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fadingreveries · 1 month

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The Royal Romance, Bk1 Ch1: Once Upon a Time (Pt. 6)

Click here for the TRR retelling series masterlist for more chapters! 🏰

Story Summary: In this novel-style retelling of TRR, beloved scenes with original commentary from the Choices stories including your favourite group of royals and friends will be expanded upon. Contains extended commentary and scenes from the original story, in-depth descriptions of bonus scenes, and premium choices and outfits.

Chapter Synopsis: Love awaits in the royal court of Cordonia as Riley competes for the Crown Prince! Will she accept his proposal, or will someone else win her heart?

Word Count: 2.3k

Disclaimer: All rights to original commentary, scenes, and characters from The Royal Romance series reserved to Choices and Pixelberry Studios. No copyright infringement intended.

~ ~ ~

The two of them walked to the bonfire, settling into comfortable silence. The guys played by the water nearby while Riley and Liam sat together by the fire on a thick, sturdy log. Riley warmed her hands, while the two of them appreciated the crackling flames which glowed bright orange and yellow. She looked at Liam, his calm face showing how perfectly content he was in the present moment.

“Tonight’s been quite the adventure,” Liam quietly admitted, chuckling. “I never thought my night out on the town would end up like this. You’re really something else, aren’t you?”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” Riley responded, blushing as she looked down at the ground.

“Believe me, it is. Spending time with you tonight has been the most fun I’ve had this entire vacation,” Liam confessed, his hand tilting Riley’s chin upwards so their eyes met.

However, this piece of news made Riley slightly frown for Liam. “That’s sweet… But I guess that means you haven’t really been enjoying yourself very much.”

“It’s been wonderful, but there’s something missing. I really wanted to do one thing in particular while I was here…” Liam began, unsure. It was his turn to flit his eyes away.

With a gentle touch of her hand on his arm, Riley softly inquired, “And what’s that?”

“It’s… well… you’re probably going to think it’s silly, but I’ve always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty… It wasn’t really in the guys’ plan, so we just never got around to it. And now it’s my last day here…” Liam revealed, a sullen expression taking over his face. Then almost like an instinct, he composed himself. “I don’t mean to sound so ungrateful. It was thoughtful of my friends to throw me this bachelor party. They’ve done their best, but I’m not in the mood to celebrate.”

“Wait a second, it’s your bachelor party?” Riley’s eyes looked as if they would pop out of their sockets in shock. Her heart sank in disappointment. Her attraction to Liam was one-sided after all. “Congratulations.”

“If you knew the whole story, you might not congratulate me so quickly,” Liam commented, shaking his head.

This confused Riley, making her scrunch her eyebrows together. Wasn’t an engagement something grand and worth celebrating? “Oh?”

“I actually don’t know who I’m going to marry yet… only that I’ll have to pick my fiancee by the end of the year,” Liam explained, wincing as he remembered the importance of the start of the social season.

Pressing for more details, Riley asked with intrigue, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The more cautious part of him insisted that in reality, he was in a defenseless situation with no bodyguards to supervise him. He was supposed to hide his true identity from anyone who asked here.

But the part of him that longed to share his genuine self with someone as understanding as Riley won over. He couldn’t lie to her, not after all they had experienced together in a short amount of time.

“The truth is, Riley…” Liam started, taking a deep breath before revealing, “I’m the Crown Prince of Cordonia.”

“You’re a prince?” Riley echoed his words, as she paused. It was a surprising tidbit of news, but it didn’t alter how she viewed Liam as an honest, sincere man. “This doesn’t change anything. I don’t care what your title is. You’re still the same guy I met earlier this evening… Caring, thoughtful… I’ve seen a lot of customers come and go, but I’ve never seen any guys at his own bachelor party be concerned about whether the waitress was having a good night.”

Relief flushed through Liam, as a genuinely happy grin made its way on his face. “You don’t know how rare it is to hear someone say that. You’re the first one, in fact… It seems the more I talk to you, the more I like you, Riley. It’s strange… I’ve known my whole life that I have to take up the duties of the monarchy. I’ve always wondered how that’s shaped me, who I might’ve been without the crown. You could be anything, do anything. What drives you, Riley?”

A thought-provoking question like this deserved a deep, authentic answer. Riley closed her eyes, dreaming about what it was that her heart desired. Then she opened her eyes, confessing, “What I really want is… to fall in love. Love is what gives life meaning… the connections we make… the hearts that we touch…”

Touched to hear a very honest, genuine answer, Liam smiled kindly at Riley and softly uttered, “That’s beautiful, Riley.”

