Love by Numbers

Princess Ariana Emelia Cartwright


Prince Eric James Julliard


Prince Merlin Oliver Roberts


Princess Bernadette Rosalind Montgomery

@ Aoibhe

The King's health was failing, and because he had no (legitimate) heirs, it was decided that Prince Merlin, the King's nephew, was to become king upon his death. His father had also decided that Merlin should marry as soon as possible, and so an arranged marriage had been made.

Merlin was to marry Princess Cartwright in about three months, and although the two had met when they were in grade school, they had not seen each other since Merlin had been sent off to boarding school and then college. Today they were supposed to be meeting at a nice restaurant in town to go over the arrangement, their parents having thought it best for them to meet just the two of them a couple of times to try to get them to know one another better.

---

Princess Bernadette had always thought that when she got married, she would marry because of love. However, her parents had just informed her that they had arranged a marriage for her, without her knowing. She had been off at college for the past year, and upon coming home for summer break, they had sprung the news on her.

She had not reacted well to the news, and had locked herself in her room to sulk, even refusing to come down after her parents had informed her that her now fiance and his family would be coming over for dinner.

Ariana took a deep breath as she stared out the window of the car. She had arrived early to the restaurant but she didn't want to be the first there. Being the youngest of three children with two older brothers, she was very aware of how far from the succession she would really be, and it seemed to be of great interest to her parents that they see her married off to a high ranking family in order to uphold status.

Ari had never been uposed to marrying a man of stature, but having gained a slight party girl name for herself in college it had proven difficult find one who saw her as a fitting bride. She had felt slightly dismayed when her parents suggested they arrange a marriage for her, but when she had heard the name she was a little more excited. It had been a while since she last saw Merlin, but she had always had a slight crush on him in grade school but he never would have looked at her twice. Let's just say that puberty was very kind to her.

After 10 minutes had passed, the princess smoothed out her skirt and headed inside looking around. Her eyes landed on the familiar face, just as handsome as she had remembered it. She walked towards him slowly, giving a small wave. "Hello, it's so nice to see you again" she chirped, going in for a hug as he stood up to greet her, planting a gentle kiss on his cheek.

***

Eric frowned as his mother ushered him out of the car in front of the Montgomery Palace. He had merely been informed on the way here that the dinner was organised for him to meet his wife to be, and he was not pleased. Eric had never cared much for status, and would much rather renounce his title and marry a commoner than keep up the vicious games it took to be a royal.

Clearly his parents had noticed his lacklustre effort of finding a 'suitable' wife so they had taken it upon themselves to find him one. He forcibly plastered a smile on his face as he greeted the king and queen, lying about what a pleasure it was to meet them and all of the lovely things he had been told about their daughter. He looked around confused, wondering where exactly the princess was and why she hadn't been there to greet him.

@ katahdin

@ Aoibhe

Merlin checked his watch a few times while he waited, wondering what was keeping her so long. When he spotted her coming over he stood, to greet her, returning the little hug and pressing a faint kiss to each of her cheeks before moving to pull out her chair for her.

"It's good to see you again, Ariana. It's been a long time. How have you been?" He smiled politely as he moved to take his seat once she had sat down. Of course, he knew about her reputations as a party girl, and while he had found himself at a party or two while he was in college, he had kept his reputation reasonably clear, although the tabloids often blew little things out of proportion anyway.

---

While the introductions were being made, Bernadette had snuck downstairs, grabbing some bread and other little things from the kitchen quickly before tiptoeing outside to the garden, although she could easily be spotted by Eric from where he stood near the large glass windows that looked out over the patio and garden, before she disappeared into the garden.

The King and Queen apologized for their daughter's absence, claiming that she was still getting ready upstairs, and would be down shortly. They invited Eric's parents to come sit with them and have a glass of wine or two while they waited and discussed the arrangements, while they invited Eric to explore the palace.

Ariana watched him, a bright smile o her face as she took her seat. She waited for him to sit back down across from him. "I'm pretty good, how about you?" She asked him, slowly opening the menu and taking a look inside. "I'm really sorry to hear about your uncle by the way, it's awfully sad" she told him gently, giving his hand a gentle squeeze on the table.

