The f*******n Crown

Chapter |4|

I sit outside, kicking the gravel. The party is still raging inside, music so loud, I can feel the intense vibrations from out here.

People filter in and out, but thankfully are too drunk to notice me, or the tear tracks that stain my cheeks. It's such a stupid thing to cry over, yet for some reason I can't stop.

They didn't find me. I managed to slip out of a side door hidden within the kitchen, and the palace grounds span miles so I probably have another fifteen minutes alone.

"Emmeline," Scratch that.

Fortunately for me, it's not either of my best friends. Unfortunately, it is someone I happen to dislike very much, and the feeling is mutual I am sure.

"Chloe." I turn to greet her.

Always the polite princess.

Her makeup is flawless like always, and a tight sequined dress is wrapped around her body. I don't know how she's not freezing like me, even with my floor length gown.

"I thought you would be inside, enjoying your party." I'm not an i***t. Casual chit chat with Chloe always has a motive underlying it.

Something she learned from her father, since he's the worst of all the advisors. Huxley, the one who fights my parents on every agenda, who is pushing my marriage harder than any other and who believes a woman is unfit to rule a Kingdom.

"I just needed some air. It's loud in there."

She shrugs. "It's not the best party I've ever been to. The drinks taste like shit." She's trying to get a rise out of me, but I don't really give a s**t about what she thinks.

"Chloe what do you want?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to pursue Ajax." I stare at her blankly.

"Pursue him? What the hell does that mean?"

"It means we're going to be together soon. My father is already arranging it with his parents, our courtship, since he's of nobility and so am I, it's likely we'll be married one day."

I choke on dry air, my stomach churning at the thought of Ajax and Chloe...oh god, no they can't and they won't. Ajax would never be with Chloe, and his parents would never enforce a marriage upon him, not when they don't have to.

"Whatever you say Chloe," I make to move away from her, when she grabs ahold of my wrist with her perfectly manicured hand.

"Let go of me Chloe." Her hold tightens, strong enough that I wince trying to break free of her.

"You need to understand something Emmeline,"

"Princess. I am the Princess of Dahlia, so get your hands off of me." She twists my hand, lips curling into a smirk.

"You don't look like much of a princess from where I'm standing. Wearing a dress that looks like rags, not a crown or tiara, outside all alone whilst people are laughing at you. You're nothing Emmeline, not without your fancy jewels and guards."

"What the hell do you want with me?"

"I want you to let him go. Ajax is attached to you, they both are and it's not fair. Everyone knows as long as you're still here, they'll never be free. Free to court, or love, or marry. I want Ajax, I always have but he doesn't see me, not when you're standing there."

"What's going on here?" A sharp light shines on us in the dark. It breaches our eyes, causing us to squint and Chloe drops my arm. "Emmeline is that?"

That voice, that f*****g voice.

He steps closer towards us and his face becomes an image, I've fought hard to eviscerate.

"Dante," I breathe out, stumbling away from them both.

I thought I was ready for this, prepared to face my ex boyfriend with as much fire that blazes inside of me from the thought of what he did.

Chloe assesses him with as much scrutiny as me. She knows who he is, hell they were better friends than us before we started dating.

Her gaze flickers back to me, "Remember what I said," and then she barges past my ex, hating him more than our feud.

Dante stares as she walks away, and then looks back at me. I shrug, "She hates a cheater."

His features darken, stepping closer to me. "That isn't fair and you know it."

"Know what?" As far as I know, I was a good girlfriend. I was attentive and caring and laughed at all his crappy jokes.

"Nevermind. You know how hard it is to reach you. That f*****g hulk made sure that sure that I was monitored by every f*****g guard in the Palace. I swear, even a step closer to you and tehy all came charging at me."

"His name is Ajax." I snap, hating the disrespect towards my best friend.

Dante barks out a sharp laugh. "Of f*****g course."

"What?" The breeze becomes fiercer, pricking my skin with goosebumps.

"I came to talk to you about the hazing."

"What f*****g hazing?" He stares at me like I'm an i***t.

"You've been telling everyone within court about how much of a shitty boyfriend I was, telling them what I did and now I've been cut out of the circle. No more invites to parties, to secret societies and clubs, half of them don't even talk to me even more, it's like I don't f*****g exist."

"I had nothing to do with that." I couldn't care less if Dante was invited to a party or not, I don't f*****g attend them and the only people that know about the cheating is Ajax, Damien, Daphne and my mom.

Even my dad is oblivious because I know he would literally kill Dante if he found out.

"Stop lying Emmeline, look I just want it to stop. Tell them you lied or some shit."

"I didn't even tell them, and I'm definitely not gonna lie for you. You f****d another girl, and when I found you together you didn't even care enough to run after me. Instead, you stayed with her and you never gave me an explanation as to why."

I might not have loved Dante, but I was falling for him and I'll never forget the pain of my heart fissuring.

"You never gave me a chance, you just removed me from your life, because that's what you can do. You're the f*****g Princess of Dahlia, you have power unlike anyone else and people like me, we're just dispensable to you."

I shake my head, forcing back tears that threaten to fall. "That's not true, that's not true...you hurt me, and I couldn't even bear to look at you, nevermind relive the pain of it all."

"You will always just be another spoiled Princess, Emmeline, and I admit, I liked you. A lot. Maybe at first, I was more interested in your crown but that changed. Sleeping with you was good, not great, and I guess that was one of the reasons why."

