Summary: After the Regatta, King Constantine informs the Royal family about his health and the reason for his earlier than expected retirement. He then has a private conversation with Liam about which lady he should choose when his coronation comes, only to realize his son's heart has taken by one lady straight from the beginning.
Characters: Liam Rys, Constantine Rys. All original characters belong to Pixelberry Studios.
Rate: T (Teen). I’d like to tag @choicesficwriterscreations to submit this to the Fanfic of the Week
Not long after sunset had fallen on the beach, the King's Guard returned to report that Prince Liam had been located with Lady Sofia.
“All right, I will go to my son alone.” Constantine said, before personally leaving the Royal tent and strolling towards the sand. The King's Guard did not accompany him, but quickly dispersed around the beach to ensure security.
Constantine watched his son laughing happily and holding the hand of the woman beside him, their hair both still damp. The image reminded him of when he, too, was still a young Prince, often strolling on the beach with Margaret—Leo's mother. Constantine smiled sadly; however beautiful the moment was, it would pass. The King called out to Liam. The couple quickly released each other's hands and bowed to Constantine as he approached them. After a few greetings, Constantine paused thoughtfully:
“Lady Sofia, please pardon us, but I’d like to have a moment alone with my son.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” Sofia replied awkwardly, curtsying to Constantine and Liam.
“I'll find you later, Lady Sofia.” Liam nodded to her before she quickly left, and he followed his father along the beach.
“This year's Regatta is quite interesting, isn't it?” Constantine asked Liam. “I see you're more enthusiastic than usual, considering your previous lack of interest in sailing.”
“Yes, Father,” Liam chuckled. “Sometimes, sailing on a sunny day is quite appealing.”
He pretended to turn his head to watch Sofia's figure in her elegant light blue beach dress receding into the distance. His father nodded in agreement.
“Indeed, it's a good idea to have the ladies of the court sail against each other. They can be just as competitive in sports as they are in other fields.”
“Not to mention that this year the public has shown more interest in the Regatta festival and the positive meaning behind it.” Liam added.
Constantine smiled contentedly and gazed out at the sea. Liam would be a good king Cordonia deserved.
“Father, you said earlier that you would tell me the reason behind your abdication to me sooner than expected…” Liam’s voice brought the old king back to reality.
“Liam, this may come as a shock to you. But I fear I don’t have much time left.”
“What do you mean, Father? What has happened to you?” Liam paused and looked at his father anxiously.
“I… I’ve fallen ill. For the past few months I’ve been having more difficulty breathing, and I get exhausted quickly. I thought it was just old age, but the royal physicians advised a general check-up. The result is… stage 3 lung cancer.”
Liam froze. His eyes widened in disbelief.
“Father, is that true?”
“I would gain nothing by lying to you.”
“Father…” Liam swallowed hard. His throat tightened at this painful truth. “I’m sorry. I haven’t paid attention to your health all this time.”
“Now, now. It’s not your fault, Liam. You’ve been so busy preparing for the throne. It’s I who’s been neglecting my own health,” Constantine said gently.
“But they can cure this disease, can’t they? You’re not in the late stages yet, are you?”
“In theory, yes. I can have surgery to remove the damaged areas in my lungs.”
Liam looked down at the ground, trying to suppress the overwhelming emotion and turmoil in his heart. His King, his beloved father, wasn’t an unshakeable monument. Now, his time with him was dwindling so quickly without him realizing it.
“I’m so sorry, Father. I need you so much in my life. And yet I’ve taken your time for granted.” Liam's voice crackled with emotion.
“I will be with you until the very end,” Constantine said. “However, now more than ever, I need you to be strong to prepare for the throne. You will coronate as soon as the social season ends.”
“Yes, Father.” The prince quickly set aside his personal emotions, responding solemnly.
That evening, during dinner, the king also informed his other son, Prince Leo, who had returned from a trip, about his health. Like Liam, Leo received the news with shock and sadness. But the truth could not be changed. The royal family unanimously agreed to keep Constantine's health a secret from the public, at least until Liam had been on the throne for some time, to avoid public panic and to help stabilize the young king's reign.
After dinner, Liam was talking with Leo when the king's secretary informed him that Constantine wanted to see him in the study. Liam followed the secretary to the west wing of the palace—where the king's study was located.
“Father, I'm here.”
“Liam, I just remembered I should talk to you a little more about your ascension to the throne.”Constantine rose from his desk and pointed to the salon set.
Liam walked over and noticed a sack of dossiers on the table.
“What are these?”
“These are what we're going to discuss.” Constantine replied “Liam, you know the tradition is that every king of Cordonia must be married or engaged before ascending the throne, right?”