She tried to recall anything she had read about him in the papers, but she couldn't, nothing huge anyway. "So what have you been up to" she asked, closing over her menu as she grabbed a bread stick from the centre of the table and took a bite.

***
Eric nodded politely as the kind and queen apologized for their daughter and accepted their offer to tour the grounds. Just as he turned to walk away he saw a flash of red running across the gardens. He rolled his eyes softly and made his way outside.

He followed along where he thought he had seen the princess run, smirking as he came across her sitting on a bench on the centre of the gardens. "Hello Princess" he said softly as he walked towards her. "You do realise that the longer you so out here the longer it is my family will stay? If you just come inside we can end this quickly" he informed her.

@ katahdin

@ Aoibhe

Merlin nodded a little at her comment about his uncle. "Thank you. His health has improved a bit, but the last I heard from the doctors was that he does not have much time left." He explained, flipping through the menu quickly when he noticed the waitress approaching their table, ordering for himself before gesturing to Ariana to order.

"I had been traveling and working on my graduate degree, but lately I've been busy preparing things for when the King dies. What about you?" He asked, taking a sip of the glass of wine that had been brough to him.

---

Bernadette had set up her little picnic in her favorite spot in the garden, the bench overlooking the flowerbeds and the few fountains and sculptures scattered throughout. She frowned as she looked up at him, rolling her eyes and quickly looking away.

"There isn't any way that any of this 'ends quickly'. Marriages don't just 'end quickly,' they last lifetimes." She frowned, popping a few grapes into her mouth.

Ariana ordered her food and a glass of champagne for herself, smiling at the waitress as she walked away. "So when are they expecting you to take the thrown then?" She asked him softly. She knew that all involved parties would prefer for them to be married by then, or at least very publicly engaged. She nodded happily as he explained that he had been travelling before having to come home.

"Amazing! Where were you travelling?" She asked. "I was travelling for a bit myself, I did some volunteering.. I came back last year to establish a charity for Refugees, but I've had to remove my name from it.. it was too political for somebody of stature" she said a little bitterly as she looked down at the table. While she didn't mind marrying up, it had a couple of downfalls.

***

Eric sighed slightly moving closer to her. "Look Bernadette. I don't want this anymore than you do. But I can promise you no matter how big the tantrum you throw our parents aren't pulling out of this and we just have to suck that up. I really don't care about what you do in your own time, as long as it doesn't bring scandal on either of us. Now can you please just come inside so that I can get home soon?" He asked her crossing his arms over his chest as he watched her.

@ katahdin

@ Aoibhe

"I was also doing charity work abroad. Mostly in Africa and Asia." He explained, taking another sip of his wine as he listened to her talk about what she had been up to while out of the country.

He sighed heavily when she asked when he was expected to take the throne, not liking the impression that she was giving off of only being interested in him because he was going to be King soon. "I'm not sure. The coronation will most likely take place about a month after my uncle dies, and no one quite knows when that will be."

---

Bernadette frowned, glaring up at him as he spoke to her. "No. I'm not going to marry you, I'd rather give up my title and be kicked out onto the street than be forced to marry someone, especially someone as arrogant as you." She spat, throwing a grape at him in annoyance. "Now leave me alone."

Ariana smiled as he told her about his work abroad "Africa is amazing isn't it? Malawi was so devastating but so beautiful" she commented softly as she sipped on her drinkshe looked down at her hands for a moment, realising she had clearly strook a chord by asking about when he would take the thrown

She cleared her throat softly, letting her hair fall in to her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you Merlin, I just hope we have some time to get to know one another" she commented gently

***
Eric frowned as he watched her. "princess, we both know that that isn't true" he sighed, smirking as she badly missed him with one of her grapes. Sighing he took a step forwards, picking her up easily and slinging her over his shoulder. "cmon I'm getting impatient" he said carrying her back up towards the palace. He set her down beside the stairs and crossed his arms. "Go get changed, I'll wait here until you're ready to go talk to our parents" he stated.

@ katahdin

@ Aoibhe

Merlin held up a hand when she began to apologize, shaking his head. "It's fine, Ariana. You didn't offend. Things have just been.. Stressful, lately.." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"In truth, if we can hold off on the marriage until after I take the throne, then my parents won't be able to force either of us into it, as I'll be king. After that point, if you wish, you won't be required to marry me anymore, and we can break off the engagement."

