Tarnished Crown

"Wakey, wakey..."

Belle groaned softly as she felt something climb up onto her and gently nudge her shoulder. She just rolled over in bed and went back to sleep, feeling the large lump fall off her when she did. Shortly after, it was back on her. This time, however, it was much less gentle, jumping up and down on her and screaming.

"WAKEYWAKEYWAKEYWAKEYWAKEYWAKEYWAKEYWAKEYWAK-"

"Lucian!"

Belle sat upright in bed, pushing the child off her so he fell back onto the pillows, giggling like a maniac. He quickly got back up and began jumping on the bed, while Belle rubbed her eyes and tried to recover from that wake up call. He was nearly six years old and an absolute menace, but Belle loved her nephew to death anyways. He kept jumping, making the entire bed shake, and saying a word with every jump.

"Mama... Says... You... Have... To... Wake... Up..."

Belle looked out the window, where it was still dark. "Lucian, the sun isn't even up yet."

"She said you have to wake up," he repeated firmly, crossing his arms over his chest the way his father did when he was being stern.

"Did she say when?" Belle asked.

"Nope!" Lucian said. "I guessed!"

"Well," Belle yawned. "You've been a wonderful help then, Lucian. Maybe you should go wake up your mother and father, too. I'm sure they'd love that."

"Okay!" Lucian said excitedly.

He started to climb off the bed, but quickly went back to Belle and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek before running off to start Alec and Lily's exhausting day at the asscrack of dawn. Belle almost felt bad. The two had been so busy and tired since combining their kingdom with Jalecia a few years back, and there were still efforts being put in to help the kingdom recover. Not just that, but Elbian society had mixed in with Aegara, blurring the border lines until they were almost gone. King Hamilton and his family visited quite frequently, and while Belle loved spending time with Princess Annemarie and Lily loved to see her mother, she knew Alec got sick of being a host to guests all the time.

Belle eventually crawled out of bed and got dressed, letting her handmaiden help her into a beautiful satin blue gown that brought out her eyes. Belle never imagined that she'd have a handmaiden, but she considered Eliana to be more like a loud-mouthed friend than a servant. After all, she didn't like being told what to do. Belle watched her through the mirror as she pinned ringlets of Belle's hair in a pile high up on her head.

"If it's a dinner banquet, why are the guests coming at noon?" Belle asked.

"Elbian customs," Eliana shrugged, holding a few pins in her mouth. "In Elbis, if someone hosts something, they host all day. And they can't have an end time to their events, either. It's impolite in their culture to ask a guest to leave, so they stay until they choose to leave."

"That's awful," Belle said, wrinkling her nose. "What if you hate everyone?"

"Then you're miserable."

Belle thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Can you put the pearls in my hair?"

"You can put the pearls in yourself," Eliana said bluntly. "You've got all of this hair and you expect me to deal with it? You could at least cut it short."

Belle frowned as Eliana pinned up the last lock of her thick, waist-length black hair. She then rolled her eyes and leaned back comfortably in her chair, not looking too regal. She suddenly shot upright into good posture when someone hurried into her room, looking through the mirror to see Princess Annemarie all dolled up and ready to go for the day. Annemarie was the sort of friend that was sweet and kind, but constant competition, mostly when it came to beauty and poise. For the most part, she won. While Belle was quick to adopt the polite and regal way, she couldn't deny the streets she came from. Surrounded by larger, older boys, she had to have a big mouth and a good punch to be taken seriously among them. It was hard to keep that side of her quiet at times.

Eliana gave a slight bow before leaving the room, handing the pearl hair pins to Annemarie on her way out. She took them, a big grin on her face as she finished up Belle's hair. Belle raised a brow, watching the look on her face through the mirror.

"You have gossip," Belle said, narrowing her eyes. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing," Annemarie giggled.

"Tell me, or I'll embarrass you in front of everyone at the party and tell them about your-"

"Okay, okay!" Annemarie said quickly. "Someone is here, that's all. A certain duke's family is here, this time with a certain lord that has recently returned from some sort of long trip."

Belle thought for a moment, then grimaced. "You don't mean the Everharts, do you?"

"I do!"

"All of the Everharts?"

"All of them."

"Ugh," Belle slumped back in the chair again, closing her eyes. "No wonder. I knew something smelled like a pompous, self-absorbed rat."

"Come on," Annemarie laughed, pulling Belle up to her feet and linking arms with her. "Half the guests are here and you're still messing with your hair."

