Hi, so here is another story from me, my first for this fandom that i discovered I loved after watching the movie.

I am going to keep this short and sweet-I am including the songs here, I am not great with spelling and grammar and I am planning to make this about twenty chapters long.

There is going to be some swearing-it wouldn't be a story without that from me so if that offends you stop now.

I tend to do a mass update of my stories all at once so please keep that in mind.

Disclaimer-Nothing is mine.

Please Read and Review.

The Slipper And The Lily

Chapter 10-Is It Love?

The halfway mark. Lili wakes up after the ball, the prince is on the hunt for his princess and John has to have 'the talk'.

Most of the Palace slept in the next day—to be honest the next two days. All but the Prince.

Which meant all but John.

The Prince was fired up after his Princess had ran off. He had spent the night in the ballroom and John had not needed him to tell him that he wanted to be alone. He had left the Prince to his musings and his mourning and whatever else he was planning and had gone in search of his sister only to find out that his sister had retired to bed somewhere around three am when the shit had really hit the fan.

"She is there isn't she?" he asked Caroline. She had been the only one brave (ready smart) enough to come to the door and she was watching him with her hair down around her shoulders and a shawl thrown over her nightgown. It was only the fear of discovery (and her reputation because what did he give a shit about his own?) that stopped him from dragging her out of the room taking her back to his own and proceeding to show her how much he loved her with every strength that he had.

"Yes she came back about an hour ago…why?"

"No reason…is she asleep?"

"Yes, went to bed humming and singing odd really I never took your sister as the musical type"

John gritted his teeth. He had a sudden foresight of what might have made his sister the 'musical' type and it was all to do with that bloody stable boy who was going to get John's boot up his arse as soon as he could find an excuse to slip away.

"Thanks" he said and then because he had never said he wasn't a fool (just one in love) he smiled. "I want to wake up to you looking like this everyday"

And he did…desperately.

Caroline gave a low twisted kind of smile, the smile she always gave when she realised that they wanted what they could not have, when they used to talk about the life that they could have had, the children that would not be born to them and the places they could not go.

It was all make believe wasn't it?

But the truth was that it was all that he had.

All that they had.

"You should go" she said simply. "The Dowager Queen is still getting ready for bed and—"

He gently smacked his head miserably on the wood.

"I know" he said simply. "I know"

And somehow he had wrenched himself away from her and gone to bed himself. The Prince had not returned and even though his entire body had been crying out for him to get some sleep John had simply not been able to. He had laid awake in his bed twirling his mother's ring around in his fingers staring at the tiny stone that was all his father could afford and thinking what it must be to be in love with someone that you could actually be with and then…what his parents must think of him now.

The next morning the Prince had come to him with a plan. He had snuck out before John had woken up and gone to see his father in his nightclothes and had come back fired up with the Royal Permission he had gotten in one hand and the glass slipper in the other.

"Were going to find her" he said with a manic kind of gleam in his eye. "She has to be one of the nobility. Every other Princess was screened and I don't see how she could have gotten through our borders. So we are checking every single household in the land with this glass slipper and so help me I am not going to rest until she is safely back in my arms"

"Alright Sire" John said taking the glass slipper and placing it on the table. "But I would advise not waving your arms around like a windmill before you break the only thing that you have left of her"

"What—oh"

There was a pause and John grinned. The Prince took a long sigh and sat back on the bed.

"I didn't think I would ever find her" he said in a wonderous kind of tone. "And then I did. Did you not think she was the most beautiful woman in the room that night?"

"I confess I didn't see her" John said easily. "I was too busy—"

"Dancing with Lady Caroline?"

"Amongst that"

The Prince turned to look at him and perhaps for the first time realised that there was something going on other than his love induced state of despair. John smiled even though he suspected there was very little humour to be found in any of the situations they were currently in.

"My sister" he said cheerfully.

"Oh don't tell me that little shit tried something?" the Prince said fired up at once. "Never mind shipping him away from court I will have him shot in a shooting duel if he—"

"No…no nothing like that" John said. "I might almost wish for something like that…turns out she has a new…boyfriend" he said as if the word was something dirty that stuck to his shoe. The Prince frowned and as he frowned he pulled a face as if he too understood the word but could not put it in the same picture as the girl he loved like a baby sister.

"Boyfriend?" he asked in an appalled kind of tone. "Lilibet?"

"His name…is Glenn…he is the stable boy…which I don't like not that I should be judging on status but I don't…" he trailed off shaking his head, "I don't like it, anyway…they were dancing all around the garden the other night and looking very much in love"

The Prince thought about that for a second and then pulled a face.

