#midcin sid
Okay, at the suggestion of a friend I’ve decided to post my Midnight Cinderella fanfiction here on tumblr as the MidCin ao3 is basically dead. A Sid x OC where the ‘princess’ of Wysteria is actually King Byron’s younger sister. Here’s chapter 1. If you decide to read it, I hope you like it!
The first 3 chapters are here on ao3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/30807311/chapters/76048739
Updating again, because I’m sure you were all waiting with bated breath.
Just a request, if anyone reading this sees something they think I should trigger-tag or give warning for please let me know. I sincerelydoubt you will, the stuff I write is very mild and if I do mention any dark topics it’s rarely in any detail but please let me know if you think I should give a heads up. Thanks.
That being said: there’s both making out in this chapter and brief mention of character death.
Anyway, here’s Chapter 2.
Chapter 2: Are you with me?
“This is foolhardy and reckless,” Robert continued his argument a week later.
No, he hadn’t been lecturing Gwen for a week straight, although sometimes it felt like he had.
This was a new argument about the same topic, they had them every time Robert wanted to remind Gwen what she was doing was stupid, which he seemed to want every four or five minutes.
“So you’ve said,” replied Gwen tiredly.
“You are being selfish and irresponsible and-”
Sid grabbed Robert’s shoulder, “okay, that’s enough!”
Gwen’s blood ran cold at the sight of him, and from the expression on his face, Robert’s did too. As mad as he was at her, he wasn’t actuallytrying to get Gwen caught. He recovered quickly though. “I beg your pardon?”
“Gwen’s the princess, I don’t care what she did, you don’t get to talk to her like that.”
Robert raised an eyebrow, “you don’t care what she did? So you trust Gwen that much?”
Sid didn’t hesitate, “I do.” It wasn’t totally the truth, though it wasn’t a complete lie either. He trusted Gwen, if not blindly, but any objections he had would be taken up with her and her alone.
Anddefinitely not in that tone of voice.
Sid trusted her, inwardly Gwen squirmed a little, yeah, she did feel a little guilty. Just a little. She tried not to let it show.
“I see.” Without another fucking word Robert left, leaving Sid blinking after him in confusion.
“What was that about?” He asked Gwen, who sighed.
“He caught me sneaking out,” she lied and Sid laughed.
“Sucks to be you then. Anyway, Giles wants to see you after lunch.”
Gwen scowled as she started walking, Sid keeping pace with her, “yeah, I know. Leo already told me, it’s about the ball to introduce me to potential suitors.”
Sid laughed even harder, “really sucks to be you.”
“Shut up.”
*
The next time Sid found her, she was in the garden.
Cooing over an abatina plant, Gwen didn’t know a lot about plants but she sure liked the look of them, Gwen heard footsteps and looked up.
Sid approached her, hand raised to shade his eyes against the warm, midday sun. “Probably a line somewhere about such a fair and noble creature being more beautiful than any flower.”
Gwen smiled, “probably, but I didn’t know you were so vain Sid.”
He just chuckled and wagged his eyebrows at her, Gwen smirked, that meant he didn’t have a good comeback.
“Looking forward to the ball tonight?” Sid asked super-casually. Gwen wrinkled her nose, now she was the one who didn’t have a good comeback. She was dreading it.
Gwen didn’t actually mind balls, parties, feasts and the like, normally. Dressing up and talking to a bunch of people she’d never met before, who lived in a country she wasn’t from, and had lives she’d never lived sounded like her idea of a good time, even when she wasn’t fishing for information.
But not today. There was too much at stake and a too high chance she’d be recognised.
Gwen’s face wasn’t well known to the Stein nobles, let alone the Wysterian ones, otherwise she’d never have been fool enough to try this, but why invite more trouble than she was already in? No, she would avoid this if she could.
Sid chuckled at the expression on her face, it needed no explanation.
“Will you be there?” Gwen asked.
“At the ball to find you a Prince Consort?” Sid snorted, “not a chance.”
Gwen was unduly disappointed.
“So I thought I’d spend time with you now instead.” Sid continued.
“Well I suppose that wouldn’t be too bad,” Gwen sniffed, “I’m still mad I have to go to that stupid ball and you don’t though.”
