Bridgerton drabble: A Princess Diaries AU
Part #1 Sophie’s Choice.
A belated birthday gift for @bridgertonbabe and @sophiebernadotte
Wasn’t life as a princess supposed to be fair? Or maybe not fair, that might be the wrong word. She was privileged, she knew that… even if she had only known she was a princess for a few short years.
Royalty led lives that were in the public eye, normally having been raised in that environment, but here she was… sitting in a country that she’d only known about for 4 years, listening to her grandmother scolding her for jeopardising the wedding that was to take place in a few days time, which would then lead onto her coronation a week after that and it was all Sophie could do not to throw up or cry because she knew her grandmother was right… she had ruined everything.
She’d always dreamt she’d marry for love, that she’d find a man that made her stomach fizz, give her butterflies, that would make her heart skip a beat and her palms sweaty and her feet pop when she kissed him. She wanted the kind of love her mother had told her about, that her mother had experienced but due to the unfairness of her situation, it was an arranged marriage or lose her throne. Those were her options.
A throne that until she turned 16, she had known nothing about.
She had been blissfully unaware that her father had been a Prince… Prince of a tiny country in the middle of the Italian and French sea. Her mother had kept it from her, taking that secret with her to her grave.
Her mother had died 10 weeks before Sophie’s 16th birthday, which was the day her entire life changed.
She’d been stopping with her best friend Kate Sharma and Sophie had been in English when the poshest woman Sophie had ever seen in her life came in and dropped the bombshell of all bombshells on her over a cup of tea…
Which she promptly spat all over her “grandmother's” face.
She was a princess.
A bastard princess but a princess nonetheless, and the only living descendant of the Gunningworth line.
Her father, Richard, had passed away 9 months earlier and to Sarah’s knowledge he had been childless.
It was only after discovering something in her late-husband’s writing desk, did she learn that there was in fact an heir.
Her.
Sophie was saving the country from being taken over by the Cavender’s. Their son Phillip had a terrible temper and an even worse reputation at just 17 years old and had once been rulers of their own lands until the people revolted and won back their lands and banished the Cavender’s but their royal blood was connected to Penwood and now it was Sophie, or the Cavender’s and Sarah was determined that her throne would not pass into their hands.
She had learned that Reginald had sent Esme away when she was pregnant with Sophie, he didn’t want a child out of wedlock and he certainly didn’t want the Crown Prince, only Heir to the Throne marrying a commoner and so she’d been paid off and shipped off back to England. He provided money monthly to keep Esme quiet and Esme had been promised that she and her unborn child would be left alone and the secret of Sophie’s birth went to the grave with her.
Reginald had known about Sophie and he had been working out how to tell his wife that they did in fact have an heir and where they could find her, and what had happened, his own guilt weighing in after he’d pressured Richard into a marriage with a woman that bore no children between them other than two step-children who could not inherit the throne but when Reginald died 3 months after Richard it had thrown a spanner in the works as he’d not gotten around to telling Sarah the truth.
Sophie was dumbfounded.
Sarah was Regent, as they had their heir but she was underage and she was able to prevent Cavender getting his hands on the crown.
Since Sophie was underage she would learn the role, but upon turning 20 Sophie was told she’d have to take over the throne, she would get 6 months post her 20th birthday to marry and be crowned Queen otherwise, Cavender would take over.
So Life changed.
Gone were the days she was invisible, where she could blend into the background with Kate, sitting laughing about Shakespere and just being a teenage girl to…
Being a Princess.
She stayed in school but Kate was almost glued to her side. She worked at her studies, she travelled back and forth between the countries as she learned.
Once she was 18, Sophie moved to Penwood and Kate and her family came with her, they’d been her family when she had no one else and Kate wanted to work with Sophie, for Sophie as part of her staff once she’d graduated from University.
And Sophie knew from the moment she moved to her new home that she wanted to be Queen, that she would do anything to be Queen. Her beautiful country that she was learning to love, the rich culture and history that was hers to protect and nourish and the more time she spent there, the more she got to know the people, the more she knew she wanted to be Queen.
So between her studies, her Queen lessons with her Grandmother and getting to know the country’s leaders, she was starting to look for a husband.
Not just any husband, she needed someone titled, not in line for their own throne, someone who understood her importance as Queen. Someone harmless, inoffensive, who would stand there by her side and be a pillar of strength and a symbol but would let Sophie lead.
