To Wed a Princess

Eloise couldn't believe she was still in England. She thanked her hair stylist, gently running a hand over her newly styled locks with a distracted sigh. She'd intended to be in Helsinki by now – or Florence, it didn't particularly matter – just anywhere but England. Circumstances beyond her control had gotten in the way, however, and so she found herself standing in front of the mirror on Saturday night, preparing to go to Charlotte's party. She let a frown slip momentarily onto her features – she was going to kill Rafael.

“A week?! Rafi, a week? Can't you speed it up even a little?” she spoke into her phone, biting her lip “I was hoping to leave on Thursday at the latest.”

“For you? I can maybe have it done by Saturday. No earlier than that, cariño,” he sighed “These things take time.”

“I know,” she murmured “I just wish it didn't. Charlotte's having a party on Saturday night, if I text you the address and get you on the list would you be able to meet me there with it?”

“Not a problem, mi reina.”

“Excellent! Thank you,” she grinned, suddenly feeling a lot cheerier “I owe you.”

She sighed and shook her head. Rafael didn't deserve her annoyance. He was an old friend to say the very least and was, after all, doing her a huge favour. She'd been restless with a mixture of curiosity and excitement ever since the phone call, though, and knew the party would be even more painful to sit through seeing as she'd need to wait until afterwards to get what she wanted.



The party was crowded, but not unpleasantly so. Charlotte had a gift when it came to the guest lists for her parties – there were enough people so that it was never boring or quiet, but she limited the amount to an elite few so that invitations were widely sought after, but only selectively given. It was a factor which led to her parties being renowned in the upper classes.

Her date for the night was Elliot Sorenson, a male model. She usually didn't bother with dates to such events as it stopped her from arriving and leaving whenever she wanted and meant she had to endure the same person's company all night, but she knew if she didn't Charlotte would push her in Mr Haner's direction constantly. She could hardly do that if Eloise already had a date – it would be horrendously impolite. Elliot was extremely attractive too, which she couldn't complain about.

Elliot held the kind of arrogance which could only be brought on by a combination of good looks and too much money, but it was only shown towards those who he considered beneath him and so did not effect Eloise. It was because of this that she didn't particularly care. Ninety percent of people in her life showed similar arrogance, including herself at times, and so if she allowed it to bother her it would drive her mad in the end.

His shoulder length blonde hair was swept back in a way in which she was sure he'd spent a good half an hour on to make it look effortless. It worked, however, and judging by the sparkle in his bright blue eyes, he knew it. Or it might've been because she relented and agreed to a date with him. - it would certainly be an unneeded boost to his ego.

With her left hand in the crook of his arm and the right holding her clutch, she made her way onto the rooftop. Charlotte had certainly outdone herself. The venue was lit by a mixture of candles spread out across a few surfaces and golden fairy lights wrapped around the railings of the rooftop, giving a soft glow and creating a somewhat intimate atmosphere. There was a small area in the middle where people could dance if they so wished, beside a stage where a DJ was set up. The dance floor was between the bar and a seating area full of pristine white sofas, some of which were enclosed by white chiffon curtains which those who wished for more privacy could slip behind. Charlotte was in one of those areas, although the curtains were pulled back so that she was in plain view, sitting between her fiancé Richard and a very bored looking Brian Haner.

Her eyes met his and she held his gaze until her broke the eye contact so that he could examine her appearance. She gave a quiet laugh at the lazy smirk that took over his expression as he did so. It was a look which she was particularly proud of, and he had never seen her in a formal setting which was not also professional. Her hair had been left down and styled in a way that reminder her of 1940s pin up girls, and so it matched her red lipstick and cat eyeliner perfectly. Her legs were more on show than normal in her pale pink off the shoulder, silk, figure hugging dress and were only emphasised by the heels she wore. His gaze, however, then shifted to Elliot. The smirk remained, but became mocking and almost challenging as he quirked an eyebrow at the male model.

She shifted her gaze before his attention could return to her and shifted her clutch so that it was between her arm and ribs before squeezing Elliot's bicep with her free arm.

“We should go and say hello to Charlotte and Richard.” she gestured to the couple.

“Who's that with them?” he frowned slightly “I don't think I know him.”

“Some American – a friend of Charlotte's,” she said simply “I've met him a few times.”

Elliot “hmm'd” as though he wasn't impressed before allowing her to lead the way to the three.

“Eloise!” Charlotte exclaimed as they approached, standing up along with the two men with her, but the glee in her expression was short lived when she noticed Elliot.

“Charlotte!” Eloise never faltered, letting go of her date to kiss Charlotte's cheek “This is Elliot Sorenson, I hope you don't mind me bringing him.”

“Of course not,” Charlotte shook her head, allowing the man to kiss her cheek as Eloise did the same with Richard and, grudgingly, Brian before Elliot shook hands with the two men “I just thought you'd be here with Cardona.”

Charlotte's tone became noticeably sharper as she mentioned Rafael, but Eloise ignored it and waited until everybody was seated again before responding. Even Elliot looked disgruntled at the mention of the man who was unknown to him, obviously wondering why the brunette had expected his date to be with some other man. He cheered up considerably when Eloise absent-mindedly touched a hand to his bicep again.