“I’d say I’m sorry except I’m not.”
Gwen couldn’t help but smile at his frankness, she moved towards him and- “well Hell.”
She hadn’t thought the ground was that muddy but she’d been standing in this one spot for a while and when she moved away one of her shoes decided not to come with her, leaving Gwen awkwardly standing on one foot as she refused to put her stockinged foot on the dirt and tried to ease her shoe back on with little success.
“Hang on.”
Sid scooped her up with almost laughable ease and put her on a nearby bench, thankfully surrounded by stone and not dirt. Then he went back for her shoe and, kneeling on the ground before her, slid it back on her foot.
“Thanks,” said Gwen, her throat dry at his mere proximity. She found herself gripping the bottom of the bench as she leaned forward, so did Sid.
This kiss was soft and gentle, a mere brush of the lips. It had no business sending heat from Gwen’s mouth spreading through the rest of her body. And it certainly had no business leaving her feeling such adoration for Sid.
He moved back slightly, “never thought I’d kiss a woman who was so clumsy.” He teased but the rasp in his voice showed he wasn’t as unaffected as he wanted to pretend.
He was swiping at her with his metaphorical claws as he sometimes did. But for the first time Gwen thought it wasn’t in play. Was he feeling far too much far too quickly? She was. And it made her swipe out in return.
“And I never thought I’d kiss a man who was already engaged. But here we both are.”
Sid stood, “you know.” It wasn’t a question.
“No thanks to you.” Gwen’s tone frosted. A forced engagement wasn’t her worst nightmare but it was pretty close. She couldn’t fault Sid his actions but she couldfault him for not telling her the truth.
“Giles?”
Gwen kept her face still and gave nothing away.
Sid sighed, “fine, don’t tell me then.”
Seeing that Gwen wasn’t truly angry, Sid dropped onto the bench next to her. “I wasn’t trying to lead you on or nothin’, I don’t really consider myself bound to Elise, we aren’t married yet. I might have to marry her but I don’t have to like it.”
Gwen nodded, though she didn’t look at him, “I get it. It’s okay.” She knew that, as the Princess of Wysteria her wishes came before Elise’s and even Sid’s. If she named him Prince Consort, neither of them could say no. Because she wasn’t going to lead him on either she said, “I can’t be your escape Sid.” She rested her head against his shoulder to mute the sting of her words.
His hand covered hers on the bench, “did I ask you to?”
No. He’d never asked her for anything more than her company. So why did she feel bound to him anyway?
Because something in her recognised something in him and despite her best efforts at keeping things causal Gwen already felt more for him than she’d ever felt for a man before.
It wouldn’t stop her from doing what she was doing. But she felt it.
“Tell me more about yourself?” Sid’s request was asking Gwen to bind herself to him further but she never considered turning it down.
“What do you want to know?”
“Tell me about your family?” He asked.
Suspicion was a sharp stab in her chest. Why did he want to know about her family? Perhaps for totally innocent curiosity. Perhaps not.
Still, he’d not catch her out. She was too good at this.
“I was born in a small town by the border with Stein,” she began.
“Yeah, you have an accent,” said Sid.
“My family bred chickens for meat and eggs.” This was a total lie, of course, but the rest was a combination of half-truths and exaggerations. The best lies were based on a truth after all.
“How many in your family?”
“Originally four. My parents, my older brother and me. Then my mother died.”
“I’m sorry.” Said Sid. There was no teasing in him right now. He looked sorry.
Gwen was sorry too. Her father had murdered her mother. Maybe not literally, but it had been murder never the less. A slow suffocation of Queen Sapphira’s soul with the added insult that most wouldn’t even consider what he’d done to her murder.
Gwen was only a year younger than Byron. No one saidit, especially not where she could hear them, but Gwen knew it was becoming pregnant with her so soon after giving birth that had killed her mother. Oh she’d survived, until Byron was almost in double-digits, but she’d never been the same.
And again, Gerald’s complete disregard for his wife’s health wasn’t considered murder.
Because pregnancy was normal and stress during pregnancy was also normal. Such a tragedy. How could this possibly have been avoided??