Looking out at the surf, the two of them saw Maxwell, Drake, and Tariq splashing in the water. Tariq only stayed as close to the shore as possible, only a few feet away from the water. Drake and Maxwell, however, had waded into the water until it was up to their waists and decided to splash Tariq from where they stood to try to get him to join them.

“Got ya, Tariq!” Maxwell gleefully chortled, splashing more water in Tariq’s direction.

Tariq yelped, backing up more on the shore. “I told you, these shoes are leather!”

“Aw, lighten up, Tariq. You’ve got, what, a hundred pairs?” Drake sarcastically joked, a teasing smile on his face matching Maxwell’s.

Back at the bonfire, Riley commented, “Looks like your friends are having fun.”

“Good. I’m happy for them. They deserve to have fun,” Liam genuinely admitted, admiring how carefree they appeared. “Tomorrow, it’s back to Cordonia for the start of the social season.”

With the corners of her lips tugging up into a smile, Riley remarked, “But it’s not tomorrow yet…”

Her cheeky smile was contagious and soon, Liam found himself with an identical one. “What are you suggesting?”

“You said you wanted to see the Statue of Liberty. Let’s do it! I know a place where we can catch a boat tour. Best view in town,” Riley excitedly suggested. If Liam only had this one night of freedom, she wanted to make it a special, unforgettable one for him.

Liam’s mouth hung open, as if he couldn’t believe the words that came out of her mouth. “Right now? But it’s way past midnight. Won’t all the tours be closed?”

“Oh… right. I forgot how late it’s gotten,” Riley responded, slightly frowning. But when she saw a glint of disappointment in Liam’s eyes, she knew she had to at least try. “In that case… you’re lucky I can call in a favour.”

“A favour? And just like that, you can get us on a tour boat after midnight to see the Statue of Liberty?” Liam laughed in disbelief, trying to make sense of how serious Riley was. He found this girl never seemed to run out of surprises and he slowly found himself gravitating to her sense of adventure.

Riley shrugged her shoulders, but giggled. “Well, maybe a few favours, actually, but I have some friends who owe me. It won’t be easy, but I know this is important to you, so… let’s go!”

“Right now?” Liam inquired, his eyes still wide with surprise.

Riley nodded in the direction of his friends, explaining, “It’s only getting later every minute we wait. Besides, it looks like the guys are busy enough. I bet they won’t even notice you’re gone.”

It was a big risk, Liam realized. He was about to go on a midnight excursion with a girl he had never met before to see the Statue of Liberty in a city he had only visited once or twice in his lifetime. He was continents away from home, from the supervision of his father, and from the eyes of the public. Despite his overthinking, Liam already knew the direction his heart wanted to take him.

“You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?” Liam asked, although he was positively sure that he knew the answer to that question.

She could see the anticipation gleaming in Liam’s eyes. Riley shook her head, her smile turning into a grin. “Nope.”

“Then I happily surrender to your demands,” Liam answered, as they shared a laugh together with the glow of the embers reflecting the warmth depicted on their faces.

__________

Somewhere along the way, the two had skipped the small-talk phase without even knowing. They discovered how easily their words and stories came out in the presence of someone who seemed equally as fascinated with their life just as the other was.

“So you gained almost twenty pounds because you ate too much baklava in protest for it to be the only dish served at dinner?” Riley repeated, trying to suppress a laugh.

“Leo tends to exaggerate that part whenever he tells that story. Everyone at the palace found it amusing, waiting for me to give in and have something more substantial. To be fair, I was only eight-years-old so my protest didn’t last as long as the effect I intended it to have. In the end, I ended my objection when I realized how much trouble I must have caused for the kitchen staff to find enough baklava just for me. Besides, I found it was closer to ten pounds, which I immediately shed off after two weeks,” Liam explained, shaking his head with a bashful smile. “Either way, it’s a story he never lets me live down. Now, I believe you owe me an embarrassing story in return.”

Riley paused for a moment, trying to think of a story that would rival Liam’s. Then she looked away in embarrassment and nervously giggled. “When I was six-years-old, I believed I was destined to be royalty. I told people I was the long-lost princess of a distant kingdom. I only showed up wearing princess gowns anywhere I went whether it was at school or grocery shopping. For the longest time, I was convinced that I was going to kiss a frog who would turn into a prince, and we would live happily ever after. My parents would bring it up every year on my birthday in front of everyone, asking where my prince was. I would always answer that he was out there somewhere, waiting for me to find him.”

