Unwanted Invite

"But Mother, the last place I want to be is at Leigha's glorified tea party,” Princess Candance huffed as she sat at the breakfast table.

"Now Candance, you need to get used to calling her High Lady Leigha. She is Crown Princess now and will be queen in a few months. And, it isn't just a tea party, it's a celebration of her engagement. We are lucky to be invited."

Her mother wasn't wrong. She was from the Kingdom of EL, one of the smallest Kingdoms in the League. They had managed to remain a separate Kingdom through marriage licences and trade deals.

High Lady Leigha came from the largest and most important Kingdom in the League. "But Lady Leigha shouldn't even be crowned Princess! She never showed any interest in the ruling. She actively avoided that part of tutoring. It should be Lord Theo. He's been properly preparing his whole life."

Her mother sighed, composing herself. "Candance, you know that's not how this works." Her mother was clearly trying to stay calm. "Rules are simple: The first child to wed after 18 will be King or Queen. Lord Theo had a whole year on High Lady Leigha and he didn't accept any matches his parents offered or were offered; he has no one to blame but himself."

"High Lady Leigha took the first match she was given with no regard for who he is or what he stands for!" Cadance was angry. Theo would be a far better king than Leigha would be Queen.

"That's how it should be, dear. Marriage isn't about love or even compatibility, it's about duty; you get married and learn from your parents and how they made it work. Like your brother and his wife have done, and like Leigha and her husband will. You should take notes. You and Lady Leigha are the same age; it's time we find you a lower-level prince or a general or an adviser...."

Candance stopped listening to her mother. She knew why Theo had said no to every offer his parents had made him. He was in love with her. The youngest daughter of the smallest Kingdom of the League, she already had older siblings who had helped maintain the alliances they needed. So her parents decided they didn't need to find her a high-ranking match. She could marry anyone who wanted her. Except for the Prince, whom she wanted most. She was considered below his rank and he above hers. But they loved each other. Like all royal children in the league, they grew up going to balls, parties, and league meetings. The two of them would often sneak off together to get away from the crowds….

"Candance!" Her mother's voice was stern.

"Sorry, Mother, I was distracted!” Candance shook her head, hoping she wasn't blushing.

"I'll say. Now, enough of this foolishness. Go put on the dress I picked out for you. I want us to be on time, maybe we can impress some of the mothers who have sons available."

Candance gave no argument. She was met by her maids in her room, ready to help her dress. "What dress did mother pick this time?"

"Ah, she picks one, miss. She said the colour would match the spring theme." The maid was new; evidently, Candance had gotten too close to the other maids.

"Ah, she knows I despise that pink dress. It's icky and so gaudy. No, I'll wear the pastel pink one instead. It's bearable. And if I have to go to the ridiculous tea party I'm going to be comfortable." Lord Theo would laugh at her in this dress, knowing she had made the switch. Her mother called this dress simple. She smiled to herself.

"Of course, miss, I'll grab it while the other girls help you change." The maids made quick work of getting her ready. Within forty minutes she was all done up and dressed up. She was grateful they had done her make-up before breakfast. They had pulled up her hair, which she hated, but that was the way of the royals at parties like this. She'd rather wear hers down but she'd already switched dresses on her mother. No need to fight about the hair. She joined her mother in the carriage.

Her mother's face fell, but she composed herself quickly. "I've been thinking, and you should try to impress Queen Lucy. Her nephew is here for the upcoming season, and she is tasked with finding him a wife since her brother can't find the time. He is a suitable match. Last in line for the throne, but providing him with a match would put us in favour with the northern kingdoms of the League. "

"Yes, Mother."Candance didn't really want to, but she didn't have a choice. At least life in the northern kingdoms would keep her from watching Lord Theo marry someone else.

"I received a letter from your brother. He would like us to come home soon. He needs your father's help getting ready for the transition of power. I need to go with him to help his wife with celebration prep. So all three of us will leave the Heart of the Ledge and go help. Then you and I will come back for the social season. Just like I did for your siblings. Understood?" Her mother gave her a firm smile.