“My father wasn’t a good man,” she said mildly. “My older brother threw him out the second he was old enough.”
“Good. Sounds like your older brother’s an okay guy though,” said Sid.
“The best.” And for him, Gwen would do anything. If Wysteria decided to back Gerald’s coup…
Giles, Leo, Alyn, Louis… Sid… They were all good men. Gwen didn’t likelying to them, she didn’t likespying on them. She wasn’t doing this to be mean or because she thought it was fun… But for Byron and for Stein she would do anything. This wasn’t all on Nico. She was a full party in this too.
Sensing her melancholy, Sid picked up a piece of Gwen’s long hair and rubbed it through his fingers, “does he look like you, your brother?”
“No. He looks like our father, unfortunately. I look like our mother.” Okay part of that was a total lie. But not the part about Byron looking like their father. Or the part about it being unfortunate. The part about Gwen. She did have her mother’s finer bone structure and she wasn’t a copy of Byron and Gerald or anything, but place them side-by-side and the resemblance was obvious.
“Bet your father wouldn’t believe his eyes if he saw you now.”
Thatstartled a proper laugh from Gwen, “agreed.”
She didn’t speak about her father again and he didn’t ask, but she told him a little more about Byron. “Is your brother going to live at the palace now?” Sid asked, “I’d love to meet him.” Sid, like Giles, was now under the impression Gwen had written to her brother after the coronation ceremony.
Not gonna happen. “I’d love you to meet him too,” she said half-honestly. Like she’d thought, that wasn’t going to happen for obvious reasons but she wanted Sid to know her. Really know her. Even if it was a foolish want.
“My brother would never leave. He’s good at what he does and he loves it too, but I was going nowhere fast there so I came here instead.”
“I’m glad you did,” said Sid. And there was no teasing in his voice now either.
Despite everything, Gwen was glad she’d come here too.
They continued to talk for hours. About everything and anything. Most nobles didn’t play. At least not where anyone other than their close friends and family could see them and know they were human with human needs and wants. But Sid wasn’t like that. He… played with her. To a woman who had experienced precious little play in her life, he was the most addictive kind of drug.
When he laughed at something she said Gwen thought that maybe she was an acceptable playmate too.
Eventually though, it began to get dark. Reluctantly, she stood. “I have to go. I have to get ready for the ball.” The ball to introduce her to potential suitors. She thought the reminder of where she was about to go might upset Sid, at least a little. But she’d clearly misjudged how much he wanted her because he just laughed.
“Have fun.”
“Shut up.”
*
Man, it really sucked to be her. She was not having fun. Gwen gripped her glass of punch so tight the thin glass creaked. This was a royal ball to show off, not some stuffy noble get-together so everyone was eating and drinking, not pretending they were above that, and honestly, that was the only upside to the night.
“Are you enjoying yourself Princess?”
Of course she was! Why in the world wouldn’t she be?
“It’s such a lovely night, isn’t it?” She asked instead.
“Uh, sure,” said the nobleman, nobleboy really, some son of some Count, Gwen hadbeen listening when he and his friends introduced themselves but an argument breaking out between two of his friends had prevented her from catching this one’s name. He glanced up as though he could see the sky through the arched roof and when he, predictably, couldn’t, turned his attention back to Gwen. “But not as lovely as you Princess,” he added. He didn’t sound super convincing but did sound as though he was saying this to be nice rather than a bad attempt at flirting.
Gwen smiled thinly, okay, maybe this one wasn’t so bad. He was kind of cute. Like a puppy.
Yup, when she started comparing the nobles to puppies it was time to cut back on the punch.
Anyway…
Gwen smiled at um… er… Travis? Trevor?? Tiana??? Tristan. That was it, Tristan. This smile was more genuine than the first two, “thank you Sir Tristan, that’s very kind,” she said and he openly glowed with happiness.
Neither of them was inclined to dance but he seemed happy enough to stay with her and they chatted for a while until his friends who had abandoned him came back.
When she had a sizeable group around her again Gwen turned the conversation to the latest news. The rumours of the old King of Stein’s rebellion had grown louder and when Gwen mentioned it to the group of young men almost all of them knew what she was talking about.
