#noreception

“Thank you all for being here tonight. This is an incredible honor and a responsibility that I don’t take lightly,” Gabriel began. “I only hope that I can serve Cordonia with the distinction that my father did.”

Gabriel bowed to his father and Regina, the now former King and Queen of Cordonia, before hugging them both tightly.

“And now the time has come. Gabriel will choose his bride,” Regina announced.

“First,” the King Father interjected. “Let us thank you all for spending the social season with us.”

“And particularly for all of the young ladies, thank you for your time. I could imagine any one of you being a fitting queen for my son,” Regina added.

Suddenly, a royal advisor walked up and whispered to the former King and Queen. “If you’ll excuse us one moment,” Regina said as the two of them stepped away from the crowd to confer with the advisor, inviting Gabriel to join them.

Just then, a phone buzzed. Then another, and another. One by one, people in the crowd checked their devices.

“Oh my!” Madeleine gasped.

“Oh non!” Kiara joined in.

“She wouldn’t…” Penelope said, flabbergasted.

“Bertrand!” Maxwell screamed at his brother.

“What?” Bertrand said, annoyed as Maxwell shoved his phone in Bertrand’s face forcing him to look at the screen.

“Those bastards!” Drake said angrily.

“Drake… what is it?” Bragnae asked, fearful of how he might answer. She had a terrible feeling it had something to do with her.

Drake looked up at her with a sad expression on his face. “That night Tariq thought you walked into his room… Someone got photos of it. You were set up.”

“It’s all over the news!” Hana exclaimed with deep regret.

Hana walked over to Bragnae’s side, and showed her a news story published just a few minutes ago. In the leading photo, Tariq was reaching out for Bragnae while she stood there in her underwear. The headline read, ‘Prince Humiliated by Unfaithful Suitor!”

Bragnae’s heart sank. She couldn’t believe it. As if that night wasn’t awful enough, now all of Cordonia knew about it, and worst of all, they were seeing her in an extremely vulnerable and exposed position. She wanted to crawl into a hole and die. This was the worst feeling she’d ever had. She was betrayed. This news article put a spin on the situation claiming she wanted to humiliate Gabriel by sleeping with Tariq. Her breathing increased as panic spread throughout her body.

Oh my God! Oh my God! This can’t be happening. Who did this to me? Why did they do this to me? Those assholes! As if I’d ever want to be with that creep Tariq. But that doesn’t matter. This picture shows one of two stories, and the press decided to use the more scandalous version corrupting all of the Cordonian citizen’s minds. But wait. Gabriel. He must hate me. This will hurt him so much!

Bragnae couldn’t breathe. As her thoughts spiraled, she only managed to sputter out one word. “But…”

Seemingly from nowhere, the royal guards appeared around her. “I’m so sorry, Lady Bragnae, but I’ve been ordered to escort you out… immediately. Along with the representatives from House Beaumont,” Bastien said as he gripped her arm firmly.

“This is absurd!” Bertrand reprimanded.

“You can’t do this to Bragnae!” Maxwell said with a serious and fierce look – one Bragnae had yet to see in Maxwell before.

Two other guards grabbed Maxwell and Bertrand, and began dragging the three of them out of the ballroom hastily. Bragnae could barely comprehend the events that were unfolding around her. She was angry and confused, and now she was being forcibly removed from the Coronation Ball. Drake’s livid voice brought her back to reality.

“Get your hands off her!” Drake yelled as he started after them.

“Bragnae!” Hana said desperately.

Both Hana and Drake were now fighting through the crowds to reach them, but the other members of the guard were instructed to hold them back. Across the room, Gabriel was frantically scanning the crowd for Bragnae’s face.

“Where is Lady Bragnae?” Gabriel asked quietly, but just as soon as he said it, he spotted her. “Bragnae!”

“Gabriel!” Bragnae screamed back.

The room erupted into chaos, and was filled with deafening noise making it impossible for their voices to carry to each other.

“Given the circumstances, I’m sure Lady Bragnae has withdrawn from consideration,” Regina said, turning to Gabriel.

