the same way Cade was.

Maybe it would help though. Andrew couldn't be happy marrying Vivienne. The girl was plain, average, and her personality was terrible. She had to show Andrew a better future; a future without Vivienne, without France, and without being a consort.

And, even though there was no chance of that plan succeeding, it would hopefully make Vivienne insecure enough to call off the engagement herself.

"Where are you from?" Andrew asked, kicking at some of the gravel along the pathway.

"Technically Tammins, but I live in Angeles now, Your Highness."

"Oh, really? College?"

Ellis took a deep breath to control her expression. Did he really not know who she was? Her father had only worked for the Illéan government for the past twenty-five years. Ellis had an internship at the palace for the past four. She had been to about, oh, eighteen balls over the course of her life. This was absurd.

"No, actually, my father works as a diplomat and I've been training under him, so I've been in Angeles for the past few years."

Andrew turned to look at her closer. His eyes traveled her face, settling on her nose before Ellis was the flicker of recognition. Finally. "Are you Everett McAllister's daughter?"

"No. Emmerich Scholz," Ellis got out without losing her perfect demeanor.

"Oh, he's the German one right?

"Yes, have you ever been?" Ellis hastily changed the subject, she didn't know how much longer she could pretend to be unbothered.

"To the German Federation? A few times, my mom has family there. It's a very pretty country."

Ellis nodded, "I love it. I wish I could visit more. I miss my grandparents." Come to think of it, the last time she saw them had been years ago. She was planning to on her last visit to Berlin, but that had been cut short by the start of the selection and…oh she needed to call them. Even if they wouldn't understand what a selection is or why she was competing for a man she wasn't remotely interested in, they would help.

Andrew smiled in a sad sort of way. "I know, I used to see my grandparents in Austria every year around Christmas. I haven't been since Cade's parents died, and my Oma and Opa are too old to travel."

"I'm sorry," Ellis said automatically.

"It's alright, France is much closer to Austria than Illéa is."

"Are you excited to move to France?" Ellis asked. A guard held the glass doors to the palace open for them, and they walked inside. The marble hallways were empty, and the sunshine was beaming through the windows. It felt safe, as if whatever Ellis said, no one would overhear and Andrew wouldn't react. Who would think that she was committing treason on a sunny Saturday afternoon, walking with the Prince of Illéa to get beverages for their pool party.

Andrew was silent for a few moments, their footsteps as they walked to one of the staircases the only sound. "France is a nice country."

"That's it?" Ellis asked carefully.

"I don't know, most countries don't really like it when a foreigner marries into their monarchy. I don't think I'll be very popular there."

Ellis clucked her tongue in a manner that hopefully came off as sympathetic rather than judgmental. "People seem to like you."

"Do they? I hadn't noticed."

"For what it's worth, I think you'll be fine, and besides, if it doesn't work out, I don't think Illéa will mind if you stay."

"Hmm. Now why would I be in Illéa if I'm married to the Queen of France?"

Ellis gave an innocent shrug, acutely aware of every muscle on her face. "You never know what the future holds. Call it a worst case scenario."

Andrew looked at her for a few moments longer. Ellis knew what was going on inside his mind. He was parceling out her words, determining her meaning. What she had said was fine. She knew that. She had run the line over and over in her head, it was fine.

Eventually Andrew must have agreed, or at least decided to drop the issue, because he shrugged. "Maybe. This is the kitchen, by the way," he said, opening the shiny steel door to a slightly less shiny kitchen.

There was nothing wrong with it. All the equipment seemed new and there was a delicious scent of baking bread, it was clean and orderly. It was just…not as nice as the rest of the palace. Not nearly as nice. Ellis couldn't name what exactly it was that caused the diminishing atmosphere, the whole place just seemed hopeless.

Which she supposed, it was.

"Your Highness, My Lady, do you need something?" asked a plump, graying woman. She was painstakingly cutting small fruits into stars.

"Hi Cheryl, yeah, we need some drinks."

"Of course, I can get them for you. Which do you want?"

"There's a list. Two waters, four lemonades, an iced tea, something called a Beverly, and I guess a pink lemonade. Oh, what do you want, Ellis?" Andrew asked, turning to her.

Ellis almost said coffee just out of habit. But who drinks coffee poolside at two in the afternoon? Water was too boring, and too many people wanted lemonade. Vivienne said she wanted tea, so Ellis should want that too. "I'll just have an iced tea as well."

