To Wed a Princess

“You tried stop her from agreeing?” Matt hissed down the phone.

Brian flinched and then sighed, shaking his head. His boss was less than pleased about his recount of the events.

“Listen, man-”

“You could've fucked up the entire job!” Matt yelled “Are you fucking serious? What if she'd agreed? What if she'd decided she didn't want to marry you?! Her getting attacked was a fucking miracle for us and you nearly ruined it!”

“She reminded me of Effy,” Brian admitted quietly and Matt fell silent “Back before she got put away. Remember she'd get real upset and try not to show it? It threw me off, man. I'm that used to just goin' into comfort mode when shit like that happens.”

“Look,” Matt sighed “This could've gone two ways. She could've realised that life's short and gone down some kind of motivational speaker, seize the day kind of shit. If that had happened, we'd have been fucked. Luckily for us, she went down the depressed as shit road.”

Brian ran a hand through his hair, nodding silently.

“This was a fuckin' miracle for us, like I said. Make it work.”

“Yeah, yeah, I will.”



By the time it rolled around to 7am, Eloise brought herself to google her name. She'd be leaving in three hours and wanted to be prepared. She wanted to know what they knew. By the time she'd typed in the first three letters of her name, “Princess Eloise shark attack” became the predicted result. Sighing, she clicked on it and rubbed her sore eyes.

She froze when she saw the first news result, posted only twelve hours prior – Princess Eloise Great White Shark Attack – Exclusive Footage!.

“No, no, no, no, no,” she breathed, clicking on the link multiple times impatiently.

She'd ordered for the security footage from the yacht to be destroyed. Had there been another boat nearby? Had somebody on it caught the whole thing on camera?! Had one of her security...? No. They knew the consequences of stuff like that. Brian? Perhaps. She still didn't trust him. He was due to be there in an hour – she wanted the press to get photos of him wheeling her out of hospital, and she'd made that clear to him on the phone the night before, knowing that the press would be swarming the area when she was due to leave. It would set the groundwork for their future “relationship” and hopefully move the focus away from the attack and onto her love life – something she never thought she'd want before.

After what felt like years, the page loaded. She ignored all of the text and scrolled down to the video embedded on the page. All too aware of her heart pounding in her chest, she clicked play. There was no sound, but it was there clear as day, and she remembered Charlotte's description of her security cameras making everything “seem like watching a movie”. It wasn't too bad at first – she watched herself lie on the surfboard and talk to Brian. It was like watching a horror movie where the viewer knows something bad is going to happen and wills the main character to move, but they don't. She struggled to control her breathing as she watched a large, distinct shadow pass underneath the surfboard before circling back around. By the time the shark broke the surface of the water she had a hand clamped over her mouth and was shaking. She wanted to stop the video, but couldn't bring herself to do anything but stare in horror as she was shaken around like a rag doll and the sea around her rapidly turned red.

“Hey, I know I'm early but-,” she didn't even look up as the now too familiar American accent spoke from the doorway “Oh shit.”

It was only when he shut the lid of her laptop that she looked up at him, but he avoided her gaze.

“When?” she breathed.

“Not long after it was announced you woke up,” he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and occupying the chair by her bedside.

“I said I wanted the footage gone,” her voice shook, but there was no mistaking the fury in it.

“We took care of it right after you came out of surgery, made sure the guy on the yacht deleted it, but....”

“But what?” she practically shrieked “Jesus fucking Christ, just tell me!”

“When the footage is recorded, it's saved to two sources,” he sighed “We only knew about one – the one on the yacht....and, well, as for the other one...considering whose yacht it is...”

Eloise felt pure white hot rage pour through her. Charlotte had done this. She could practically see the smug expression on her face as she leaked the footage. She felt sick. All because Charlotte didn't like being snapped at.

“I want her destroyed,” Eloise breathed “I want her ruined. Socially and financially. If she wants to play this game, fine, but she'll lose.”

“Are you-”

“Don't ask me if I'm sure,” she snapped “This whole...This whole damn mess is now online! Once something hits the internet there's no getting rid of it, not completely. Now is there anything else you want to share with me?”

“Hey, nobody told you 'cause we wanted to handle it before you got out. Ain't my fault this shit happened,” Brian clearly didn't appreciate being snapped at.

Eloise shook her head, still trying to get her breathing under control.

“You didn't sleep, did you?” he murmured.

“I tried,” she ran a hand through her hair, refusing to meet his gaze.

“Nightmares?”

“I don't know. Why are you here?” she didn't want to get too personal with him – not yet, at least.

“We're gonna try and get you out early before too many paps get here. It's already kinda manic out there, they've got a shitload of police trying to keep them away.”

Eloise sighed. Perfect.

It was only when a nurse had to help her dress that Eloise realised how much the attack had affected her physically – and not just in terms of appearance. She could stand if she put all of her weight on her left leg, but the second even the slightest bit of weight was put on her right, pain coursed through her thigh and her knees buckled. She changed into a black oversized jumper, an equally as dark floor length loose skirt (with a pair of leggings on underneath it for good measure), ugg boots and sunglasses to hide her tired eyes.

She felt ridiculous being wheeled around, by Brian Haner no less, but tried her best to remain dignified as she spoke to him.

“I'm going to be staying at Windsor Castle for the foreseeable future, I'll have some rooms made ready for you there – you should be seen there if this whole thing is going to be believable.”

Brian paused at the doors to put on his own sunglasses.

“No problem.”

“I'm assuming you've been briefed on how to handle the press?”

“Ignore them?”

“Pretty much.”

“Well now I have.”

She snorted humourlessly before smoothing down the side ponytail her hair had been tied into.

