Race for the Throne

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Jasmine put the last of her clothes away. She was lucky that she had her own room. Her brothers all shared the rest. She knows that her parents will want to head to the castle tomorrow to tell the Sentali's they are home. Her mom and Aunt Kali are still close as ever. Uncle Iverson is a decent guy. She holds up the coral she got for Serena. It is a pretty pink one.

Serena, or Her Royal Highness Princess Serena Grace Sentali, is one of her best friends. Although since they have been going to Moldova more, their friendship has been strained a little. Still she cannot wait to see her.

She leaves her room and is jumped on by Daniel. He is the youngest of the Lane kids. Jasmine loves her brothers, but every once in a while she wishes she had a sister. Serena is so lucky. “Come on Danny let's go outside and check on the greenhouse.”

She puts Daniel on her back and goes downstairs. Nathaniel is in the kitchen with their mom, Madeline. They are making a quick dinner. “I see that Daniel got you. Are you guys hungry? Mom and I are making something yummy.”

“Ohh what are you making?” Daniel asks.

“Something you will like.” Madeline tells him.

“I am going to take Daniel outside and get some of this energy out of him.” Jasmine tells them. She leaves with Daniel still on her back.

Serena was finished with her breakfast. She hadn’t eaten a lot, but couldn’t bring herself to eat anymore. She pushed her plate away. “That sounds good. That way we can go later and spend more time with her.” She said.

“Well I will let the staff know to keep the carriage ready for you when I return then.” Micia said. She looks at Serena’s place and shakes her head. “You should really try to eat a little more¸ but I am not going to push it.” She gets up and walks to the door. “I will see you all later, I have to go see Jasmine now so I can let your parent’s know what is going on.”

~~

Brandon laughs a little at Jasmine’s joke. “As long as you are happy that is all that matters. I hope you have learned your lesson. You are just the only daughter in a family full of boys. You are used to being pigheaded. Don’t worry; I am here to help you.” He takes her hand from her shoulder and squeezes it. “Are you alright Jasmine?” he asked.

"Don't worry Majesty, I will make sure she eats more. I am happy she ate at all." Vincent tells Micia. "If you are done, I would like to take you to the archery fields." Vincent stands up and helps Serena. "I am going to get some water, then we can go to the fields."

~~~~~~~~~

Jasmine nods. "I am fine. Do you think that I can at least get out of bed? I see the plate of eggs over there and I am starving. Will you help me get over there, or will I have to wait. Brandon, how does my shoulder look?"

Serena stands and nodded her head. She followed Vincent to get some canteens before heading to the carriage house to get their bows and arrows. They walk out to the archery range and Serena looks at Vincent. “Thank you for bringing me out here Vincent. It means a lot to me.” She said as she pulled an arrow from her quiver.

~~

Brandon looks at Jasmine. “I think you need more rest Jasmine, you fell trying to get the medication this morning. If I let you up it will only to be to move from the bed to the chair and back to the bed. You will need help in doing so. Wouldn’t you rather wait till you had a little more strength?” he asked.

“To be honest, it doesn’t look good. You will have a scar on both sides of your shoulder, the front and the back. It is very badly bruised and I still don’t have an idea as to how bad the ligament was torn. You may need surgery later to repair it.” he said. “Are you ready to eat?” he asked.

Vincent watches her as she arms her bow. “I know I went over the basics. I want you to shoot from a little further back and see how you handle it.” He really wants to know if she will make the adjustment. He waits for her to shoot.

~~~

“So no more sleeveless dresses.” Jasmine forces a smile. “I will stay her for the rest of the day and maybe tomorrow with your help venture across the room. If you could bring me my food, I am starving. Don't worry I am somewhat used to cold food.” She looks at Brandon and imagines the Lane dinner table. She laughs lightly wondering how he would handle that.

Serena takes a few steps back and looks for the target. She aims her bow and lets the arrow fly. It falls extremely short of the target. Serena looks disappointed as she looks at Vincent. “Maybe I should try again?” she said.