Andrew nodded, "Do we have bottled drinks? That might be easier to carry."

"I'll check, one moment please, Your Highness."

"I think when Nora Louise said a pink drink, she meant the one from Starbucks," Ellis commented quietly.

"Oh, I know she did."

"But you're getting her a pink lemonade?"

Andrew shrugged, "Life is full of disappointments. Ugh, that's mean of me, I don't know, I just didn't really feel like inconveniencing the staff with ridiculous drink orders."

"That's not mean, you're doing them a favor."

"I know, but honestly none of them even said thank you, so it might be a little personal," Andrew confessed, grinning a little.

"Well, that's mean."

"I try."

The woman, Cheryl, came back, holding a bulging white cloth bag, which Andrew accepted quickly, thanking her, before leaving. Ellis followed along, a bit relieved to be back in the bright halls of the palace and away from prying ears.

"I can carry some," Ellis offered.

"It's alright, I got it. Besides, I feel bad."

Ellis wrinkled her nose. "You do? For what, Your Highness?" Damn, this plan was not working as smoothly as the Cade portion had. Some people were just so much harder to manipulate. It was frankly infuriating..

"I do know who you are, Ellis. We had the same French tutor. Madame Garnier always talked about you."

For a moment, Ellis was speechless. What had just happened? Why in the world had he pretended not to know her? She was about to have a conniption from his utter lack of regard for her or her abilities or her contributions to the crown and this whole time, he knew!

Of course he knew who she was. Ellis should have voiced her doubts from the minute he called her Miranda freaking Livingston. She should have rolled her eyes when he asked if Everett McAllister was her father. That man had been dead for twelve years. But no, she pretended not to care, acted as if it was totally normal he didn't know, because she didn't want to seem like a self-absorbed little brat. And of course it backfired.

"You did?" Ellis repeated.

Andrew nodded. "Yeah."

Ellis laughed if only to buy herself time. "And you pretended not to?"

"Like I said, I feel bad. To be fair, I was just doing that because I assumed you only offered to help in order to try and get me to break off my engagement and accept the Illéan throne, but I know that's not true."

Ellis gave another fake laugh, painfully aware of the effect her response would have on her life. "No, no, I know my parents can be a little much sometimes, but I really like Ca- I mean, his highness."

"Yeah, I'm sure you do. Well anyway, I am sorry. I think I let it go on for a little too long." Andrew's smile seemed genuine, and his voice betrayed no sense of anger or suspicion, but Ellis wasn't stupid enough to believe that she had fully gotten away with it.

"It's okay. Really. Did you say that my French tutor used to talk about me?" Ellis asked.

"Yeah, she never thought I put enough effort into those stupid coloring sheets, so she used to show me yours."

Ellis forced herself to relax and adopt the same nonchalant tone Andrew was using. "I really liked the ones with the puppies on them. I would cut them out and tape them to my walls."

"Charming." Andrew stopped a few yards away from the pool gate. Ellis could hear the distant sounds of delighted shrieks and high-pitched laughter. "Thank you for helping me though. I'm sure you would have rather stayed at the pool, but it was nice to have the company."

"It was nice to have your company too, Your Highness," Ellis said truthfully. That might have been the first true thing she said all day.

The moment didn't last as long as Ellis wished it did. Andrew just shrugged, opened the gate to the pool, and started parceling out drinks to the crowd of pushing girls. Ellis followed him, returning to her lounge chair.

Vivienne took one look at her, pushed her glamorous sunglasses up to the crown of her head, and walked over to the pool, kissing Andrew on the cheek as she passed.

Please. Was that supposed to make Ellis upset? Did Vivienne actually think that Ellis had any sort of romantic feelings towards Andrew?

It wasn't like Ellis had wanted to go alone with him to the kitchens. It wasn't like Ellis cared that his damp skin had caused his shirt to ever so slightly stick to his body. And it most certainly wasn't like Ellis wished that she could be the one to kiss his cheek instead.

No, it wasn't any of those things. Like with Cade, Ellis was doing what she needed to do for Illéa, because clearly, the royal family had given up on that front.

Her father, along with the rest of the council, had already resigned themselves to running the country for poor, pathetic Cade. Ellis had seen him in meetings, he stumbled over his words, looked down at his papers, he had absolutely no clue how to run a country. It was an insult to not just the council, but to all of Illéa for Cade to be king.