One of them in particular, one of the pair who had gotten into an argument before, said something that stuck with Gwen, he said that the old King was hiding ‘right under King Byron’s nose.’
Gwen’s eyes narrowed, there was a forest just on the outskirts of Stein’s capital city. As far as forests went it was small, but the undergrowth was so dense and the trees so thickly clustered together that few people ventured into it, except for the one path that had been carved through it long ago that people and horses used to go in and out of the capital instead of the rocky lands on either side. Any person, or information, that wanted to get in or out of the capital went through that forest. It would be the perfect place to hide.
Gwen’s eyes narrowed, but he wouldn’t dare.
Misunderstanding the look on her face, Sir Tristan smiled at her, “don’t worry princess, regardless if the old King of Stein takes the throne back or not, it wont affect us!”
That wasn’t entirely true, but Gwen appreciated that he was trying to comfort her.
One of Tristan’s other friends smiled, “it might-”
Whatever it ‘might’ do, Gwen never found out, instead a hand tapped her shoulder, “hey Princess.” Said a familiar voice.
Gwen turned and, she couldn’t help it, her heart leapt into her throat, “what are you doing here?!”
Sid smirked, “it’s lovely to see you too.” He gave her a bow as gallant as any Gwen had ever seen and held out a hand. “May I have this dance?”
Gwen -ignoring Giles’ frown- had mingled but hadn’t danced with anyone else all night and wasn’t planning on it. She knew exactly what kind of message dancing with Sid and only Sid would send.
And she didn’t even consider turning him down. Just looked for a table to put her glass on. “Here.” Sir Tristan took the glass for her.
“Thank you.”
His eyes sparkled, “have fun.”
She was planning on it.
Gwen put her hand in Sid’s.
His fingers closed over her gloved ones and he pulled her into his arms. “Don’t let go.”
“I won’t,” Gwen promised.
*
After several dances, Gwen and Sid stood on the balcony catching their breath. When Sid tugged her deeper into the shadows, away from prying eyes, Gwen went with him.
“You never did tell me why you showed,” Gwen reminded Sid.
She was expecting a tease so her breath caught when unexpectedly serious midnight eyes caught hers, “I’m here because I wanted to come.”
Gwen swallowed. Hard. “Why?”
His hand reached up to brush her cheek, “now, what reason could I have for wanting to attend the ball to introduce the Princess to her suitors?”
Shit. Gwen’s heart hammered. Maybe she had been wrong before. Maybe Sid did really want her. The way she was beginning to really want him.
“Kiss me?” Gwen asked.
Sid didn’t argue, didn’t tease, didn’t say anything. He just pulled her closer and kissed her.
Gwen had thought their previous kisses made her head spin. They had nothing, nothingon this kiss. Sid’s mouth was soft under hers but his shoulders, as she clutched them, were hard and strong. He pressed her back against the wall, cupping the back of her head to protect it from the hard stone. With his free hand he helped Gwen hike her long skirts up slightly, freeing her legs. Breaking the kiss, Gwen tensed her body against him and he knew what she wanted. Although she’d never been held so intimately by a man, never wanted to be either, Gwen didn’t hesitate.
She jumped against him and wrapped her legs around his waist. Sid caught her under the thighs, pressing her properly against the wall and kissed her again.
When they pulled apart, they were both panting, “shit,” Sid gasped, echoing her previous thought.
Gwen scrambled to make her brain work properly with limited success, “as fun as this is, we are at a party.”
Now it was Sid’s turn to swallow hard but he set her back down as gently and as daintily as if she was made of glass, a stark difference to how he’d been holding her a second ago.
“If you think this kind of thing is unusual at a party you’re dreaming. But you’re right.” He tugged her skirt back in place with gentle hands, “you should go back inside.”
Gwen met his eyes, “I’m not dancing with anyone else.”
“Good.” He had no right to lay any sort of claim over her but he was going to do so anyway.
Damn the consequences.
