To Wed a Princess

By the time 9am rolled around, Eloise was proud of her appearance. From the waist up, anyway. She knew she had to look presentable that day – her family had to be convinced she was in the right frame of mind to be in a relationship and not believe that she'd rushed into something out of grief.

She'd bathed, with much difficulty, allowed a nurse to rebandage her leg (she'd lied and said the bindings had come undone whilst she slept and unraveled), dressed, done her hair and even put on make-up. Long, loose skirts had become the main feature of her wardrobe. Her skin had begun to dull slightly and there were dark circles underneath her eyes, both from lack of sleep and lack of a decent diet, so she'd had to disguise that with foundation, concealer and quite a great deal of pressed powder – it was a good thing she was good with make-up. With some eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss, she looked somewhat like her old self.

Her family had done a poor job at hiding their surprise when she'd specifically requested that they all gather to eat breakfast that morning. It wasn't uncommon for them to eat together, but since leaving hospital she'd mostly "eaten" by herself or with whoever had decided to come and see her at the time.

She sighed as she ran her hands through her hair to allow it to fall around her shoulders in loose waves. She didn't want to see Brian. The more rational, tired part of her understood why he'd done what he had done, but it didn't make her like him any more for it. Thinking back on it, she wished she'd never agreed to it. It was a way for him to have her under his thumb – if she was "disobedient" in any way, what was stopping him from posting the photographs everywhere? She hoped that his own fears of her exposing him would prevent it.

It seemed that just when she didn't mind him and was evening beginning to like him (though she loathed to admit it), he'd do something that would make her resent him all over again. Perhaps it was for the best. She couldn't afford to like him in a deal like this. Emotions would complicate things.

With one last yearning look towards her bed, on which sat her kindle and iPod, Eloise directed the wheelchair towards the door. She wasn't even nervous, just tired. Fed up. Done. The breakfast would be exhausting.

Her family all gave her hopeful smiles when she entered the room, disguising their examining looks poorly. They seemed pleased, though – pleased that she'd taken the time do put on make-up and do her hair and plaster a small smile of her own across her lips. Harry got up and maneuvered her chair, with quite a bit of difficulty, between himself and William and opposite their father. William looked decidedly less pleased than the rest of the family. He knew what was coming.

"I, erm, have a small announcement to make," she spoke up once everybody had settled down and begun to eat.

The hope in her family's eyes almost made her laugh. She knew what they were expecting – some kind of press conference, an interview to discuss the incident, an event to reintroduce herself to society after nine whole days of solitude.

"It's about Brian," she soldiered on, taking a sip of her water and avoiding any eye contact.

William shifted in his seat beside her whilst the rest of her family looked up in interest.

"Ah, yes, we had been meaning to talk to you about him, sweetheart," her father nodded slightly before gesturing for her to continue.

If Eloise knew anything, she knew that that meant their opinion of him wasn't exactly high. They were likely planning to ask her when he'd be leaving.

"Brian and I are, erm, let me see, what's the term...In a relationship?"

The words which had seemed so difficult to force out in her mind flowed freely from her lips. She'd made it sound easy and casual. Her grandmother exhaled sharply, her father choked on his egg and Harry's eyes widened to the size of the plates they were eating from.

"What...Erm...What kind of relationship, poppet?" her grandfather asked softly, giving her father a look that screamed 'think before you speak'.

Maybe their theory that she was made of glass would help her in the long run.

"A romantic one," the word made her cringe inwardly "Committed relationship...Courting...However you'd like to put it."

"This is a bit sudden though, isn't it?" her father frowned "When did this come about?"

"That's the thing," she sighed reluctantly "It's not sudden. Not at all. I didn't want to say anything until I was certain it's going somewhere. That's what we were discussing when....well," she drew in a shuddering breath "You know..."

Their faces paled at that, with a few family members shifting in their seats or looking away from the table entirely.

"At least one of you has seen the footage by now, I don't doubt that," she continued, putting down her fork now and looking at them each in turn "And if that's the case, you'll know that he was damn near ready to jump into the water to help me. No other man would lean that far off of a boat towards a great white shark to help me. Not even the security got that close."

She may have exaggerated a bit. When she'd watched the footage, she had been shocked at how far Brian was leaning over the edge of the deck to try and grab her, but he hadn't been in the water. Not that she blamed him for that.

"I don't like him," William sighed.

"You don't know him," she shot back "All I'm asking is for you all to give him a chance."

They still looked dubious and she knew, uneasily, that she'd have to go for the kill now. The real show.

"The past few days..." she let tears well into her eyes and a lump form in her throat – if she hadn't been born a princess, she would've stood a chance in Hollwood "Have been so unbelievably difficult for me...But he's helping me through them....And if only for that, he deserves a chance at the very least."

They were all silent.

"I like him," Harry admitted quietly before giving her a tentative smile and patting her on the shoulder.

"Please," she sighed softly, turning her upper body to fully face her oldest brother "Please, Will."

"He's not the sort of man for you," her father frowned, drawing her attention away from William "He's lower class at absolute best – probably working class – with a less than desirable lifestyle."

"What do you know about his lifestyle, father?" she frowned "You've barely spoken to him."

"His appearance in general," he frowned slightly "He's a rougher sort. When we were waiting for you to wake up he was down the hallway on his phone, belligerent, swearing like a sailor."

"He was worried about me!" she pressed "You know what they say about judging books by their covers. You won't know if he's good or bad for me unless you give him a chance. He procured Anne Boleyn's famous necklace for me simply because I mentioned her in conversation!"

"And I dread to think of where he got it from," her father mumbled in response, frowning slightly "Eloise, you've never taken any interest in boys before. Why now?"

"Doesn't that fact emphasise that Brian must be something special?" she challenged softly "Yes, he's rough around the edges...But don't you think he deserves a chance? He saved my life. I know you were thrown off by the tattoos, but consider it – they show artistic expression!"

"Marlboro cigarettes are artistic expression, are they?" William scoffed, sitting back in his seat.

How had he even gotten close enough to Brian to read his knuckles?

"You said you didn't want to...announce...this until you believed it to be going somewhere," her grandmother spoke up for the first time and the room fell silent "Where do you think this will go? Honestly?"

The question wasn't posed in a cruel or mocking way like it might have been had William or her father been the one asking it; her grandmother's voice was laced with curiosity.

"Truly? Marriage."

Her words seemed to hit her family like a tonne of bricks.

"Well then I suppose I'll need to meet him," her grandmother nodded simply and the rest of the family stared at her in shock.

Her grandmother's word was practically law in the household. If she wanted to give him a chance, the rest of the family would have to. Although technically it was a victory, to Eloise it felt like a defeat. The only thing left to solidify their little deal would be marriage itself. After last night's events she never wanted to see him again, nevermind marry him. That wasn't to say she wanted out of the deal. She liked the deal – it benefitted her. She didn't like the man taking part in the deal. At one point, she thought she might be able to, but now she wasn't so sure.

"I thought he might join us for dinner," she gave a small, incredibly fake smile.

Her grandmother returned her smile and Harry continued to look happily surprised. The rest of her family? Well, their faces let her know that the battle was over but the war had just begun.