And perhaps if he was compliant, if he allowed the council to tell him what to do and didn't question their clearly better-thought-out plans, Ellis wouldn't have minded so much. But he wasn't. He always tried to protest, tried to shoot down their superior ideas, and sure, it didn't work now. The council could more or less veto his decisions now, but in four months Cade would be allowed to run the country however he wanted.

And if left unchecked he would run it into the ground.

Ellis loved Illéa. She loved the country more than anything, which is why she needed to do her due diligence as a citizen and get Andrew on the throne.

So the plan was off to a rocky start, fine. It wasn't nearly over. Ellis surveyed the crowd, the splashing, smiling, stupid crowd of girls. They weren't smart, they didn't understand just how dire the succession situation was. They were content to go down water slides and recruit Cade to play Marco Polo with them.

Ellis wouldn't be like that. She wouldn't be another smiling, stupid girl. She would do what's best for Illéa.

And once the council saw just what she did, she would be promoted to an actual diplomat.

"Why will you not listen to me?" Vivienne protested, her voice rising in frustration.

"I am listening to you Vivienne, I just think that you're wrong." Andrew repeated for the fourth time. It was infuriating. Vivienne had never thought Andrew to be anything other than intelligent, but why, oh why were men just so dense sometimes?

"I am not wrong," she repeated for the fifth time, pacing around Andrew's room. He was seated on the bed, watching her. "Did you not see her today, Andrew? She was practically throwing herself at you!"

"I don't think she was."

Vivienne sighed, swallowing back a scream of frustration. "Then what was she doing? Because I assure you no one is altruistic enough to want to carry drinks back from the kitchen." They had been having this conversation for over fifteen minutes, and most of that time had been spent with each repeating themselves.

Andrew seemed to think that Ellis wasn't being a desperate homewrecker, so clearly, Vivienne's betrothed was not quite as smart as he presented himself to be.

"I know, I know. She obviously wasn't doing it out of the kindness of her heart," Andrew agreed.

"She was doing it because she is in love with you!" Vivienne yelled, crossing her arms across her chest. She wished she hadn't changed into her blue silk dressing gown. It wasn't a very professional outfit, but then again, she supposed this wasn't a very professional conversation.

"I don't think she is. I told you that already"

"Then what other reason is there?"

"I don't know… I mean, sure, maybe she has some silly crush on me, but there's something else."

"Yes, Andrew," Vivienne enunciated. "The something else is that she wants to marry you."

"Vivienne, it's just not. Look, there are a lot of girls in this country who are in love with me or whatever, and I guarantee you, Ellis is not one of them." Andrew responded, seeming almost as frustrated as Vivienne.

"And how would you know if all these girls are supposedly in love with you? Have you ever met them? What is the criteria? Because, from my point of view, Ellis is completely in love with you."

Andrew's expression was unreadable, and for a second, Vivienne thought she had pushed too far. She didn't really want to get into an argument tonight, she just wanted Andrew to promise not to talk to Ellis anymore.

Ugh, to think that Vivienne had ever liked her. She thought she was a good student, knowledgeable. No, turns out that girl was horrible. Vivienne really should have seen it coming, but then again, it wasn't like she had much experience with girls her age.

"I am sorry, I just-"

"What do you want me to do?" Andrew asked. He sounded resigned, and Vivienne knew even if he agreed, she didn't convince him.

She wasn't sure if she cared.

"Never speak to her again."

Andrew did a double-take, almost as if he expected her to be laughing. As if she would ever make a joke about this. "That's a little drastic."

"It is not."

"No."

Vivienne couldn't see herself in the mirror, but if she could, she was sure that the blood had visibly drained from her face. "Why not?"

"I think there's a better way to approach it," Andrew said simply. "Ignoring the issue won't solve anything."

Well, it would solve him getting infatuated with some power-hungry diplomat who clearly just wanted a quick way to a royal title. "Yes it will. She will give up if you don't reciprocate her feelings."

"Sure, maybe, if those were romantic feelings. But they're not."

"I know she is in love with you," Vivienne whispered. Why wouldn't he listen? Why did he want to look for another explanation, when the correct one was just so plainly obvious?

Did he like her too? He claimed that he knew there was a different reason for Ellis' acts, but what if that was just a lie?