“But… I need to speak to her,” Gabriel replied angrily.

Noticing Gabriel’s uncharacteristic show of emotion, Regina pulled him aside, and whispered to him before turning back to the crowd. Gabriel grew more furious as Regina spoke to him before he bitterly conceded to whatever he was hearing. The King father turned outward to the crowd once more.

“And now, Prince Gabriel must make his choice,” Constantine declared, glaring over his shoulder at Gabriel who stood behind him slightly shaking his head back and forth at his father. At this announcement, the crowd hushed to hear the news.

With a disappointed and furious look, Gabriel stepped forward to address the crowd once more. “I choose…” He paused, struggling to say the next two words. “Lady Madeleine,” he gritted through his teeth. Gabriel shot daggers in the direction of his father only to receive a knowing nod from Constantine.

A few feet away, Madeleine stepped forward to stand next to Gabriel with a winning smile on her face, “I’m deeply, deeply honored to accept.” She reached up to kiss Gabriel on the cheek as he clenched his fists, still seething about his forced choice.

Bragnae shuddered at Gabriel’s words unsure of how she truly felt about it. She turned back to face what was in front of her. She was almost to the door that would lead her out of the ballroom and eventually the palace. She panicked as thoughts of her life in Cordonia flashed before her eyes. She was about to lose her friends… she was about to lose Drake.

No! I can’t leave like this! I need to see him again!

Bragnae turned back to find Drake again through the crowd. Her eyes searched for him desperately until finally she saw him still being held back by the Royal Guard. His face was fraught with emotion that was somewhere between shock, anger and sadness. As the crowd continued to cheer and clap at Gabriel’s decision, Bragnae knew she could only communicate with Drake with her eyes. She offered him a pleading, yet apologetic look feeling her eyes well with tears. Drake mouthed her name never letting his gaze stray from her face. As the doors closed behind her, his face was the last thing she saw.

Bastien’s grip loosened on her arm, still guiding her toward the staircase. She ascended the stairs feeling like a disobedient child being reprimanded, and sent to her room. She was utterly embarrassed. Behind her Bertrand was giving the guards two kinds of hell.

“Unhand me at once! This is completely uncalled for!” Bertrand demanded.

“There’s an explanation to this! Can’t we just calm down and talk about it?” Maxwell pleaded.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Bragnae noticed she was being led back to her room at the palace. She looked back to see Maxwell and Bertrand being escorted in the opposite direction, presumably toward their own rooms. Bertrand was still ranting as his voice faded the further apart they became.

“Maxwell! Bertrand!” Bragnae screamed.

“Keep going,” Bastien said to her sternly, tightening his grip on her once more.

They reached her room and escorted her in. Bragnae felt relief on her arm as Bastien finally let go of her. He moved to face her. Two other guards stood inside her room in front of her now closed door.

“Lady Bragnae, you have exactly five minutes to gather your things. We’ll be escorting you off the palace grounds, and you will be returning to New York tonight.”

Bragnae’s mouth gaped open as she looked at him in horror. She wanted to scream, cry and punch Bastien all at the same time. She looked around her room with sadness. So much had transpired within the last ten minutes. As her mind raced through everything, she found herself becoming irate at her current situation. Throughout this whole social season, she had done her best to keep her cool, and represent House Beaumont with as much poise and elegance as she could. All things considered, she thought she did well enough. All of her hard work learning their customs and new things like the game of croquet, and enduring the endless snide comments from the royal family, her competitors and the press for what? To be forced to leave the country because one news article claimed that she was some tramp out to break Gabriel’s heart?

This is complete bullshit.

“Can I at least change out of this dress before you make me go?” She pleaded with Bastien, but made no effort to hide her snarky attitude.

“Do it quickly,” he replied.