---

"It is true, and I thought I told you to- HEY!" Bernadette cried out as he lifted her up and slung her over his shoulder, kicking and squirming in his arms as her fists hit his back. "Let me go! Put me down right now!" She ordered, glaring up at him when he finally set her back down, glaring up at him as she kicked him in the shin. "I'll never marry you, not even if my life depended on it!" She shouted before stomping off back into the house, hurrying up the stairs and slamming the door to her room.

Her mother quickly came over to him after she had heard all of the commotion, apologizing profusely for her daughter. "She isn't taking the news very well, and she can be a little stubborn sometimes.."

Ariana shrunk down in to her chair a little as he held his hand up to silence her. She sipped at her drink as she listened to him speak, a sense of dismay coming over her. Of course she was aware of the benefits she would really by marrying him, but that wasn't her motivation at all. She had always found him to be a sweet guy, and she knew as things went, he truly wasn't a bad guy to be set up with.

She placed her drink down on the table, biting on her lip a little. "Oh uh, yeah of course. I never thought of it like that" she said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. It was cear that he didn't see them as a fitting pair, and he was looking forward to being rid of her.

***

Eric winced as she kicked him in the shin, trying his best to compose himself without having to reach down and rub at it. He sighed softly as he offered the queen a soft kiss on the hand. "Please don't worry about it Lady Montgomery, some of us react better than others. Perhaps it would be best of my parents and I leave Bernadette alone for tonight" he said politely, however he felt embarrassed quite enough by her.

It wasn't like he wanted to be married to some brat who couldn't even see when something needed to be done for the good of her family, for both of their families. He sighed softly, rubbing at his temples.

@ katahdin

@ Aoibhe

Merlin shook his head a little, frowning a bit as he sipped his wine. "I didn't mean to insult, Ariana, I just don't really think that good marriages are started by force. Plus, this engagement and marriage is mostly just for publicity anyway, and if you don't want to go through with it, I'm not going to force you." He explained, thanking the waitress as they brought their food.

---

"No, you should at least stay for dinner, I know you and your family cleared your schedules to come here for dinner tonight, and it would be a shame if you didn't at least stay for dinner." Lady Montgomery explained, leading him inside. "Plus, I'm sure Bernadette will be down for dinner soon. It's her favorite meal tonight, and I doubt she'd miss it, despite how upset she is." She laughed a little.

Sure enough, about 30 minutes later, when dinner was served, Bernadette reluctantly came downstairs, having changed out of her jeans and tshirt from earlier into something more formal. She mumbled a polite 'hello' as she took her seat, keeping her eyes down.

(apologies I was certain I replied to this!!)

Ariana nodded her head softly, focusing her eyes on the food before her. "Oh yeah, of course. That's fine" she said quickly not lifting her eyes to look up at him. She felt like a bit of an idiot for thinking that they would get to know each other and live happily ever after. She thought for once she may have landed herself a nice guy, not like one of idiots she usually dated.

"So tell me, where did you go after grade school?" She asked, shoving a forkful of her food in to to her mouth and chewing slowly as she listened. "God grade school, those were the days" she said with a soft laugh. "Do you remember that Teacher, Miss Oakley? We were such demons she had to quit" she commented with a laugh.

***

Eric sat down to eat, an awkward tension in the air. It wess clear that his parents were less than impressed that Bernadette had not yet joined them, and for some reason they we're treating Eric like it was his fault. He sighed softly, completely taking himself out of the conversaation completely until he was broken out of his daze by the appearance of his least favourite red head.

"Well ook who decided to act her age" Eric muttered under hid breath as she sat down next to him, rolling his eyes slightly as he continued to eat.

@ katahdin

@ katahdin

@ Aoibhe
(Ah shoot I thought I replied the other day. Sorry!)

Merlin ate quietly, taking a sip of his drink before answering her question. "I went to boarding school in the country. And after that college." He explained, smiling a little at his memories of their younger days. He laughed a bit when she mentioned their old teacher, nodding a bit. "Yes, I recall... She was the worst."

