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Hey all my Choices fan friends! This morning I saw a post with a September prompts list. I’ve been thinking about it and would like to give it a try, but of course now I can’t find the post.

Thank you all for the support! These first few chapters came pretty easily. Now that I’ve decided to at least try to continue the story, I know it’s going to get harder.

Of course all characters belong to PB, but Jenna is all mine.

***

Chapter Two

Drake stood by the door of the bar, watching as Jenna untangled herself from him and bounded up to Maxwell and his cousin. “Hi, Liam! It’s so great to meet you, Maxwell’s told us all about you! I’m Jenna, this is my best friend Hana, and that’s Drake.”

Jenna turned to Drake with a huge smile on her face. When she realized Drake was still in the doorway, she walked towards him. “Come on Drake. Be polite... for me??” “That pout,” Drake thought. “I’d walk through fire for that pout.”

Against his better judgement, Drake walked towards Liam and extended his hand. “Drake Walker, great to meet you.” “Liam Richmond, welcome to New York!” Liam shook Drake’s hand with enthusiasm... but his eyes never left Jenna.

“So, it’s not every day we get actual royalty in here. Let me show you to our best table,” Liam declared, finally looking at the rest of the group.

The bar’s “best table” turned out to be exactly like all the rest. Worn leather booths with lacquered wooden tables engraved with names, initials, and more than one profanity. Drake loved it.

“So, what can I get everyone,” Liam asked. “Ooh, do you have a cocktail menu,” Hana wondered. Liam tore his eyes away from Jenna to look at Hana. His eyes crinkled as he replied, “I’m sorry, Hana, no cocktails. We have beer, some decent wines, and a lot of the hard stuff.”

“I’ll have a beer, Liam,” Jenna said. “Hana will have a dry white wine, Drake will have a whiskey...” “And Maxwell will have your finest chocolate milk,” Drake interrupted. “Oh my god, yes please!,” Maxwell shouted. “I love chocolate milk!”

Liam laughed out loud. “Sorry Max, no chocolate milk. How ‘bout a Mud Slide? It’s basically a frozen chocolate milk with kick.” “Oooooh, thanks Liam,” Maxwell drooled.

“Anything for you!” Drake thought he was talking to Maxwell, but Liam’s eyes were definitely still on Jenna.

As Liam made his way behind the bar, Hana turned to Max and said, “Well now we know what side of your family the hospitality gene comes from - Liam is really nice!” “Yeah,” Maxwell responded with a look of pity on his face. “It’s a shame he didn’t get our good looks, though.”

Before Drake could respond, Jenna elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a shove. “Up, please. I need to powder my nose.” “Crawford,” Drake groaned as he stood up, “we’re thousands of miles from your mother. It’s OK to say you have to pee.” “Just get up,” Jenna growled.

Jenna made her way towards Liam, presumably to ask where the ladies room was. The conversation must have shifted though, because all of a sudden she started jumping up and down and clapping her hands. Her face lit up with excitement as she walked behind the bar to watch Liam make Maxwell’s mud slide.

“So you pour your ingredients into the blender: Kahlua, vodka, and Irish Creme,” Liam instructed. “Then you get the pièce de résistance.” He showed Jenna into what Drake assumed was the bar’s kitchen.

“This isn’t good,” Drake thought. He started to think of a good reason to follow them. Then he remembered what the King had said to Jenna before they left, “The number one rule is this: Do not go off alone with any strangers!”

Just as he was about to storm into the kitchen, Jenna and Liam came out. They were laughing and Liam had his arm around Jenna’s shoulder. “That no good piece of...,” Drake started. “Is that... is that ice cream on his nose? On her forehead? What the hell happened back there!?”

Liam answered Drake’s question before he could actually ask it. “OK, Trouble. Let’s call a truce in the Great Ice Cream War of 2019 before things get really dirty!” Liam laughed and winked at Jenna, who promptly started to blush. “No... that’s my blush,” Drake moaned to himself.

Liam continued instructing Jenna through the final steps of making Maxwell’s drink. “OK, add three scoops into the blender, put the lid on, and blend for 10 seconds.” As Jenna approached the blender, Liam shifted so he stood behind her with his arms resting on the bar on either side of her. The sound of Drake gasping what he thought would be his last breath was drowned out by the whirring of the blender.

“4, 3, 2, 1!,” Jenna counted. She took her finger off the blender and removed the lid. Liam inched even closer as he inspected the contents. “Perfect!,” he exclaimed. “Now just pour the drink, top it off with some whipped cream, and you’ve officially made your first cocktail!”

