by Ann Omasta
The queen walked to the microphone and stood by primly while a lackey adjusted the height down for her. Once the helper was pleased with his handiwork, he stepped unobtrusively out of the way. The queen cleared her throat as if to get everyone’s attention, but the room had already gone utterly still and silent.
Sebastian locked eyes with Tess and gave her a brilliant smile. His bold gaze nearly took her breath away. She wanted so much for her relationship with him to continue to blossom, but she was concerned that Mo’s broken heart over the prince would make that impossible.
“We have a monumental and historic announcement to make,” the queen teased.
The entire room seemed to lean forward as they anxiously waited to see what she was going to say. A flash from a camera popped, which made the queen narrow her eyes at the offender. Tess half-expected her to have the picture-taker forcibly removed from the ball, but the woman kept her cool.
One of the tall double-doors into the ballroom slammed open. All eyes turned in unison to see the larger-than-life king barge into the room. He was wearing purple silk pajamas. His attire was hardly appropriate for the ball, but it was still far better than the striped underwear he had been wearing the first time Tess and Mo had met him.
“Am I late?” The befuddled king bellowed. “No one told me it was time to come down.” His face looked perturbed and his voice sounded accusatory, but he didn’t seem to be blaming anyone in particular.
“I am right in the middle of an announcement,” the queen lightly chastised him through the microphone.
“Oh, what’s going on?” The king spoke loudly enough for the entire crowd to hear him, even without a mic, as he walked over to climb up on the stage. One of the many royal assistants loitering about helped the rotund king climb the steps up to the raised stage. Tess decided the assistance was probably a perk of being royal that was necessary in this particular case to keep the obviously tipsy king from taking a tumble.
Once he joined his family, he asked in a stage-whisper, “What’s the big announcement?”
The queen lifted a hand to shield her voice from carrying over to the microphone as she whispered in the king’s ear.
“What? No!” The king seemed scandalized by whatever the queen had told him. At her calm, confirming nod, the man turned to look at Pierce and Sebastian. “You’re sure?”
Tess wasn’t sure which man he had asked the question of, but they both nodded their agreement.
“Well, this… it’s… unprecedented. I thought we all agreed.” He blustered, effectively teasing the audience as everyone anxiously waited to see what all the fuss was about. Bringing a hand up to his face, the man fidgeted with his bushy, white moustache as he tried to process what he had been told.
Looking at each of the other people on the stage for a long moment, he evidently got the reassurance that he needed because he said to his wife. “I’ll make the announcement. It’s my place… for the moment.”
Tess figured that he had just been informed that he was being ousted from the throne and replaced by his son, but she was surprised that this was the first the king was hearing about this plan.
After the king futzed around with the mic stand for a moment, a royal assistant rushed forward to take care of it for him. Once it was adjusted to everyone’s liking, the king said into it, “Attention, everyone.”
The crowd startled in unison at his overly-loud voice, which was now being amplified to the room. Every person in the ballroom had already been riveted by what was about to be announced, but now, each heart was racing as well.
“The queen and I would like to make an announcement that will likely rock the very core of this kingdom’s sensibilities.” He turned to look at the two men standing just behind him. “Pierce… Sebastian… Step forward, please.”
Both men stood tall as they lined themselves up evenly with the king. After a dramatic pause, which made the room practically palpate with curiosity, the king took a deep, fortifying breath and said, “Prince Pierce, whom you all know and love, is a fine, upstanding, well-trained, intelligent, kind, and benevolent young man. He does not, however, have royal blood flowing through his veins.”
The room gasped in unison, but remained silent, other than that collective inhalation of air.
After pausing to build the tension even higher, the king finally continued. “The true heir to the throne, and my successor as the royal monarch of this island, will be my son, Sebastian.”
35
While the previous announcement, about Pierce, had been shocking, the second one, about Sebastian, was absolutely earth shattering. The entire ballroom erupted into a flurry of questions, tittering, and speculation. A young lady near the stage even fainted.
Questions swirled through Tess’s mind as she attempted to make sense of the unbelievable news they had just received. Sebastian locked eyes with her from where he stood on the stage, even as chaos ruled around him. Tess couldn’t quite comprehend that he was a real prince.
Her focus was centered on him, but not so much that she failed to notice that Mo and Pierce had their gazes locked as well. When Sebastian turned and said something near Pierce’s ear, the man responded with a brisk nod, and the two of them jumped off the stage and made beelines to where Tess and Mo were standing.
“Come with us. We’ll explain everything.” Sebastian said, without preamble. He took Tess’s hand and led her through the stunned crowd. People were shouting questions at Sebastian and trying to get his attention, but he was a man on a mission. Tess ducked her head to scurry after him. She did her best to keep up and hoped that Pierce and Mo were right behind them.
Once they emerged from the crowded ballroom, royal assistants were waiting to usher them into another room. They ran down the hallway and into what appeared to be an enormous pantry filled with an abundance of food.
Tess was relieved when she heard the assistants turning people away at the door. Evidently, they were going to stand guard, so the foursome could have a private conversation.