“That doesn’t sound so terrible. It’s rather endearing, actually,” Liam commented, as a pink flush deepened her cheeks. “It’s fascinating that you still seem as starry-eyed as a child compared to how you are now as an adult.”

“And I think it’s sweet that you prioritize others’ feelings out of the goodness in your heart back then as you still do, like tonight,” Riley added, making Liam bite back a tender smile.

A short while later, Riley and Liam were at the docks overlooking the city skyline. As the two of them rested their hands on the metal rails, Riley let out a content sigh. “And here we wait?”

“For?” Liam said, waiting to see what other surprises Riley had in store.

“A magical boat I’ve summoned just for you,” Riley joked, cheekily putting her hands behind her back.

Letting out a little chuckle, Liam commented, “Not a bad view.”

They could hear crickets chirping in the background and fireflies dancing in the cool breeze of the wind. The stars in the sky shined even brighter than the numerous lights on all the skyscrapers. They could see the silhouettes and shapes of all the buildings waving in time with the peaceful calm waters.

“Now, I’m dying to know why you’re so eager to see the Statue of Liberty,” Riley started, turning to glance at Liam.

“Can’t you guess?” Liam pushed her to continue, an inviting smile on his face. He had known Riley for less than twenty-four hours, yet he felt like she could figure out the answer already. How strangely comforting was it to know that he had met a girl who seemed to know him in the same way that he felt like he knew her from another lifetime?

“You want to see the Statue of Liberty because… she symbolizes freedom,” Riley answered, before flitting her eyes at Liam for a sign of possible confirmation.

“Freedom is something that I’ve always wanted,” Liam confessed with a knowing smile. Then he wistfully looked out at the deep waters in front of them. “But I’ve always known that my role would require me to give up much of what I desire.”

“You’re the prince. Can’t you do what you want, at least some of the time?” Riley pointed out. For a boy who was so selfless and caring about others, she found it a little miserable that it didn’t seem like people valued Liam’s own feelings and desires.

“As a member of the royal family, my actions reflect on my house and all of Cordonia,” Liam explained, almost word-for-word how his parents explained it to him all those years ago. Then he frowned, looking down at the ground. “It’s something I’ve never been allowed to forget. No matter how badly I might want to.”

Liam stared at Riley for one long moment, and she turned up to stare into his eyes. With one gentle hand, Liam reached out to caress her soft cheek. In response, Riley had lightly placed her hand on Liam’s arm. They were inches apart from each other as they glanced up at the other’s eyes and down at their lips.

Just then, the two of them heard the blast of a horn. Looking out across the water, they spotted a tour boat pulling up.

“There’s our ride!” Riley exclaimed, taking Liam by the hand as they ran together for their special boat ride.

~ ~ ~

Click here for the TRR retelling series masterlist for more chapters! 🏰

Tag list: @kingliam2019 @princess-geek @karahalloway @twinkleallnight @tinkie1973 @tessa-liam

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fadingreveries · 2 months

Text

The Royal Romance, Bk1 Ch1: Once Upon a Time (Pt. 3)

Click here for the TRR retelling series masterlist for more chapters! 🏰

Chapter Synopsis: Love awaits in the royal court of Cordonia as Riley competes for the Crown Prince! Will she accept his proposal, or will someone else win her heart?

Word Count: 1.8k

Disclaimer: All rights to original commentary, scenes, and characters from The Royal Romance series reserved to Choices and Pixelberry Studios. No copyright infringement intended.

~ ~ ~

On the other hand, Riley headed over to the table where the three guys sat, talking. She put on her best smile and set down a few menus in front of them.

“Hello, gentlemen. I’ll be taking care of you this evening,” Riley politely introduced herself, pulling out her pen and notebook to write down their orders.

Maxwell grinned at her, bouncing in his seat with excitement. “Waitress, steaks for the table.”

“How about some filet mignon, medium rare and prepared with a bearnaise sauce?” Tariq suggested, before pondering his choice for possibly something much more extravagant than he initially asked for.

Riley laughed. Clearly, this group had never been to a casual New York dive bar before. They were a breath of fresh air, compared to the drunk locals who also came in at the same time demanding pints of beer and sloppy Joes. “The closest thing we have to filet mignon is the deluxe burger.”