“Why ever would you think that? I'm not sure when Rafael's getting here,” she shrugged “Elliot, this is Charlotte, her fiancé, Richard, and Ryan Haner who is joining us all the way from America.”

Brian didn't seem phased at her “mistake”.

“It's Brian,” he stated simply, nodding at Elliot.

“Oh gosh, I'm so sorry,” she frowned “I'm awful with names.”

“It's not a problem – a woman as beautiful as you can call me anything she likes,” amusement glittered in his eyes as Eloise tried to hide her shock at his unabashed flirting.

Charlotte would refrain from forcing Mr Haner upon her if she had a date, but the man himself clearly did not share her friend's views.

“You're too kind,” she forced out before not so subtly changing the subject “Elliot just returned from modelling for Calvin Klein.”

Charlotte and Richard had the good graces to look impressed and compliment the blond on this feat, but Brian made no effort to hide his amusement now.

“You let another guy take photographs of you in your underwear?” the mocking in his tone was poorly hidden.

Eloise tensed, but to her surprise Elliot's calm demeanour never changed, although his eyes became significantly colder.

“Why wouldn't I? It pays good money and I have no qualms about who enjoys my work,” he never skipped a beat as he answered and then accepted two glasses of champagne from a nearby waiter, handing one to Eloise as if to remind Brian that she was his date.

It was Eloise's turn to struggle to hide her amusement.

“Well, us Yanks clearly have different ideals,” Brian muttered, sipping at his own drink.

“And maybe those ideals are dangerous in that they create prejudices and promote inequality,” Elliot replied easily, leaning back against his seat.

“Now, now!” Charlotte broke in, trying to diffuse the rapidly growing tension as Brian's expression became increasingly grim “This is a night for fun, not to discuss politics and beliefs!”

The tension between the two men only seemed to grow as the other three looked between them, their eyes shifting from one to the other periodically almost as if watching a tennis match. It was only then that Eloise noticed the similarities and differences between the two men. They were like two sides of the same coin – a good twin and an evil one. Maybe referring to Brian as “evil” was a tad extreme, but he certainly fit the stereotypical look.

Elliot was younger than the American at 25, but they shared a similar physique – both were tall and well toned – and both had hair which was longer than most at the party. It was there that the similarities stopped. Whilst they shared the same build, Brian was slightly paler than Elliot and had chosen to cover himself in tattoos whilst Elliot's modelling career prevented him from doing such a thing. During their exchange, Elliot's make-upless eyes had become cold and almost icy to fit their blue shade, whilst a fire seemed to burn behind Brian's eyeliner rimmed brown eyes as they bore almost lazily into the other man. Eloise hoped she would never be on the receiving end of either looks. Elliot had obviously spent a lot of time putting an “effortlessly styled” look into his blond locks, whilst Brian's dark hair was genuinely effortless – it looked as though he'd not long rolled out of bed, but it suited him. Elliot was clean shaven whilst small amount of stubble grew at Brian's chin. Even the way they dressed opposed each other. Elliot wore dark, rather expensive jeans and a white dress shirt whilst Brian wore a black v-neck and ripped jeans. They were like day and night and in this Eloise hoped to convince Brian that he was the furthest thing from her type. She doubted it would stop him, and would've been shocked if he didn't realise during the course of the night that she held no true affection for her date. Brian's intelligence was beginning to become a problem for her.

The tension had diffused whilst Eloise had pondered this, as Richard had drawn Brian into conversation and Charlotte had done the same with Elliot. She was just about join Charlotte's conversation when her phone buzzed inside her clutch.

“Excuse me,” she murmured, standing and making her way to a more secluded area before pulling out the phone.

“I'm here,” Rafael's voice spoke simply once she had answered and Eloise grinned.



“It's good to see you,” she said honestly as Rafael Cardona kissed her cheek and accepted a glass of champagne.

“Stunning as ever, I see,” he gave her a rare, small smile.

At forty one, the Spanish man certainly didn't look his age. He was naturally tanned and quite lean, the exception being his shoulder which were solid – a fact only emphasised by the black leather jacket he wore over a black dress shirt with the top few buttons undone. He was out of place at such a party, but his demeanour made up for it. That and the fact that he didn't care. He carried a dangerous sort of confidence about him, not unlike Brian's, but it was less cocky and shone plainly in his green eyes. His dark hair was slightly longer than when she last saw him, but still wasn't exactly long. He looked like he belonged in a shady nightclub rather than standing next to British Royalty.

“Did you bring it?” she asked anxiously.

“In my car, querida – I'll give it to you before you leave, it's not the sort of thing you want to be carrying around here,” he glanced around as if to make sure nobody was listening before speaking again “I'm gonna need to talk to you later.”

“Of course,” she agreed easily and then groaned when she saw Brian get up and begin to make his way towards them “But first we should dance.”

“Admirer?” he asked, openly smirking at Brian.

“Something like that,” she muttered, allowing Rafael to lead her to the dance floor where LOVE by Nat King Cole was playing.