Bragnae marched to the bathroom thankful all of her clothes were in a closet linked to it. She hated that Bastien and the other guards were watching her every move, so the privacy was more than welcoming to her at the moment. She closed the door, and let out a sigh. She walked over to her dresser and found a pair of jeans and a black tank top, and changed out of her dress. Bragnae looked at all of her beautiful dresses hanging in the closet reminiscing the memories she made in them. She felt tears start to pool in her eyes again, but she quickly blinked them away. She grabbed her suitcase, and began packing the dresses and other clothes she had. Next, she turned to her vanity to collect her toiletries. She stared at herself in the mirror.

I can’t believe this is how it’s going to end. I can’t even speak to my friends, and I’m about to be toted off like some common criminal. This is fucking ridiculous.

Bragnae pounded her first on the vanity. Just then she heard a knock on the door.

“Sixty seconds, Lady Bragnae,” Bastien called from beyond the barrier.

Ugh. Fine. Have it your way, asshole.

Bragnae opened her cosmetic bag and held it against the edge of the vanity as she swiftly moved all of her products into it with one swipe of her arm. She threw the bag into her very full suitcase, and begrudgingly zipped it up. She threw the door to the bathroom open carrying her luggage by the side handle. Bragnae took a few steps out of the bathroom looking Bastien in the eye as she purposefully dropped her bag on the floor. It was her last act of defiance. Bastien sighed shaking his head.

“Pick up her suitcase, and let’s go,” Bastien ordered the other two guards.

Bragnae planted herself in the spot she stood burning a hole into Bastien with her look with her arms folded across her chest. He moved to grab her arm again, but she whipped it out of his reach.

“Do not… touch me,” she growled. “At least let me walk out of here with what little dignity I have left.”

Bastien pulled back slightly reacting to her tone as if he was surprised she would stand up for herself. He said nothing as he lifted his arm in the direction of the door insisting that she walk ahead.

Bragnae took a deep breath looking around her room once more, and then headed for the door. It wasn’t long before the guards led her into a black SUV outside of the palace sitting on either side of her in the back seat. Bastien climbed into the driver’s seat, and took off for the airport. She looked back at the palace watching it get smaller and smaller as they drove away. Drake. She turned back to face the dark road ahead of her. Endless tears flowed down her face. The car was completely quiet, except for her occasional sniffle breaking the silence. She leaned forward in her seat resting her head in her hands.

When they reached the airport, one guard grabbed her suitcase as the other opened the door for her to get out. Bastien sidled up next to her as they walked into the main entrance.

“We’ve got you on the red eye leaving at 1:15 a.m. Continue to cooperate with us, and this will all go smoothly,” Bastien said. “You will not be returning to Cordonia.”

Bragnae glared at him, but kept walking without replying. Soon, she was through security and arrived at her gate. She rolled her bag over to a seat facing the window and sat down.

“I want you two to stay with her until she boards the plane,” Bragnae heard Bastien say to his subordinates.

Bastien walked over to stand in front of Bragnae with a soft, almost regrettable look on his face, which was very different than she had seen in the last half hour.

“Lady Bragnae… for what it’s worth, I’m sorry we had to remove you from the palace like that.”

Bragnae stared up at him. Her blood boiled.

“Fuck you, Bastien,” she replied, her words dripping with indignation. “You have no idea what you’re forcing me to leave behind. You’re all a bunch of cowards. You’d trust the word of the press before you’d even look into the situation yourselves. What about your new King? Do you think this is what he wanted? I know for a fact it’s not. It’s fucking bullshit, and you know it.”

Bastien hardened his gaze before speaking again. “Have a safe flight, Lady Bragnae,” he said curtly as he walked off.

Bragnae slumped in her chair looking out the window at Cordonia. She could faintly see the palace sitting atop the hill in the distance. Cordonia grew to be a second home to her – maybe more like an actual home. She felt more comfortable here than she did most of the time living in New York. There was something about Cordonia that drew her in. Perhaps it was the people, or maybe it was the feeling of being swept up in some sort of fairy tale in a far off land she’d never heard of before. It was truly magical, and this experience was everything to her. It took on a whole new meaning of the word adventure. She made new friends… and enemies. She learned more about herself and took risks. She found love. True love. And now, she was leaving it all behind against her will. There was still so much to say. She sat there and stewed thinking about everything.