“Except for Kendra.”
“She's the reason for this rule. And you'll have to choose your bride at the moment you're crowned, otherwise the public will be concerned about the stability of the throne.”
Liam nodded. He knew the rule well. Previously, kings were required to have an heir before ascending the throne. But times had changed, and with his father's abduction happening sooner than expected, he was fortunate enough to only need to be engaged.
“These are the files on the candidates for your bride – your suitors during this social season.”Liam looked down and saw that each dossier contained the name of a young lady, along with a photograph. He picked up the one on the top and looked at it: Lady Aurelie Chapenoire.
“The royal family has collected everything about them. Their personal details, family history, lineage, health, education, occupation… Even what you call it? Romantic history?”
“Father,” Liam put the file down, frowning, “this really shouldn’t be done. It’s an invasion of privacy and personal information for those ladies.”
“I’m afraid it’s the opposite. All those who pursue you know exactly what to expect when pursuing the future king of a country.”
Liam sighed.
“I can’t read this. They’re not criminals or anything.”
“Liam, you should feel fortunate that you have the privilege to choose your bride, not a political marriage. For the sake of national interests, you must do what needs to be done. That is, choose the most suitable person from these.”
Faced with his father’s insistence, Liam reluctantly looked at the files. There must have been about 20 of them. He gently flipped through them until he found the one he most wanted to read, but which also seemed to be the thinnest.
Constantine was clasping his hands together, calmly looking out the window.
“Take your time studying these files, Liam. If it were me, I would probably have already selected a few of the most suitable candidates at this stage.”
“Yes, I would too.” Liam replied. He glanced quickly at the dossier in his hand:
Romantic history: 1 high school romance with Scott Earving, 2 years, ended. The rest: unknown.
Liam breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s right,” Constantine nodded. “Perhaps your mother would agree with me that Madeleine would be a top candidate with her political experience and aristocratic upbringing.”
“Father, may I take the files I find interesting to my room to study?”
“Of course. They’re here for you.”
Liam wished Constantine goodnight, bowed to his father, and left the room.
A while later, the king’s secretary returned, asking Constantine’s permission to clear the remaining files from the coffee table.
“How many are left?” Constantine asked, suddenly curious about the young ladies Liam had taken an interest in.
“Your Majesty, it seems that His Highness only took one. There are 19 dossiers left here.”
“Who was chosen by him?”
After a brief verification, the secretary looked up at the king and replied:
academy has like a career day where they go over all the routes you could go for a ninja career and options and little shikadai goes home and asks his dad, if he always knew he wanted to be an advisor. and shikamaru is like. nervous laugh. uh. when I was your age....
Drake would never ever be hana’s type at all as she finds him irritating (platonically affectionate) but if you squint your eyes hard enough you can see a glimpse of grumpy x sunshine
Drake nearly dropped his glass of whiskey, “What? Who…I mean how…..Liam, what are you asking me?”
He could feel his heart trying to beat out of his chest, sure that the guilt was plastered across his face clear as day. He stared at his best friend while his brain tried to process what had just happened. He had been so sure that he had his feelings on complete lockdown, to avoid exactly this situation.
Liam stared back at him, his expression unreadable. He had gone into poker faced diplomat mode; something Drake had seen many times, but never directed at him.
“Do you think I haven’t noticed how you look at her?”
Pairings: Riley x Max, Riley x Liam, Riley x Rashad
Word Count: 513
Rating: MA
Warnings for this chapter: none
My other stuff: Master List.
Max watched gleefully from the back of the ballroom as his wife flirted with another man. He felt like dancing for joy. Not because his wife was flirting with another man, but because the other man wasn’t Liam.
For a while there, he had been worried that he was losing her to Liam, but Riley seemed to have lost interest in the king.
Max wasn’t the only one who had noticed Riley’s flirtation with the crown’s top lawyer. Liam’s eyes fell on the object of his affection standing a little too close to his friend and solicitor, the future duke of Domvallier. He made a beeline for the couple, sidestepping his wife as he went.
“Liam, we really should—”
“Not now!”
Madeleine’s eyes narrowed as she watched him swoop in on Lady Beaumont. She could, and would, make Riley’s life a living hell. It was bad enough that she tolerated Penelope under her roof.
Liam had certainly made the most of his social season, wooing and bedding most of the suitors. Penelope had been the only one dumb enough, or smart enough if you asked the queen, to get herself pregnant. Not a week after the engagement announcement, Penelope had announced her pregnancy. Being neither able, nor particularly willing to break a council approved and legally contracted marriage agreement, he had done the only sensible thing and made her the official royal mistress.
