The Plot Development Is Out of Control
"What's wrong? What is it? What did you figure out? Spit it out already!" the Princess nudged Cassidy, her patience wearing thin. How could she just stop mid-sentence when she was hanging on every word?
The surrounding students chimed in. "Yeah, what is it? Just tell us!"
Cassidy gave the Princess a look of profound pity. "Weren't we both fighting over Heir Vance?"
The Princess nodded.
"And he never gave either of us the time of day," Cassidy said.
She nodded again.
"But now he's defending a guy," Cassidy finished, raising an eyebrow. "Get it now?"
The Princess just looked dazed. "Get... get what?"
Cassidy couldn't believe it. Frustration bubbled up inside her.
How could she be this clueless? "Look, between the two of us, you're a royal princess and I'm a princess. We've got looks, we've got status. He's not interested in either of the two most incredible girls in all of Argent. What does that tell you?"
The Princess scratched her head. "That... he has bad taste?"
Cassidy couldn't help herself. She gave her a light smack on the head. "You idiot! It means he's not into women. He's into men."
The Princess's jaw dropped. A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
Her eyes went wide, and it took a moment for her to find her voice. "Oh my god... No wonder he was defending Percival Dawes."
Cassidy patted her on the shoulder. "Exactly. Who in their right mind wouldn't be into amazing people like us?"
For the first time ever, the Princess felt like Cassidy was making perfect sense. She was a grand Princess, beautiful, rich, and with a status second to none. You couldn't find a more eligible girl in the entire kingdom.
Landon Vance felt the weight of a hundred weird looks land on him, and a surge of pure rage shot through him. "Princess Solana! Stop spreading these lies! What have I ever done to you to deserve this kind of humiliation?"
Percival Dawes, who had been trying to stay out of their complicated drama, couldn't believe he'd been dragged into it, let alone become the main event.
He stepped forward, his face a mask of fury.
"Why is the Princess twisting the truth and trying to ruin my reputation and the Heir Apparent's for no reason?"
But seeing the mortified Landon standing next to the exasperated Percival only confirmed the rumor for the onlookers. If anything, they were more convinced than ever.
"No wonder all the high-society girls throw themselves at him and he never bites," someone whispered. "Turns out he's just not interested."
"I was just thinking, a guy as important as Heir Vance usually ignores us," another student muttered. "But he's really sticking his neck out for Percival Dawes. It all makes sense if that's his sweetheart."
The murmurs reached Landon's ears, and his head started to spin. "You... you people..."
He clutched his chest, his face turning a furious shade of red. His mind, usually sharp and full of literature and history, couldn't conjure a single comeback. The sheer rage was too much. And with that, he passed out.
As Landon started to fall right toward her, Cassidy's first thought was that he was trying to fake an injury and pin it on her. Her instinct was to kick him away, but instead, her hand shot out, grabbed Percival Dawes, and yanked him directly in front of her to take the hit.
Landon's limp body crashed hard into Percival.
With a sickening thud, the two of them tumbled to the ground, their lips pressing together in the fall. The impact was enough to knock out the already injured Percival cold.
The chatter from the crowd died for a split second before erupting into a cacophony of gasps and shouts. Watching the two men on the ground, their lips still locked, the students went wild.
"Are they kissing?"
"Right here? In public?"
"I knew it! I knew there was something going on between them!"
"Did you see that?" one girl cried out, her hands clasped to her chest. "When Percival saw Heir Vance about to fall, he didn't even think about his own injuries! He jumped in to be a human cushion, letting him land on him to keep him safe. Now *that's* true love!"
"It's so romantic!"
"I really hope they can be happy together."
In a matter of seconds, the crowd's opinion of Landon and Percival shifted from shock and disapproval to sincere, heartfelt support.
Cassidy, the one who'd started it all, was speechless.
She'd just thrown out a little rumor for fun, and now the plot had spiraled completely out of her control.
Didn't these people have any respect for the person writing the script?
She tried to get the story back on track, to remind everyone of the poor, deceived leading lady standing right here.
But it was no use. The crowd found the whole jilted-lover plotline boring. The star-crossed romance between Heir Vance and Percival Dawes was way more moving, fascinating, and impossible to look away from.
The abandoned screenwriter, Cassidy, gritted her teeth in frustration.
Meanwhile, Landon's valet finally broke free from Prince Ashworth's guards. He shoved through the crowd, helped his master up, and practically fled The Argent Quill like his life depended on it.
Seeing her chance, Cassidy quickly ordered Reid Donovan to help out. Snapping out of his gossip-induced trance, Reid eagerly helped the forgotten Percival into Landon's carriage, thoughtfully placing the two unconscious men side by side.
The valet just stared in disbelief.
But under the intense, supportive gazes of the crowd, he didn't dare protest.
He scrambled into his seat and told the driver to get back to the estate, fast.
As they watched the carriage carry Landon and Percival away, lying peacefully together, the crowd let out a collective sigh of relief and whispered more blessings.
They wished for all lovers in the world to find their way to each other.
Prince Ashworth had come to demand justice for his daughter. But now, seeing the normally cold and distant Heir Vance so willing to sacrifice himself for a student, his expression softened. He couldn't help but stand a little taller.
It seemed his own point of view had been far too limited. He'd always thought Landon was looking down on his daughter. Now it was obvious, his daughter was the one getting in the way of true love. What a terrible thing to do. Truly terrible.
Having been force-fed a heavy dose of this sappy romance, the Prince actually felt a little jealous of the pure, simple love these young people shared. He turned to his steward. "Clifford King, I miss the Princess Consort."
Steward King looked at the suddenly sentimental Prince, at a complete loss for words. "Your Highness, I hear the wine here at The Argent Quill is excellent. Why don't you have a drink?"
The mention of good wine was enough to snap the Prince out of his mood, and he headed for the second floor.
The Princess's eyes, however, were sparkling as if a whole new world had just opened up to her. She never realized there could be such a beautiful love between two men.
"Cassidy," she whispered, "when we were both chasing Heir Vance... were we getting in the way of true love?"
Cassidy nodded solemnly. "I guess you could say that."
A wave of guilt washed over the Princess. "Do you think his father will let them be together? Wait, isn't Brooke Bradford supposed to be marrying him? Could it be that his father is forcing him into it just to break him and Percival up?"
Now convinced she had been a villain in Landon's love story, the Princess decided she had to do something to help.
"Even though he doesn't love me, I still want him to be happy," she declared. "I will not let anyone tear them apart! Peach, we're going back to the palace!"
Cassidy threw out her hand in a dramatic "Noooo!" but it was too late. All she saw was the back of the Princess as she and her attendant sprinted away.
Auspicious watched Cassidy staring blankly after them. "Princess, do you want to go to the palace too?"
Cassidy's hands dropped to her sides, her face a mask of utter defeat. "Probably not. I'm pretty sure if I go to the palace, my uncle, the Emperor, will have me killed."
Auspicious just stared, completely confused.