I stare at him incredulously. "So you cheated because I'm bad at sex." That can't be true, surely not. I have s*x with Ajax at least three times a week and he's never complained, not once so...

"You're a Princess, Emmeline, s*x was all our relationship would ever be. You couldn't marry me, but f*****g a Princess, taking her virginity, that's pure gold right there, and I'm sure there are a lot of news stations that would like to know that too."

"You wouldn't," I release a shaky breath, as he takes a threatening step closer to me.

"Tell them you were lying, or the whole world knows what you truly are. Just another dumb slut." I act on instinct.

My knuckles smash against his face, causing blood to burst from his broken nose. Dante cries out, clutching it desperately and then stares at me with liquid venom. I freeze, fear overpowering rapid adrenaline. "You fucking..." I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the pain but nothing comes.

Slowly I pry them open.

Ajax has Dante mid air, suffocating as his heavy hand squeezes tighter around his throat. Damien watches him calculated, and then his gaze softens as it lands on me. "You okay?" I nod, my throat seizing.

"Were you just about to assault the Princess of Dahlia?" Dante shakes his head furiously, and I would laugh at the way he looks like a scared little mouse in comparison to Ajax's towering build, if my body wasn't stricken by shock. "No? Because that's an offence punishable by death."

Ajax lets his hold loosen slightly. "No, no, we were just talking. That's it."

"Didn't look like that to me?" He turns to Damien. "What did it look like to you, Dames?"

"It looked like this poor bastard was getting his face bashed in by Emmy. Then he was about to do something he's really going to f*****g regret." Dante's dark skin looks almost pale in fear, but I can't forget his threat and right now, there's a way to solve everyone's problems.

"Let him go, Ajax." Both men turn to stare at me like I'm crazy. "I'm serious." Dante drops to the ground like a sack of potatoes, dramatically clutching his throat and gasping for air.

I crouch to his height, which is no easy feat in three inch heels. "I saved your life tonight because trust me, Ajax is a butterfly compared to his father, who will not threaten to run you through with his sword if I tell him what you did. You will not mention our relationships to anyone, you will not mention the fact I regrettably lost my virginity to you and you will never show your face at the palace again. Do you understand?"

He stares me down, then nods slowly. I feel a sense of accomplishment run through me, and take Damein's hand as he helps me stand up. His eyes wear a sense of pride, as does Ajax, and I grin, squeezing his hand tighter.

"You wanna know why I didn't hesitate to cheat Emmeline?" f**k.

Ajax laughs coarsely. "Is this bastard still talking?"

"Because through our entire relationship you were never there, you were always cheating. Not physically as much as I know, but you would always choose them above me. You would always light up like a f*****g firecracker for the both of them, the way you never did for me. It was always them, Emmeline, and the sad thing is you still don't see it."

I let him walk away, all of us do. His words simmer between us like embers of a barely light fire, but there's something in them that acts as gasoline, letting me burn with them.

"You have a s**t taste in ex boyfriends, Em." Damien quips. His attempt to lighten the mood.

Ajax takes the hint and laughs too. I shove past them both, heading straight to my room.

How can they discount his words like that, even though we all know there is truth in them? Do they not want me the way I want them? See me in the way I see them? Am I the joke? Do they secretly laugh behind my back about how pathetic I am?

"Emmline! Emmeline wait," They catch up to me this time, not letting go. I wince as Ajax squeezes too tightly on my wrist.

He's already shoving the sleeve of my dress up. Both of their heated gazes latch onto the marks on my wrists. Wow, Chloe is f*****g strong. "Did he fucking..." Damien starts to move.

"No! He didn't. I'm fine, it wasn't him."

"Who was it then?"

For some reason, that makes my chest burn with fury. "None of your f*****g business. Either of you. I can do stuff, get into fights without the two of you knowing about it. Jesus, you're my friends, not my dad."

"Actually Princess, I'm your bodyguard, so it's kind of my job to know."

"It's your job to protect me from getting murdered, but not to act as my moral conscience and I wasn't in danger. I'm fine, just drop it." I feel like a mega b***h. "Please," Their eyes soften and Ajax nods, but Damien is still watching me, scrutinising me.

"Ajax, why don't you give Emmeline the birthday surprise?" Digging his hand into his pocket, Ajax pulls out a cupcake. A slightly squashed, crooked cupcake, but the number 25 is scribbled on top in his illegible handwriting.

"You made me a f*****g cupcake?"

Ajax grins, lighting the candle and carefully cupping the flame from the wind. "Actually Damien made it. I'm a s**t cook, but I did the frosting."

"You both..." Tears brim my eyes.

Dante is right, I could never give them up.

Softly, their voices carry the tune of happy birthday, even in Ajax's harsh melody, it's beautiful.

"Make a wish." I look at both of them, watching me like I'm the centre of the f*****g universe. They share a smile, one that reminds me of peace, and soothes my aching soul.

"I wish..." Ajax is quick to slam his palm over my mouth.

I lick his palm, slobbery enough that he yanks it away in disgust. "Emmeline," He whines, wiping his wet hand on his jacket. "You aren't supposed to tell us the wish."

"But what if I need you both in making sure it's fulfilled?" Neither of them speak which I take as permission. "I don't want to get married. If I ever do, I want it to be for me, not for some stupid law or for the advisors, I want to marry for love. I wish for a way out, I wish for a loophole that will get me out of this, so what do you say? Are you guys willing to take it on with me?"

They look at each other first and full brimming smiles break out in their faces. "Hell yeah!"

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A/N: thoughts on Chloe??

Dante??