She rolled her eyes at the song choice, as did her dance partner, they fell into an easy sort of sway all the same, with her right hand intertwined with his left, whilst her left rested on his shoulder and his free hand sat on her hip.

“Lover-boy isn't happy, mi reina,” he spoke after glancing at Brian.

“Good, mi rey,” she retorted teasingly “Charlotte's taken to throwing him at me. It's annoying. He's annoying.”

“You want something done about him?” his gaze turned from teasing to cold in seconds, but Eloise just laughed quietly.

“No. This time tomorrow I'll be in my villa in Florence. I'll continue to travel, he'll get bored of Charlotte and all will be well once more,” she sighed, rolling her eyes.

“I don't like him,” Rafael spoke simply, openly glaring back and Brian who was presumably glaring at him.

“Neither do I...Anyway, how have you been?” she sighed, not wanting to dwell on the subject which she'd been rolling over in her mind for a while now.

Once the song ended she led him over to the group which still hasn't disbanded, although both Brian and Elliot looked quite disgruntled – as did Charlotte, but that was brought on purely by Rafael's presence rather than the fact that Eloise had danced with him.

“Cardona,” Charlotte greeted cooly, earning the surprise of both Elliot and Brian, but not Eloise and Richard.

“Keating,” he returned, but with a touch of almost mocking warmth, before nodding to Richard “Richard.”

Richard, who did not share his fiancé's dislike for the Spaniard returned the greeting with a small apologetic smile.

“Rafael Cardona, this is Elliot Sorenson, my date for the evening, and Brian Haner, Charlotte's friend.”

Her dislike for Brian was becoming more and more obvious, but she was annoyed at the fact that Elliot hadn't immediately put him off and had no patience for subtlety on that particular night. Rafael shook both of their hands, although grudgingly and Eloise couldn't help but internally laugh at the amount of tension that was being created during the night, purely between the men.

She sat down between Elliot and Rafael, the former warily placing an arm around her as if he wasn't sure if it was allowed or not. His hand came to rest on her waist and she ignored it – he was trying to get some kind of foot up in the situation and she didn't care.

“So, uh, how so you know Eloise?” Brian asked as Charlotte began a conversation with Richard, purely in an effort to exclude Rafael.

“We're old friends,” he shrugged “We go way back.”

“You're American?” Brian's eyebrows shot up.

“Spanish. I learned English in America.”

“He masks the accent well,” Eloise added “Speaks English better than some Brits.”

The three laughed at that and the tension between them became underlying rather than so obvious, although Eloise still noticed the glares which were periodically exchanged...and the concerned look that Rafael had when his eyes flickered between herself and Brian.

The night wore on, and Eloise mingled, danced with Elliot a few times and even Charlotte on occasion, and it wasn't as bad as she thought it would've been. She thought she'd escaped Brian's advances until the final song began and he approached her.

“May I have the last dance?” he bowed to her teasingly, with an amused expression which dared her to refuse in front of everybody.

“Of course,” she plastered on a smile and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor.

Billy Joel's She's Always A Woman began to play – a slow song which required her to loop her arms around his neck whilst his hands rested on her waist.

“She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes,” the lyrics began.

“Fitting,” Brian chuckled quietly as they swayed.

“I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or not,” she murmured, very familiar with the song.

“Neither am I.”

She had nothing to say back to that, and so she was quiet as they continued to dance, but she was all too aware of the eyes on them. Richard and Charlotte were also dancing, but every so often the latter would turn to Eloise with an ecstatic expression on her face. Elliot's face held a predictable amount of jealousy, she didn't care. It was Rafael's expression that worried her. It was his default expression for the most part – cool, unreadable eyes and extremely bored looking body language...but he was biting his lip. This small show of worry set Eloise on edge.

“You do look beautiful tonight, that wasn't bullshit,” Brian's smooth voice brought her attention back to him.

“You say that as though a lot of the things you say are,” she commented quietly.

“Ooooh she takes care of herself, she can wait if she wants,” the song continued.

“You're right.”

She was surprised at his honesty.

“But aren't you the same?” he continued on and she struggled not to frown.

He was right. She couldn't admit that, however, and so returned to silence once more. He didn't try to speak to her again, seemingly content to just dance with her. The song was ending when he next spoke.

“Have a nice time in Florence.”

She froze. How did he know where she'd be? She'd told nobody but Rafael – other than when she had booked the tickets, of course.

“And the most she will do is throw shadows at you, but she's always a woman to me,” the song ended and they parted, it was all Eloise could do not to shove him away to try and wipe the smirk from his face.

Without so much as a goodbye, she spun and made her way towards Rafael.

“We need to talk.”

Ignoring Elliot's affronted expression, she left the party with the Spaniard in tow, only slowing down when they got to his car – an impressive black SUV. They climbed into the back and he reached underneath the seat, producing a file which he then gently handed to her.

Without hesitation she practically ripped it open, ignoring the face in the photograph smirking up at her and moving on to the writing.

BRIAN “SYNYSTER GATES” HANER

ASSOCIATION – AVENGED SEVENFOLD GANG