"Look Vivienne," Andrew said, placing an arm around her, "I see where you're coming from, but I really don't think Ellis is in love with me. Something is off about it, I know that, I just don't know what. Maybe it'll turn out that you're right, but I'm not going to stop talking to her right now, because I want to know what she's doing."

Vivienne frowned for a second. It all sounded so reasonable when Andrew put it like that. And she was tired, she didn't want to argue with him. "I see what you are saying. Okay. We should just forget about it," Vivienne agreed, forcing herself to smile.

"I didn't mean that we have to forget about it."

"No, it is okay. I am just going to go to sleep. It is late," Vivienne continued, leaving quickly before Andrew had a chance to protest.

Maybe Andrew was right, but Vivienne didn't give up that easily. If he wasn't going to stop talking to Ellis, then Vivienne would make sure that Ellis stopped talking to Andrew.

So Vivienne didn't go back to her room. Instead, she knocked on a different door. A room she hadn't been to in nearly four years. The last time she had visited Cadence's room, it was to deliver the most unapologetic apology she had ever crafted. Since then, she never really had a reason nor a desire to return.

She knocked briskly. Cadence opened the door a few moments later, and when he saw her he visibly stiffened.

"Oh, Vivienne, um hi, can I help you?" The boy stumbled over the words. He unconsciously tugged at his plain white shirt, the fabric twisting around his fingers. Vivienne just sighed.

"I want to speak with you," she replied.

"Okay, sure, come in."

The room hadn't changed much since the last time Vivienne had seen it. It was still as drab and boring as expected of Cadence; the wallpaper was a dull beige and the small furniture set in the corner was a boring blue. There were almost no personal attributes in the room, no throw pillows or photographs. His desk, pushed in the corner of his room, was meticulously neat, a single file laid out with a shiny blue pen perfectly positioned next to it.

Vivienne sat on the fancy, yet somehow plain, couch, and Cadence scrambled to sit across from her in the matching armchair.

"I've actually been meaning, I mean, I was hoping if you had time, if I could talk to you too," Cadence professed.

"...Okay."

"You mean-"

"Go ahead. It is your room."

"Oh, um, okay I guess." Cadence pulled his phone out of his pocket, while Vivienne watched with an incredulous look. "One second."

Vivienne didn't answer, she just simply raised her eyebrow as he opened Google Translate and began typing.

"Okay, um, Je says…no sais…que le…um posse-"

This was hard to watch. "Cadence," Vivienne said, putting the poor boy out of his misery. "I speak English."

"I know, I know, I just…I know it's not your first language, so I just thought that it would be easier if we used a translation app."

"I understand what you say perfectly. We can just talk in English."

"But, I thought you said-"

"To be honest, I just did not want to talk to you back then. I have no problems with my grasp of the language."

"Oh." Cadence cleared his throat, "Yeah, um, I get that, I guess I wanted to talk to you about that anyway."

Vivienne took a deep breath. She wasn't sure she wanted to rehash the past. "What is it you want to say?"

"Right. Um, I just wanted to apologize to you, Vivienne. I know I was a pretty awful future husband to you when our parents arranged the marriage, and not that it's any excuse, but I was going through a lot back then. You know, I had abdicated the crown and then my father wanted me to marry you, and you represented exactly what I didn't want. But I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just ignored you for a month while you were a guest here. That was rude of me."

Vivienne had forgiven him for that years ago. In fact, she wasn't sure she was ever really mad at him. If she was mad at him for not putting in effort, then wouldn't that make her a hypocrite? Because Cadence might have been distant, unexciting, and standoffish, but Vivienne was the one who truly broke up the engagement.

She was the one who got caught with someone else.

"I understand," she said, not wanting to spend any more time on this topic. "I would have been angry too if my future was suddenly taken away. By abdicating, you were probably searching for freedom, not to be shackled to another country."

Cadence looked down, "Something like that."

"It is okay."

Vivienne was hoping to move on to her very important topic, but Cadence continued. "You've done such a great job with the selection too. You didn't have to help, I know you came just to visit with Andrew and wedding planning and whatever, but the selected have made some real improvements."

"Have they?" Vivienne asked. "Well, there was only room to go up."

"I guess so. I don't know. I was actually wondering something."

"What?"

"I um, I just…I thought it would be nice to have a party or something," Cadence mumbled.

Vivienne tilted her head to the side, staring at him. "So then what was today?"

"Well, I guess it was something to have fun but…"

Vivienne was not a party planner. There were people her father paid to do that for them, and she was sure that the Illéan palace employed a similar army. "That does sound like a nice idea, why do you not bring it to an event coordinator?"

