Good Prince Williams
Title: Good King Prince Williams
Rating: G
Pairings: None
Warnings/Spoilers: AU? Very much AU? *shrug* No spoilers, anyway.
Summary: Generally speaking, Danny didn't mind being the crown prince of Jersey.
Notes: Written for my au_bingo card for the square 'royalty/nobility'.
Generally speaking, Danny didn't mind being the crown prince of Jersey. Sure, the position came with a lot of responsibilities, but he was also in a position to do things, like helping those not as fortunate and protecting those not as strong. He even didn't mind the endless list of various balls and galas and events he was invited to and summarily had to attend.
Well, he didn't mind so long as he didn't end up surrounded by mindless sycophants, anyway. He liked a bit of intelligent discussion in his conversation partners, thank you very much.
So, events he didn't mind, which meant that his sister's wedding wasn't something his parents had to cajole him into attending. The prescribed outfit that his mother claimed was at the height of fashion just now? Yeah, that Danny minded.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered, tugging at the lacy cuffs of his shirt for the thousandth time.
"Daniel," his mother said.
"It is," he grumbled back. "These clothes are too tight and they itch. And if you haven't noticed, this place is packed, there aren't enough windows and breathing is on the verge of becoming a luxury. And the ceremony hasn't even started yet. This? This is ridiculous."
His mother sighed, but didn't say anything further and Danny sat back in his seat and tried to think of anything but his current discomforts. Forest around him, strong horse under him, prey fleeing before him...Grace, his beautiful Grace, begging him to teach her how to fence, with a long stick and an old pot as a helmet...
"Welcome, brethren. Gathered we today for this most momentous occasion..."
Danny drifted into a light doze as the priest droned on and on, rousing occasionally to stand, recite rote responses and bow his head during the prayers. Finally, the priest lifted his hands, declared Danny's sister and her nobleman to be husband and wife and the ceremony was over.
The trip down to the harbor, to the ship awaiting the royal family to celebrate the union of one of their own, was much more interesting and Danny was awake and looking out the window of his carriage as they went.
Those were his people, out there, cheering for their princess. Danny figured he'd gotten lucky, as far as kingdoms went; the people of Jersey loved their rulers and loved their rulers' children.
On the ship, the majority of the procession headed for the large room that had been built for occasions like this one, but Danny slipped away and found a secluded section of railing to lean on.
IT wasn't that he wasn't happy for his sister. Quite the opposite. She'd managed to fall in love with a nobleman that could actually hold a decent conversation for more than a minute or two and Danny liked that. Plus, the guy clearly adored Hannah, which earned Danny's approval automatically.
But seeing how radiantly beautiful and happy his sister had been had reminded Danny of his own wedding, nearly ten years ago, and the divorce, only a year past. Painful memories, though he wouldn't change them for anything, since his marriage to Rachel had given him Grace. But he could remember looking at Rachel and thinking, this is it, this is the woman I want by my side for the rest of my life.
And, well, look at how that had turned out.
Lost in thoughts and memories, it took Danny a while to realize what he was looking at, out across the water. The ship had moved out into deeper waters and land was just a hazy line along the horizon. What he was looking at, however, was another ship.
He squinted at it, trying to make out the insignia of the flag. When he did, he gasped and pushed back from the rail. Nearly running to where he could hear bright laughter and voices and music, he shouted:
"Pirates!"
Rating: G
Pairings: None
Warnings/Spoilers: AU? Very much AU? *shrug* No spoilers, anyway.
Summary: Generally speaking, Danny didn't mind being the crown prince of Jersey.
Notes: Written for my au_bingo card for the square 'royalty/nobility'.
Generally speaking, Danny didn't mind being the crown prince of Jersey. Sure, the position came with a lot of responsibilities, but he was also in a position to do things, like helping those not as fortunate and protecting those not as strong. He even didn't mind the endless list of various balls and galas and events he was invited to and summarily had to attend.
Well, he didn't mind so long as he didn't end up surrounded by mindless sycophants, anyway. He liked a bit of intelligent discussion in his conversation partners, thank you very much.
So, events he didn't mind, which meant that his sister's wedding wasn't something his parents had to cajole him into attending. The prescribed outfit that his mother claimed was at the height of fashion just now? Yeah, that Danny minded.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered, tugging at the lacy cuffs of his shirt for the thousandth time.
"Daniel," his mother said.
"It is," he grumbled back. "These clothes are too tight and they itch. And if you haven't noticed, this place is packed, there aren't enough windows and breathing is on the verge of becoming a luxury. And the ceremony hasn't even started yet. This? This is ridiculous."
His mother sighed, but didn't say anything further and Danny sat back in his seat and tried to think of anything but his current discomforts. Forest around him, strong horse under him, prey fleeing before him...Grace, his beautiful Grace, begging him to teach her how to fence, with a long stick and an old pot as a helmet...
"Welcome, brethren. Gathered we today for this most momentous occasion..."
Danny drifted into a light doze as the priest droned on and on, rousing occasionally to stand, recite rote responses and bow his head during the prayers. Finally, the priest lifted his hands, declared Danny's sister and her nobleman to be husband and wife and the ceremony was over.
The trip down to the harbor, to the ship awaiting the royal family to celebrate the union of one of their own, was much more interesting and Danny was awake and looking out the window of his carriage as they went.
Those were his people, out there, cheering for their princess. Danny figured he'd gotten lucky, as far as kingdoms went; the people of Jersey loved their rulers and loved their rulers' children.
On the ship, the majority of the procession headed for the large room that had been built for occasions like this one, but Danny slipped away and found a secluded section of railing to lean on.
IT wasn't that he wasn't happy for his sister. Quite the opposite. She'd managed to fall in love with a nobleman that could actually hold a decent conversation for more than a minute or two and Danny liked that. Plus, the guy clearly adored Hannah, which earned Danny's approval automatically.
But seeing how radiantly beautiful and happy his sister had been had reminded Danny of his own wedding, nearly ten years ago, and the divorce, only a year past. Painful memories, though he wouldn't change them for anything, since his marriage to Rachel had given him Grace. But he could remember looking at Rachel and thinking, this is it, this is the woman I want by my side for the rest of my life.
And, well, look at how that had turned out.
Lost in thoughts and memories, it took Danny a while to realize what he was looking at, out across the water. The ship had moved out into deeper waters and land was just a hazy line along the horizon. What he was looking at, however, was another ship.
He squinted at it, trying to make out the insignia of the flag. When he did, he gasped and pushed back from the rail. Nearly running to where he could hear bright laughter and voices and music, he shouted:
"Pirates!"