Race for the Throne

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Vincent scratches his chin. "I don't know..." He sticks his tongue out playfully. "Don't worry I will get you some." He makes the tea first and brings it to her. Then he starts to make lunch for the two of them.

Upon finishing he brings a tray into the living room. "I hope you are hungry."

~~~~

Jasmine shrugs. "I don't know, but we will think of something. The room will be our room after we get married. Unless you want to have a different room. Mine is more than big enough for the two of us."

They get downstairs and there is a meal waiting for each of them. It is a simple lunch of a creamy broccoli soup with ham sandwiches. "Thank you so much Tina, this looks delicious."

"You can stand back and I can make the announcement, however they are going to ask you questions as well Vincent. You should prepare yourself for this. I would like for you to stand by my side when I tell our people about their future. This isn't just our future but theirs as well." Serena explained. She rn her fingers through his hair. "I want to help you."

~~

Brandon smiles as he runs his fingers through Jasmine's hair. "That would be an honor. Almost like the tattoo of the heart that you drew for me. They are tattooed on my shoulder with the family tattoo." He said. He pulled his sleeve up to show her.

He lowers his shirt sleeve and they begin to work on the invitations.

"I will be proud to stand at your side." Vincent tells her. "I hope the people will be drawn more to you than me though because I don't know what more to say."

~~~~

"I saw that earlier. It looks even better now that the redness is gone. I still cannot believe you got that." Jasmine goes back to painting the invites as well. "I think your cheeks look good with a little pink on them."

“There isn’t anything to say, however they are going to have questions and we will need to answer them.” Serena explained. “Think of the people as your family. They are going to ask you questions that some you will be able to answer and some you won’t. They are going to ask what we are having, how I am so far in the pregnancy, they are going to want to know why I have been in the infirmary and a lot of other things. All you can answer are the things that you know. Then there is the difference in giving to much information and we both want at least some privacy.”

~~

Brandon was on the next to the last invitation. He looks up at Jasmine and smiled. “Well I have nice rosy cheeks and you have a pretty inked temporary tattoo. How about after I finish these, I go get showered. If you want I will sign your arm to go with your nice poem.” He said winking at her. “Then we can go to dinner after I change.”

"I will probably give them less information than you." Vincent smiles at her. "I am not used to being so open. Like your stay in the infirmary, is that really any of their business?"

~~~~~

Jasmine hold up her arm to him. He signs it then leaves the room. She is excited about going out. She brushes out her hair and changes into a nice halter style dress. She makes sure the strap is covering her scar. She gathers up the invites and places them in a box. Then she leaves her room.

Serena smiled and kissed Vincent's forehead. "To be honest no, however all we have to tell them is that I had complications with morning sickness. That is all." She said. She leans her head against his shoulder. "I will do most of the talking and we will work you into the spotlight. Eventually you may have to give a speech someday."

~~

Brandon headed back to his room once he was finished. He takes a shower and washes the paint off his face. Once he is finished he gets out and dries off. He picks a nice button down shirt with a pair of black slacks. He then takes a blazer and puts it on. He looks at himself in the mirror before spiking his hair.

Brandon is putting on some cologne when he hears a knock. He goes to answer it and smiles when he sees Jasmine. "You look gorgeous tonight." He said as he picked up his wallet. He then leaves the room and kisses Jasmine.

"I know I will, but this time it will be better if I observe more." Vincent tells her. "I know your mom and dad take turns giving speeches as well. This won't be as bad as the Kings Council at least."

~~~~

Jasmine whistles upon seeing Brandon. "Wow you look better than I do. I was thinking we can swing by Mallory's before going to dinner. What are you in the mood for?"

“How about some Chinese tonight?” Brandon asked. “I think that will be great. So what are we stopping by Mallory’s for? Oh it will be nice to see your brother and Levi. I want to apologize to them for leaving them the other day. I wouldn’t have minded having some guy time, but I wanted to be with you.” He explained.

~~

Serna nodded her head knowingly. “That is understandable. At least here the pressure isn’t on you. I can do most of the talking and direct traffic towards me, besides I am good at dealing with the public. It is second nature to me.” She took Vincent’s hand. “Mom and dad are so good at what they do, it’s like they were born for it. I only hope I am half as good as they are. They are going to be there for the announcement as well. It will be helpful."