“Are you okay?” Sebastian asked Tess at the same time as Pierce gushed, “I’m so sorry,” at Mo.
Both women shook their heads still trying to process and absorb everything that had just happened.
“Let’s just slow down here for a minute,” Tess suggested. “Why did everyone believe Pierce to be the prince, if you actually are?” she asked Sebastian, honestly perplexed.
“We have been raised as brothers within the castle walls.” Sebastian started. Turning to the other man, he added, “And I feel like we are true siblings, but I was the only child conceived by the king and queen.”
Tess furrowed her brow. None of this made any sense. “Then why doesn’t everyone know that you are the rightful heir to the throne?”
Finding some crates of flour and arranging them so the foursome could sit down, Sebastian began the explanation. “Pierce’s birth mother was very poor and alone. When Pierce was just a young child, she contracted meningitis and realized that she didn’t have long to live.”
Mo and Tess narrowed their eyes at each other. Sebastian seemed to be short on details about this story, but it was obvious by the looks on the men’s faces that they believed what they had been told.
“With the last of her energy, the woman came to see the queen––my mother––to beg her to take care of her son. The queen took the boy––Pierce––in and promised to raise him as her own, so the woman was able to die peacefully, without wondering about the fate of her only child.”
When Tess scrunched her nose up, he rushed to add, “My parents had the royal doctors treat the woman, but it was too late to save her.”
Tess wondered if the boys had been given the entire story, but she kept her suspicions about that to herself. Instead, she nodded and said, “That makes sense, but it doesn’t explain why Pierce has been presented as the prince, while you were supposedly a steward.”
“I’m getting to that,” Sebastian grinned at her, with his dimple emerging, obvious
ly enchanted by her impatience. “As we grew up, our parents quickly realized that I was the more quiet and shier one of the two of us. Pierce always liked to be out in front, showing off.” He beamed a smile at Pierce to show the other man that he was just teasing before continuing. “Since I was more sensitive, they were concerned that the pressure of the throne might be too much for me.”
“Oh, but they weren’t worried that it would be too much for Pierce? Or it didn’t matter because he wasn’t their real son?” Mo’s eyes flashed as she fired the questions at Sebastian.
Tess took it as a very good sign that her friend was so quick to jump to Pierce’s defense.
“Oh, no. It was nothing like that.” Sebastian reassured her. “My parents love Pierce just like their own son––and I love him like a true brother. Since he is a few months older than me and seemed to take more naturally to being a bossy ruler, they thought it only made sense to present him as the prince.
Tess’s brow furrowed. This still wasn’t quite adding up. “But then why did they pretend like you were a steward?” Her hackles were raised that Sebastian might have been shoved aside by his parents for the newer, more outgoing son.
“Within the castle walls, we have always been treated as equals,” he clarified. “But the village people knew that my mother had only given birth to one son. They had to choose which one of us would succeed my father to the crown when we were both still very young.”
Tess nodded, trying to make sense of what they were being told. It was a lot to take in.
Sebastian continued, “Now that we are grown, it has become obvious that they chose poorly.”
Mo’s eyes snapped to Sebastian. She was ready to jump down his throat if he was somehow insulting Pierce. Seeing her fiery anger, Sebastian chuckled. “I don’t mean anything against either of us. It’s just that I enjoy the paperwork, meetings, negotiations, tough decisions, and schmoozing that go along with being a royal.” Turning to Tess, he smiled and said, “The reality of it is not nearly as glamorous as your childhood dreams probably were.”
“Childhood?” Mo scoffed. “She spent a Sunday afternoon just a few weeks before we met you updating that royal wedding scrapbook she keeps under her bed.”
Tess felt a flash of annoyance that Mo had shared that particular detail with the men, but she knew her friend hadn’t meant any ill will. It was simply in Mo’s nature to say whatever popped into her head. Besides, it’s not like the revelation was untrue.
Sebastian’s mocha eyes lit up as he smiled over at Tess. Apparently, the fact that a grown woman still had a fairytale fantasy of marrying a real prince didn’t frighten him in the slightest. He brought her dainty hand up to his lips for a kiss. She liked how warm her skin felt where his lips had chastely brushed it.
Mo turned her attention to Pierce. “You’ve been quiet since the announcement. Are you upset about having the throne ripped away from you, like this?”
Pierce took her pale hand into his. The relief that her first concern was his feelings about recent events was obvious on his face. “I am pleased,” he reassured her.
All eyes turned to him, waiting for him to expand. When he remained quiet a bit too long, Mo prompted him. “You don’t want to be the monarch?”
“Not really,” he said noncommittally. When he noticed the perplexed stares he was receiving from the others, he went on. “For a long time, I thought I wanted to be king––probably because I was groomed for it from the time I was a youngster––but then I met you, and you clearly can’t live by all the rules and regulations required to be a royal.”
When Mo looked down, he quickly added, “And I don’t want you to. They were trying to change all of the wild and wonderful things about you that make you so special,” he smiled at Mo. “You are an unbridled daredevil and spitfire of a woman. I love you exactly as you are, and I don’t want some watered-down, tamed version of you.”