She would be Queen, and she knew finding a husband would be hard but she had time… or so she’d assumed. She was only 18 after all, she had two years. How hard could it be?
From the moment the plane touched down, Sophie knew that whatever she’d thought her life was going to be like, nothing compared to the circus it was becoming
.
18 turned into 19 and Sophie had still not found someone that she wanted to marry, any male around her age that would be eligible was not interested in marriage, any man she met at a bar knew who she was and wanted a piece of her as a trophy.
She was to be Queen… Everyone knew that. “Your highness, you must know there isn’t a man on this planet who isn’t interested in marrying you, but it is finding the right person for you who will make your everyday life easier, who makes the mundane fun and who makes you smile” her Prime Minister Edmund Bridgerton had told her as the days got closer to her 20th birthday and she had still not found someone to be her husband, time was running out and she was getting desperate.
“That is all well and good my Lord but I have 6 months, we have 6 months to make this work or everything has been in vain” Sophie sighed during their weekly meeting. Sophie loved meeting her prime minister, They had joked on a number of occasions it was a shame that his title came with his position and didn’t transfer to his children since he had eight of them and the two eldest boys were a little older than Sophie and Kate, she’d yet to meet Benedict who was off travelling and studying and she got on well with Anthony, who was training to take over from Charlie as the Royal Household Chief of Security once Sophie ascended to the throne.
The little wrinkle there was Anthony was dating Kate. Kate was working up to the role of Chief of Staff within the palace and eventually they would run the palace between them and despite their prickly start, Sophie thought they were perfect for one another but it served as an almost daily reminder that she didn’t have that and she needed that. 6 months to fall in love, marry to become Queen…
“There are other ways around it, your grandmother is reluctant to bring it up because she knew how much you wanted to find someone the traditional way but there is always an arranged marriage, I am sure between Ms Gibbons, your grandmother and my wife Violet, they’ll be able to come up with a list of possibilities for you. Aim for friendship first, it worked for your grandmother… love everything else, it is lovely but friendship and companionship will hold you in just as good a stead” Edmund explained
“That’s easy for you to say, you married the love of your live and have 8 children” Sophie replied flippantly but sighed “but I shall think about it, it is likely to be the only option”
“Speaking of my children…” Edmund grinned and Sophie rolled her eyes
“Smooth… what are they after this time?”
“It’s nothing actually just Benedict is back from his travels eventually this weekend after being away for the last two years studying and he is on the last portfolio for his masters and I was wondering if perhaps as a small favour we could add him to your official photographers list up to the coronation and allow him to capture some more… candid photos of the next few months”
“Why not, some candid ones will be lovely I guess after all the formal things…” Sophie said “and i’ll make sure there is a ticket to my 20th birthday party for him as well, if he is back in time that is, it would be nice to meet another of your ridiculous brood. but I will give some thought to your suggestion, having some of those possible bachelors come to the party and meet them…” Sophie sighed.
But after the events of her 20th birthday, Sophie had known it was time.
The only person she’d met the night of her birthday party, the only person she’d felt a connection with had been someone she knew she had no chance with.
She’d been walking through the party, trying to get away from Prince Hans and his incessant staring, as well as Lady Rosamund who was making snide quiet remarks about how it should be her that was going to be queen when Sophie had run straight into a stranger stomping straight on his foot, the most handsome stranger she’d ever met.
It was only after she’d danced and flirted with him and spoke to Kate, did she realise that it was Benedict Bridgerton and it had broken her heart almost instantly.
She’d assumed he was one of the many suitors her grandmother had invited for to meet so to realise who he was, that he was untitled, he was, despite being the son of a Lord, not someone Sophie could ever hope to get to know on a more intimate and romantic level… she knew based on the rules that had been set out for her future husband, it was a no go.
So the morning after her party, she’d called Kate, her grandmother, Ann Gibbons the current chief of staff and Mary and said “it’s time”
A week later she was sitting in the palace movie room with the screens up, profiles up as she looked through all the eligible bachelors that would be interested in an arranged marriage.
Two hours it had taken, going through picture after picture before Sophie had spotted one.
Yes he was a second son but he fit the bill where no one else did. He was the second son of a Duke. His older brother was already married and had twins, their line was secure, he was a Sir. He had a title, a ceremonial one but all the same…
Sir Phillip Crane was everything that Sophie had been looking for.