*
Nico pulled a sheaf of papers from an inside pocket of his coat, “I’ve got them. The number of Wysteria’s Knights, royal guard, regular soldiers, their training regimens, supply lists, everything we could want if we go to war with them and then some.” But he didn’t look happy about it. There were people here, plenty of them, who threatened their country but there were plenty more that had been nothing but kind to them and Nico didn’t like betraying that trust any more than Gwen did.
Gwen reached into her desk and curled her hand around the much smaller paper Sid had given her. “I have the names and numbers of all the Wysterian nobles likely to support Gerald. Sid gave it to me a couple of days ago.”
Nico pressed closer, “so that’s it then? We can go?”
“We can go,” Princess Gwendolyn of Stein confirmed, already thinking about their escape.
Nico eyed her and there was something sad still in his eyes.
“What?”
“Do you wantto go?” He asked.
No, she didn’t. It wasn’t just Sid -although it was mostly Sid- but Gwen had been happier here than she had in a very long time. Not that she had been unhappy in Stein. But something about Wysteria…
Okay maybe it wasSid. And that was why… “I need to go.”
Okay, at the suggestion of a friend I’ve decided to post my Midnight Cinderella fanfiction here on tumblr as the MidCin ao3 is basically dead. A Sid x OC where the ‘princess’ of Wysteria is actually King Byron’s younger sister. Here’s chapter 1. If you decide to read it, I hope you like it!
The first 3 chapters are here on ao3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/30807311/chapters/76048739
Chapter 1: Yours for the taking
“Calm down, it’s not that big a deal,” Gwendolyn Wagner said.
Nico looked as though he was about to explode and start crying all at once, “not that big a deal?! Gwendy this is bad.”
“Well we’ve dealt with bad before.”
“This is really bad.” Nico was tugging at the hems of his sleeves as he often did while agitated, and right now he was really agitated. “This is worse than anything else we’ve dealt with.”
Gwen snorted because this was categorically notworse than anything they’d dealt with. Still…
She touched Nico’s arm, “it’s fine, go back to work and pretend everything’s okay.”
“But what are we gonna do?!” Nico whisper-hissed.
Go back to work and pretend everything was fine?! Had she stuttered?!?! “Nico, think of this as a great opportunity.”
“-a great opportunity to get caught and executed-” he muttered and Gwen resisted the urge to laugh, that would only encourage him.
She smacked his arm instead, “a great opportunity to gather information!”
“And then get caught and executed.”
A second smack. “I’ll use this time to gather information. As their princess, Giles has to trust me now. When we think we’ve got enough, or if anyone starts getting suspicious, I’ll start pretending the pressure’s getting to me and we’ll run away. With any luck they’ll think I ran away because it was too much and you decided to come with me.”
“And what happens next time Wysteria and Stein have a diplomatic mission and they recognize you or me?” Nico asked suspiciously but at least he didn’t sound semi-hysterical anymore.
“What’re they gonna do about it?” Asked Gwen with the arrogance of a born princess.
Nico thought for a minute and then nodded, “okay, we’ll play it your way. In that case, I need to get back to work, good luck!”
Looking far more chipper, her brother’s left-hand man exited the room and Gwen continued down the hall alone with her thoughts.
Anxiously, she tugged on her own sleeves, a habit she had picked up from Nico, as she thought.
She’d acted flippant to reassure Nico but the truth was; she was pretty nervous too. I never should have left, she thought to herself and then grimaced, we never should have left.
Oh Albert’s gonna be so mad… Gwen hated it when Albert was mad at her and she’d really done it this time.
Or rather, Nico had ‘really done it’ and Gwen had… well…
She’d been in Stein just minding her own business (she had!!) when she’d caught Nico sneaking out in the middle of the damn night. After a slight amount of pressure, and perhaps a noogie or two, Gwen had gotten him to confess the reason for this. He and Albert had argued the previous day (surprise, surprise) and Albert had said something that upset Nico.
Try as she might, Gwen hadn’t been able to get Nico to tell her what exactly Albert had said but she was led to understand the word ‘useless’ might have been involved.
If there was one thing Nico hated it was any implication that he was a burden on King Byron. So instead of dealing with his emotions like an adult, Nico was sneaking out in the middle of the night to infiltrate the palace of Wysteria, their nearest neighbour, as a spy so he could feel useful.
