sutton hummed appreciatively as she accepted the drink from scout, raising the champagne to her lips and hastily drinking half of it. “ i would tell you if i were getting married but not because i need parker’s clout, i could get on ‘ say yes to the dress ’ right this second all by myself ! ” but of course, she wasn’t engaged yet, it was a little while away yet. “ not that i would, i would obviously have a designer custom make my dresses. i don’t need to go to kleinfeld’s to try any on. ” 

“ i’ve tried to be more present tonight, so i’ve not been on my phone much. except when i was checking with the nanny that alex and dora had finally settled down. ” it wasn’t a concious thing until parker had arrived wearing irish crown jewels, she loved him but it was such a dramatic thing to do at someone else’s wedding, so social media was a no go while her feed blew up. “ are they really though ? i didn’t think i was actually allowed to use it until after we’re married ? ” she was still happy to be called first daughter, but second lady still continued to have butterflies fluttering in her tummy. “ i don’t know, i think we have to invite everyone important for at least one part. maybe the reception. it would be rude to exclude anyone i think. ” her right hand crossed over her left, absentmindedly rubbing at her ring finger and the space a ring would eventually occupy. “ it’s a while off anyway, nothing to worry about right now, my love. ”

“ i suppose since they’re both so important it needed to be in both, but on one day ? ” she let her head drop onto her own shoulder, briefly wishing she’d had more time for a longer nap before having to get ready for the reception. “ mm, it was all very nice they seem happy enough. ” and really, that was all that mattered. “ i expected more than pronovias for the ceremony, so at least the de la renta delivered. the tiara’s were pretty though. ”

sutton passed the glass to the man gabriel has gestured towards, but begged off a conversation so that she could continue talking to the portuguese prince. “ well i’m not that intent on getting drunk, and it just wouldn’t look good. ” she said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, though the temptation to get so drunk she couldn’t walk just so seb could carry her back to their room was terribly tempting. “ i heard you’re engaged to the bride’s sister, congratulations ! is there going to be an engagement party ? i’ll need to start shopping for a gift. ”

“ oh, but i really couldn’t, ” the stuff was so strong. “ good ! here, all yours. now tell me how you’ve been, i haven’t seen you since... what was it ? montreal, 2019 ? too long. ”

“ that’s— ” it was certainly a talent for someone to drink the strong liquor at such a quick speed, whatever words had formed on her lips died, replaced with a silent awe, and slight worry. “ well, i don’t think that’s correct, i think everyone is rather important considering the current, uh, climate. ” sutton raised her own glass to her lips, trying not to cringe at the burning in her throat, “ did you want another ? you drank that one rather fast. ”

“ it’s a little crowded up there, i wouldn’t have made the trip if i wasn’t determined to make the most of tonight, it’s been so lovely. ” she flashed a bright grin, only marred. “ i wonder if should be worried if you know me through my brother, i’m not nearly as fun i’m afraid. ”

“ okay i’m dying to know — what’s your verdict on the wedding ? ” she was actively taking notes now, her own eventual wedding wouldn’t be a royal one, but it’d certainly be as close as the states would ever get to something of this calibre. “ i understand the two locations in theory, but i wished they’d split it over two days, i’m exhausted. ”

“ did you want this ? i was getting another for my sister but someone beat me to it. ” sutton turned to her left, brandishing a second glass of whisky. “ i promise i’ve done nothing to it, i just can’t drink two at once. ” ( @hshqstarters )

𝐒𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄, 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒, attends the wedding of crown princess catherine of scotland & crown prince theodor of sweden. she wore 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐀 for the ceremony at st. eric’s cathedral in stockholm, sweden & 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐑𝐀 for the reception at holyrood palace in edinburgh, scotland. ( 27.02.2021 )

“ i love burgundy. dark colours always look so beautiful on you, ” she couldn’t help but sigh, bias aside, her sister always looked amazing. “ i suppose if she’s going to make a statement, that’ll be the right day to do it. ” most of the fashion would end up being white noise anyway, barely reported upon, once she stood up with sebastian. “ of course i do ! i’ve been working with carolina herrera on a blue ensemble. and then i’m wearing miu miu to the ball. what about you ? de la renta again ? i know i text you about the new years’ dress but it really was stunning. ”

“ and it doesn’t have to be your specialty ! ” she responded, “ you’re going to be a king, and you have parker who can throw together a party for any occasion in a pinch, as long as you’re comfortable with there being a keg somewhere. ” you can take the boy out of the frat, but not the frat out of the boy, unfortunately. “ thankfully for your sister any party planned by me has cheap beer banned, but honestly i’m just debating on whether she would like something more intimate, and themed, i just cannot for the life of me figure out whether she would prefer a theme or no. what do you think ? ”

“ hopefully none of the boring bits, it’s always so long and we can’t even be on our phones to keep occupied because there’s always a camera watching. ” she’d much rather have spent her time texting her siblings about the silly things that had occurred rather than feigning interest when she wasn’t needed. “ well you could just fly with me any time we’re going to the same place ! technically if i’m going anyway you coming along has no extra effect ! right ? ” she didn’t know how it worked, not really. “ and we can like, plant some trees to offset the emissions or, well, however that works. ” she was sure aisling would singlehandedly save the planet if she could, she was so knowledgeable about all of it. “ i don’t have much gossip but i’ve heard there’s a wedding coming soon, we need to discuss what you’ll wear. should i have my stylist send you some pictures of my past looks for you to look at ? the very second you tell me which dress you want i’ll get it for you. ”

“ two and a half,  ”  if she was being specific, though the three year mark seemed so much further away than just six months. but she knew, of course, that that was just the anticipation of what was to come talking, she knew the logical next steps in their relationship now things were out in the open it was just a matter of when exactly sebastian would take them. “ technically, but still first daughter as well, but the plan is for me to be with sebastian and the girls once the program finishes ! for the time being i’ve moved into the suite with them, it’s nice not living alone but it’s such chaos with the dogs, the girls, and us. i pray we’ll go back to not being in such close quarters soon. ” she raised her straw to her lips and took a small sip, “ there have been so many new arrivals recently, your brother and his fiancée ? is he still... as unlikable as you’ve previously mentioned ? ”

“ i remember, you presented it to mom as a genuine achievement and i thought she was going to slap you. ” she’d only partially enjoyed their mom’s disgust at the time because it thouroughly overshadowed the disappointment she’d expected having shown her that she’d gotten a b on a test. “ next time i just won’t play a game that we know is going to hurt me in the long run. though you definitely should play ‘ how many times will fox mention impeaching mom or sebastian ’ with seb, maybe he might get some joy out of them being asses about us. ”

image was everything in their world, every move they made from now on would be publicly documented, tracked and traced, at the very least until after sebastian’s term as president came to an end. she knew that this affected that, they both knew, not everyone was going to approve of them. “ we'll get through it. ” her words spoke of a confidence she didn’t entirely have, especially when he looked so dejected. “ fox was always going to have a poor opinion of us, of you. but you can’t be removed from office for this because you’re not doing anything wrong. ” her hand rose to stroke at his neck, hoping it might soothe him a little. “ things will be easier when the interview comes out, when people understand this is serious for us, and not you having a mid life crisis. ”

“ oh, it’s nothing that needs to be private ! ” sutton tapped on the binder in her arms with freshly manicured nails, “ i’m planning, i know aisling’s birthday is in march but i want it to be one for the ages for her, and party planning is my specialty. i was hoping for your help. ”