~~

Brandon gets up and gets Jasmine’s plate. He brings it back over to her and holds it for her. He looks at her as she laughed lightly. “Well I wouldn’t say any more sleeveless tops. Maybe get you a tattoo to cover it up.” He said winking at her. “So, what is funny?” he asked.

There is a knock on the door and Brandon puts the plate on her lap. He walks over and answers it. Micia is at the door. "Good morning majesty, it is good to see you." he said.

Vincent rises and stands next to her. “You will want to aim a little differently since you are further back.” He is breathing into her ear as he raises the bow up slightly. “You need to take into account the air resistance. Arrows will fall slightly the farther you are away from a target. Now shoot.”

~~~

“A tattoo may even be more scandalous than a scar.” Jasmine hungrily takes the fork. “I was just thinking of when we go back to Rosario and how you will handle a Lane meal...” She was about to say more but was disturbed by a knock. She continues to eat as Brandon answers it.

Micia enters the room. “I am hoping that I can have a few moments to talk to Jasmine.” She looks over at Jasmine. “I see you are eating solid food. That is good news. Jasmine, I put this off as long as I possibly can. My investigation is turning up nothing, and well Iverson is having a cow. My guards are getting frustrated, and I need your help.”

Jasmine swallows her current bite. She looks down at her plate for a few moments and slowly nods. “I think I am ready to answer your questions. However you cannot tell Iverson what is happening.”

Micia turns to Brandon. “I have this for you as well.” She hands over a telegram to him. “Now please excuse us for a little bit. I will let you know if we need your assistance.”

Jasmine looks over at Brandon and nods, letting him know that she will be alright. Micia has no idea of their relationship yet.

Brandon takes the telegram from Micia and bows to her. "I will leave your piece. I will be accross the hall from you if you should need me." He walks outside of the room and closes the door behind him. He stands outside of the door to listen.

Micia sits next to Jasmine. “I know this is hard for you, and I didn't want to come to you, but we are dumbfounded.”

“You can call off your guards, the perpetrator is in another country.” Jasmine starts her tone flat and emotionless.

“So you know who shot the bow, great we will arrest the person right away another country or not.” Micia smiles cheerfully.

“No you won't. You can't unless you want to be breaking a law yourself.” Jasmine lifts her face to look into Micia's eyes. “I know how well versed your country is in the law of Diplomatic Immunity for it protected your older brother at one time. Once again it will be used to cover up a royal crime, but this time it will be Altiere who will have to turn the other cheek. The person who shot at Serena was Princess Nadine.” Jasmine explains what happened in the marketplace. She gets tears in her eyes as she explains it. After she is done she looks down. “Now you know why we can't tell Iverson. He will go berserk and put the law into his own hands. The Goddess will judge Nadine in the end and we cannot interfere with that.”

Micia pulls Jasmine into a gentle hug. “You are a hero and no one will ever know the full reason why. I will ask Serena if she wants her guard detail taken off yet. Take it easy Jasmine and get better soon. If it was up to me, you would have the Moldovan throne.”

Serena could feel Vincent’s breath in her ear. It was a little distracting as it slightly turned her on. She felt his arms around her as he raised her bow up slightly. She pulled back the arrow and released it. The arrow went much further this time and clipped the target but didn’t hold. “Was that any better?” she asked as she looked up at him. She leaned slightly back on him.

~~

Brandon had stood outside the door listening to the conversation. He waits until they are finished talking about what happened before he walked over to his room. He opens the door and leaves it open. He then opens the telegram to read it.

To the one who is caring for Jasmine,

I know it is not enough to say thank you for saving our only little girl, but that is all we have to offer right now. Please let Jasmine know that Nathaniel made it safe. We know that Jasmine's injuries must be serious for Nathaniel is still suffering from pains off and on. Please watch over her carefully. Jasmine can be quite stubborn at all and is a lot like her mother.

You may need to keep her sedated at times to prevent her from doing things on her own. Either that or keep her entertained. Let her know that there is no time limit on the competition and she needs to concentrate on getting better first."

Sincerely

Berenson Lane and Family.

Brandon smiles as he reads over the telegram. They seemed like a lovely family, each one caring for each other. He folds the telegram up and puts it in his shirt pocket. He would have to tell Jasmine about it when she was finished talking with Micia. He wondered how much longer Micia would be with her. He was hoping that Jasmine would be alright.

He begins to write a response.

“To Berenson Lane and Family,

I am Brandon Lawson; it is a pleasure to hear from you. You are most welcome. Jasmine is a fine young woman and I have already first handedly found out that she is stubborn and hot headed. She is doing well and with the right care she will heal. I pray you are all doing well. She is worried about her mother as she is pregnant and hopes that she is doing well. I will let her know that you have sent word. I am certain she will be happy to hear from you.

Sincerely

Brandon Lawson.”

Vincent shakes his head. “You cannot get distracted by anything. Remember how I distracted Jasmine? I am going to do the same to you. You need to concentrate on shooting.” He pushes her off of him. He is rather enjoying the teasing. “Now let's go aim a little higher and try again. This time he tilts the bow up a little higher. He then blows in her ear gently just before she shoots.