I bet Gabriel thinks I’m some sort of crown chaser by now. He probably hates me for embarrassing him like that. I can’t say I blame him though. I should have told him about that night at Applewood Manor, but then again, I didn’t think I was being watched. I just wish I could have explained it to him. Those fucking vultures set me up, and plastered my half-naked ass all over the internet right as he was about to make his announcement. Coupled with that threatening letter… How convenient. I should have put two and two together earlier before all of this happened. I’m such a fool.

But let’s be real, Bragnae. What would you have done if this didn’t happen? You’re in love with Drake! And Gabriel is in love with you, and you love him… but you’re not in love with him. How did this happen?!

What if Gabriel had chosen me like he told me he was going to do earlier tonight? I was resigned to say yes. This was the only thing to do. It was the proper thing to do. I came here for Gabriel after all… But does that mean I’d have to be unhappy for the rest of my life?! Ugh, this is such a mess. What was I going to do? Embarrass him by declining his offer to marry me in public. Or would I have said yes, and then broken it off later to save him the humiliation of being let down in front of everyone. That wouldn’t have been good either. What if I had gone through with marrying him, while still secretly loving Drake? Would I have just moved on and forgotten my feelings for Drake? Maybe, but I doubt it.

This doesn’t even matter, Bragnae! Why are you going over this?! It doesn’t matter anymore.

Perhaps this was for the best. This way, the decision was made for me. What do they call it when this happens? … A blessing in disguise? Still! I wanted to make this decision! I want control over my life! I didn’t want to be thrown out of the ballroom with my name tarnished like that.

I want to be with Drake. Bragnae scoffed at her thoughts.

I finally know who I want to be with, and now that can never happen. I’m leaving Cordonia, and I doubt he’ll follow me to New York. Especially with Gabriel hating me or whatever he feels about me, Drake would never betray him like that. It basically took an act of God to get Drake to even admit his feelings for me or even kiss me despite his loyalty to Gabriel. It would make Gabriel look really bad if his best friend left the country to be with ‘the harlot that jilted the Prince’ at the end of the social season.

Reality was finally starting to set in crashing over her like a tidal wave. She was never going to see Drake again. She would never get the chance to tell him that she wanted to be with him, and only him. Bragnae finally knew what it felt like to truly love another person, and being ripped away from him without a proper goodbye was breaking her heart. She couldn’t breathe. The pain of losing him before things even had a chance to start was overwhelming. Being forced into this situation made her feel like someone ripped her heart out of her chest, and stomped on it in front of her. There was nothing she could do. Realizing this, Bragnae started to cry. Not caring who was looking at her, she allowed herself to cry harder. The tears poured as she gasped for air, but it wasn’t making her feel better. She was angry, and desperately wanted to pound her fists into something. She didn’t care who or what that was. Bragnae leapt up from her seat and ran to the bathroom just down the way. One of the guards stood up to follow her, but stopped when he saw her go in.

She headed right for a stall and slammed the door behind her. She leaned against the cold metal sobbing even more, and kicked it a few times. After a few minutes, she emerged from the stall, and walked over to the sink to splash some cool water on her face. When she looked up she saw just how red and puffy her face was with her eyes all bloodshot. She stood with her hands on either side of the sink holding herself up as she continued to look into the mirror. Nothing was making this pain going away, and it was incredibly frustrating. So many different emotions coursed through her veins, and it was unbearable. She wondered when this pain would go away, if ever. She dropped to her knees, and turned to lean against the wall. She tucked her legs against her chest, and held herself quietly.

Bragnae had to do something to help herself. She needed to break away, and take back some control. She briefly considered tricking the royal guards somehow, and sneaking out of the airport, but the image of her being thrown into a Cordonian jail turned her off of that thought. She had to talk to Drake again. She had to tell him that she loved him, and how much she was going to miss him. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, and brought up Drake’s number. She hesitated at first, but pushed the button to call him anyway. The phone went straight to voicemail. She hung up and dialed again. Same thing. She sighed. Bragnae wished at this moment that Drake had recorded his own personal greeting on his cell phone, so she could hear his voice again. She ended the call, and stared at her phone.