Jenna, always one to enjoy doing things others thought mundane, was beaming with pride. She turned to Liam and said something Drake couldn’t hear. Whatever she said, she must’ve gotten the answer she was hoping for, because she did a little hop and clapped her hands.

A second later, Jenna was expertly carrying a tray with everyone’s drinks to the table. As she placed the final drink, the mud slide, in front of Maxwell, he, Hana, and Liam began to cheer.

Drake, who still hadn’t resumed normal breathing, just looked at Jenna. Her eyes met his in a “Well, what do you think?” kind of way.

“That was impressive,” Drake told her. “I’ve seen lifelong bartenders with less natural skill!”

The blush Drake loved so much returned to Jenna’s face. She was bursting with pride and this time, it was because of him.

“Who knows,” Jenna said with a cheeky grin. “Maybe I was a bartender in a past life!”

Everyone laughed, clinked their glasses together and began to drink. Drake, however, couldn’t get what Jenna had said out of his mind.

“A bartender. A normal, every day bartender,” he said to himself. “Not Princess Jenna, miles and miles out of my league. But a commoner, like me. Someone I wouldn’t think twice about asking out. Dating. Loving.”

The thought was so perfect and beautiful and so far out of reach, that Drake had to down his whiskey to keep from tearing up.

The only other thought that entered Drake’s mind at that moment was that if he, a commoner raised in the palace, was too low to be allowed to love Jenna, then Liam, a bartender, was even lower.

Taking a small amount of solace in that fact, Drake once again started to pay attention to the conversation around him... just in time to hear Liam ask Jenna to go out with him.

***

The Royal Romance AU. Jenna is mine, all other characters belong to PB.

Thank you to all who reacted so kindly to my prologue. I’ve decided to continue this story and see where it goes. The first couple of chapters came pretty quickly but I’m realizing now how much goes into writing character arcs, subplots, and the like. I’m going to keep plugging along - we’ll see where I end up!

Chapter One

Six months earlier

“Oh my God, Max!! We’re in New York!!! I’m so exciiiiiiited!!”

“O! M! G! Jenna!!! This is just the beginning.” Maxwell’s squeals were almost as high-pitched as Jenna’s.

“OMG,” Drake mocked, lagging behind as they walked towards baggage claim. “This is just the airport. We’ve been to hundreds.”

“Stop being such a grump,” Jenna scolded. “You’re half-American, isn’t it exciting to be on your home soil?”

“I’m not on my home soil yet, Crawford. I’m in an airport. And my actual home is halfway across the country.” Drake had been to visit his mother at the family ranch in Texas only once after his father’s passing. The entire Walker family used to spend vacations there, but that was another time.

“Do you miss Texas, Drake,” Hana asked. Drake looked at her with a snarky comment on the tip of his tongue, but he decided to keep it there. Hana was Jenna’s best friend and a sweet girl. Jenna was Drake’s closest friend, and anyone who cared about her like he did ranked high in his book. As long as they were a female. Or Maxwell.

“Sometimes.” Drake sighed. “It’s been so long since I’ve been there, it’s hard to miss a place I can just barely remember. I miss the great times we had there though.”

Jenna held back until Drake caught up with her. Before he could process what was happening, Jenna had Drake engulfed in one of her trademark hugs. “Her hugs should be bottled up and sold worldwide,” Drake thought. They had the power to heal anything that ailed you. These days he looked forward to receiving a hug from Jenna they way a dying man might look for water. Or the way a grumpy Drake might look for whiskey.

As if reading his thoughts, Jenna gave Drake a final squeeze and declared it was time to find a bar. “Drake needs whiskey, STAT,” she declared.

“I know just the place,” Maxwell boasted. “My cousin is a bartender at a place not too far from our hotel. I promised we’d try to meet up with him while we’re here!”

“I don’t know that my life can handle any more Beaumonts,” Drake chuckled, “but if whiskey is involved, I guess I can make the sacrifice.” Jenna wrapped her arm around Drakes and they walked to the baggage carousel together.

The trip to New York was meant to be one last adventure before the social season began. The Royal Cordonian Social Season a biannual even that Drake dreaded. It was a marathon of traditional events and visits to several of Cordonia’s most important towns and cities. Traveling with a dozen or so nobles, each one phonier than the next, was not high on Drake’s list of things to do. But since Jenna had returned from college, and Drake realized that his feelings towards her were changing, he decided to make the sacrifice and tag along.