~~~~~~

Micia looks down at Jasmine. “We owe your mother so much, yet it is a testimony of how the Goddess works. You look tired Jasmine. I will let you rest. I hope you are able to make it to the castle soon.” Micia stands and leave the room. She passes by Brandon's room. “I am leaving now. Please take care of her, I wish I could do more for her. I will be working on my reply I will wait until your reply before sending it. ”

Jasmine adjusts herself. It was hard, and she only hopes that Micia doesn't tell Iverson. She looks down at her plate. She is angry. Angry that she is not in Langora, angry that Nadine is going to get away with attempted murder, and angry that she will forever be scarred. No longer hungry, she picks up her plate and throws it against the wall.

Serena lets the arrow fly and just before she does Vincent blew warm air into her ear. Her arrow goes completely off course. She sighed and looked at him. “You aren’t making this easy for me Vincent; you are frustrating me in more ways than one.”

She takes another arrow and aims where the bow had been aimed at before. She steadies herself and then puts the bow down. “So are you going to distract me again?” she asked.

~~

Brandon looks up at Micia. “I just finished my reply.” He said. He handed her the piece of paper and smiled. “I will take good care of her, don’t worry.” He assured her. He waves to Micia and bows to her as he hears the sound of something being thrown. Micia turns back around.

“What was that?” Micia asked.

“Don’t worry, I will find out.” Brandon assured her. He walks over and looks into Jasmine’s room. He could see the rest of her breakfast on the wall, a shattered plate in the floor. He walks over to her and sits down beside of her.

“What can I do to make you smile Jasmine?” He takes her hand.

Vincent laughs. “Not this time, I want you to see how you do. Besides I don't want to distract you too much that way.” He watches as she lets the arrow fly. It hits the target, but not the bullseye. “Now try again and this time I want you to make the adjustments.”

~~~~~~

Jasmine looks at him panting. “I don't know. I am just so angry. It feels so wrong to let her go scot free. She tried to kill Serena, and my arm will never be the same again. What happens to her—Nothing. Tell me how is that fair?”

Serena gets an arrow and makes some adjustments. She takes a moment to let the wind blow die and then releases her arrow. It hits the target in the bull’s eye. “I did it Vincent!! I did it!!” She said excitedly. She turned around to look at him. “So how long before I can shoot like that even when you are distracting me?” she asked.

~~

Brandon listens to Jasmine. He pulls her close to him and shakes his head. “It’s not fair, Jasmine. However the goddess takes care of the things we can’t. All you can do is pray and leave it to her, as the goddess will take care of you and remember the good things you have done.” He said as he ran his fingers through her hair. It was evident that she was angry. “I know you are angry, but you should try and calm down some.”

“That depends on you. It may take you longer since you love me.” Vincent gets close to her again, but does not touch her. He places his mouth to her ear and whispers sultry. “And something as simple as this can drive you wild.” He blows a little on her neck and backs away.

He goes over to his bow and takes an arrow out of his quiver. He knocks his arrow back and winks at her before firing it.

