#honeyhill | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lizzybeth1986 · 3 years

Text

A Book by Book Breakdown of Hana Lee - Part One

(Read the entire "Hana Lee: A Study in Erasure" series here!)

Previous: So, Who Is Hana Lee?

Here I'll be taking a look at how Hana is written in the first three books, before moving on to the TRH series in Part Two. I won't be going too in-depth into her characterization (since I'll be expanding on them in other sections), just exploring how the narrative spreads out her development, and how often she gets focus.

A common assumption about Hana's character development is that it was very well done in TRR1, slightly less so in TRR2 and downhill TRR3 onwards. To be honest, I had thought so for a long time too. But is this really true?

To help understand the breakdown a little better, I've decided to split the books themselves into sections.

For Book One, I will be splitting the story into three sections: the Capitol (Ch. 1-6, where the MC enters the competition), Lythikos/Regatta (Ch. 7-10), and Applewood (Ch. 11 onwards). Until Applewood, all three LIs have a similar trajectory in the way their stories develop - the first section shows them as nervous, tentative, wary, trying to navigate this relationship with the new girl...the second shows their trust in her grow...and the third is meant to be where their feelings intensify, before their confessions at Liam's Coronation Ceremony.

Book Two will be split into 4 sections - Cordonia, Italy, Paris, Shanghai. The meat of the LIs' stories can be found in these sections, culminating in the proposal/confirmation of relationship in NY, and the climax at the palace.

Book Three has a lot of touring, so I'll simply split it by the individual arcs: Conflict, Confusion, Resolution. In a vague sense, each LI is given some sort of conflict, which they struggle with over the course of the book, and it gets resolved a little before the wedding, or at least after defeating Anton Severus. This occurs in varying degrees for at least the three original LIs, but in a very loosely structured way.

Having outlined this, let's look at how Hana is written in all three:

Book One

Capitol

We first meet Hana in a meet-cute in Chapter 2, shortly after landing in Cordonia. While the MC's kindness towards her can be optional, Hana views her as different from the other ladies of court by the end of the night. By default the MC can talk back to Olivia when the latter humiliates Hana, and (optionally) the MC can comfort Hana in her room. Their friendship further blossoms by the tea party at HoneyHill Downs, culminating (again optionally) in the first faint stirrings of romance at a bakery, ordering cronuts.

In comparison to both Liam and Drake, the MC's bond with Hana develops quickly owing to their proximity as competitors, and foreigners. Drake takes time to warm up to the MC until Lythikos. Liam is attached from the moment they meet, but is conflicted about his romance with her until the beach party in Chapter 10. In contrast - and even though the two are meant to be rivals - Hana develops a bond with the MC right away, supporting her as early as the Derby. She begins to realize, to her shock, that she feels something for the MC by the cronut scene in Chapter 6.

Hana's introduction works...as a hint at something more. Her first diamond scene, which briefly mentions her engagement, does a good job of this. But it's important to understand that it would have fallen flat if Hana's subsequent scenes in Lythikos and the Regatta hadn't elaborated on the things her first scene hinted at.

Lythikos/Regatta

Three important things happen in this portion of the book:

1. Hana finds herself more aware of the romantic nature of her feelings for the MC

2. Hana begins to trust the MC more, to the extent of playing a piece she composed as a child on piano. It's important to note that Hana is extremely protective of her music, owing to the public performances she was forced into as a child. Remembering how her parents took something she viewed to be hers, gives us our first glimpse of angry!Hana. That's how important her music is to her. So for her to volunteer to show the MC her music...that's a phenomenal display of trust from her end.

3. A pattern of using Hana's skills to educate the MC begins to emerge. It works here, because the MC is a newcomer, but as she gains more and more power, this aspect of the relationship becomes more and more exploitative.

To my mind, the Lythikos/Regatta portion had the strongest Hana scenes in the series. Whether it is free scenes like the ice skating one in Chapter 7, or prominent ones like Cordonian Waltz or the iconic Piano scene, each one invited us further and further into Hana's vibrant, yet lonely, inner life.

The writing seemed to strike a good balance between her usefulness as a courtier, and her inner conflicts as a person. At least two diamond scenes in this section - the Piano scene and the Yacht scene - were purely about Hana's confusions and conflicts, and while the Cordonian Waltz began with Hana teaching us the dance, clearly the most valuable takeaway was the story of her broken engagement to Peter, and the hints that Hana was clearly Not Straight.

Sadly, this kind of balance would be rarer and rarer to find with Hana's writing, later on.

Applewood

Remember how I mentioned earlier that a lot of us assume Hana's characterization was good because of the scenes at the midpoint? Well...here's where that assumption falls apart.

Outside of public appearances and the first real group scenes, Hana barely even makes an appearance, much less has a chance to interact with us. She has one free scene where she pushes back at her mother's demands over the phone (Chapter 14), with our encouragement, but even that is over in a matter of minutes compared to Drake's scenes at the end of the same chapter!

Another point worth noting is the quality of her diamond scenes in Applewood. She has two individual scenes...and both focus solely on her skills. The pie baking competition focuses more on the extra points we can get from her pie decorations than on her...and the dressage scene that comes when we buy the horse, is a tiny one on dressage techniques. Sure, Hana can tell us stories about her parents' concern over her broken arm or the girls back home who she didn't necessarily like...but it is a small scene squirrelled away between interactions with Drake, Olivia and Maxwell, all of which establish a greater level of progress in those relationships.

Even in Ramsford, the focus is largely on Drake and the Beaumonts, with even Liam managing to get a date scene before the Bash. Hana, in the meantime, has to make do with a truth-or-dare scene that she shares with Drake and Maxwell.

So while Liam becomes more and more confident in his eventual choice of Queen, and while Drake's feelings for the MC are given more importance than the fact that a man entered her room when she was half dressed and her lock was tampered with…Hana is relegated to the background.

The narrative nudges her, somewhat reluctantly, to the foreground in the final chapters of Book 1...but by then it's more a matter of tying up loose ends before the catastrophic finale. She has two beautiful diamond scenes (the confession scene in her room, and the 'bucket list' scenes with Drake, Maxwell and the MC - including the epic takedown of Olivia I'd mentioned in the previous essay), but even in those scenes the dynamic Hana and the MC share is written differently from either Liam or Drake's...and not in an entirely good way (more on this in a later essay).

To sum up, Hana gets some amount of exposure as an LI in the first few chapters, a short burst of attention mid-book and then is pushed to the background for the rest of it. Her space and scenes in Book 1 seem better only because from here on out, it just gets worse. But it's clear that the roots of the treatment she currently gets, emerged from this book.

Book Two

In this book, each LI faces two conflicts - personal ones involving family, and romantic ones involving the MC. Since Hana's individual arc was always centered around her family and upbringing, giving ample time and space to that dynamic should have been a priority. Exploring Hana in the place she grew up should have been far easier to integrate, at least more than explaining why Savannah chose Paris of all places to have her child.