In her defense, Gwen had tried to talk him out of it, she really had, even threatening to get the guards to drag him back. Unfortunately she knew by the time she came back with the guards Nico would be long gone, likewise, she couldn’t drag him back herself, the little bastard was faster than she was.
Even more unfortunately, Nico knew this too.
So Gwen had decided to go with him.
He’dtried to talk herout of that but Gwen was resolute, “when you go back, I’ll go back,” she promised.
She had honestly thought that would make Nico turn around, but it hadn’t. So they’d ended up in Wysteria.
Wysteria Palace, like any castle, constantly needed new workers so they had gotten jobs fairly easily, her as a chambermaid, him as a stable-hand and worked their way up until Nico was a trusted and respected attendant.
And Gwen?
Well she’d just been informed that she was now the Princess Select.
Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger and sighed. When the King of Wysteria needed an heir but had no children his adviser picked a commoner girl, well young woman really, to be trained as the next Princess and then eventually, Queen. Generally the new Princess would pick a Prince Consort from among the young noble men and the opposite was true, if the Queen needed an heir a commoner boy was picked. This kept both the common people and the nobility happy, giving both a voice.
It was a long-standing, if not exactly common, tradition in Wysteria and Gwen had known it was going on the same way she knew the sun was rising and setting. It happened, it just wasn’t something she paid a lot of attention to.
Big mistake that turned out to be.
Moving her hand from the bridge of her nose, she rubbed her brow. She was now the princess of Wysteria. Giles, the King’s current adviser, had picked her this morning and Gwen and Nico had been panicking ever since.
Giles would be so mad if he ever found out Gwen was actually the younger sister of King Byron of Stein!
This was a fine mess the two of them had gotten themselves into!
Gwen reached Giles’s door and knocked, there was the sound of muffled conversation on the other side.
She sighed again, maybe Nico was right, maybe they should just cut their losses and run now.
Word hadn’t gotten very far about the new Princess Select, Giles could probably do damage control and pick a new princess with fairly little hassle. They probably wouldn’t look too hard for her either.
Giles bade her entry and Gwen pushed the door open.
And almost walked right into the (strong, muscular) chest of the most handsome man she’d ever seen.
The stranger had been reaching to pull the door open for her when Gwen entered but after she let herself in he stepped back (shame) and smiled slowly at her.
Gwen smiled back, because really, who wouldn’t? Before turning to Giles.
“You wanted to see me?” She asked Giles, taking her eyes off the handsome new stranger, for a second anyway.
Giles could obviously see the looks Gwen and the stranger were giving each other but he chose not to say anything about it, instead he just made introductions.
“Princess this is Lloyd Gardner, son of the Archduke Gardner. Sid, this is our new princess Gwenyth Fowler.”
The man grimaced, “just call me Sid, everyone does,” he reached for her hand.
“Sid then, I’m Gwen,” yeah maybe using ‘Gwenyth’ instead of ‘Gwendolyn’ as her fake name was not the most inventive thing she could have come up with but it was better than nothing *cough, cough* Nico.
“Sid buys and sells information, there are certain sects of the populace that are not content with the Princess Selection and we want to nip any discontent in the bud,” began Giles.
“So if you feel something’s wrong, you just come to me. I’ll help you get it sorted,” finished Sid, giving her that slow smile again. He still hadn’t let go of Gwen’s hand.
Now, now, maybe she and Nico didn’t have to leave that quickly. Like Gwen had told Nico, this was a golden opportunity to collect information and if the source of that information happened to be smoking hot, who was Gwen to turn away that opportunity?
Yeah, they’d be in huge trouble if they were caught, Byron was probably worried sick and every second they stayed here increased their risk of being found but Sid was super fucking hot.
Gwen had her priorities.
“And what if I don’t feel something’s wrong?” She asked, fluttering her eyelashes ever-so-slightly.
Sid’s grin widened, “well you can always come to me anyway.”
“I feel better already,” said Gwen. She took her hand back but only because poor Giles was standing right there being forced to watch this, if he wasn’t she would have been happy to let Sid keep a hold of her hand for as long as he liked.