Penelope was one thing. But damned if she was going to tolerate a second mistress. She turned with a huff and made her way through the crowd. She needed a plan.
Liam was oblivious to his wife’s machinations as he swooped in to stake his claim. His hand landed on her shoulder then slid down her back possessively. “Riley, what are you doing, love?”
Riley stiffened in annoyance and frustration. She liked Liam, and they had a lot of fun together. Parties, dinners, dances, trips to Paris. He was funny, smart and amazing in bed. But he was a little too intense, a little too possessive. She and Max had opened their marriage to experience new things and different people. Not to immediately hop into a second committed relationship, which is what her situationship with the king was starting to feel like.
She had already experienced Liam. Now she wanted to experience the adorably shy adonis standing in front of her, but Liam was making that difficult. He had both a wife and mistress, so she had not anticipated his jealousy.
She forced a smile to her lips and replied, “I was just making a new friend.”
“Hm.” Liam’s eyes flicked over to Rashad and back again. “Well, if you’re done with that, I was hoping that we could—”
“Sorry,” she demurred as she pretended to read a message on her phone, “My husband just texted me that it’s time to go. We have a family thing that we need to attend to. But you can text me later.”
“Oh, well, I…”
She gave Rashad a brilliant smile over her shoulder as she hurried away, “Call me, okay?”
Triggers Warnings for this story: NSFW, Torture, Language, Kidnapping, and other dark themes.
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Chapter 1
Riley
Another day, another dollar—that's what I keep telling myself. I hate my life and who I have become, but what other choice did I have?
Thanks to my ex-fiancé, Paul, I've been living in my car, washing my clothes at the nearby laundromat, and showering at the community center.
I’m ashamed to admit it, but I work at the Sassy Lady strip club. Daddy B, short for Brian, is the owner. He’s a short, bald, heavyset middle-aged man who likes to dress in thousand-dollar suits and wears a Rolex probably worth more than my car. I’ll admit he’s a nice guy, but that doesn’t mean I like him or my job.
Desperate for quick cash, I applied when I saw the Help Wanted sign in the window. I sensed the job would be easy to get thanks to my background in dance. During my audition with Brian, he saw me as a perfect fit: a winning choice for his club to attract more revenue, and I was set to earn a substantial payout.
I’ve been working at the club for just over a week. Ten girls work here, and seniority holds a lot of ground. Trixie and Candy are the top two performers on the weekends. Newbies must climb their way to the top.
Heh, I suppose there’s some truth to those words.
I only work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays until I prove myself on stage. Brian says I’m doing well, and if I continue, he might promote me to weekend shows by the end of next week. That would mean earning much more and, hopefully, staying financially stable.
I check the time on my car radio and see my shift starts in less than thirty minutes. Stepping out, I walk inside the club using the back door that leads to the dressing room. It’s a Thursday night, meaning I wear my sexy schoolgirl outfit.
God, I hate this damn job.
I grab my uniform from the closet, wrinkling my nose. It’s the usual mini plaid skirt paired with a white shirt that reveals my stomach and breasts. White knee-high stockings and black stiletto heels complete the ridiculous ensemble.
I think it’s disgusting how turned on a man can get from this, but it pays the bills.
I slip into my costume and look at myself in the mirror. My dark brown hair cascades past my shoulders. The fake eyelashes enhance my dark brown eyes, while the white top highlights my olive skin.
What the hell has happened to me?
I’m just about to step on stage when Brian comes running up. “Star,” he shouts, using my stage name. “Do you have a moment?”
“No, not really. I’m on stage in less than two minutes.”
“I only need thirty seconds,” he says, panic in his voice. “Trixie’s mom passed away this morning, and she had to go to Chicago. She won’t be back for nearly a week. I have a bachelor party coming in tomorrow night, and they paid in advance. Can you cover for her tomorrow night?”
“Of course. Thank you.”
Relief floods his face. “Thank you, Star. And just so you know, they paid for one of the VIP rooms.”
My mouth nearly drops. Nobody ever pays for the VIP rooms because they’re so expensive. This is my chance to prove myself and make some serious cash. “I’ll do it, Brian, but only on one condition.”
He slightly tilts his head. “Which is?”
“If I do this, you have to put me on for weekends. Every weekend.” He thinks for a moment as I hold out my hand. “Do we have a deal?”
He nods and shakes my hand. “Deal.”
As he walks away, I let out a heavy sigh, wondering how in the hell I got to where I am.
Thank you for reading chapter 1. Chapter 2 will be coming soon.
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