Having said that, let's look into how the narrative spaces out Hana's scenes and story in this book:

Cordonia

This portion begins decently enough on the Hana front - her conflicts with her parents which evolves into a need for self exploration, her love for the MC (if we're romancing her, that is), her reluctant interactions with her suitors and the treatment meted out to her by Madeleine. The last plot thread, though the most egregious, doesn't last more than two chapters, and is never directly referenced for the rest of the book.

Hana has one diamond scene in Fydelia, another in Applewood. In between, we are introduced, through free scenes, to the some of the arcs I'd just mentioned, but most notably the Madeleine bullying arc and the one with the suitors. While the Hot Chocolate scene in Fydelia is sweet and a fitting reunion, it's overshadowed by Drake's Marshmallow scene. Why? Because the flashback in that scene had information that was Hana's and Liam's to tell, yet it was incorporated into Drake's scene!

The Applewood conservatory scene, while skill based, spends quite a bit of time on her love for flowers and her research on what they could all mean. It may have been a welcome return to the Lythikos/Regatta format had the writing actually focused more on her story.

In terms of free scenes, Hana assists in the investigation by distracting guests, manages to charm two men who bore her to tears, and becomes a target for Madeleine's abuse.

Italy

This is the point where Hana recedes to the background...and looking back I can see exactly why that happened. It was because the Italy section marked Olivia's re-entry.

The first dinner at Capri was a political dinner with an Italian statesman that Hana had taught us to charm. Yet Hana features nowhere in this scene, nor does she participate in the investigation. Olivia takes her place here, even though she has no interest in engaging in diplomacy, and spends half her time comparing everything she sees to things in Lythikos. Hana disappears the moment the entourage enters the room...and we do not see her until a chapter later - and even then, that was only for a single scene involving Kiara and Penelope.

The final chapter in Italy does prominently feature her...but as a victim of a bullying attack. The subsequent group scene claims to be about comforting her, but you will notice it focuses on all the other characters (Olivia, Drake and Maxwell - but especially Olivia!) while a hurt and terrified Hana hovers in the background.

Hana barely shows up in this section, except to be victimized by the woman preparing to be Queen. Immediately following this sequence we discover both Penelope's betrayal, and then her condition, so what happened to Hana is almost immediately brushed aside to make room for Penelope. After the MC chooses* to call out Madeleine on this in Paris, this incident will never be spoken about until the epilogue of the series, thirty-three whole chapters later.

Paris

This section is a mixed bag. Two of Book 2's best Hana diamond scenes (Patisserie Scene and Library Scene) feature here...but so does the worst Hana scene. And while Hana takes over the investigation from this point on, and helps the MC through a mixture of stealth and resourcefulness, she is hardly credited for the success of this mission as she deserves to be.

Hana gets to (optionally) explore futures that don't fit into her parents' plans, with the MC's encouragement, and we are allowed a window into her cloistered childhood and her boundless creativity that grows inspite of it...but Paris also happens to be the place where the MC choses to stay silent about Madeleine's plans to bully Hana further, where a scene that centers Penelope is sold to us with Hana's face plastered over it, where Hana's doubts regarding her suitors are relegated to a small portion of a diamond scene even though it's the literal buildup to her conflict with her father Xinghai.

Meanwhile, Drake discovers his sister is living safely in Paris, on Beaumont money, and all hell breaks loose.

That said, the two diamond scenes from this section capture at least a sliver of the empowerment and independence of the Lythikos/Regatta scenes in the first book. The Patisserie scene uses pastries creatively to symbolize the many avenues open for her future. The Library scene gives us an amazing glimpse into her childhood, allowing us to see slightly more rebellious Hana.

On a level of exploring her confusion and her struggle to break away from her parents, this section does well...but it doesn't quite hit the mark. After all, we only barely hear about Neville's attempts to get closer to Hana, and we don't get much buildup to the events that will explode into a public argument with her father a few chapters later.

However, this is only a taste of what is to come from Hana's home city, Shanghai.

Shanghai

Shanghai is the only place in this entire book that is home to a main character. And to understand exactly how poorly done this section was, you need to look at just how many chapters were dedicated to each international stop on the tour.

Italy had 3 chapters. Paris had 4 - two dedicated to the Savannah reveal and two more to unmask Constantine as the mastermind behind the conspiracy. New York had 3.

Shanghai...had 2. The real-life home of one of the main character of this series...had just 2 chapters.

Now, it's possible that in the hands of a very good team, even 2 chapters can contain more than enough space for everyone. Especially considering that Hana grew up here, it would be essential for us to see her home as she knew it. Perhaps that was what happened in this case?

Let's look at what happens over the course of these two chapters:

1. A Panda Reserve Visit

2. Liam confronts his father after a health scare at a dinner

3. Drake and Maxwell make up after a completely pointless fight (btw, they marketed this scene by slapping Hana's face on it)

4. Hana and her father fight.

What we have here is two hastily-done arc resolutions, one fight that should have been resolved chapters ago...and pandas. To add insult to injury, the narrative chooses Shanghai to start drumming up more sympathy for Madeleine, via her mother Adeleide.

When Drake found his sister in Paris, and then discovered that his friend's brother fathered her child, the narrative gave the MC at least two opportunities to support him. One - immediately after the scene in question, and two - the night after, post the failed investigation at Liam's bachelor party, where the MC could comfort him if she chose the diamond scene.

In Shanghai, Hana goes through an immensely harrowing and stressful fight with her father over whether she wants to get married at all. Towards the end of the fight, she pushes back when her father implies the MC is a bad influence, (optionally) comes out to her father, potentially loses her home, and is so distraught she asks to spend the night at the hotel where the entourage stays. This continues into the next day, when she doesn't attend the UN meet in NY.

What does the MC do? Her sleepover scene allows her to distract Hana, but its main purpose is to praise NY and get the champagne that would help forge an alliance with Adeleide. The next day, neither the MC nor anyone else notices that Hana hasn't shown up the whole day - in fact, the MC herself doesn't even think about her. She has the time to gift-shop with Drake, (optionally) stargaze with Maxwell, and (optionally) date Liam...but she has no time to visit her friend/girlfriend after the poor woman has lost her home.

The rest of the book deals with the Tariq reveal, the aftermath of Liam's proposal, and the Homecoming Ball that culminates in an assassination attempt. But the meat of the story lay in the events of the world tour, and it's obvious that the visit to Hana's home was never meant to focus much on Hana.

Most of Hana's scenes in this book, including the sleepover where she's distraught over the fallout with her father, either predominantly or fully show her teaching the MC a skill, or helping her in this investigation. As with the first book, her strongest scenes are at the midpoint, and they are strong because they focus more on her than on her skills. But for most of the book, she is defined more in terms of how useful she is for the MC, with very little of that energy given back to her. And while this book and Book 3 often label her as "Perfect Hana" (which was also adopted by fandom to mock her), it doesn't place much emphasis on her contributions, her dedication, and what she has done for the court in the way an Olivia's or even a Madeleine's are. The narrative doesn't constantly remind us of her work or position it as patriotism, or stealth, or court-savvy - which is why very few people question the logic of not giving Hana her own duchy while giving a far-less-qualified MC one. She is viewed as a basket of skills, rather than a person capable of responsibly wielding power.