~~~~~~

“I know that here.” She points at her head. “But here is another story.” She points at her heart. “What can I do with a gimpy arm? I can't shoot, I can't dance properly, and my painting will be affected as well. Can I be a good ruler with only one arm? I need to know that here, and right now I don't.”

Serena can feel the goose bumps going up her body as he drove her wild. She shoots him a look and takes her bow. “I don’t know HOW you do that Vincent, but EVERYTIME you do it, it drives me crazy.” She said as she watched his arrow. It hit the center of the target and she aims her bow at it. It hits just below the bulls eye.

~~

“You can do more than you think you can. I didn’t know you could shoot the bow. I won’t lie, yes you may not be able to shoot anymore, but there is no reason why you can’t dance and why you can’t paint. Dancing is a great way to get the physical therapy to regain the use of your arm.” Brandon explained.

“Even still you can still be a great ruler with just one arm. I know you are an intelligent woman; you have the heart of a wild beast. There is nothing that you can’t do Jasmine” Brandon said. He cupped her cheek. “You will be the best queen Moldova has ever seen.”

“Do what hit the bullseye or drive you crazy?” He gives her a lopsided smirk. “I can hit the bullseye because I have had years of practice. I can drive you crazy because I know you so well...” He goes over to her, cups her face, and kisses her gently. “I have to keep you on your toes.” He whispers before walking back. He takes another arrow from his quiver and knocks his bow. He waits to see if she would try to distract him.

~~~~~~

“ Will you be there with me?” Jasmine looks into his hazel eyes expectantly. “Are you alright with being a King. I don't want to scare you, but if you are thinking of having a relationship with me that may be your future. I think you will look good in Moldovan colors.” She gets a smirk on her face. “Especially the Moldovan traditional outfit.”

Serena adores the lopsided looks that Vincent gives her. He kisses her gently and leaves her there wanting more. Damn him for knowing her so well. He picks up another arrow and gets his bow ready. She smirks and walks up to him, tip toeing as she goes. She gets behind him and leans forward to kiss the back of his neck softly. “How’s that for distractions?” she whispered huskily into his ear.

~~

“I will be there Jasmine, for you.” He said looking back into her grey eyes. “I have never really looked into my future and seen anything, however I never saw myself being a bastered child of a prince. I am willing to take hold and to go forward as long as you are there.” He said as he ran his fingers through her hair.

“What is the Moldovan traditional outfit look like?” he asked.

Vincent's body shivers when Serena kisses the back of his neck. He inhales and exhales to calm it before shooting. He lowers his bow and kisses her senseless. “Now that is one move Jasmine never tried.” He never did see if his arrow made it's mark. “I think we should visit Jasmine before I decide to take you to the bedroom.”

~~~~~~

It takes a moment before Jasmine hears his question. “Grab me my sketchbook.” When he does she flips through the back. She shows him the drawing she did at the pageant. “I wanted to dance in the pageant next year, but I doubt it with this shoulder. I guess I can have them make a top to cover the scar as well.” She sighs. “I am being vain aren't I?”

Serena melts in Vincent’s arms. “I have walked cockeyed enough today thank you.” She said smirking at him. They clean up their arrows and take their things back to the carriage house. The carriage was ready for them. They get in and Serena sits beside of Vincent as they start taking off. “I think today’s lesson was a new experience. Kind of like last night.” She said leaning against him happily.