He was particularly dreading this season as it was specifically designed to find Jenna a “proper” match. She’d be courted by nobles from around the region, and would have to choose one as her husband and future king. Before he was properly able to wrap his head around the feelings he had for Jenna, Drake was going to lose her.

Jenna had begged her father, a man known to capitulate to most, if not all, of Jenna’s requests, to allow her to take this vacation to New York as a “regular” girl, not a princess. After making sure she received some self-defense training from Bastien, Constantine allowed Jenna to travel incognito — as long as Drake went along. Drake put on his best “why me?” face, and agreed to go with Jenna, Hana, and Maxwell. In truth, he was almost as excited about the trip as Jenna.

Now safely in New York, the group gathered their luggage and made their way to the street outside. Jenna let out a piercing whistle and flagged down a taxi. “I’ve always wanted to do that,” she shouted gleefully.

Drake couldn’t help but laugh as he slid into the cab next to Jenna. “Jeez Crawford, I think maybe you’ve watched too much Sex and the City,” he joked.

“I don’t want to know how you know about Sex and the City, Drake!!” Hana’s laugh came as close to unladylike as Hana could get.

“I made him binge it with me when I had the flu last year,” Jenna laughed. “Two episodes and he was hooked!” Hana laughed harder as a blush crept its way across Drake’s face.

“Whatever, a bunch of hot women having sex and drinking booze,” Drake countered. “What’s not to love?” He winked at Jenna. She blushed in response and once again wrapped her arms around his. “God, I love it when she blushes,” Drake thought. He immediately cursed himself. “This is Crawford. She’s like my sister. I’m not attracted to her... except when she blushes. Smiles. Laughs. When she’s frustrated as hell and gets that little crease in her forehead.... No, dammit dude. You’re her friend. She trusts you. And in just a few days she becomes top prize to a crop of horny nobles.”

Drake attempted to push any feelings he thought he might be feeling deep down where even he wouldn’t see them. “She’s not mine,” he lamented to herself. “And she never will be.”

The quartet dropped their bags at their hotel, then took an Uber to the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.

“Maxwell, tell me about this cousin of yours,” Hana asked. “Oh, he’s the coolest, Hana!,” Maxwell responded. Drake chuckled internally, thinking that no Beaumont could ever be deemed “cool.”

Maxwell continued, “He’s smart as heck. He went to Princeton and graduated top of his class. He’s working as a bartender because he’s trying to write a book.”

“How interesting,” Jenna commented. “Does he look like you or Bertrand?”

“No, nothing like us. He’s my mom’s half-sister’s son, so he doesn’t really share any of the famous Beaumont genes,” Max said.

“Lucky guy,” Drake laughed. “Laugh it up, Mr. Grump,” Jenna chided. “He sounds like a nice guy and he’s Max’s cousin. Be polite before I tell everyone about how you cried when Carrie and Big broke up!”

Drake sunk into his seat while Max and Hana howled in the middle seat. “I TOLD you, Crawford, there was something in my eye!”

“It’s OK buddy,” Maxwell said, trying to stifle his laughter. “We all know you have a soft spot in there somewhere!”

“Whatever, looks like we’re here, anyway. Let’s go meet this cousin of yours Maxwell,” grumbled Drake.

“That’s my Marshmallow,” Jenna cooed as she squeezed him tighter.

As they made their way out of the car and into the bar, Drake couldn’t help but smile. A warmth that he had once only associated with whisky spread through him. It wasn’t the booze this time, though. It was the girl. Before Drake could process how that made him feel, they were inside and Maxwell was hugging a man... a tall, blonde, muscular man who seemed to only have eyes for... Jenna.

Maxwell turned back to his friends and declared, unnecessarily, “Jenna, gang, this is Liam!”

Well crap.

This is my very first attempt at fan fiction. The idea struck me just a couple of hours ago and I started writing. I have no clue if I’m formatting this the right way. Please reply with any tips or criticisms- just be kind! I don’t know yet if this is a stand-alone or a series or what.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to PB.

Also a quick word of thanks to the fiercely talented writers who inspired me to put this out there. @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @drakewalkerwhipped @burnsoslow @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria and so many others.

Reverse Circumstances

Prologue

The Royal Palace

Cordonia

Present

Drake Walker was sitting at his second favorite place in the world - the counter of a well-stocked bar. His most favorite place was next to the woman he... he loved — Jenna York, Crowned Princess of Cordonia.