He was the same age as she was, he was academic, he was cute. He was someone that Sophie could see herself being at least friends with…
It was a start.
And it had turned out Phillip was everything that Sophie could have hoped for. He was kind, he was funny and they seemed to have a lot in common and Sophie knew she’d made the best possible choice…
Or she would have thought so if it wasn’t for Benedict being everywhere she went.
She’d forgotten about her agreement with the Prime Minister and being Anthony’s brother, and he seemed to get on really well with Kate. he was always there.
The torment Sophie felt was horrible, she felt attracted to Benedict in a way she knew she’d never be attracted to Phillip but she knew that she could never be with Benedict and have the life she so desperately wanted.
She wanted to be Queen, she wanted to rule this country that she’d learned so much about, that she was so passionate about and she was close to mucking it all up.
Two weeks before the wedding it all came to a head when during the summer party, Sophie had slipped away from Phillip, leaving him with Kate and Benedict’s sister Eloise as she wanted to get out of her head. Cavender’s son had been lurking and making lurid remarks about her and she just wanted 5 minutes.
She’d given her ladies maids the slip, and was just sitting on the edge of the fountain, trying not to hyperventilate.
She’d not seen Benedict at all during the party, he was employed during these events to take photos as part of her agreement with his father and she knew that it was the last thing she needed. Whilst she desperately craved him to soothe her frayed nerves, she knew being around him was making it worse.
They’d had many a spirited debate about Bryon, about poetry and art and she always seemed to know when he appeared, her skin tingled and pricked but he knew as well as she did, that whatever there was between them, wasn’t possible.
With the way the rules of the country where, fate was destined to keep them apart.
But that day… he’d caught her unaware, they’d given into a moment of weakness and kissed.
It was only when Sophie’s beloved dog Bernie, had come running through the fence with voices behind him, that they’d separated and in their shock at nearly being caught, they had tumbled into the fountain.
It had been the start of her downfall.
She’d confined Kate how she felt about Benedict, how she wished things could be different and she knew that Benedict had felt the same and how she couldn’t have him around her anymore because it was breaking her heart.
Benedict had agreed to step away, to leave his position because he knew the country needed Sophie more than he did and he would never have forgiven himself to do anything that would have ruined her dream to be Queen,
But he’d asked if he could see her one last time before he left, before he walked away and Sophie would marry Phillip and Sophie had agreed as long as no one found out.
But someone had found out. Someone had overheard and warned the press that if someone followed the Prime Minister’s son… they would find a scandal.
And whilst it wasn’t as big of a scandal as it could have been, Sophie and Benedict had just talked, shared a kiss or two, they’d fallen asleep under a tree in the grounds of the castle and it was upon waking that they’d been spotted…
And Sophie was sure her life was going to fall apart.
Sarah yelled at her for over an hour about it, about how she should not be sneaking out and despite the fact she knew how her granddaughter felt about him, she could see how devastated Sophie was about the choice.
Heart or country.
It was a choice she’d known all too well but Sophie knew what she wanted.
What was required of her… it was just a matter of if Phillip would still want to marry her.
“Phillip wait, please! Let me explain! Nothing happened” Sophie said as she ran after Phillip a few hours later after he’d arrived at the palace so they could talk.
“Yes but you went Sophie, you still went didn’t you?” he replied, his voice was strangely calm and not angry and Sophie wasn’t sure if she’d rather he’d been angry or not “I don’t think you understand… despite my geekiness as the press back home call it, I am an extremely eligible bachelor” he said, though Sophie could tell he cringed a bit at the words, knowing he didn’t like to big himself in that way. “I really am. I’ve got plenty of friends, lots of lovely… erm women friends” he said gesturing as they looked at one another
“But i… I still think marriage is a good idea.” he said and Sophie looked up at him in disbelief as Phillip’s face softened as they looked at one another,
“Sophie…” he said, before taking a step forward, placing his hands on either side of her face and kissing her.
It was the first time they’d properly kissed, it had been a brief kiss on the lips when they’d gotten engaged, the same on the balcony when they announced their engagement several weeks ago and as kisses went…
It was the most awkward kiss either of them had ever experienced.
