A Watchful Eye
For @iseltwalds, this is the fic that I wrote back in 2022. You can probably tell my writing skills improved a bit since then, and it’s a bit cringy to say the least. 😅
Nevertheless, this fic is what started all my other DonLuca fics! Enjoy! 😁
The newly-decorated castle of Montenaro bustled with many guests as they each mingled amongst one another. It was Lady Margret’s idea to throw a ball in honor of her future crowning as queen. And while she was hesitant to at first, she luckily had Stacy and the others to give her some encouragement during what could be the most important day of her life.
Her royal adviser (at least, that’s what she refers to her as), Mrs. Donatelli, viewed the area from the upper balcony of the ball room, keeping watch for any unusual activity. Unlike everyone else, she usually didn’t wear overly fancy attire unless for special occasions (such as Stacy and Edward’s wedding). Her hair was up in it’s usual style while at least wearing a blue formal dress. The outer layer was a jacket-type look, while the underneath was a normal dress. Her flat heels sported a similar color as she continued leaning on the railing with a sigh. Margret would be called out soon, and she needed to be sure nothing was amiss.
Behind her, she could hear footsteps approach as her eyes snapped to whoever could be approaching. When she saw Frank instead, her body relaxed.
“Shouldn’t you be downstairs with the royals?” She asked before facing forward again.
He tilted his head. “I should be asking you the same thing. I would think you would be assisting her highness in getting ready.”
“The royal dressers are taking care of that.” She said. “Even so, Margret insisted she could do most of the fitting by herself.”
Frank hummed, carefully approaching the woman and leaned on the railing next to her, though being sure to give some space between them.
The sound of a trumpet suddenly caught the two’s attention as Margret herself strutted out into the ballroom, her dress a mix of grey and white along with some floral design to it. The older woman gave off a small smile as she admired how strong she was despite the challenges thrown at her during the past six months.
“Well, she certainly is regal.” Frank commented, giving off a proud smile. “She certainly has come a long way.”
His companion nodded in agreement. “Indeed she has.”
“I wonder where she’d gotten it from?” He said, looking as though in thought. “You’ve certainly taught her well.”
Donatelli looked over at Frank for a moment, slightly dumbfounded at the complement as her cheeks gave a slight blush. “I-I didn’t teach her anything.” She responded, not looking him directly in the eyes. “All I did was simply give her the encouragement she needed. That was all her.” She paused for a moment before continuing, feeling confident enough to look back at him.“ Where exactly are you going with this?” She asked intently, raising a brow.
“I’m merely saying you’ve done so much for her already over the years.“ He replied in defense. “From what I’ve seen, she truly cares for you, as if you were family to her. Rare do I ever see such form of relationship bloom between a monarch and their servant. Or, ‘royal advisor’ in your case.”
The woman looked at her friend in bewilderment as she slightly tilted her head in confusion. “But you served Edward most of his life, did you not?” She asked.
“I merely assisted the king and queen. I was never around him as often in his youth. Only as he got older was I assigned to him more regularly.”
The room then started to fill with classical music, as the patrons below began to ball-dance with their partners, Margret even sharing a dance with Kevin as the two advisors above them looked down at the pair for a moment before back at each other.
“Are we going to join the others? I wouldn’t let a gorgeous woman such as yourself stand alone with no one to accompany you.” He gave off a sly smirk.
The woman’s blush returned at full force as she tried turning her head away.
“P-Please. I can usually handle myself. I’m quite used to it at this point.”
Frank frowned a bit at that, a pang of sympathy ringing in his chest. “Even so, it wouldn’t be so harmful if you did have someone, would it?”
Donatelli turned back towards him as she couldn’t help but crack a small smile, letting out an amused sigh as she did so. “No, I suppose not.” She felt her body leaning closer to his, their hands now intertwined. “But…just so you know, this is only for companionship. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Right…” The man said, getting lost in the woman’s cyan-blue eyes. “Nothing more…”
As they started to inch closer, a booming voice suddenly burst through the whole ballroom as the pair above jumped at the sudden interruption.
“Yo! Let’s get this party started, shall we?”
The voice seemed to carry an English accent as Frank and Donatelli looked to see who made the sudden announcement. She appeared to be young (possibly around Margret’s age) and had blond hair and stylish clothing. Behind her were appeared to be her lackeys as they followed suit. Donatelli urged to resist an eye-roll in the realization of who it was.
“Fiona…” She said in a flat voice. “I should have known she would show up eventually.” She muttered.
Frank looked between the two and blinked. “As in, Fiona Pembroke?“
“Yes, that’s her.” His friend rubbed the bridge of her nose in slight irritation. “She and Margret grew up together before being sent off to boarding school by her mother. Seems to me it did her no good.”
Frank had no response as he watched Fiona take a selfie with her ‘Maggie Moo’, as she called Margret. He thought to himself how and where that nick-name even originated from to begin with.
“Should we do something about it?” Frank finally asked after a few minutes of awkward silence. He had since then removed himself from her warm embrace, straightening out his clothing a bit as he tried to calm himself after the awkward event.
Donatelli shook her head reluctantly. “No. Not yet at least. She appears to be harmless enough, but I fear what she could truly be after from coming here.”
“Of course.” Frank nodded, noticing the advisor’s still-flushed face but said nothing of it. In fact, he actually found her to be quite adorable when not being threatening. At least, towards him. They would usually have their back-and-fourth banter time and again based on the situation, for that’s how they were.
Whenever Frank would accompany Stacy and Edward’s visits to Montenaro, he would usually greet Donatelli right after Margret, and that would be that. The duo sticking side-by-side as they accompanied the royals to wherever they went. Overtime they began to grow used to one another’s company, even enjoying it on occasions. The past two years showed just that, and Frank couldn’t be happier about it, even he wouldn’t admit it out loud.
His thoughts were then interrupted as he noticed Donatelli leaving the balcony towards the stairs the lead to the ballroom. Frank quickly dashed to catch up with her as his little legs struggled a bit to keep up.
“And where are you going, exactly?” Frank asked, impressed, yet curious at how the woman beside him could walk so fast.
Not looking back, she responded. “Where else? Keeping a closer look-out. And I suggest you do the same thing.” She then stopped for a moment, giving off a gentle smile to him as she nodded. “But, thank you, Frank. For earlier, I mean. I might hold onto your offer in the future.”
Frank remained speechless as he simply stood there dumbfounded, watching the woman stalk off. He then quickly composed himself as he let out a long breath.
“Oh…my.” He breathed, his face rising with heat once more.