Hana starts out in TRR2 with a couple of things happening to her, and not all of them end in ways that benefit her. Her main conflict leaves her practically estranged from her parents, and briefly without a home or a set future. She manages to push back at a suitor she didn't like, but only because he was rude to her friend Drake (you'll find that this is a pattern with Hana - pushback is only allowed in service of other people, never for oneself, and very little of that energy is expended by the same people towards her).

One of her plot threads is resolved just by having her bully minimize it as a 'hazing process', after which it's largely forgotten by everyone, including the MC who knew the whole truth. Her strongest scenes explore her personal history, but a majority of them are more about her being useful. Once her utility is over, the MC often forgets about her, and sometimes won't even enquire about her health.

In short, TRR2 focuses a lot on how we can use Hana, but barely enough on how we can support her.

Book 3

It's hard to evaluate Book 3 on the level of the other two books, mainly because the playthroughs diverge from the end of Book 2 onwards. Since this book focuses on the MC's wedding, things change in the story based on her choice of LI. Each LI now has two distinct playthroughs - one where they're the MC's friend, and another where the MC is marrying them. The writing for them, too, makes those distinctions.

Each of the LIs is given some sort of a crisis in Book 3. Liam's rule as King is threatened by terrorist groups who plan to assassinate him and wipe out his family, Drake needs to prove himself in court after years of rejecting nobility, Maxwell needs to take on responsibilities for his House, and Hana needs to settle in to a new, more independent life in Cordonia. The LI is meant to identify a crisis, become confused in trying to fix it, before settling into a resolution that both solves the problem and gives them closure.

And yet, only one LI gets a complete version of this arc. Drake's crisis begins with his desire to fit in at court, but not knowing how. He spends a lot of time learning its mores through trail and error, confused and sometimes humiliated, before finally winning public approval through his duel with Neville. Liam and Maxwell don't have set arcs, even though their individual crises are hinted at and brought up a few times.

Hana, on the other hand, has a crisis that's only hinted at (dealing with her upbringing-related issues, and the lack of closure with her parents) and a resolution (again, this is fulfilled by proving to them she can be useful even without being married to a nobleman) - but it spends little to no time building up her conflicts with her parents.

It's important to note that both Hana and Maxwell, in particular, had scenes in Book 3 highlighting conflicts that looked like they would be touched upon later in the book, but those plotlines were clearly scrapped by the time the Unity Tour began. Maxwell was expected to step up more for House responsibilities, but very little came out of this - ending with the narrative hastily pushing forward a book deal for him in the epilogue.

The first two chapters show Hana struggling to understand what healthy levels of control were, agonizing over the possibility that she was stifling the MC by planning things for their wedding without her input. This never gets touched on beyond those two chapters. In fact, the wedding itself is so tailored to the MC's desires - and her desires alone - that in their reception Hana is treated more like a bridesmaid than a bride. So much for 200 PinStop boards.

The second chapter also hints at her making an attempt to reach out to her parents in her LI playthrough, by asking for a copy of the article on the couple to be sent to them. Between this chapter and Chapter 14, where we meet her parents, there is no buildup to this confrontation. Hana mentions her Chinese grandmother when Lorelai takes her traditional outfit away, but we never hear about this relative either before or after this scene.

Book 3 initially had a format of using LI scenes just for romance, while exploring character development in individual scenes. The original three LIs all got a total of three individual scenes, scattered across the books. Hana got one scene in Portavira (Polo Practice), one in Lythikos (Snow Angel), and a last one in Valtoria (Cheongsam). The first is a purely skill-based scene, with a romantic moment attached at the end in her playthrough. The second is a fun scene about playing in the snow, but nonetheless has very little to do with her overall arc. The third was meant to be a culmination to her arc, but it suffered both because of no buildup, and because the writers wanted her to quickly forgive her parents and move on. Even a confrontation with her controlling parents didn't warrant any real effort or sensitivity from this team.

The LI scenes post hiatus do a slightly better, more consistent job of her story: at the Costume Gala she gets to show the MC an ancient Cordonian ritual, and in Valtoria she tells her fiancee about her desire to become a mother. As the story moves forward, the LI scenes slowly replace the individual ones, and Hana's scenes from Chapter 9 onwards give us a fair idea of where she is at, mentally and emotionally. This does, however, pose a problem.

If Hana is marrying us, we have LI scenes that will give us a decent idea of her history, or her mindset, and in a few rare cases her growth. She may become a Duchess, even if the narrative doesn't actually seem to remember this half the time. But what about the playthroughs where she is our friend? Where does she live? What is her future like? What interests does she pursue?

The narrative doesn't seem interested in answering these questions for us. And maybe this would have been a little understandable if majority of that focus was on her romantic playthrough. But that's not the case. Hana and the MC are often not written as if they're a couple, and there is a lack of clarity for Hana's story in her single playthrough too. This leaves us in an awkward position, where she has to deal with half-measures on both sides, all while another LI gets an extra wedding and a visit from his mother, all while one secondary female character (Olivia) gets the focus that should be hers, another (Penelope) gets the sympathy that should have been hers, and a third (Madeleine) almost got the sexuality arc that Hana was never really given.

To sum up, Book 3 doesn't even bother with the "burst of attention" that you see in the other two books. It establishes a crisis then wishes it away 15 chapters later, all while pretending ever other conflict she faces does not exist.

Conclusion

As I've said before, we often assume that Hana got great attention from the beginning, which probably was reduced in latter books when she wasn't bringing in as much money. From this analysis, however, it is obvious that these problems began as far back as Applewood in Book 1, where she had very few interactions with us beyond lessons on dressage and baking assistance.

The other two books take this a couple steps further, often using her face for scenes that benefited other characters, and abruptly ending storylines harmful to her without real closure, just so that other characters could get away with their behaviour. In both books 2 and 3, the conflicts with her parents weren't given the buildup required, and the conclusion for this arc focused, again, on her usefulness. Book 3 makes lackluster efforts for both her own playthroughs, and the ones where she was single - to the point where she was treated like a bridesmaid in the former and almost paired up with her bully in the latter. All in all, the narrative spent more time on her as a narrative device for understanding court, than as a person...and it was only going to get worse from here on.

Next: A Book by Book Breakdown of Hana Lee - Part Two

#hana lee #hana lee: a study in erasure #the royal romance #the royal heir #the royal finale

86 notes · View notes

ao719 · 4 years

Text

Full Disclosure - The Beginning

Full Disclosure - The Beginning (Part 3)

Characters belong to Pixelberry

Summary: A look back at Charlotte during the social season.