“Love,” he thought. “It’s still so unbelievable that after knowing her her whole life, I can now admit that I love her.”

The thought was one that would typically bring joy to even the grumpiest of men. For Drake, who was in fact the grumpiest of men, joy was one of a million emotions the thought of loving Jenna triggered. There was joy. Fear. A familiar feeling of unworthiness that had plagued Drake for most of his life. And there was another feeling that had worked it’s way in to his stoic, brooding heart: Hope. Hope that she would follow her heart, not her crown. That she wouldn’t choose one of the dozen suitors vying for her heart. That she would choose him.

Before he could let himself truly enjoy the possibility of a future with her, the pleasant chattering of the hundreds of nobles around him grew into a cacophony of “oohs” and “aaahs” and he knew — Jenna was there.

He took one last sip of whiskey, closed his eyes, and took a steadying breath. But the second he turned around that breath, every breath in his body, came whooshing out as he saw her. She was stunning. “Fuck that,” he thought, “she’s always been stunning.”

Tonight she was extraordinary. Her gown was something beyond gold - miners could spend centuries digging and never find anything as brilliant as she was in this dress: a creation almost as beautiful as she. It was a soul-stirring blend of sparkling sequins and soft feathers. The perfect representation of its wearer — a glittery brilliance from afar, but when you have the chance to get close all you can see is a soft, delicate beauty.

Drake had been one of the chosen few who had seen the real Jenna. Truth told, he’d seen more of her than anyone. Not in THAT way (though the thought of being able to see her in that way made him reach for another swig of whiskey). But after twenty-three years of knowing Jenna and twelve months (years, decades, lifetimes) of loving her, he’d seen things others didn’t.

Where others saw a regal sense of confidence, he saw vulnerability. Where others saw power, he saw fragility. Where others saw composure and poise, he had seen passion and a desire to break the mold that centuries of royal blood had constructed for her.

Knowing the moment he’d been dreading and hoping for was coming near, Drake left the safety of the bar and joined the other men vying for Jenna’s hand:

Neville Vancouer, Future Earl of Cormery Isle and the slimiest and most entitled man Drake had ever met. Unfortunately Neville was considered a favorite because his home bordered two countries that had shaky diplomatic relationships with Cordonia. King Constantine, Jenna’s father, hoped a York-Vancouer marriage would strengthen those relationships.

Lord Rashad, Heir to Duchy Domvallier. Drake was never able to figure out the future duke. Rashad was a hard worker, and one of the few members of the court who didn’t rely on his title to get ahead. Another favorite according to the bookies (yes, bookies!) to win Jenna. Thankfully he seemed to have his eye on Hana Lee, Jenna’s college roommate and best friend.

Tariq Abadi, the foreigner. The son of an Saudi billionaire, Tariq was being sponsored by Duke Godfrey of Karlington. Godfrey had no sons. His daughter, Countess Madeleine of Fydelia, was a member of Jenna’s court. Godfrey had spent years trying to get close to the throne. He hoped Tariq’s money and status could tempt the King and his daughter.

Then there was Liam. Liam Richmond came into the competition as the dark horse. He was American, a distant cousin to Bertrand and Maxwell Beaumont. Bertrand was too old to court Jenna, and Maxwell was too... well, Maxwell. So they brought in a ringer - a distant American cousin that Jenna had met during a trip to New York City the year prior. The Beaumonts hoped that that one meeting and Liam’s “Hollywood good looks” would appeal to Jenna’s adventurous side. They weren’t wrong.

Jenna liked Liam, Drake knew that. Drake had grown to like him as well. The two became surprisingly fast friends. Among the things they had in common was that they’d both fallen for Jenna. But Drake prayed that the events of the past two months would induce her to make the one choice no one expected. That she would choose him.

Drake wasn’t a noble. His father was King Constantine’s protector - head of the King’s Guard. Jackson Walker had died years earlier, protecting Constantine from an attack on the throne. After Jackson’s death, Drake’s mother left Cordonia for her family’s ranch in Texas. With Jackson’s sacrifice in mind, King Constantine agreed to take Drake and his younger sister Savannah in as his wards. Through the years, Drake had looked at Jenna as another sister. But when Jenna came back from college in England, everything changed.

Now here he stood, vying for a chance at her hand and her heart. When his... well, when Olivia Nevrakis came to him and offered to sponsor him in the competition, his distaste for all things court-related went out the window and the possibility of a life at Jenna’s side prompted him to agree. He was the dark-horse and a late-comer to the competition, but he’d given it his all.