Tariq frowned in disappointment, hesitating to look over the menu to see if the unfortunate news was true. “Dare I ask for your wine list?”

Back in the restaurant, Liam noticed that Maxwell, Drake, and Tariq had found a table and were talking to a waitress. Her dark brown hair hung in waves almost like a waterfall down her back. She wore a cream-coloured work shirt, black leggings, and a red work apron around her waist.

“We’ve got an excellent vintage house red,” Riley slowly answered, having the feeling his frown would continue to turn downwards with her reply.

Tariq gasped as if he couldn’t believe the words that came out of Riley’s mouth. “House red?”

Riley shrugged her shoulders, smiling sheepishly at the three men at the table. “It also comes in white.”

Drake laughed at Tariq’s woeful reaction, turning to Riley. “We’ll be fine with a bottle of whiskey… and four deluxe burgers.”

Glancing at the three men at the table, Riley furrowed her eyebrows in curiosity. Who was the fourth person? “Four?”

In response, he nodded behind Riley and Liam took that as his cue. There, Riley turned to see the man walking towards the bachelor party and her eyes widened.

He had eyes as blue as the deep sea, a straight pointed nose, and a hint of a stubble on his face. He was dressed in a black blazer, white dress shirt, navy blue cravat, black dress pants, and black Oxford shoes. His copper blonde hair was neatly swept into a right-sided part and his thin lips were already working into a smile that radiated such genuinity and charm that Riley’s stomach immediately filled with butterflies.

Whoa. He’s really cute, Riley thought.

“Sorry I’m late,” Liam apologized with a shy laugh, making his way towards Riley. “Thank you for your patience, Miss…?”

Riley blinked before snapping herself out of her daze, mustering out a simple, “Uh, Riley.”

“My name is Liam. Charmed to make your acquaintance, Riley,” the handsome stranger flashed a dazzling white smile.

“Trust me, the pleasure’s all mine. It’s nice to meet you.” Riley shyly replied, her cheeks flushing. Liam had looked down, biting his lip with a smile as bashful as her own. “Now let me go put your order in. Be right back!”

Liam watched as Riley walked away towards the restaurant kitchen window. She tore away the paper where she had written the guys’ order in her notebook, sticking it on to a steel order wheel where other orders hung in preparation and letting kitchen staff know what their order was.

For some reason, he couldn’t help but observe in almost a trance-like state how Riley almost seemed to float across the room. She was handing out menus to new customers one moment before balancing dishes on her arms and gracefully setting down plates in front of other tables.

“And now that I definitely am down to get a face tattoo, that’s how we’ll end the night!” Drake exclaimed, noticing how Liam had hardly said a word during their conversation at the table.

Maxwell excitedly grabbed his friend’s shoulders. How exciting was it that Drake had finally come around to his wonderful idea! “Yeah, Drake! That’s the spirit!”

“What do you think, Liam?” Drake questioned, arching an eyebrow in curiosity in his direction.

With his eyes still fixated on Riley, an autopilot response slowly came out of Liam’s mouth. “Sounds great…”

“Okay, now we know he’s definitely not listening,” Drake stated, taking a swig from his whiskey. It wasn’t hard for Drake to know when something else had preoccupied Liam’s mind. Not when he had known his best friend for his entire life.

Maxwell pouted, letting out a disappointed sigh. “You were kidding about the tattoos, weren’t you?”

“Hush, Maxwell. Something’s going on with Liam. He’s distracted,” Drake informed him, keeping him in the loop of things.

Liam’s eyes widened, as he sat up straighter in his seat and cleared his throat. Why had his throat suddenly gone dry? “What? No. Of course not. Brotherhood. Bonding. Where were we?”

“You can tell us what’s wrong,” Drake offered to him, knowing that every once in a while Liam needed to confide in people he trusted. “Is it the rumblings in Lythikos? The water rights over the Royal Orchard? The controversy over the location of next year’s Art Festival?”

“The fact that Drake’s not going to get a tattoo with us?” Maxwell added. Maybe Liam could possibly change his mind? Drake was known for going along with things the second that Liam took an interest in them.

There was no use lying to his two closest confidants. If anything, perhaps they had some wise words for him to help deal with these newfound emotions. Liam took in a deep breath before quickly exhaling. “It’s… our waitress, Riley.”

“I knew it!” Maxwell triumphantly cried out, looking at him with a smug look. “Now it’s a bachelor party!”