Catch Up Here

Tags: @bobasheebaby @leelee10898 @speedyoperarascalparty @hopefulmoonobject @zaffrenotes @cocomaxley @gardeningourmet @blackcoffee85 @gibbles82 @annekebbphotography @sweetest-marbear @wannabemc2 @indiacater @liamxs-world @smalltalk88 @damienswhore @classylady1234 @kazdog75-blog @lodberg @umccall71 @explorer-of-clouds @texaskitten30 @thequeenofcronuts @romanticatheart-posts @jared2612 @custaroonie @drakesensworld @perfectprofessorherokid @blznbaby @tu-es-lamour-de-ma-vie @iplaydrake @be-still-my-aching-heart @moneyfordiamonds @the-soot-sprite @ladyangel70 @lynne1993 @kate-mckenzie @ruka-uchiha @traeumerinwitzhelden @emichelle @zilch3 @princess-andromeda-nazario @mfackenthal @cgd03 @dcbbw @burnsoslow @bbrandy2002 @emceesynonymroll

Bang - Bang - Bang

Charlotte woke to an incessant banging on her bedroom door, groaning as she rolled over and covered her head with the pillow.

Bang - Bang - Bang

“No one is here!” Her shout was muffled by the pillow.

Bang - Bang - Bang

“Ughhhhh!” Charlotte angrily flung the covers off of her and stood from the bed, stomping towards the door as she mumbled obscenities under her breath. She pulled it open to see Maxwell standing there with a garment bag over his shoulder, smiling at her.

His smile grew as he took in her appearance, biting back a laugh. Her hair was all over the place and her makeup from the night before that she didn’t wash off was smudged underneath her eyes. “You’re so pretty,” he snorted.

Charlotte scowled. “Do you have any idea how early it is?”

“Yes, ma’am. It’s 7 AM. You’re not a morning person, are you?” Maxwell asked as he brushed by her and walked into her room. “We need to get you ready for the derby!”

Charlotte yawned as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and shut her door. “Ok, ok,” she let out a breath. “I need to shower. What am I supposed to wear to this thing?”

Maxwell held out the garment bag and she took it. “Bertrand says that will impress the Queen, which is your goal today since you’ll be meeting her at the picnic later. I’ll go get you some coffee and something for breakfast. We have an hour before we have to leave.”

****

Exactly one hour later, Charlotte descended the grand staircase from the west wing, walking carefully in her heels. Do these people not believe in flats? And I can’t fucking see with this gigantic ass hat on my head. Is this necessary? Beneath the large brim, she spotted Bertrand and Maxwell waiting for her in the foyer as she reached the bottom step. “Nice of you to finally grace us with your presence,” Bertrand scowled.

Charlotte lifted the brim of her large hat to look at Bertrand. “You’re welcome,” she snapped back. “My feet already hurt, this hat is gigantic, and these goddamn Spanx … I cannot breathe!”

“Here, I think you need this,” Maxwell chuckled as he handed her a large cup of coffee in a travel mug.

“Let’s go. We cannot be late.” Bertrand turned on his heel and walked out the front doors to the waiting limousine. Charlotte gave Maxwell a look before the two followed him. As the limousine took off headed towards Honeyhill Downs, Bertrand looked over at Charlotte as she stuffed her face with a bagel Maxwell had gotten for her. He cleared his throat and she cut her eyes to him. “I’m sure Maxwell mentioned to you that you’ll be meeting the Queen today?” Charlotte nodded as she took another bite of her bagel. “You’ll also be meeting the press for the first time today.” Charlotte slowed her chewing as she stared at him. “How you come across to the Cordonian people is very important, and the press can make or break you. What the press writes, the people read. If the people love you, then it’ll be easy to convince them that you deserve their Prince.”

“And the Queen will know their thoughts about you as soon as they make them. So … you’ve got to impress the press, so to speak. You’ll be surrounded by them as soon as we pull up to the Downs.”

Charlotte tilted her head back and looked between Maxwell and Bertrand beneath the brim of her hat for a moment. “Pfffttt, this will be easy! I’m a journalism major. I know how to impress the press,” she smiled confidently.

“They’re going to be asking you questions, Lady Charlotte. Who you are, where you're from, those sorts of things.”

“People want to understand your story … so think about how you want them to see you,” Maxwell suggested.

“I want them to see me as me … Charlotte.”

“God, no!” Bertrand scoffed. “You want them to see a future Queen! You need to have grace and poise!”

“Listen, Your Dukeness, I’m not here to pretend to be somebody I’m not. I didn’t pretend to be anyone but me when I first met Liam and he seemed to like it just fine,” she smirked. “And you want me to have grace? Have you met me yet?” she snorted.

“It's Your Grace! And you will pretend to have manners! Anyway,” Bertrand sneered, “they’ll ask you some harder questions as well. But for the love of King and country, if they ask you about Cordonian Apples, make sure you take the question seriously.”

Charlotte laughed but then stopped when Bertrand stared at her with another scowl. “Apples? Seriously?”

“It’s our national fruit and one of our most important exports,” Maxwell explained. “We take our apples very seriously.”

“Alright,” Charlotte subtly rolled her eyes as she took a large sip of her coffee. “Got it.”

“Do you got it?” Bertrand asked sarcastically. “How confident are you feeling about all of this?”

“I feel pretty good, B. I’m not worried,” she waved him off.

“Yes, well hopefully your confidence won’t be our downfall!”

“Maybe you need to eat an apple, good sir. You know what they say, an apple a day keeps the grumpies away,” she chuckled as Maxwell covered his mouth to hide his own laugh. Bertrand huffed and stared out the window. “Alright, alright, don't get your suspenders in a knot … I’ll be on my best behavior.”

****

After arriving at the derby, Maxwell and Bertrand gave Charlotte another quick rundown of what she needed to focus on. Before they parted ways, Maxwell gave Charlotte directions from there to the tent where the suitors would be seated during the race.

Charlotte watched the limousine drive off and turned to see the press. Ok, Charlotte. You’ve got this. Just … whatever you do … do not fall right now. If ever there was a time you needed to stay on your feet, it’s now. She inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly before making her way towards them.

Much to Charlotte’s surprise, she didn’t fall. She answered the questions from the press without skipping a beat and seemed to impress them. They dubbed her ‘The Mystery Woman’ for reasons Charlotte couldn’t explain other than the entire concept of her being there … in a foreign country … competing for the hand of a Prince. It was a mystery how she ended up there at all. I mean, the whole thing is laughable when you really think about it, she snorted to herself as she made her way towards the tent Maxwell told her about. Me … and a Prince, she began to laugh, but then her smile softened as she thought about Liam.

Charlotte’s mind wandered back to the evening before with Liam and their time in the garden maze. The fact that she could feel herself falling for him, a Prince, who was basically a stranger considering she’d known him less than a week … it was crazy. Yet, it wasn’t. There was something about Liam, something that made her smile when she thought about him, something that made butterflies fill her stomach when he looked at her. I feel like a giddy school girl. It’s ridiculous, Charlotte shook her head. She glanced up looking for the tent, realizing she was nowhere near any tents at all. Where the fuck am I?

Charlotte stepped inside a large building, looking around curiously. “Uh … hello?” There was no answer. Well, this is just fan-fucking-tastic. Only I would get lost at something like this. She let out a huff as she turned to leave the building, but stopped when she heard the sweet whinny. She turned to see a brown horse poking its head out of a stall. When she locked eyes with it, it bobbed it’s head up and down and Charlotte grinned with a squeal. She always loved animals. “Hi there,” she said as she approached it. She carefully held out her hand and the horse allowed her to pet it’s muzzle. “Oh my god, you’re so soft and cute!” The horse let out a rush of air and began to nuzzle its velvet muzzle against her cheek.