"Yes, Mother. I look forward to the social season." Candance hated the idea, but maybe she and Theo could share a few dances during the season.

Soon they arrived at the tea party. High Lady Leigha was greeting her guests. "Welcome, Your Majesty, Lady Candance." Leigha bowed to her mother and offered Candance a hug. "My brother is waiting near the garden to say hello,” Leighas whispered while sharing the hug. “I'll do my best to distract our mothers." The girls were not close, but Leigha did love her brother. "Lady Candance, that rose bush you love so much is in full bloom.” Leigha waved Candance off and turned to Candance’s mother, “Your Majesty, you must see my ring; Nathalie did an amazing job. We can catch up with Lady Candance in a moment.”

Candace headed to the garden, hoping to meet with Theo. But she was stopped by Queen Lucy. Her heart sank when she saw that she would have to talk to her. She watched Theo slip away from his hiding spot, knowing that their moment was gone. Disappointed, she walked with Queen Lucy and they entered the ballroom. Yep, a glorified tea party. She did her best to mix and mingle with all the people that her mother would want her to.

After what felt like forever, Leigha approached her, mouthed, "I'm sorry," then promptly tripped into Candance, spilling her drink all over the pastel pink dress. "Oh my! I must have had too much wine!” Leigha exclaimed. “I insist on giving you one of my dresses. Come to my room, my maids will help you."

Candace was too stunned to speak; she just followed Leigha. "What?” She whispered. “Why?" Candance's mother would be livid about the dress; if only she'd worn the dress she'd been told to wear.

"You think my brother only had one plan?” Leigha whispered back. “Please, he wants to see you. And," she opened her bedroom door, "he wanted to give you this for your birthday, but my parents forbade it." Leigha handed Candance a box.

Candance sat on the bed and slowly opened the box. Inside was a simple but elegant baby blue dress. "Oh, it's perfect! He remembered...." She pulled the dress close to her heart.

"Yeah! Yeah, it's amazing. Change quickly and slip onto my balcony. I can buy you two like 20 minutes before your mother gets worried." Leigha gave her maids a look and they simply nodded. "Meet him on the balcony." She smiled and headed back to the party.

The maids moved quickly, and within minutes Candance was on the balcony.

"Darling." Theo was leaning against the railing.

"Dearest." She did a spin, showing him that she loved the dress.

"I see I made the right choice." He laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Oh my, how I missed you."

"I missed you too. I'm sorry my status keeps us from marrying, Theo." She didn't let go, not yet.

"Candance, what if we weren't worried about our status?" He slowly relaxed his embrace but kept her close.

"Dearest, you know we can't think like that. We would be days away from our wedding…I would have been promised to you as soon as I was old enough." She didn't look him in the eyes, staring instead at his feet.

"Darling, please." He gently lifted her face. “Run away with me?”

She looked at him. Was he serious this time? "Where would we run? You know none of the Kingdoms in the League would take to run away Royals who simply want to break tradition and wed."

"Well, not none…." He took a breath. "My uncle is ready to pass on his throne, and he knows many families are ready to fight for it. Or, to marry their young daughter to him so they can wait till he dies and then fulfil a different marriage contract."

"I know how all this Theo, what's it got to do with us?" She was running out of time, he needed to get to the point.

"Since Leigha has taken my place as a ruler, he has asked me to come and take his place." Theo reached into his pocket. "I told him I would only come if you could be my Queen. He'll protect us. And just imagine walking into this social season as a Queen." He handed her a box.

Inside she found a ring on a long gold chain. "Theo... " She paused. "This could cause so many problems. What if…?" So many what-ifs. This could cause war…. Was it worth the risk? She could turn around right now, go win over Queen Lucy, and live a pretty settled life. No one would blame her. Or, she could… "Yes. I'll go with you."

"You will? Oh, Candance!" He spun her around. "I'll make plans."

She wasn't sure how they would run away without starting a war, but she knew at that moment she was going to be with the man she loved. For now, that was enough.

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