It was like kissing a sibling. It was so awkward Sophie was sure the entire world stopped moving and she could hear the cows in the field several miles away Mooing…
Eventually Phillip pulled away and Sophie with her eyes still shut brought her hand to her lip to almost wipe the kiss off as she had Phillip looked at one another again
“So?” he asked “anything?” already anticipating the answer.
“It was lovely… just… there was no…” Sophie said
“Spark?” they said at the same time and Sophie groaned as she knew what the right thing to do was.
“What are we going to do?” Sophie said her voice breaking a little as she felt herself close to tears. The wedding was a few days away, she’d come this far and now she’d thrown it all away.
Phillip sighed and took a step forward putting an arm around Sophie’s waist, rolling his eyes as the security guards shovelled up the stairs behind them
“No privacy…” Sophie grumbled.
“Sophie… you chose me… and I accepted” he said pressing an almost brotherly kiss on her head “I accepted and so we’re going to stand up in the church next week and say “I do” and become man and wife… and then you’re going to be crowned Queen of Penwood and make the most amazing Queen in the history of this great country” he said tenderly, honestly and a smile on his face that made Sophie feel like perhaps everything could be okay.
“Thank you” she whispered as she kissed his cheek as she smiled back at him.
This was it. Her choice had been made. Country and Duty over her heart. Phillip was a good man and she could do a lot worse…
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Daphne is the patroness of married people, all grace, kindness and elegance. It is known that when a young and unknown woman with wisteria flowers braided in her long chestnut hair appears at a wedding, the married couple must show her respect and listen carefully to her blessings, because the patroness of marriage likes to appear at weddings and bless the bride and groom, and her blessings will always come true. One day, her elder brother Anthony, the patron of elder brothers, tells her about a young warrior named Simon whom he met when he responded to an older brother's prayer that he would protect his younger brother in battle, and among other things notes that Simon does not believe in marriage and does not want to get married. Daphne is shocked by this, and decides that she must meet the warrior who was special enough to attract her brother's attention despite being an only child, and make him believe in marriage. She doesn't expect to fall in love with the handsome young man, and Simon doesn't expect to fall in love with her either…
Anthony is the patron of elder brothers, as befits the eldest son of the goddess of motherhood and family and her human lover. Over the centuries and thousands of years of its existence, it has helped older brothers ensure a good life for their younger and beloved brothers. When his brother Gregory, the patron of lovers, tells him excitedly about a beautiful girl he met in a small village in India who refuses to marry her sister will not approve the match, Anthony is impressed, and decides to help the sister, Kethani Sharma, find a suitable match for her sister. Just like Anthony, Kate Sharma believes that her existence has no meaning except as the big sister, and that she does not deserve happiness on her own merits. When the strange man, who as far as she knows owns no property and shows a terrible disrespect for the rules of the ceremony, appears in the village and asks about Edwina and her, she automatically assumes that he wants to marry Edwina, and decides to do everything to prevent that.
Throughout her childhood, Sophie, the illegitimate daughter of a rich businessman, heard stories about gods and monsters from the workers who took care of her, but more than anything she was fascinated by the stories about Benedict, the patron of artisans who had countless lovers. Her fondness for art grew as she grew older, and stayed with her even when her new stepmother began to abuse her. The best night of her life was the night she managed to sneak into the opening gala of a new art gallery, even without the charming young man who stayed by her side the whole time, flirting with her and talking so passionately about art. He disappeared at the end of that night, and the last thing Sophie expected was for him to appear two years later when she sneaks out of her house to paint graffiti, takes one look at the painting, and reveals himself as Benedict, the hero of her childhood stories, to offer her to come with him to the world of the gods and join his many lovers of all kinds . The offer is tempting, even Sophie will appreciate it, and it's probably her best chance of escaping her stepmother, but she has more self-respect than joining the harem as a concubine to a god, thank you very much.
Penelope Fetherington, Baron's third daughter, is a shy wallflower who writes to herself about what she sees and meets around her. She certainly doesn't think her writing is good enough for the patron of writers Colin, who occasionally uses his powers to read what people write for themselves, to be impressed, but Colin stumbles upon her writing and reads everything she's ever written in one day, then disguises himself as a gentleman (and a travel buff, to explain his many mysteries) connects with her, and waits patiently until she accidentally tells something about her writing. Then he encourages her to write more, helping her publish what she writes in a gossip paper under the name Lady Whistledown. He doesn't know that Penelope is in love with him, but he certainly values her friendship very much…
part 1/2
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