Drake heard the distinct sounds of giggles coming from the horse's stables while he was looking for Charlotte who he saw come that way. He stepped into the opening of the massive barn and his brows raised when he saw Charlotte laughing with Autumn. Of course, she laughs with a horse. He folded his arms across his chest with a subtle smirk as he leaned against the frame. Autumn was known for being a petulant little shit, and watching the horse who was too smart for his own good lure Charlotte in was amusing.

Charlotte turned and took her phone out of her clutch, leaning back against the stall door. “Let’s take a selfie, horsey.” She held up her phone and began laughing when the horse showed its teeth, that familiar snort escaping her as she snapped the photo. “This is the best day ever,” she squealed as she looked at the picture. The horse then continued to nuzzle her neck. “Ok, ok, that’s enough. You’re getting gross slobber all over me.” Charlotte turned and went to step back from the horse but its teeth caught hold of her necklace, ripping it right off her. Charlotte gasped as the beads flung across the stable floor. “Well, that was rude!” Drake covered his mouth to hide his laugh. The horse then clamped its teeth into the brim of Charlotte’s large hat. She grabbed the sides of it and began playing a round of tug-o-war. “Let … go!” she growled. The horse let go, catching her by surprise, and Charlotte stumbled backward landing on her ass in a pile of hay, her hat slumped forward covering her face. “You know what? I take it back! You’re not cute, you’re an asshole!” Charlotte heard someone laugh and raised her hat up to see Drake’s face red as he doubled forward. “Don’t help me out or anything. Just stand there and laugh,” Charlotte grumbled as she attempted to get up from the hay.

“Like you wouldn’t do the same damn thing,” Drake chuckled as he walked up to her. He extended his hand down and she took it. Drake pulled, flinging Charlotte to her feet.

“What are you doing here anyway?”

“Keeping an eye on you to make sure you didn’t get yourself into any trouble like you just did,” Drake laughed.

“So what, you’re stalking me now?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Brooks. Liam asked me to keep an eye on you …”

“He did?” Charlotte smiled. Drake nodded. “Well, that was sweet of him.”

“Yeah, the sweetest,” Drake rolled his eyes. “Now, what are you doing here?”

“I got lost … Maxwell told me to look for the pink tent … then I got sidetracked because I was thinking about stuff and I wasn’t even paying attention and ended up in here with that asshole of a horse!”

“Maxwell is wrong. You want the white tent down in the front near the bend.”

Drake turned and began to walk out. “Wait! You’re not going to walk with me?”

“I’m sure you’re capable of taking yourself down there. Plus, I have to go meet Liam in his private tent before the race starts.”

“Well, in that case, I’m coming with you,” Charlotte stated very matter of factly.

“No can do, Brooks. You’re not allowed.”

“What are they going to do, put me in princess jail? Ohhh, I’m shaking in my heels,” she waved her hands dramatically. “Lead the way.”

Drake shook his head, knowing she wasn’t going to back down. “Fine. But if you get caught, I had nothing to do with it.” He turned and stomped out of the stables.

Charlotte smiled as she began to follow him, strutting confidently behind him as she sang to herself. 'Cause I'm a model, you know what I mean. And I do my little turn on the catwalk, yeah, on the catwalk, on the catwalk. Drake stayed close to the line of trees so as to not draw suspicion to himself with one of Liam’s suitors following him. He looked back to tell her to keep up but stopped when he saw her as he again covered his mouth to hide his laugh. “What?” Charlotte asked.

“You lost something, Brooks.” Drake pointed behind Charlotte and she turned to see her large hat dangling from a tree branch. Her hands flew to her head as if she didn’t believe it was really hers.

“Oops,” she giggled as she ran back to get it. Her foot suddenly slid across the grass. Charlotte flailed before grabbing hold of another dangling tree branch to catch her fall. Drake snorted at seeing her in a half split as he shook his head. “Why the hell are these shoes so goddamn slippery all of a sudden?” Charlotte straightened herself up and grabbed her hat, placing it back on her head before she turned and continued to follow Drake.

After making it to the tent, Drake turned and looked at Charlotte who was grinning. “I’m going to grab us some drinks. Get in there before someone spots you. I’ll be right back.” She nodded and he turned and walked away.

Charlotte poked her head inside the tent to see Liam looking down at the front of the tracks. She silently giggled as she snuck inside. “BOO!” She screeched.

Without hesitation, Liam whipped around and grabbed Charlotte’s arm, twisting it behind her back and quickly moved behind her, pushing her chest down and pinning her against the table as she yelped. Liam’s eyes went wide when he realized who it was. “Lady Charlotte!” He released his grip on her arm and helped her to stand upright. “I’m so sorry, please forgive me.”

Why was that so hot? Can you imagine what he can do in — focus Charlotte. “You … you’re forgiven,” she chuckled.

“I’m afraid years of preparing for assassination attempts have left me on my guard … you simply startled me,” he blushed.

Oh my god, he’s so cute when he blushes. “Well, that’s what I get for sneaking up on you,” she smiled.

“I’m glad to see you,” Liam grinned, taking her hand in his. “But I am a bit curious how you managed to sneak yourself into my private tent,” he smirked. Suddenly, Liam smelt something but brushed it off, happy to have Charlotte there with him.

“Drake let me in,” she chuckled. “And speaking of … I heard that you asked Drake to keep an eye out on me.”

“I did,” he smiled sheepishly. “I just … want to make sure that you’re being taken care of while you’re here.” Liam subtly sniffed again. What is that? he questioned to himself but brushed it off once again.

“That’s very sweet of you to think of me.”

“I find myself thinking about you a lot, Lady Charlotte,” he smiled.

“Am I interrupting?” They heard Drake’s voice and both turned to see him entering the tent.

“No,” Charlotte replied.

“What is that smell?” Liam’s nose scrunched up as he looked around.

Charlotte snorted, thinking Liam was making a joke, but then realized he wasn’t. She glanced around for a moment, smelling it too, then it dawned on her. Oh no. Liam turned his back toward her and she looked back as she lifted her heel seeing why she must have slipped in the grass. Fucking horseshit … literally. While Liam’s back was still turned Charlotte kicked one leg out, then the other, launching both of her heels through the tent door and outside into the grass. Drake’s brows raised as Liam turned back to look at her a moment later. “It’s gone now,” he shrugged. Liam looked at Charlotte for a moment noticing a considerable height difference in her all of a sudden. He glanced down and chuckled. “Lady Charlotte … where are your shoes?”

“Oh … uh …” Charlotte cleared her throat, Drake smirking behind her waiting to see what she was going to come up with. “It … it is customary ... in America … to watch horse races with no shoes. Apparently, it’s … it’s bad luck to keep them on,” she shrugged.

Drake was unable to hold back his chortle, knowing there was no way Liam was going to believe that. “American’s have some ... surprising superstitions,” Liam laughed as Drake’s eyes widened.

“That we do,” Charlotte awkwardly smiled.