He was speaking directly to Mo as if the other couple wasn’t in the room. “I’m so sorry for breaking up with you. It was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, and I’ve regretted it during every moment since, but I could see that the pressure of being with me was going to force you to change all of the very things that I love so much about you. You are an outlandish and loud, wonderful and vivacious woman, and I want you to stay that way forever––preferably with me by your side.”
Guilt was apparent in Mo’s expression. “I can’t let you to give all of this up just for me.”
“I’m not.” He reassured her. “I just didn’t know what I wanted before. I went along with the royal plan simply because I didn’t have a plan of my own.”
Jumping in, Sebastian added, “He finds all of the daily chores and responsibilities of being the monarch to be tedious.”
“Don’t you?” Tess asked him, concerned that he might be taking this on just because he thought it was what she wanted.
“No, not really. Well, let me amend that,” he chuckled. “Some of it can be quite boring, but I love being involved in all of the decisions––no matter how big or small––that affect our island and its people. I want to make our citizens’ lives better in any way I can, and I think the best way for me to do that is to accept my birthright. Besides, I have found my princess.”
Tess could feel her cheeks burning pink. This all seemed almost too good to be true.
Pierce said to Mo, “And I have found someone who makes me want to live life to the extreme, rather than discussing legislation with the High Council or suffering through high tea with foreign diplomats.”
The women exchanged an excited look, not quite daring to believe that both of their dreams were coming true in such a marvelous fashion.
Their giddy moment was short-lived. A loud outburst outside stole the foursome’s attention. Trey sounded peeved when he yelled at the door guards, “I’m her brother. Let me in!”
36
Sebastian made short work of opening the door and giving the guards permission to let Tess’s brothers into their group’s hiding spot. The pantry seemed to shrink once Trey, Trevor, Ellie, and Millie joined them inside.
“This is cozy.” Trevor sounded snarky, so Millie swatted lightly at his chest with the back of her hand. “What? It is.” He tried to sound innocent.
Ignoring them, Trey demanded, “What is the meaning of all of this?” He always had hated being left out of the loop, and Tess could tell that he was spiraling from feeling like he wasn’t in control of this particular situation.
While their approach was a little too abrasive, Tess couldn’t help but be proud of how her brothers always had her back. They obviously had her best interests at heart, but sometimes she wished they would back off a little and let her live her own life.
“Sebastian is actually the prince, so he will be crowned king,” she told them simply.
“Yeah, we got that part.” Trey snapped. “We’re going to need a few more details.”
Tess set about explaining the unique situation to her brothers. When it seemed like they had all of their questions answered to their satisfaction, she said, “Now, if you don’t mind, we’d like to get back to the ball and salvage what little is left of this evening on the dance floor.”
She started to get up to squeeze past her brothers, but stopped short when Sebastian said, “Wait. There’s something else we need to tell you.”
It was obvious by the tone of his voice that whatever he had to say wasn’t going to be good. Tess plopped back down on the flour crate and waited for the proverbial other shoe to drop.
Sebastian locked eyes with Pierce as if seeking courage. Both men’s faces were drawn with concern. Whatever this big announcement was, it obviously wouldn’t be good.
For the first time, Sebastian averted his gaze from Tess as if he were ashamed of what he was about to say. “We… umm… well, we…” He didn’t seem to be able to find the words to convey what he had to say. It wasn’t like him to be so wishy-washy.
Trey was the least patient with his sta
lling. “Spit it out,” he ordered.
That command seemed to kick Sebastian back into gear. “We targeted you.” He told Tess, speaking quietly and looking down.
“Excuse me?” Trey demanded at the same time as Trevor said, “What do you mean you targeted her?” Both of Tess’s brothers had their eyebrows angled down into similar dark, angry vees. They looked ready to physically pounce on the other two men in the room, if they didn’t like their explanation.
Sebastian swallowed audibly. He seemed to be frantically searching for the right words to make this confession less offensive. He tried to take Tess’s hand within his own again, but she yanked it back out of his reach. She didn’t like where this conversation seemed to be heading.
Her angry reaction kicked Sebastian’s mouth into overdrive. The words came out in a flurry as he tried to justify what they had done. “The kingdom is in dire financial trouble.” Tess and Mo both nodded because they had already been aware of the royals’ money problems, but the Donovan brothers and their dates looked taken aback by this news.
“The entire island is on the verge of bankruptcy,” he continued. This tidbit even stunned Tess and Mo because they hadn’t realized the extent of the problem. Out of respect for the royals, neither woman shared with the other four that the king’s gambling addiction was the culprit of much of the kingdom’s financial struggles.
“You seemed like the only solution, so we went to that gala in the U.S. to find you,” he said to Tess.
“How am I a solution?” she asked him, honestly perplexed.
It took Sebastian a long moment to answer. When he finally did, his words infuriated Tess. “We knew about your brothers,” he mumbled.
Outraged, she stood and asked him, “So, you thought I would just ask my brothers for money to bail out your failing kingdom?!?”