“Well, let's get this over with,” she sighed, gesturing for the security guard at the door to open them.

Her family had already made an official statement regarding the attack and outside before it became time for her to leave. It said all of the typical things to be expected – it was a shocking accident, the family request privacy in a time of such hardship and thank so-and-so for being such a great help, with her request for no sharks to be harmed tagged onto the end at her insistence. The press had clearly chosen to ignore this. There were a few random members of the public mixed in with the journalists, but it seemed everybody had a camera aimed towards her as they leered. Vultures.

Eloise kept facing straight ahead, hoping Brian was doing the same, as he wheeled her out of the hospital and towards the waiting car, through the path that security had cleared for them. It truly was a circus, with questions being shouted at her left right and centre and the flashing of cameras practically blinding them. She dreaded to think what it would've been like had she left at the originally scheduled time. She clasped her hands in her lap, desperately trying to stop them from shaking and only moved them when Brian began to help her into the car. It took all of her energy to muster up an incredibly fake, loving smile to give him – in full view of the cameras – but he seemed to respond in kind with perfect ease, hand lingering on hers after he'd assisted her.

Eloise only allowed herself to breathe once the press were well and truly out of sight.

“You okay?” Brian asked, leaning back in his seat beside her.

“My family wants to have you knighted,” was her only response.

“Wait, what?”

“You're getting a knighthood. Next week, if you'll accept it. You shall be Sir Brian Haner...until we're married, then you'll be a Duke...”

They fell silent for a few moments, although both were too deep in thought for it to be in any way awkward. Eloise still hadn't told her family that her and Brian were now “dating”, partly due to lack of an opportune moment and partly because she simply didn't want to. Harry would be happy, but she had no idea how the rest would react. Her father and William had disapproved of him and had made that perfectly clear, but had that changed after the way he handled the...situation?

“We'll tell my family tonight,” she spoke up, drumming her fingertips against the leather interior of the car “Say that was what we were talking about before...”

“Cool,” Brian murmured, clearly not wanting to discuss business.

“I listened to The 69 Eyes,” she spoke quietly, not even sure why she was making an effort to maintain conversation.

They had agreed to try and be friends.

“D'you like them?” he asked, his tone now far more interested.

Ah, so that was how to connect with him. Music.

“I did. The singer has a lovely voice,” she mused “They're very unique.”

“You'll definitely like HIM, then,” he replied.

Yet another silence. Eloise could hardly bring herself to care. Everything seemed unimportant since she woke up, even Charlotte's betrayal. Yes, it angered her, but it wasn't an energetic sort of rage as it had been when she'd first realised, now apathy was creeping in. She would still get her back, purely on principle, but she didn't know if she'd even enjoy it. Sighing and leaning back in her seat, she willed the journey to go by quickly.

“The leg?”

Brian had clearly mistaken her apathy for pain.

“No, they have me too drugged up to feel it,” she admitted.

“When you said you wanted Charlotte destroyed...” he hedged and she wondered if he'd caught on to her train of thought.

“Hmm,” she hummed, motioning for him to continue as she stared out of the window.

“Did you mean dead?”

“When I said socially and financially, I meant it. Charlotte can't stand not being adored – it's why she hates Cardona, he never took her seriously. She'd rather die than be ruined. There are other means of revenge than death...”

“Trust me, I know.”

She snorted.



She'd expected her family to be annoyed that she'd told them to leave ahead of her and that she'd travel with Brian, but if they were they didn't show it. Instead her arrival comprised of a lot of wary smiles, more tearful hugs and exclamations of relief that she was okay. She hated it. Even they weren't treating her normally.

“Please have Mr Haner set up in nearest available apartments to mine,” she sighed to a housekeeper, sliding off her sunglasses “But don't unpack his bags, he'd like to do that himself.”

The housekeeper looked scandalised at that, but Eloise imagined she'd look moreso if she discovered a pistol or machete in Brian's bags.

“We're all going to take brunch in the garden,” William informed her, not so subtly edging Brian out of the way to seize control of her wheelchair “We're having an electric wheelchair brought to you, too, no need for you to rely on others.”

Not amused at being pushed around like a childrens' toy, Eloise simply nodded as they all left for the gardens, although part of her wished she could've seen how unamused her brother would've been when Brian wasn't phased and simply fell in step beside Eloise, silently reaching for her hand. If they were already pulling all of this alpha male nonsense she wondered what it would be like when their “relationship” was out in the open.



“I think we should wait a while before we tell them,” she admitted, sipping at her tea as she sat with Brian in her apartments a few hours later.

She'd eaten little at brunch, tea was the only thing she could stomach at that moment, and even then she had to have it weaker than usual.

“What? Why?” he frowned at her, looking up from his phone.

She met his gaze unflinchingly “It all seems to sudden, don't you think?”

“We've known each other for months. If this is your way of backing out of this I swear-”

She was amazed at how quickly he became angry.

“Calm. Down,” she sighed, tracing her fingertips over the rim of the teacup.

“We had a deal,” he snapped.

“We have a deal,” she was exasperated “But if we wait, say, a week, it'll be more believable. Say we bonded over my near death experience and the way you oh so diligently helped nurse me back to health.”

His jaw clenched as he stared at her searchingly as if trying to find any hint of deception. She stared back boredly.

“Fine. A week from now. No more than that. Don't fuck me around.”

“Invest in some anger management,” she muttered, rolling her eyes “I gain nothing from fucking you around, as you eloquently put it....now I think it's time I went to bed."

Just like the last, Eloise didn't sleep that night, unable to get the image of herself being thrown around like a ragdoll out of her mind.