“Horses are coming up,” Drake pointed out. The three of them stepped up to the front of the tent and watched the horses prepare for their race. “I’m going with Marabelle’s Dream.”

“Twilight- Dash is going to take the crown, my friend,” Liam grinned.

“Care to make a bet on that, Your Highness?” Drake smirked. “The usual?”

“What’s the usual?” Charlotte asked curiously.

“Ever since Drake and I were kids, we’d bet each other push-ups.” The two old friends shared a laugh. “And not just regular push-ups. We do them with the winner sitting on the losers back.”

“That’s so cute,” Charlotte laughed.

“It’s not cute,” Drake spat. “It’s … rugged. And manly.”

“Yes. Very tough,” Liam nodded in agreement trying to bite back a laugh.

Charlotte snorted. “Whatever you two say.”

“So, do we have a bet?” Drake grinned at Liam and he nodded.

Liam turned his eyes to Charlotte. “Except perhaps one change to the usual. I think we’d be incredibly rude to leave out Charlotte,” Liam smiled. “Maybe she should be the one to sit on the losers back.”

Charlotte grinned wide. “I’d be happy to help.”

“There we have it then,” Liam smiled. “And here we go,” he motioned to the starting line where the horses were behind the gates and the bell sounded.

The trio watched as the horses were released. Marabelle’s Dream and Twilight-Dash were neck and neck from the start, and ahead of all the others. Charlotte laughed listening to Liam and Drake yelling out for each of their picks, watching them playfully shove one another. Drake cheered as his choice passed Liam’s in the final furlong and crossed the finish line. He clapped Liam’s shoulder with a smug grin. “I believe you’re up, Liam.” Liam gave him a look and Drake laughed. “If you think I’m going to bow gracefully and let you out of the bet, you’re dead wrong.”

Liam chuckled as he shook his head, “You never let me get away with anything.” He slipped off his suit jacket and tossed it onto the table. “Can’t get these clothes all sweaty.” He turned around and pulled the hem of his shirt out from his pants and began unbuttoning it.

Charlotte's eyes widened and locked on him. He’s really taking his shirt off right now? Maybe no shoes are good luck. She watched as his white dress shirt slid off his shoulders and she stared at his muscled back. When he turned to face her, Charlotte sucked in a sharp breath as Liam’s shirtless torso was exposed to her. Gawking wouldn't quite describe her state. She was shocked, stunned, flabbergasted, amazed, wonderstruck, and mesmerized by his physique, and she wasn’t trying to hide it either. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before. His body was drool-worthy. He had a chiseled chest and his skin was glowing. His abdominals were sculptured to perfection as his six-pack popped. His biceps were perfectly defined. And completing his masterpiece of a body was his round and protruding shoulders. It was taking every ounce of will power she had not to lick him. He is fucking delicious. I have tingles ... everywhere … even in places I didn’t know could tingle.

Charlotte was pulled from her daze at the soft clearing of Drake’s throat. She looked over at him and he smirked from behind Liam, motioning with his hand for her to wipe the drool from her mouth. She reached up and scratched her nose with her middle finger. She looked up meeting Liam’s gaze as he smiled at her, a tinge of pink on his cheeks from the hungry look in her eyes. He dropped down to the grass and got in position to start his push-ups, his muscles taut as they strained. “Charlotte, I believe I need your assistance.”

“On it!” She rushed over and Drake couldn’t help but laugh at the look of excitement in her expression.

Charlotte took her place on Liam’s back, purposely using her hands to help steady herself. Oh good god, he’s so smooth. “Is that all? I barely feel anything,” Liam laughed. He dropped down and effortlessly began doing his push-ups.

“That’s not even a challenge. Maybe I should get on there too,” Drake shook his head.

Charlotte was watching Liam’s back muscles flex with each movement, practically putting her in a daze. She didn’t realize she was slipping until it was too late. Charlotte fell backward off Liam’s back, her legs flying up in the air with a yelp as she landed with a soft thud in the grass. Drake doubled over as Liam snapped his gaze to her. “Are you alright?” When he saw her laughing, he rested down into the grass, his shoulders shaking as he began to laugh.

“Great,” she squealed through a giggle. Liam stood and helped Charlotte up. “Thanks,” she said as she fixed her hat.

They heard another bell sound and Liam let out a sigh. “I guess that means we need to get ready for the picnic.”

“Bertrand and Maxwell are probably looking for me,” Charlotte said.

Drake stood there looking between the pair for a moment before he let out a breath. “I’ll go see if they’re here,” he shook his head and Liam smiled thankfully at him.

Drake stepped out of the tent as Liam grabbed his dress shirt and slipped his arms into the sleeves. He chuckled when he saw Charlotte still staring at his still exposed front. “See something you like?” His brow arched.

“You have no idea,” Charlotte replied as she continued to gawk. Her eyes widened and she looked up at him as her cheeks blushed. “I mean … uh …” She let out a nervous giggle.

Liam smirked as he stepped up to her and cupped her face in his hands. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. He felt Charlotte’s soft hands against his bare skin as they slid to his sides to steady herself and he deepened the kiss, their tongues slowly curling together. They parted and Liam smiled as he bit his lip. “I’m not exaggerating when I say that you made my day,” he whispered.

“Likewise,” she smiled. Liam leaned down and kissed her once more before stepping back and buttoned up his shirt. Just then, Drake called out to her from the outside of the tent. “I’ll see you at the picnic.” She gave him one last glance before stepping out of the tent, unable to wipe the grin from her face.

Liam fixed his shirt and threw on his suit jacket before stepping out of the tent, stopping next to Drake. They watched Charlotte walk off to meet Bertrand and both Drake and Liam’s brows furrowed. “Lady Charlotte!” Liam called out and she looked back. “Your shoes,” he laughed as he pointed to where they still laid in the grass.

“I don’t need them,” she waved him off and turned and continued walking.

“She is something else,” Liam chuckled as he shook his head with an unmistakable smile on his face.

“You didn’t really believe that bit about the shoes being bad luck, did you?” Drake asked, looking at him with a smirk as they began to make their way to the waiting SUV.

Liam laughed, “No.” He glanced over at Drake. “She stepped in horseshit, didn’t she?”

****

Charlotte slid into the limousine where Maxwell and Bertrand were waiting. “How was the race?” Maxwell asked.

Charlotte glanced up at them, still in a fog from the kiss Liam had given her, wearing a goofy smile. “It … it was good,” she nodded.

“Oh for the love of apples! Where are your shoes, Lady Charlotte?” Bertrand hollered.

Charlotte looked down at her bare feet and suppressed a laugh. “Well … you see … what happened was-”

“I do not care!” Bertrand interrupted her. “We need to make a stop now! You cannot meet the Queen with no shoes!” He shook his head as he turned to look out the window. Charlotte and Maxwell shared a look, both tucking their lips between their teeth as they silently laughed.

****

A short drive later after making a shoe stop, they arrived at the picnic. Charlotte glanced around smiling as she took in the scenery. “This is amazing!”