Jasmine lifts up the box. "To drop off the invites of course. I know the perfect place too." Brandon takes the box from Jasmine. They leave the castle and walk to town. "I love Moldova so much. I know I am spoiled by the weather." They approach the town limits. The people see the couple and begin to approach them.

~~~~~

"I know you will be just as good as your parents with the people. I have already been amazed by how good you are with them." Vincent encourages her. "I know I will learn a lot from watching you. So how are you doing? It seems the food is helping with your morning sickness as well."

Brandon is a little nervous when the people begin to gather around them. "I thought us being in town like this, they would give us our space." He said.

A little boy came up to Brandon and tugged at his shirt. "Yes, can I help you?" Brandon asked.

"You awe pwince Bwandon, what's it like to have someone not like you?" He said.

Brandon looked confused as the little boys mother came up to him. "Son, that is not a nice thing to ask the prince. I'm sure he will work things out with his father in law."

Brandon looked at Jasmine. "I wonder what that was all about." He did shrugging it off.

~~

"Well that is encouraging." Serena said. She looked up at Vincent. "I know someday you will be as good as I am. I have faith in you." She said smiling. "I feel like the morning sickness is much more controlled now.I feel so much better then I did just a few days ago."

Jasmine bites her lip as more people approach. There are mumblings about Berenson's altercation with Brandon. Jasmine pauses and holds up her arms. "Everyone please, everything is alright between Dad and Brandon. It was just a case of a father being a little protective of his little girl. I am sure all you parents understand."

A little girl shoves the magazine at Brandon. "Can I get your autograph?"

~~~~

"I suppose anything feels better than how you were feeling before." Vincent tells her. "I am going to read over this some more and memorize it somewhat. I also have other stuff to read as well. I know you need to get your nap in.

Brandon is confused about what is going on. He then looks at the magazine that the little girl shoves at him. He is slightly horrified and embarrassed. On the front is a picture of him and Berenson with the caption ‘Trouble in Paradise’. He signs the magazine and hands it back to the little girl. He then looks at Jasmine. “I am so sorry…I didn’t know…” he said.

~~

“Anything is better than that.” Serena said. She yawns as she stands up. “I am going to lie down on the bed. Let me know if there is anything that I can help you with.” She then kisses Vincent before walking over to the bed. She curls up and closes her eyes.

"It is fine Brandon, I didn't know it would spread so far." Jasmine tells him.

An elderly couple approach them. The man kisses Jasmine's cheek. "Don't worry it is a Father's prerogative to be overprotective of his daughter, especially their only. Now what is this on your arm?"

"It is a poem Brandon wrote for me while we were working on the invites for Nathaniel and Levi's wedding." Jasmine holds up her arm so he can read it.

"I cannot wait to hear about when you are going to get married. Brandon is such a good boy. Don't worry Berenson will accept you good enough." The man tells her.

Brandon watches as the people begin to give them space. He is horribly embarrassed and knows he needs to speak with Berenson. He has had almost as much as he can take from him. He sighs as he hangs his head. “Do you still want to go out?” He asked. “I can understand if you don’t.” He half hoped she would rather go back to the castle. He just wanted to go to bed now.

Jasmine sighs. She sees Brandon's discomfort. "If you want we can go back. I can give the invites to Nathaniel tomorrow." She is even more upset at Berenson for wrecking their date night. She takes his arm and they walk back to the castle. She takes him to his room and grabs the invites. "I will have dinner delivered to you. I will be right back." She kisses him and leaves him.

She walks down to the kitchen and asks the cook to prepare two meals. Then she goes to Lawrence's room. "I am so angry at Dad right now. Brandon and I tried to go out. Well poor Brandon was mobbed and it ruined our date. We told them that Berenson was being overprotective, and they seemed to accept it though. I thought you should know. Now I am going to my room to drop off the invites and bring Brandon something to eat."

Brandon closes the door as Jasmine leaves the room. He cannot remember the last time he felt so embarrassed. He takes his blazer off and hangs it in the closet. He looks at himself in the mirror.

Was he really as bad as Berenson thought of him? He didn't want to take advantage of his daughter nor did he want to hurt her. He only wanted to make her happy. He punches the wall hard with his fist. He is so angry yet he feels bad. He walks over to the balcony and walks outside.

There went the evening mood he thought. Such a great day to lead up to a nice dinner and maybe even some dancing but that was not to be. He leans out over the railing.

"We will have to talk to Berenson about this." Lawrence tells her.

"Brandon wants to talk to him as well. I am not going to be a part of that conversation. I am still angry at him." Jasmine explains to Lawrence. "Well I am going to get our dinner and try to make the best of our date night."

Lawrence watches Jasmine leave. He turns to Junaluska with a smile on his face. "Kids make everything so dramatic don't they. This will blow over."