---

Bernadette glanced over at him when he spoke, glaring slightly, although her eyes were watery and a bit red, as if she had been crying. There was also the faintest hint of a red spot on her cheek which had started to bruise, someone obviously having hit her while she was upstairs, most likely her father, who had disappeared for a few moments shortly before dinner. She glanced away as quickly as she had looked at him, taking a few bites of her meal before clearing her throat and apologizing to Eric and his parents for her actions, claiming her actions had been caused by her nerves, although the entire apology sounded like she was reading from a script, although she she made it sound sincere.

Ariana nodded,still smiling as they discussed grade school. "Yeah, I went to St.Blaise's here in the city and then studied international development at Browne, much to my Parents Chagrin" she told him with a soft laugh. Her parents would have happily allowed her to be an upper end socialite, bit Ariana had always had her mind set on what she wanted, even if a party or teo often took from her wholesome image.

"Hey actually, the Nafta Societies Gala fundraiser is on tonight, you should come along with me" she offered him politely as she took another sip of her wine. "Im sure our parents and the media would love us making an appearance together" she commented, trying to hide the fact she really just thought it would be nice to spend time with him.

***

Eric scoffed slightly as she apologized, not even noticing the growing bruise on her face as he finished his meal. He composed himself as he looked up to find his father glaring at him and straightened in his chair slightly."thank you for agreeing to join us after all Bernadette, it's a pleasure" he said falsely, barely even looking at her as he spoke.

@ katahdin

@ Aoibhe

Merlin nodded a little. "Did you enjoy it though? I had a good time at Cambridge, but I also wish I had taken more time to get a higher degree, but my parents wanted me to spend more time with my uncle."

He smiled at her suggestion to go to the gala, nodding a little. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I think I remember my parents mentioning that gala the other day, they suggested that I invite you, but I believe that you inviting me works just as well." He grinned a little, finishing his meal before taking a big sip of wine.

---

Bernadette kept her head down while dinner continued, occasionally chiming in when her parents asked her a question, although she tried her best to keep out of the conversation, hoping that the bruise wasn't too noticeable. Despite her mother's comment earlier about this being Bernadette's favorite meal, she barely touched it, moving her food around her plate distractedly, occasionally taking a small bite or two.

Ariana nodded quickly "oh yes, I had the time of my life in college" she said, her cheeks flushing quickly as she scrat he'd her head. "I don't just mean the parties, as I'm sure you read all about" she added softly, feeling a little embarrassed now. "I guess that's understandable, what was it that you studied?" She asked him, finishing up her food and giving her mouth a dab with her napkin.

***

Eric shifted uncomfortably in his seat throughout dinner. He didn't want this marriage any more than Bernadette did, but he was at least putting in the effort to move it on as swiftly as possible. He figured this cpurting part was the worst of it, after all, once they we're married they didn't actually have to act like a married couple. They would simply have to live in the same palace, which given plausible size they wouldn't even have to see one another.

@ katahdin

@ Aoibhe

"I double majored in History and Russian. I don't think my parents appreciated it, they would have rather had me study politics or something that they consider useful, but I didn't have any desire to do that." Merlin explained, pulling out his wallet to pay the check.

---

Bernadette didn't like the idea of being forced into marriage, especially to someone like him. Marriage was supposed to be about love, not about politics and business and whatever their parents wanted out of it. Once dinner was finished everyone stood, her parents suggesting that maybe Bernadette and Eric go on a walk in the garden to try to get to know one another better.

Ariana nodded enthusiastically "That's an interesting mix" she commented with a small chuckle. "Your Parents are the opposite to mine, they tried to insist that if I wished to go to college it should be for languages, or women's studies.. never something as political and economical as International development..imagine a woman having opinions?" She teased softly, boti ghe rlip as the joke fell a little flatter than expected. She shook her head softly, placing her hand over his as he reached for the bill. "Please, let me get this, or at least split it" she asked him.

***

Eric glanced over at Bernadette. "Oh honestly, I would much prefer to stay and talk policies. Your majesty, I really enjoyed what you did in Guam last yea-" Eric began, stopping as he glanced down at his mother who was gripping his arm tightly. "Another time perhaps. Princee?" He asked, extending his hand to her to offer him to walk her to the gardens.

@ katahdin