Drake leaned back in his spot, thinking to himself for a few seconds before speaking up, “Huh.”

“What?” Liam asked, wanting to know what he was thinking.

“I’ve never seen you get this way about a girl before,” Drake commented. It was true; Liam had met so many ladies at court over the years as a prince, yet this was the only time he seemed genuinely interested in one before. Especially one who was across the ocean in America working in a New York dive bar.

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, Liam sat up straighter in his spot. He felt a warm blush across his cheeks and he was certain that he looked absolutely flustered. “I’m not any way. I’m just worried that we’ve imposed on her good nature.”

Finally catching on to what Drake meant, Maxwell commented, “Uh-huh.”

“Sure…” Drake added, as he and Maxwell exchanged knowing looks.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind being impositioned on further…” Maxwell noted, waggling his eyebrows in a playful manner. Hopefully they knew what he meant to say…

Maxwell could be clever, but this was unfortunately not one of those times. Drake sighed, running his hand down his face. “Maxwell…”

“Or you can just leave her a nice tip when we pay the check! You know a Beaumont never shorts a bill!” Maxwell briskly suggested, with a hint of nervous laughter. “Water bills, phone bills, car bills, dinner bills. We’ve never shorted any of those before! With all the money we have, of course. But even if we did, that wouldn’t be a bad thing…”

That was an uncharacteristically long answer for one simple suggestion. Drake eyed Maxwell suspiciously. “Of… course…”

Maxwell knew he had said too much. If Bertrand was there, he would reprimand him with words like, “Maxwell Percival Beaumont, why must you expose the true nature of House Beaumont’s finances in front of important company?” He could feel Bertrand’s glowering gaze at him all the way from Cordonia. Giving another uneasy chuckle, Maxwell fiddled with the collar of his shirt before taking a giant bite out of his burger. That should shut him up for now.

Drake leaned over to Liam, whispering with a concerned expression, “Is Maxwell acting weirder than usual, or is it just me?”

“It’s hard to tell what the baseline weird level is…” Liam admitted, though he did notice that Maxwell had been quite anxious whenever money was mentioned.

Drake stared at Liam hard for a moment. Of course Liam was still absentminded, his eyes following Riley across the room. Drake stated, “You really are distracted.”

“Perhaps…” Liam replied, only half listening to his friend. Riley giggled in front of a table of elderly women who had complimented her, making his heart warm at the sight of her smile.

Drake noticed the look in Liam’s eyes, before he advised him, “Okay, go. Talk to her.”

“I couldn’t,” Liam declined, shaking his head. There was absolutely no chance he could talk to her without making a complete fool of himself.

Moving on from his little comment about his house’s money, Maxwell asked, “What’s stopping you?”

“What’s stopping me?” Liam repeated, before instinctively saying, “The crown.”

“There’s going to be a revolution if you have one conversation with a waitress?” Drake responded, trying to put things into perspective for Liam. “Besides, none of that matters tonight. If only for one night, this is the moment when you get to be human.”

“Also, the tattoos…” Maxwell quietly suggested, taking a sip from his drink.

Drake groaned, as he lightly smacked his friend on the back of his head. “Maxwell! Anyway, it’s just a conversation. What harm could there be? It’s not like one little choice here is going to change the entire fate of Cordonian history.”

Feeling enlightened by their conversation, Liam answered with relief on his face, “You’re right.”

“I usually am,” Drake plainly responded, knowing for a fact that he was right. It was very rare for him not to be.

Liam breathed in, feeling a slight hint of nerves coursing through him. “I’ll… go talk to her.”

“Perfect. And then we’ll be on our way,” Drake responded, setting the plan in motion.

“It’s a plan,” Liam stated, before placing a gentle hand on Drake’s shoulder. “Thank you, my friend.”

Drake smiled, reciprocating with his own hand on Liam’s shoulder. “What are friends for?”

Liam nodded, grateful as always for Drake’s steady presence. Drake had been through the best and worst times that Liam had ever experienced in his life. He always knew what to say whenever he doubted himself and this time was no exception.

Liam stood up, feeling oddly nervous for an inconsequential interaction with an almost stranger. “I’ll be back. This’ll just take a moment…”

~ ~ ~

Click here for the TRR retelling series masterlist for more chapters! 🏰

Tag list: @kingliam2019 @princess-geek @karahalloway @twinkleallnight @tinkie1973 @tessa-liam

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