Belle reluctantly came down to join the large party the Aegaeran elites were hosting in honor of Annemarie's brother, Prince Joshua, who'd recently returned from Jalecia, after he'd personally assisted in helping rebuild every village. It was a trip that took a few years, but it seemed all worth it when he returned and everyone treated him like some sort of God. Lily was performing her queenly duties and socializing with the guests, while as expected, Belle found Alec avoiding them at all costs. He sat on the throne with his eyes closed, rubbing his temples as Lucian constantly tugged on his cloak and tried to get his attention.

"Father... Father... Father..."

"What is it this time?" he sighed.

"Can I have cake?"

"The cake is for after dinner. You have a long way to go."

"Can I have more paints?"

"What?" Alec frowned. "Right now?"

"Yup."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

"Why?"

"If you ask why again, I'll lock you in a closet."

"Why?"

Alec pursed his lips and stood up, swinging Lucian over his shoulder and carrying the giggling boy to the nearest closet. Belle stopped him, taking the child from her brother.

"You go be a king," Belle said. "I'll take it from here."

Alec gave her a sort of annoyed look, but Lily swept him into a crowd of lords and ladies before he could protest. Lucian had a case of the giggles now. Belle admired how happy the little boy was all the time, even when threatened to get locked in a closet. Belle put him down and held his hand, taking him to the sweets table to give him what his father had denied him. After all, an Auntie's job is to spoil her nephew rotten when his parents work so hard to keep him humble. She looked up when Annemarie returned with two glasses of champagne, handing one to Belle.

"I'm with the child right now," Belle protested.

"What child?" she asked.

Belle looked around and realized that Lucian had taken off running with his face covered in frosting, straight at Lily's uncle Marshall. The man was in a conversation until he heard Lucian roar at him like a lion, after which he turned away from the conversation to crouch down and roar loudly right back at Lucian. He caught the child and they continued to roar at each other, like fighting lions. Belle rolled her eyes, taking her glass of champagne.

"He only used me to get cake," she sighed.

"That's how men are," Annemarie shrugged. "Speaking of men..."

Belle looked where Annemarie was looking and saw the family she'd been avoiding all night. Specifically, the member of the family she'd been avoiding. Caspian Everhart was a charming, handsome man that very few people could resist liking. Belle was one of those few people. With his father being a Duke of Elbis, she'd found herself encountering him a few times at these large parties. She found him to be overconfident and completely full of himself, always getting what he wanted. She looked away from him, but Annemarie betrayed her by giving him a half smile. He walked over with his head held high, dipping into a deep bow before them.

"Princess, and Princess," he greeted, rising back up to give them that charming smile, showing off some of the whitest teeth Belle had ever seen.

"Lord Everhart," Annemarie nodded, while Belle sort of gave him a halfhearted shrug.

"Princess Isabelle," Caspian said, turning to Belle. "You look as lovely as ever. You glow like a full moon on a perfect, clear night."

"Yeah, alright," Belle mumbled.

"I would be honored if I could lead you in the waltz," he said, nodding towards the dance floor where several couples were twirling in a blur of satin ballgowns.

"I'm not a dancer," Belle told him.

"Not true," he pointed out. "You're a wonderful dancer. I've seen you."

"I apologize, I'm not feeling up to it right now," Belle rephrased.

"Later, perhaps?"

"I won't be feeling better."

There was an amused grin on Caspian's face, and he looked at Belle almost like a challenge. He then smiled and bowed again, instead holding out his hand to Annemarie instead. She giggled softly and took it, shocking Belle. And she couldn't ask him to leave, either. Not without insulting the culture of where he came from, that is.

"Alright, play coy then," he said, unfazed by Belle's rejection as he started leading Annemarie away. "I'll have that dance sooner or later. You'll see."

"You'll see," Belle said, though he'd already swept Annemarie off onto the dance floor.

She didn't spend much time on her own before one of Alec's military boys, Rhett, slid into a spot beside her and took her hand, twirling her around as she laughed in surprise.

"M'lady," he said, mocking the posh tone of the elites. "Dance with me because I told you to, and because if I don't take you away now another four or five men will steal your attention away."

Belle laughed as Rhett pulled her into the mix, falling into place among everyone else. She'd grown quite close friends with Rhett since Alec had first fished him out of a prison cell and dropped him at the head of the army. He was a silly goofball of a man, but he could easily put a smile on Belle's face without being flirtatious or seeing her in any romantic way, unlike most of the men she encountered. She stayed with Rhett as her partner until she noticed a figure whisper something to the conductor of the orchestra, before hopping back down from the stage into the crowd. Was that Caspian? Had he slipped some tip into the conductors pocket? The music suddenly changed tone and pace, and people began switching partners. It was too late for Belle to slip away. She was caught, and Caspian was once again going to get what he wanted.