"Ugh"

"Indeed Sire. Now you see why I couldn't sleep last night"

The Prince rested his head on his hand and his elbow on his knee and stared into the depths of the fire.

"Isn't she too young to have a boyfriend?"

"My sentiments exactly" John said dourly. "I now…I feel I need to talk to my sister about…things"

"Things?"

"Things"

It took the Prince a second to take stock of his meaning and then he reared back onto the bed looking horrified. John thoroughly agreed with his assessment.

There was a pause as it sunk in and then the Prince swore under his breath.

"Lilibet…our sweet little Lilibet, our little girl John all grown up. Makes me feel old"

"If it makes you feel old imagine how it makes me…or your grandmother who told me as much the other night, she was Queen when my mother was born"

The Prince looked at the silk bedsheets and sighed.

"You want to help me find my Princess?"

"Depends, do you want to talk about boys with my sister? Wandering hands and teenage brains and all that?"

The Prince swore under his breath and then…

"Well we won't have anything for a few weeks go and…er…good luck"

John laughed.

Luck.

Hah.

He met up with his sister gathering wildflowers and humming. Oh God she was humming. Her hair was loose down her back in rivers of dark brown and she was wearing her dark green gown that was older and she was twirling in the wildflowers humming to herself as if she was having the time of the life. She was singing to and John knew at that moment that he was in deep shit when it came to his sister and her affections to this boy. Lili was not a person who sang, she had never been a person who sang and now she was singing. Her voice was quite sweet to and even though he dreaded having this conversation there was something about his sister watching her there seeing the transition from girl to woman that was deeply moving and more than a little amusing.

But Gods he was planning to get drunk tonight.

Rainbows raced around the room when he danced with me
Shooting stars began to zoom when he danced with me
In his arms I was ascending
My world became a magic blending
Of dreams and hopes and love
When he danced with me
Though this lovely night was only a fantasy
And I know tonight is all there will ever be
Dancing in his arms forever
My heart will never be free
Dreaming of the night he danced with me

Rainbows raced around the room when he danced with me
Shooting stars began to zoom when he danced with me
In his arms I was ascending
At last I saw that perfect blending
Of dreams and hopes and love
When he danced with me
Could it be that he was only a fantasy?
Could it be tonight is all there will ever be?
Dancing in his arms forever
My heart will never be free
Dreaming of the night he danced with me

It was such a mockery of what he wanted with Caroline, of what the Prince wanted with his Princess that he thought that if they could all just be like this…dancing around the room then they could be happy. They could be happy together the six of them.

Lilibet turned and then.

"Lord, John warn a girl before you do that!"

"Sorry" he said not feeling very sorry at all. "But I suppose you could have done the same"

"Same when?"

"When you were dancing with that boy on the balcony?"

She stared at him with wide eyes the very image of a girl who had been caught. John sighed. He was so no ready for this but here he was having this conversation.

God the Kingdom for a distraction right now.

"Also the Dowager Queen saw you, it's alright I think she's going to pretend that she didn't see you but still"

Lili opened her mouth and then closed it again and then nodded.

"It wasn't planned" she said quietly. "Him coming to see me I mean, he just…he heard about what Flynn was going to do…apparently and he wanted to see if I was alright and I thought…it was…"

"Aha" he said trying not to think too much about what she was talking about. "Then…then can I ask you…then I must tell you about…about what not to do?"

Lili looked at him and then came over to his side. "Do you mean sex?"

John tried very hard not to flinch.

"Eh—"

"You know I live in the Maids chamber right? I probably know more about that than you do. Besides…Caroline filled me in on the facts of what not to do and what to do at Christmas. She thought it best she take that burden off you"

When he got out of this he was going to kiss Caroline so hard her knees went week John thought.

"Okay" he said. "So you are alright, I mean your not going to…"

"No" she said shaking her head and smiling. "John I know the rules of this world you know…I know…" she sighed and there was an ache in her eyes he knew only too well. "I know how this ends" she said quietly. "So does he, I just…I just want to be happy for a bit"

He nodded slinging his arms around her shoulder.

"If he tries anything let me know"

She laughed and rested her head on his chest. "Thanks big brother"

He kissed the top of her head and they turned to walk back to the castle.

When Lili next spoke her tone was wistful.

"I will always have you right?"

John kissed the top of her head.

"Always" he vowed.

And they both knew that was a promise he would never, ever break.

And we are over halfway!

Next Chapter-The Prince steps up his search to no avail and has an idea. Both Glenand John benefit.