He often wondered what Olivia’s reason for sponsoring him was, but with all his efforts spent on courting Jenna he decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Heh, if Olivia ever heard me refer to her as a horse, she’d probably skewer me with her stiletto and roast me over an open flame,” thought Drake.

So here they all were. And there stood Jenna. More beautiful than he’d ever seen her. There was also a new kind of confidence about her. He wondered if this confidence came with knowing who she was going to choose. Who she would spend her life with.

Jenna, along with the King and Queen, made their way to the center of the ballroom. As the conversation came to an excited halt, Constantine made his way to the microphone.

“On behalf of my lovely wife, Queen Regina, let me please welcome you to the Coronation Ball.” Constantine’s words were met with a cheerful applause. He gave a little cough and the crowd once again became still. “You know why we are all here. The time has come for me to step down from the throne. It is now time for my daughter, the incredible Princess Jenna, to take her place as Jenna, Queen of Cordonia. As our forefathers dictated centuries ago, before Jenna can become Queen, she must choose a King. My darling Jenna, the choice is yours.”

“Here it is,” Drake thought. “This is the moment where my life begins or ends.”

Jenna stepped to the microphone, stopping only to kiss her father on the cheek. And then she spoke. “Thank you all for being here tonight. My life is about to change in so many ways. I love Cordonia more than I can express. I pray that I grow to become the fiercely loyal ruler that my father was before me.” Jenna blushed under her father’s adoring gaze, then continued. “My father could not have ruled over Cordonia as well as he did without my mother by his side. Their love is what kept them going when times were rough, and their love for each other only made their victories more sweet.”

With that, Jenna paused to look each of her suitors in the eye. “Woah,” thought Drake, “was it me, or did she throw me a smile?! Could she really be about to choose me!?”

Drake’s question was about to be answered. “The time has come for me to decide who will stand with me during my reign,” Jenna continued. “I have chosen someone who has not only won my hand, but had won my heart.”

Drake took a look at the other men. Neville looked like he’d already won and was ready for his own coronation. Drake’s fists clenched as he saw that Tariq was very obviously undressing Jenna with his eyes.

Then he saw Liam. Liam had a smile on his face that he recognized all too well. He’d seen it in photos taken of himself with Jenna. He’d felt it on his own face every time Jenna touched him. “He loves her,” thought Drake. “Does she....” Before Drake could finish his thought, Jenna was speaking again.

“So, with no further ado, I choose, for my hand and my heart....”

All at once phones started beeping and buzzing. The blue electric glow of hundreds of screens began to cast an eerie glow on the room. Bastien, Jackson Walker’s protégée and friend, passed his own phone to Constantine and to Jenna.

“No way!!” “He wouldn’t” “The bastard!” Drake heard exclamations bursting out all around him. “There’s no way this is going to end well,” he thought. He began to make his way through the crowd. As everyone turned to look at him, Drake was searching for the only face that mattered.

Jenna looked broken. She faced Drake and his heart shattered. Where just a minute ago there was joy, he only saw anger, betrayal, and heartbreak.

He felt someone grab him and turned to see Bastien. “Drake Walker, you are hear-by banned from the Royal Court. You have twenty minutes to pack your belongings. You will then be taken to the airport where a ticket will be waiting for you. It will take you anywhere you’d like to go.”

“What!?! Bas, NO! The only place I want to go is to see Jenna! I don’t know what this is all about, but I’ve done nothing wrong. I love her!” Bastien stood calmly as Drake yelled and tried to pull away. Without a word, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and showed Drake what everyone else had already seen — a grainy photo of him and... Kiara!!

Kiara was a member of Jenna’s court and claimed to be her friend. A few weeks earlier, during a visit to Applewood Manor, Kiara and snuck into Drake’s room. When he entered later, she jumped out clad only in lingerie and tried to kiss Drake. Disgusted, Drake had tossed her out on her lace-covered ass. “Bas, I can explain! This isn’t what it looks like!”

“I’m sure it isn’t,” Bastien said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I have orders to follow. I love you like a son, Drake, and I know you love Princess Jenna. The best thing you can do is go willingly. If it’s meant to be, you and Jenna will find your way back to each other.”

“Bullshit, Bastien. I’m going back in. I have to see her.”

Bastien reluctantly loosens his grip and Drake took a step towards the ballroom. Just then he heard Jenna begin to speak again. He picked up his pace and walked through the door just in time to hear Jenna’s voice, smaller than he’d ever heard it, say three words that broke his heart forever: