Chapter Text
Deception and Disguise
Chapter 1 – The Dispute
Disclaimer – Any character you recognize is JK Rowling's. But the plot and idea completely and truly belong to me.
"I already told you that I'm not going to marry him!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, uncaring that her voice might carry to the adjacent ballroom.
"Do not raise your voice at me, girl. You will live to regret it," he growled at his niece. "I'm not your father; you cannot sway me with your crying and sobbing. Stop it this instant! This kind of behaviour is not becoming of a princess."
She angrily wiped away the tears streaming down her face, but it proved to be useless as fresh ones took their place immediately. "You do not have to remind me that you are not my father, uncle," she replied, trying her best to not let her voice waver. "He would have never forced me to marry against my will."
"We might never know what he would have wanted, would we? Your father is dead."
"He was your brother! How could you speak of him like this?!" she cried, her heart aching at the memory of her deceased father.
"Charles did not know how to run a kingdom; treating commoners like friends, allowing them inside the castle…his methods were disgraceful! The world is well rid of him."
"How dare you?!” she all but yelled, wisps of silky auburn hair tumbling out of her elegant bun. "He was a good man; better than you can ever be. He treated everyone fairly. The kingdom was happy under his reign. They could come to him with their problems, knowing that he would help them. But now—now the people hate us! You have driven more than half the families into poverty only to ensure that you have enough gold to drown in."
She angrily walked closer to the king, who was clutching the handle of his sword so hard that his knuckles had turned white. His urge to kill the insolent girl in front of him was becoming overwhelming. If only she didn't have the ability to bring him immense riches, he would have done it a long time ago.
"I hope you know that there is no doubt in my mind that my father was murdered, Your Majesty," she hissed, her voice laden with venom, "do not be mistaken that I ever believed your story; my father never trusted you, he wouldn't have left his sword with you at any cost."
"You filthy little—" he raised his hand, unable to control his rage any longer. But she didn't even wince as his palm connected with her face and her skin turned an angry red. Instead, she merely glared back at her uncle with nothing but rage-filled tears shining in her emerald eyes.
She sneered, glaring. "Did I hit a nerve, uncle Riddle?"
"Princess Evans! Where were you? I had been looking every—oh!" A flustered looking servant suddenly entered the hallway, staring at the scene before her with big brown eyes before realizing her place and bowing down to them dutifully. She had curly, dark brown hair that had been neatly pinned up into a bun.
"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty," she apologized fearfully, not lifting her head. "I did not know that the princess was with you."
"I do not think that is a problem, Mary. Uncle and I are done talking," the princess spoke up before Riddle could reply.
The king looked at the servant named Mary with disgust, unable to believe that his niece would know her by name. Just like Charles, he thought with contempt before redirecting his glare at the impudent girl in front of him.
"The marriage will take place within a fortnight. And you will marry Prince Lucius, even if I have to force you to do so. If this is delayed any further and he marries Narcissa Black instead, mark my words, princess—I will not hesitate to send you to the gallows," he whispered frostily to her. "Now we're done talking."
He whirled around and walked back into the ballroom, his black cape billowing with each stride.
As soon as her uncle was out of sight, she slid down to the floor, her green gown pooling around her as she sat. Putting her head into her hands, she sobbed silently, wondering what her life had come to.
"Oh, Princess Evans," Mary immediately rushed to her side, rubbing her back and trying to console her. "Please forgive me for saying so, but I think it will be better if I take you to your chamber. His Majesty will be furious if someone were to see you like this."
"I shall allow you to take me to my chamber," came the muffled reply. "But not because of what my uncle wants, but because I do not wish for anyone to think of me as weak."
Mary smiled at her. Despite her red face stained with tears and her dress rumpled around her, Princess Lily Catherine Evans looked as radiant and beautiful as ever. Her bright green eyes shone with anger and resilience, and Mary was more than acquainted with her quick wit and sharp tongue, the latter of which often got her into trouble with the king.
She was anything but a weak little girl.
"Of course not, Your Highness," Mary agreed softly, helping the princess stand up from the floor.
"Mary, how many times do I have to remind you to call me Lily?" She asked with a watery smile on her face, "We are friends. Calling me 'Your Highness' or 'Princess Evans' seems to ruin that idea, do you not agree?"
"Yes, Lily," she replied, albeit a bit hesitantly.
"Much better," Lily smiled.
"Ah! I was wondering where you had run off to after our dance," a voice spoke out behind them. The two women turned around slowly to find a tall man with sleek blonde hair and cold blue eyes standing in front of them, an ugly sneer on his otherwise handsome face. Lily took a deep, calming breath at the sight of him.
"Prince Lucius," she greeted with a curtsy, the forced politeness evident in her voice.
"Princess Lily," he bowed down in response before snapping his fingers at Mary and simply gesturing her to leave without a glance. The princess felt her blood boil at his dismissal of her only friend in the entire castle, but forced herself to keep her mouth shut. She watched sadly as Mary left without a word, her head bowed respectfully the entire way.
"If my memory is not deceiving me, Your Highness," Lily spoke after a few seconds, "then I distinctly remember asking you to call me Princess Evans. You see, I only allow those closest to me to greet me by my first name."
"I assure you, princess, that my memory is quite as sharp as yours," he replied, walking dangerously close to her. She had to control her urge of scrunching up her nose in disgust at the close proximity. "But given that I plan on marrying you in a fortnight from now, I would consider us—quite close indeed."
Lily immediately stumbled away from him as he started leaning closer, trying to get the horrid image of Prince Lucius looming over her out of her mind. "I have no intentions of marrying you, Your Highness," She said, gritting her teeth. "And I think I have already made myself clear on the topic on plenty of occasions."
"Pardon me," he scoffed, his eyes flashing at her rejection. "But I do not think that your opinion on this matter is going to affect anything. His Majesty, King Riddle, has already made the arrangements for our royal wedding. The only thing that is expected of you is to attend."
"I beg your pardon?" she demanded, outraged, "I would think that my opinion on this matter is quite important. Without my agreement, this marriage is not likely to take place."
"That may very well be the case," Lucius replied. "But I know that the king is going to take care of that. This marriage is, after all, an important deal between both the royal families. And your agreement is just a trivial part of that. I'm sure your uncle will go to great measures to ensure that the deal is not broken."
Like threatening to send me to the gallows, Lily thought bitterly.
"And anyway," Lucius continued, "you have nothing to be ashamed of."
Lily's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his words. "I'm unable to understand what you mean.”
"You do not have to hide it any longer, princess. I have finally understood your reason for not wanting to marry me. And I must admit, I should have figured it out quite sooner. It does seem very obvious."
"And what is it that you have concluded?" Lily asked dryly. She highly doubted that the prince would ever realize that the reasons she did not want to marry him consisted of a long list of his abhorring traits.
"Well," he drawled, stretching the word as he walked around Lily, taking in her appearance. "Despite the fact that you look quite a mess at the moment, I shall like to inform you that you do not have to consider yourself unworthy of me. I do not care if you are less handsome than I am."
Lily felt disgust roil in her gut, anger and fury at the realization that he had the nerve to think she considered herself undeserving of him clouding her senses. "I beg your pardon, that is not the reason I—"
She stopped speaking abruptly, for the doors to the ballroom had suddenly opened and the guests were piling out into the hallway, ready to depart for the evening. She decided to simply glare at the man in front of her instead of shouting at him.
"There you are, Lucius! I am afraid we must leave now," A woman with long blonde hair strode over to the pair, her grey eyes scanning Lily distastefully. "Are you alright, princess? You seem very…distraught," said Elizabeth Malfoy—Lucius' mother and the Queen of Slytherin Kingdom.
Lily was suddenly very aware of the dried tear stains on her cheeks and her creased outfit. Realizing that all the royal families in the surrounding kingdoms were currently staring at her frazzled appearance, she quickly tried to make an exit. "Yes, I'm feeling fine. Pardon me for sounding rude, but I think I need to take your leave. The day has worn me off. I hope you had a pleasant evening."
"Yes, of course. I understand," Elizabeth replied, still staring at her with displeasure.
Lily quickly, yet politely, gave a curtsy and rushed off to her room, trying to get away from the view of all those self-important people. Spotting Mary on the way, she grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her along with her. Lily was grateful when her friend did not ask any questions until they had reached the confines of her chamber.
The princess' room was large and spacious, with a balcony that overlooked the entire kingdom. She remembered going on strolls with her father through the streets of Gryffindor when she was a kid. Being a mere five-year-old at the time, she would find the simple shops on the streets fascinating. And while the king would talk to the commoners, she would try to make new friends, as everyone within the castle walls was much older than her. But it was only a matter of time before she realized that a princess was not meant to have friends who were not royalty.
"Lily? What happened?" Mary asked, watching her friend collapse on the bed with a quiet groan.
"I don't want to marry him! Is it really that selfish of me if I'm thinking about my happiness?" she replied, feeling tears burning at the back of her eyes again.
"Of course not!" Mary replied immediately. "It’s your life. You should marry who you want to. You should marry someone you fall in love with—not someone who makes you unhappy."
"Then why am I being forced into a marriage to Prince Lucius? He’s cruel, unfeeling and unbearably boring," Lily fumed. But there was no response. Mary simply bit her lip and sighed, unable to come up with an answer to her question. Walking over to the massive wardrobe in the room, she pulled out a comfortable blue nightgown before making her way towards Lily.
"Forgive me, Lily. But there is not much I can say about this situation," she apologized softly, feeling her heart break for her friend, "come on, let's get you cleaned up. You might feel better after a hot bath."
**********
"I-I just can't do this, Mary," Lily said, biting her lip sadly.
"I know, Lily. I know," Mary replied, continuing to brush the wet, auburn sheet of hair gently. As she tied Lily's hair into a loose braid, a few short strands escaping to frame her pale face, the princess turned around to speak again.
"I just wish there was some solution to all of this. Some way I could escape this—this cage!" All she got was a compassionate look in return. Lily sighed, defeated. "Sometimes, I wish I were dead. Then maybe I wouldn't have to live day after day, knowing that my father's murderer was ruling the kingdom and controlling me, while I did nothing but watch helplessly."
"Don't say that!" Mary snapped, startling the princess. Then, realizing what she had done, she clamped her hands over her mouth, brown eyes aghast. "Pardon me, Your Highness! I did not mean to lose my temper. It was not my place to shout at you. I’m so so sorry—”
"Mary! It's alright!" Lily cut her off, clutching her hands to console her. "And forgive me for saying that. I didn't really mean it. It—It's just that..." she sighed, looking remorsefully out the balcony, at her father's kingdom, "sometimes, I wonder how it would be like, to be as free as a bird. To not care about your image or what people think about you. To just live."
Following her line of vision, Mary stared at Gryffindor and its cobblestoned paths which were lit up by the moonlight. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she absentmindedly formed a plan.
"Maybe…maybe you could run away," she whispered after a few moments of silence.
Lily's eyes widened at her suggestion and her head snapped towards Mary, who was still looking thoughtful, as if unaware of what she had just said. "What?" Lily breathed.
"I said that maybe you should run away from here, from this castle," Mary replied, turning to look at the shocked princess. Lily couldn't believe her ears; was she actually suggesting that? But the confidence in her brown eyes let her know that Mary was absolutely aware of what she was saying.
"But how? I mean, uncle Riddle would find me within a few hours. I haven't even been to these streets since I was five, Mary. How would I hide from him?!"
"Disguise," came the automatic reply. "You know my brother, Mark, yes?" She waited until Lily had nodded. "Well, he participates in the fair that takes place every year. He'll have plenty of disguises stocked up. I can find a few suitable ones for you.”
Lily felt like her head was going to burst. She hadn't set foot outside the castle since she was a child, except on the occasions when she had to visit the royal families in the neighboring kingdoms. Running away from her pitiless uncle may have sounded horribly appealing, but she knew it was not as easy as it seemed.
"I-I don't know, Mary," she finally replied.
"If you may allow, can I say something that could possibly sound too bold?" Mary asked. Lily smiled at her encouragingly and nodded her head.
Mary took a few steps forward and sat beside her, taking Lily's hands between her own. "I know what you're thinking, Lily. That suddenly leaving the castle and running away to a place you hardly even know is terrifying. And I'm not going to lie to you; it's going to be difficult. It's going to be very difficult. Not to mention that you'd be taking a huge risk by angering the king and the Malfoys. But in the end, isn't all of this going to be worth it? You'll finally get to live your life, make some real friends, not servants. And I'm not just talking about myself. Face it, Lily; you need more friends, everyone does. It's true that you'll have to hide from your uncle for as long as you can, but if you think that there is even the slightest chance that until he finds you, you'll have a better life than you could ever have here, then—then run away, Lily."
The room fell silent then, broken only by the sounds coming from the crowded streets of Gryffindor.
"Mary, get me the clothes tomorrow," Lily finally said, grinning widely at her friend. "I'm running away."