“Yes, fabulous. Now, go stand over there with the rest of the ladies in the receiving line. That’s where the Queen will come and greet you. And remember, you need to impress her! You somehow managed to do well with the press, so let’s keep your streak going.” Bertrand shooed Charlotte away.

Charlotte stepped up next to the other ladies and looked at them all, her eyes falling on the familiar redhead who was giving her a sideways glance. “Nice of you to finally join us for the day,” Olivia snapped.

“You’re welcome,” Charlotte smiled.

Just then the herald announced the Queen of Cordonia. Charlotte looked at the older woman, suddenly aware she was about to meet her. She made her way through the crowd, greeting guests along the way, and Charlotte noticed a blonde woman at her side. She could hear the other suitors whispering about who the woman was; her name was Madeleine and she was the suitor chosen during Liam’s brother’s social season. She was receiving pity stares from the others as they talked about how she was jilted when Liam’s brother abdicated the throne.

The Queen finally made it to the receiving line where Charlotte and the other ladies were waiting. She watched as they each dipped into perfect curtsies before her and spoke to her. I’m sweating like a sinner in church … I hope she can’t tell. Why is she making me so nervous? I do not like this. Queen Regina finally approached Charlotte last. Charlotte dipped into a curtsy, surprising even herself with how well she kept her balance, before meeting her gaze. “It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty,” Charlotte smiled at the older woman. She was looking over Charlotte with a critical eye.

“Ma’am, this is the one I was telling you about,” the petite blonde spoke. Charlotte cut her eyes over to her. What in the hell were you saying about me, you wannabe Marilyn Monroe?

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Charlotte. You’ve selected the appropriate attire for the event,” she smiled with a nod of approval at Charlotte’s dress. “You look lovely.”

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, ma’am. I have to be honest, these Spanx make it really hard to breathe. I don’t know how women do this every day.” She gave a quick tug to the fabric at her midsection, snapping it against her skin.

Regina’s eyes slightly widened, but it didn’t seem to faze Charlotte in the least. She cleared her throat a moment later. “I’ve seen that the press have spoken very highly of you already. It takes great effort to manage one’s image so responsibly. They’re touting you as ‘The Mystery Woman,’ someone who they can’t quite figure out ... I hope you realize no one can remain a mystery for long when they are a public servant and must attend to the people.”

Charlotte snorted then covered her mouth to muffle the sound. “It’s very ironic because what you see is pretty much what you get. But don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t take my service seriously … because I would. I can be serious. Watch.” Charlotte morphed her expression to stoic, yet thoughtful, staring directly at Regina.

Regina waited ... and waited, but Charlotte didn’t budge. I need to change the subject. “Lady Charlotte, tell me, what do you think is the best quality for a ruler to have?”

Charlotte dropped her serious look and pondered her response for a moment. “Well ... I like to think I’m friendly and easy to talk to. A quality that I hope will make the people of Cordonia say, ‘I could totally have a drink with her, she’s cool’.”

Madeleine’s mouth fell open behind Regina, shocked that this woman was answering these questions to the Queen this way. She didn’t see the subtle smirk Regina gave Charlotte. “Governance is not to be taken lightly. You will be bombarded daily by a hundred little decisions. Few will be glamorous, and many will weigh on you. Loyalty to the kingdom and to the people must guide your every decision. As heads of state, we have a responsibility to the people. The press act as their eyes. We must always portray a sense of calm and dignity. If the rulers appear in control, then everyone will be reassured. Hysteria benefits nobody. Do you agree?”

“Yes, I completely agree …” Charlotte noticed Regina continuing to look at her. “Oh, you want me to elaborate? Ok, ok. So I think that governing a country is much like serving a table. Some customers will come in and be super hangry ... that means they're angry because they're hungry,” she grinned. “Get it? Hangry?” When Regina didn’t respond, Charlotte continued, “Anyway, if they’re treated well with a smile, their attitude tends to change for the better. Of course, there will always be those that you can’t ever please no matter how hard you try, but that doesn’t mean that I would change how I present myself nor would I ever be rude to someone for acting as such. At the end of the day, if you can brighten up a person, sometimes that’s enough to make a difference.” Charlotte closed her eyes taking a deep breath. Dear God, did I just compare ruling a country to serving hangry customers? Yep, I sure as shit did. I should pack my bags now.

Regina's eyebrows twitched as she looked at her before smiling. “You’ve been ... very insightful, Lady Charlotte.” Just then Madeleine interrupted, letting Regina know it was time to start the croquet match. Regina called for the ladies to follow her. They walked across the lawn to where hoops were set up for the match, and there stood Liam, greeting each suitor as they passed. His eyes fell on Charlotte and he smiled wide as he shot her a subtle wink. “Custom has it that the Queen and the Prince play a round of croquet with two of the season's suitors. I have chosen Countess Madeleine as my partner.” A flurry of whispers and gasps filled the air as everyone took in the news that Madeleine was now a suitor competing for Liam’s hand. Charlotte didn’t get the hype, standing there without a care.

Liam cleared his throat to gather the crowd’s attention again. “As for me, I choose Lady Charlotte,” he smiled.

Charlotte’s eyes were wide as she stepped up next to him. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news … but I’ve never played this before.”

“No worries,” he smiled. “Just watch me. Hit the ball through the same hoop as me and you’ll be just fine.”

“Oh … well, I can do that,” she chuckled.

Drake stood off to the side next to Maxwell watching Liam show Charlotte how to hold the mallet. “Oh god … this is going to be comical,” he snorted.

“Yeah, I’m kind of glad B had to step away. He would be panicking if he saw this,” Maxwell laughed.

“Twenty bucks says she takes herself out with the mallet,” Drake chuckled.

“I say she’s going to take someone else out … you’re on,” Maxwell grinned as the two shook hands. They moved closer so they could watch it unfold up close.

Queen Regina and Madeleine went first, followed by Liam. Charlotte watched as Liam hit the ball through the one hoop. She glanced just past where his ball had landed to see Drake and Maxwell standing not too far from it, both laughing. Ok … Liam made that look easy. I can do this. “You’re up,” Liam smiled at her.

Charlotte nodded and stepped up to her colored ball. She held the head of the mallet down in front of it, closing her one eye as she tried to aim her shot. She pulled some grass from the lawn and threw the blades in the air. They fell back down to the ground and she looked back when she heard Liam chuckle behind her, seeing his shoulders shake as he stared at her. “Just checking the wind … there is none.” Charlotte situated her mallet again and aimed before she pulled her arms back much too high, and swung them forward much too hard. The croquet ball whizzed through the one hoop that Liam’s had before hitting a bump in the dirt, sending it airborne and her eyes widened. “Oh shoot! FOOOORRREEEE!”

The ball flew forward and smacked Drake directly in the shin, causing him to drop to the ground as he hissed, clapping his hands over where the ball made contact. Charlotte cupped her hand over her mouth and Liam did the same, but not before a bark of laughter escaped him. Maxwell doubled over laughing as he pointed at Drake. “I win! Pay up, buddy!”

“Fuck, that hurt!” Drake groaned. Slowly, he worked himself to stand, rubbing his shin for a moment before his eyes cut to Charlotte and he glowered at her. Her face was red and her eyes were filled with tears as she mouthed ‘I’m sorry’.