The tray is ready and Jasmine pushes it up to the his room. She does not knock, but enters quietly. She is surprised at the empty room. She takes advantage of it and sets up a dinner for two.

~~~~~~~~

Vincent's head starts to hurt. He looks over and sees Serena beginning to stir. "Good morning my love, did you have a good nap?"

Brandon sighs. He hears some noise in his room and walks in. He sees Jasmine setting up dinner for two. "You didn't have to do this for me." He said.

~~

Junaluska chuckled. "They are still young and don't know any better. They will understand some day." She said.

~~

Serena sits up as she yawns. "That was a great nap. How is the studying?" She asked as she propped herself up.

"No I didn't have to, I wanted to. Although dinner out on the balcony may be even more romantic. Help me set up out there?" Jasmine asks him.

He moves the table over and sets up the chairs. Jasmine gets a sheet for a makeshift table cloth. She also grabs a couple of candles. Brandon also helps with the food. Soon there is a table for two set up. He takes her to her seat. "It is not chinese, but this is just as romantic. You are lucky that you are on this side. You can see the lights of the maze." Jasmine plays with her curl. "It is almost empty at night, if you want to take a romantic walk sometime."

~~~~~~~~~~

"You may have to take care of me for a change. I have a headache brewing." Vincent lifts up her fingers to his temples. "Right there. I never realized there was so much I didn't know."

Brandon Takes his seat as he looks down at the maze. "It looks just as beautiful now as it does during the day." He said. He looked back at Jasmine and smiled somewhat. "I think I would like that."

Brandon sighed gently. "I'm sorry about this evening. Today was a perfect day and it would have been nice to have dinner out and then some dancing. That walk would have been a great ending to today." He said as he looked down.

~~

"Aww my husband has a headache. Let MW take care of you tonight." Serena said with a smile. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him gently on his temple. She then brushed his hair away gently. "How about I order some room service and I serve you dinner in bed? Then I can give you some medicine and you can call me anytime." She said winking at him.

Jasmine lifts up his chin and looks into his eyes. "It still can be. Don't worry about the people, soon this will all blow over. I think every parent is protective of their child. Not as much as my dad, but they understand. They didn't say anything bad about you. They still love you and I do as well."

~~~~~~

Vincent grins at her. "I think I like that. I love the medicine you have for me." He is happy that she is feeling better. He hopes going home will help as well. "I love you so much."

"I just wish I knew how to make him happy. What will it take for me to prove to him that all I want is good intentions for you and myself?" Brandon said as he looked into Jasmine's eyes. He cupped her face with his hand. "You have beautiful eyes,jasmine. I only want for both of us to be happy."

~~

"I love you too. Now get some rest and I will go get dinner. I want to make sure you are feeling better before tomorrow." Serena said as she kissed him. She stands up and then puts some pillows behind him. "I'll be right back." She said as she left the room.

Serena went downstairs to the dining room. She asks for dinner for two and waits for the cart. She then waits patiently for dinner to be put on the cart. She then heads upstairs to their room.

"I am happy with you. I know my people are too. Dad will just have to learn to let go. It may get easier when Sakura is born, or when we are actually married. However I cannot promise that. I don't need his approval though. I am going to marry you Brandon." She looks into his hazel eyes and leans forward to kiss him.

~~~~

Vincent takes a quick shower before getting changed into his pajama bottoms. He is just exiting the bathroom when Serena comes in with the cart. "I thought you were only kidding. I am supposed to be spoiling you right now." He goes over to her and takes the cart from her. "Now go lie down and I will serve you."

Brandon leans forward and kisses jasmine passionately. He stands up and walks over to Jasmine. He then takes her hand and pulls her to him. "Just let me hold you Jasmine... That's all I want right now." He said as he held her in his arms.

~~

Serena smiled at Vincent. "I just wanted to show you the same care that you have been giving me. You have been so thoughtful and so caring to me that it has been overwhelming." She said. She goes to change her clothes and then sits in the bed. "I love you so much Vincent,and I cannot tell you how much I am so happy with you." There were some tears in her eyes. "Stupid hormones."

Food forgotten, Jasmine is pulled into Brandon's arms. She holds him tightly and rubs his back. She loves being in his arms and can feel his love through the touches. She does not say anything, letting him hold her as long as he needs to.

~~~~~~~~

"Has it really been that bad. I am so sorry, I don't mean for it to be overwhelming. It is just that you are so uncomfortable and I just want to make you happy." Vincent wipes the tears from her eyes. "I love you more than I will be able to show you." He pulls her to him and holds her.

Brandon holds Jasmine in his arms just like that for some time. He sighs gently as he looks out into the moonlight. "It makes me feel better knowing that I can hold you. Everything goes away and nothing can bother me." He said.

~~

"No no, I mean that in a good way Vincent." Serena said. She sniffled as he wiped the tears from her eyes. "I am overwhelmed because I know I have the support that I need from you to get through this. The past few days have been hard but I know it will get better and I know that you will be there with me and for me." She feels so safe in his arms as he holds her. "I love when you hold me."