"Oh, um, I can."

"Perfect."

"Okay, that's all I have to say, I guess. What did you want to talk about?"

Vivienne surveyed him. His eyes were downcast, focused on the floor rather than her. His lower lip was protruding slightly, probably suggesting that he was biting the inside of his cheek. His voice contained a nervous tremor, almost as if he was scared of her.

"I want to make a deal with you, Cadence."

"Excuse me?"

"You want to be the king of Illéa more than anything else." It wasn't a question, it was a statement both knew to be true. "But the country is not happy with you, are they?"

"I guess not."

"Do you guess not or do you know not? Because I counted, and you guessed six times in this conversation. The ruler of a country cannot just guess on something as simple as a discussion between old friends."

Cadence opened his mouth to say something, but Vivienne didn't let him interrupt. Whatever he was going to say wouldn't help his case anyway.

"You also have spent our conversation staring at the ground. You did not look me in the eyes once. You played with your shirt, and every time you spoke more than two sentences, your foot started tapping."

"I'm sorry."

"Listen to me, Cadence, the country picks on you because you give them things to pick on. Stop handing them the opportunities. Stop allowing them to ignore your ideas simply because you delivered them badly. No one in Illéa has anything personal against you, you just seem like a weak king."

Cadence's face crumpled, and for the second time tonight, Vivienne worried she had pushed a man to the verge of tears. Then, he smoothed his features out, and he didn't look upset or angry, just sad. "That's easy for you to say. Everyone likes you. Nobody likes me."

"People like me because they do not have reasons to dislike me. People are sheep, they will go with the loudest voice."

"I don't think it works like that. I abdicated and then I came back. This country hadn't had a monarch in four years. It's different for you."

Vivienne sighed. She thought this would make more sense to him, it was certainly something she considered before she ever opened her mouth. Then again, every future monarch in Europe considered the tragedy of Cadence Schreave before they did anything. He was a warning to them all. He probably would be for centuries to come.

"Do you think we are that different? My mother died too, plenty of people in France would rather the throne go to one of my little brothers. I understand you more than anyone else in the world."

Cadence was quiet, considering her words. "What's the deal?"

Now Vivienne almost bit her lip. Papa would be furious if he ever found out she went explicitly against his wishes, behind his back. He gave her clear, concise instructions: do not get in the council's way. Help them, if she could. Well, she wouldn't be doing that, she couldn't, and hopefully, her father would never find out.

She didn't know what she would say if he did.

"I have a vested interest in you being king. So, I will help you. You will stop mumbling, stop second-guessing yourself, and stop saying um."

Cadence almost nodded, but some sense of self-preservation must have stopped him, because he asked, "What do you want in return?"

Vivienne pursed her lips. "We have a long, intertwined path in front of ourselves, you and I. I do hope you like my future husband, he is your cousin, but regardless, I have certain opinions about some of your selected. Some I cannot deal with for the rest of my life. I hope you will listen to me with those particular girls."

Cadence looked unsure of himself. Vivienne knew it was a rather large demand, but she had a rather large need. She needed Ellis to never go near Andrew again, and Cadence, unsuspecting, sweet Cadence, would hopefully not consider her request too deeply.

"Well, um, maybe. I mean, who are you talking about?"

"I told you to never say um again, but that aside, I would like Ellis gone. She is bothersome," Vivienne stated simply.

She didn't expect Cadence to shake his head so quickly. "I don't think so. I'm sorry, I like her and I don't really want her to leave…"

God, how many people in this palace had Ellis ensnared? What next, it would turn out Princess Morgan was Ellis' godmother?

Still, Vivienne had to do something to salvage this situation. If she accepted his refusal, then he wouldn't believe he truly had to listen to her, and that was something that Vivienne could not tolerate.

"Fine. Then I want Penelope to leave. You must have noticed how gloomy she is."

Cadence shrugged, "She is a little dour, I gu…I mean, nevermind. You'll help me?"

"I will."

"I'll send her home in the morning," Cadence agreed reluctantly.

Vivienne stuck out her hand, "We have a deal?"

Cadence shook it slowly, "Yes."

"Oh," Vivienne said, snatching her hand back. "And do not tell anyone about this. Especially not Andrew."

So I will keep this A/N short and to the point: I have nothing to say L.O.L Bye!