Chapter Text
The next day, Moira was beyond excited to show David his renovated room, which should have been his first clue that something was up. She giddily showed him all his new clothes, the crown jewels, basically anything he could ever want to wear. She pointed him to a line of clothes along the wall to look at.
He was confused at what was so special about the wardrobe. “Mom, these are pretty, but after the crown they are a bit of a letdown--” He was cut off by Alexis running out from behind the clothes and wrapping her arms around him in the tightest hug ever.
He couldn’t believe his eyes; his little sister was here. In Genovia. With him. “How--oh my god. I can’t believe you’re here.” He just shook his head and beamed, unwillingly to let go of her just yet.
Alexis grinned, “Well, it's not every day my big brother becomes a king. You really think I’d miss this?”
David almost felt like he could cry until he realized he had to bring his sister up to speed. “I’m getting married.” The words tumbled out of him before he could think of a way to break the news gently, or at least provide a semblance of an explanation.
Alexis slapped his arm with her limp wrist. “You’re kidding. To who?” If the slap and her tone didn’t give away her surprise, her wide eyes certainly did.
He let out an awkward laugh at his sister’s reaction. “Well, I don’t know yet actually. I have a lot to fill you in on.”
David went in to hug Alexis again, smiling as he saw his mother exiting the closet to give the siblings some space.
After holding her in the embrace for a while he grabbed her shoulders and inquired, “So what has been happening with you? Has my baby sister been crushing it in New York?”
The two spent a while catching up before they were collected and shuffled into the palace theatre room to screen potential dates for David.
It seemed like they were there forever. For every match that appeared onscreen someone had objection, whether it was Moira saying a particular candidate didn’t have enough titles, Alexis saying they didn’t look fun enough, or David complaining they weren’t good looking enough.
This all changed when they came across the Duchess of Kenilworth, Stevie Budd.
David could hear his mother’s impressed murmuring behind them, “She has a title that will impress the Parliament; she is a pilot, and she isn’t totally spooky-looking. She seems like our best bet so far. What do you think, David?”
David glanced back at his mother before looking at the picture of the smiling girl in front of him. He considered what his mother gave up to be queen, everything she sacrificed for the good of Genovia over the years. How could he ever argue he should be king if he wasn’t willing to do even a fraction of that?
He finally spoke up. “She's cute, when can I meet her?”
--
And so Stevie and David went on a series of very public dates with both their parents and the press in attendance. One reporter pointed out that this must be a hard way to get to know someone--David thought that was an understatement.
That being said, he liked hanging out with Stevie a lot. While there was no real spark on his end, she was amazing company and their personalities were just similar enough that they got along swimmingly.
About a week into their relationship, David and Stevie were sitting on a bench in one of the gardens around the castle. Throughout their conversation the press hovered a few feet away, snapping photos and chatting away.
David plastereds on a smile and looked at her. “Ah. Stevie, do you think you can talk without moving your lips? I think they’re beginning to lipread.”
Patrick watched from a distance as Stevie threw her head back and laughed; he didn’t know what David had said but it must have been pretty funny. Patrick shut his book and thought about this ridiculous scheme that his uncle was forcing him to be a part of.
Trying to push David out of line for the throne felt wrong no matter how you sliced it. The marriage rule was stupid and David is the rightful ruler anyway; Patrick had no business trying to be king. But his uncle had been very aggressive when proposing this plan, and with the added pressure from his family who believed he could and should be a great ruler, how could Patrick have said no? He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of Stevie screaming and the image of David down on one knee in front of her.
Damn, that was quick. If David was willing to get married to a practical stranger for his country, how the heck was Patrick going to have any kind of chance? He collected his things and headed back to meet his uncle in the palace.
After filling in his uncle on what had happened in the garden, all he could do was lie on the sofa and listen to him complain about how everything was going wrong, and about how David couldn’t be allowed to take the throne, and a lot of other things that he didn’t hear because he wasn’t paying any real attention.
Suddenly his uncle stopped ranting and simply looked at him for a moment. “You my boy, are the key,” he said.
Wait. Wasn’t I already the key before? . Patrick’s confusion must have shown through on his face because his uncle quickly explained himself.
“You are a handsome young man, filled with charm. Seduce him. All you have to do is pull him away from that girl enough to derail the wedding and the throne is yours.”
Patrick thought about it for a second.If he succeeded he would be king. If he failed … well then at least he’d get to flirt with a very handsome future king. Seemed like a win-win.
“Yeah okay, I’ll do it.”