“Uh …” Liam cleared his throat to cover up his laugh, “that was good. Just … maybe not so hard next time,” he chuckled.

They finished the game of croquet without any further incidents, Charlotte and Liam taking the win. Queen Regina approached the pair as they smiled at one another. “Lady Charlotte,” she spoke and Charlotte turned to look at her. “I’m glad you had the guts to finish the game. Too many ladies have thrown the game on purpose to impress me. That’s why I decided to make it a point to lose this match,” Regina smirked. “It was a test ... and you passed. I’m sure we may have times in the future where we will find ourselves on opposing sides. Next time though, I expect we won’t be simply playing croquet ... and I won’t be holding back.”

“You didn't lose on purpose, ma’am. I’m just that good. And don’t you worry, I would never purposely let you win at anything. I’m far too competitive. I once beat a 2 year old at Jenga.”

Liam rubbed his hand over his mouth as he coughed again to cover up his laugh. And to his surprise, he watched as Regina smiled at Charlotte. “It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Charlotte. You have shown yourself to be ... unlike many of the ladies at court, which is no small feat in my eyes.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Charlotte smiled. She glanced past Regina to see Maxwell waving her over to a table. “If you’ll excuse me. I’m being summoned.” Charlotte smiled up at Liam before walking away.

Liam looked down at Regina, dropping his voice so only she could hear. “What did you think of Lady Charlotte?”

Regina saw the sparkle in her stepson’s eyes when he mentioned her name, a look in them she had never seen Liam with before. She nodded and smiled as she looked back out and they watched Charlotte take her seat with Maxwell and Drake. “She is ... extremely unorthodox, Liam, but truthfully ... I like her. She comes off as very honest and down to earth. We will have to work on her filter, however, because the girl doesn’t have one.” Liam couldn’t stop the grin or the small chuckle that Regina’s words elicited.

****

Liam joined Charlotte, Maxwell, and Drake at the table where they sat snacking on tiny finger sandwiches that Drake was complaining about. Charlotte turned and looked at him with a smile as he took the seat next to her. “Hi.”

“Hi yourself,” Liam grinned.

“Maxwell was wondering if I impressed the Queen … do you think she liked me?”

Liam chuckled, “I believe she did.” Liam looked at Drake with a smirk. “How’s the shin?” He snorted.

Drake flipped him off and glared at Charlotte as she started to laugh. “I can’t eat this crap! I need real food!” Drake tossed the tiny sandwich down on his plate with a huff.

“Caveman need meat,” Charlotte grunted in a deep voice as she looked at him before she began to laugh. “You would complain about free food,” Charlotte chuckled. Drake smirked and shook his head. She was obnoxious as hell and a pain in the ass … but in a good way. Charlotte Brooks was proving to get on Drake’s good side. “I could go for a cronut right now,” Charlotte said.

“A what?” Liam arched his brow.

“You’ve never had cronuts?” Charlotte asked incredulously.

“Can’t say that I have,” Maxwell shook his head and Liam and Drake did the same.

“Well, that needs to change immediately.” Charlotte got a mischievous grin on her face. “How about a little jailbreak tonight? I think I saw a bakery on the way here. They might have them.”

****

Later that night, long after everyone else had turned in, Charlotte, Maxwell, and Drake stood in the shadows at the end of the palace driveway waiting for Liam. “He’s gonna get caught,” Drake stated very matter of factly. “He’s not stealthy enough to sneak out.”

“He’s no Leo, but I have faith,” Maxwell smiled.

“There he is!” Charlotte pointed to the figure walking towards them. Liam came into view and smiled. “We thought you changed your mind,” Charlotte chuckled.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had to sneak out of my room. I nearly fell into the rose bushes.”

“Sounds like Brooks is rubbing off on you,” Drake laughed.

“Hey!” Charlotte cut her eyes at Drake.

“That she is,” Liam grinned as he draped his arm around Charlotte’s shoulders. “Ready?”

The four of them made their way down near the beach where a bakery was opened. They stepped inside and Charlotte went to the counter to order their cronuts while the guys took their seats. “So, she’s pretty great, huh?” Maxwell whispered to Liam with a grin.

Liam couldn’t stop the smile as his eyes slid over to Charlotte for a brief moment. “She really is … Maxwell, thank you for bringing her here and sponsoring her.”

“I saw the way you looked at her that night,” Maxwell smiled.

“Yeah, precious. Can we eat now?” Drake interrupted.

Charlotte approached with a plate full of cronuts and set them on the table before taking her seat next to Liam. “Dig in, boys!”

Liam, Drake, and Maxwell each took a cronut and bit into them. “Oh … oh my god!” Maxwell closed his eyes.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Drake said in between bites.

Liam nodded his head in agreement. “That’s one of the best pastries I’ve ever had.”

“Told ya!” Charlotte said smugly as she grabbed one for herself. She leaned into Liam as she sat back in her chair and he looked at her and smiled.

****

Once they had finished their cronuts, the four of them exited the bakery. As they made their way down the sidewalk, Liam glanced up and saw a figure walking towards them. He stopped and swallowed hard. “Bastien …”

“Prince Liam … you know I can’t let you off palace grounds without security.”

“I … I’m sorry, Bastien. I didn’t mean to give you any trouble.”

The older man smiled. “It’s no trouble, sir. I was assigned to your brother before you … you’re a walk in the park compared to him. But … I still need to escort you back.”

****

When they arrived back at the palace, Drake and Maxwell headed towards their rooms. Liam looked over his shoulder giving Bastien a questioning look. The head guard nodded and Liam smiled as he looked back down at Charlotte. “I’ll walk you back to your room.” Bastien let the two of them go while he waited around the corner to give Liam a bit of privacy. Liam and Charlotte walked down to the west wing and they turned down the small hallway towards Charlotte’s room. She opened her door and stepped inside before she turned to face Liam as he stepped towards her and out of the hall as to not be seen. “I had fun tonight,” he whispered. “Thank you for taking us out.”

“Anytime you want to go, let me know. I’ll be your escape into your own backyard,” she quietly chuckled.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he smiled as he reached up tucking her hair behind her ear. Charlotte could feel the butterflies fill her stomach as Liam looked at her.

Liam slowly leaned down and pressed his lips to hers as his fingers combed through her hair. The kiss gradually deepened, their tongues twisting together as Charlotte’s back hit the wall. There was this palpable tension building between them; every taste Liam got of Charlotte only made him crave her more, and it was making it that much harder for him to resist her. Not that he wanted to.

They parted, both breathless, and Liam rested his forehead against hers for a moment attempting to compose himself, knowing they couldn’t continue despite how much he wanted to. Charlotte rested her head back against the wall and looked up at him with her lust-filled eyes. “I’ll see you in Lythikos tomorrow. I’m looking forward to having some fun in the snow with you.”

“In just the snow?” Charlotte’s brow quirked up as she smirked.

Liam laughed quietly before he leaned down and softly kissed her once more. “Goodnight, Charlotte,” he whispered.

“Goodnight, Liam …”

135 notes · View notes