Maybe I’ll just text him, then. But what do I even say? I don’t want to tell him I love him over a text. That’s so tacky. Who knows if his phone is even on or when he’ll even get it?

Bragnae began talking herself out of texting Drake, but then realized it hurt more to not even try to reach him. She opened up her Message app, and began typing a text to Drake.

              [Hey Drake…]

Bragnae paused before sending the message.

Ugh! What do I say?!

Feeling sad and defeated again, she navigated to her Photos app. She scrolled through the first few pictures of her with her friends. There were a few selfies she and Hana took before Karaoke night began, a picture of Bertrand, her and Maxwell at the Beaumont Bash holding up champagne bottles and the swords they opened them with, a few more selfies of her, Hana and Maxwell from that night as well, and many goofy poses of Maxwell throughout their travels. She continued swiping through her pictures until one made her stop dead in her tracks. It was the selfie she took of her and Drake the night of his birthday at the American-themed country bar. She had almost forgotten about it.

Before they left that night, Bragnae leaned in and wrapped her arm around Drake’s waist holding her phone out in front of them demanding a selfie. The memory made her smile for a brief moment. She remembered him grimacing at her, but he relented and leaned in close for the shot. The result was the most perfect picture she’d ever seen. The angle from the camera looked down on them with Bragnae beaming as she displayed a full smile, while Drake had an eyebrow somewhat raised, and one side of his closed mouth slipping up into a smile ever so slightly. It was so perfectly Drake. He rarely smiled, and even though his wasn’t the biggest in this picture, it still made Bragnae’s heart skip a beat when she looked at it. She knew how much he held in his affections for her, and in this photo, she could see the restrained happiness he was allowing to show. Despite them revealing their true feelings a few weeks after his birthday, she knew they both felt a spark that night. He really opened up to her on his birthday. It was the first time she really hugged him, and felt him return her embrace with sincerity.

He looks so good in this picture. Those beautiful, brown eyes… those lips… that strong jaw line. And his soft, gorgeous hair.

Bragnae felt herself blush remembering his touch, and how well he kissed. And it wasn’t even about how good of kisser he was. It was how she felt when his lips were on hers. The undeniable electric bolt that surged through her body every single time never ceased to amaze her. Kissing him felt so right despite it always having to be in secret. She closed her eyes trying to hold onto the memories of when they could be alone, and truly be themselves around each other. She felt a tear roll down her cheek as she opened her eyes again. She looked at her phone once more, this time zooming in so just Drake’s face filled her screen.

I’m going to miss you so much, Drake.

Feeling a bit of inspiration looking at his face, Bragnae decided to return to the Message app.

                 [Hey… I just wanted to say thank you for everything you’ve done for me. And I’m going to miss you… a lot.]

Bragnae sent the message hoping it would mean something to Drake when he read it. But before she could put her phone away, her screen lit up, and displayed the words ‘Not Delivered’ underneath the message she sent. Bragnae tapped the message attempting to send it again, but it came back the same. She looked to her reception bars and saw a ‘1x’ where full bars should be.

Great, I have no reception. I guess it’s not meant to be, then. Just my luck.

Bragnae stood up, and decided to return to her seat to await her flight back to New York. When she exited the bathroom, she saw one of the guards standing just outside of it waiting for her. She sighed in disgust and walked over to her seat. Before sitting down, she looked out the window, and decided to change her seat facing away from it.

It’s time to stop emotionally cutting myself. I’m really going back to New York. I need to look forward, and not dwell in the past.

Bragnae’s pep talk carried no weight, as she didn’t even believe herself. But she had to try. Anything was better than the pain she felt. She drew in a deep breath suddenly feeling exhausted. She slumped down in her chair once again, closing her eyes. Her flight was supposed to begin boarding in an hour. That’s all she had to wait for. Then this would all be behind her. She tried to will herself to sleep, but her mind was still racing. No matter what she did to think about anything else, the thought of leaving the love of her life consumed her.