~~

Brandon looks at the outfit and then smirks at Jasmine. “Maybe I will wear one of these for you.” He said winking at her. He then taps her chest gently with his finger. “You are beautiful Jasmine. I wouldn’t change anything about how you look, including your scar. You should be proud of it Jasmine. You saved your cousin’s life, my sister that I may never have met had you not been injured. I look at it as a gift from the goddess, whether you see it that way or not.”

“I thought I hurt you. I am glad you enjoyed because I know I did.” Vincent holds her close as they ride to the temple.

~~~~~~

“I am proud of my actions, but not the scar. Especially after what happened this morning.” Jasmine studies Brandon. “I have yet to see you without your top on, so I cannot picture how you would look in the outfit.” She gets a flirty smile and raises her eyebrow. “It is only fair. I mean you have seen me topless.”

Serena smiles as they rode to the temple. “It did hurt at first Vincent, but that was my first time. Don’t worry though; I really enjoyed it because as soon as the pain was gone it felt amazing.” She said. They get to the temple and Vincent helps her out of the carriage.

Brandon flushes slightly and sits up straight. “I did it because you needed a sponge bath, though it is only fair.” He said winking at her. He stands up and pulls his shirt off. He had a slightly muscular build, but not too much and his body was tanned by the sun. He struck a pose for Jasmine and smiled. “How’s this?” he said winking at her.

Jasmine laughs and catcalls a little. She motions him to come closer. Her fingertips touch his chest gently. She looks up at him. “Not too much and feels so nice.” Her hand goes up to her neck and she slowly pulls him down.

Vincent pushes the door open to let Serena in. Jasmine jumps slightly and releases Brandon. Her cheeks flush. Vincent looks at a shirtless Brandon and over at Jasmine flushed face. “We can come back if it is a bad time.”

Brandon looks up at both Vincent and Serena. His face turns deep red. "No, no you can come in now." He looks at Jasmine, he was so embarrassed. at the same time he had been having a good time with her.

Serena looks at Jasmine with a grin on her face. "So do you have anything you want to tell us? We came to cheer you up but it looks like Brandon was doing a great job of doing that for us." Serena said smirking at them.

Jasmine coughs and shakes her head. "Hey I figured since he has seen mine, that I could see his as well. Micia just left and he was trying to get me to smile."

Vincent shakes his head. "There is nothing going on between you two is there?"

Jasmine stared at Vincent dumbfounded. "Nothing that I can't handle, or to report to my parents." She looks at Serena and mouths "really?" to her.

Serena looks up at Vincent. "Really?" she said. She looks back at Jasmine and Brandon. "Sorry he still has this mornings archery practice on his mind." she said chuckling.

She pulled Vincent over to the love seat and they sat down. "So are you two dating or just getting to know one another more?" She asked.

Brandon looked at Jasmine and sat down beside of her. He took her hand and smiled. "I would say maybe a little of both."

Jasmine's smile falters when Serena mentions archery practice. "With that new bow I can see why. Right now we are taking it slow. Once I get out of here, he can take me on a date. Unlike some I don't wish to upset parents at this time."

Vincent studies Brandon closely. He is not sure if this is good for her. She is going through a traumatic experience. He will have to keep an eye on Brandon. "So how are you feeling? Did Queen Micia stop by at all?"

"Yes she did and I told her everything. I made her promise not to tell anyone though. I hope she follows through. I am not up to getting grilled by our fathers yet." Jasmine tells them.

Serena smiles at Jasmine. “I am happy for you Jasmine. You need a good man in your life and Brandon seems like a nice guy.”

“Seems?” Brandon asked.

“That’s not what I meant Brandon.” Serena said chuckling. “I mean that you seem like the right guy for Jasmine.” She explained.

Brandon looked at Jasmine. “You have to get better before you can go anywhere. That includes not being hard headed like you were this morning.” He said.

Serena looked at Jasmine a little worried. “I pray Micia won’t tell dad. He will go ape shit crazy when he finds out that Nadine took a shot at me and tried to kill me.”