“Say, have you picked your prince consort yet, Princess?” Asked Sid almost casually.
Ah, right to the point. Excellent, Gwen didn’t have to spend time messing around.
Giles made a slight noise that Gwen didn’t think was encouraging. Actually, she was pretty sure Giles was shaking his head vehemently behind the other man’s back but she couldn’t see past Sid’s broad, muscular shoulders.
“Why? Was that an offer… because if so… maybe.”
Just as it was getting good, the voice of Leo Crawford, a bureaucrat from Wysteria, called Sid from down the hall. Sid stepped back from Gwen reluctantly.
“Sorry, duty calls but we’ll talk soon Princess.”
“Counting on it.”
After Sid bid Giles farewell and left to find Leo, Gwen raised an eyebrow at Giles.
“So? What’s his deal?”
“His ‘deal’ is a fiancee of six months,” said Giles and the smile vanished from Gwen’s face like magic.
Figures! Men could be handsome or decent, never both!
“Although I believe the engagement was against Sid’s wishes, he does not love Lady Elise.” Normally Giles wouldn’t air his friend’s dirty laundry like this but the look on the princess’s face was worrying him. He felt compelled to defend Sid, at least a little, he didn’t need the princess kicking Sid in the family jewels the next time they saw each other and calling him a cheater either. Besides, this wasn’t common knowledge but it was hardly a secret either.
Ah, Gwen nodded in understanding and slight sympathy. No, this was good actually, it couldn’t be anything serious for him, so she didn’t have to feel bad about leading him on.
Good for her, not good for him.
This was good, just a bit of harmless flirtation. With the guy most likely to find her out as a spy.
Nothing serious.
What could go wrong?
*
Things went well for Gwen after that, she breezed through her princess lessons, telling Giles, not totally untruthfully that she had been around enough noble women to pick things up, Nico only had a minor heart-attack the first time he saw her flirt with Sid, and Robert decided to keep his mouth shut.
Yeah, they were gonna have to have a conversation one day soon. But not today.
She only had one minor incident when, snooping around the castle in the middle of the night, she lost her shoe on the staircase as she ran to hide from the guards but they couldn’t prove anything so it was fine.
The more time Gwen spent with Sid, the more she liked him, he had more depth than she’d first expected and was a funny and interesting companion, he was smart and listened when she spoke and was game to go with her the one time she snuck out of the castle to meet an informant (and he knew the guy and helped Gwen ask her questions too). He even offered to take over that part of information-gathering for her so she didn’t need to sneak out at night. That was so sweet, Gwen hoped he never found out the real reason she wanted this information had nothing to do with protecting Wysteria.
He kissed her once too, that night they snuck out and two weeks later Gwen’s head was still spinning over that kiss.
Handsome, charming, a good kisser, smart… Too bad she couldn’t really be Wysteria’s (and Sids’s) princess.
So yeah, things were going pretty well… except…
“Good Gods, all you do is complain,” Gwen sighed, resting her elbow on her desk.
“Well I wouldn’t have to if you’d just listen the first hundred times I complained,” said Nico, hands also on her desk, staring her down, “you’re running off with Sid? Sid? Who in this castle is most likely to find us out, do you think?!”
Yeah, yeah, she knew, she knew. It was Robert. Obviously. But the second most likely person was Sid.
“Nico this is a golden opportunity we will never get again, if I don’t milk it for all it’s worth I’m gonna kick myself.” She picked up an Important Wysterian Document and studied it, “and if I do a teensylittle bit of flirting too well, there are worse things.”
Throwing his hands up, physically and metaphorically, her closest friend shook his head, “we’re gonna get caught, we’re gonna get caught,” he sang under his breath, shaking his head like this hadn’t been his idea, “and I’m telling Albert you were flirting with Sid.”
Gwen couldn’t help but laugh, the oldest threat between them; telling Mummy she was doing something scandalous. “Don’t tell Albert,” she begged.
“Telling. Albert.”
After she promised they’d leave soon, Nico finally told her the reason he’d actually come to see her, Sid had invited her out riding with him that evening. Or maybe Giles had invited her out riding with Sid, that part was a little unclear. Either way.
Gwen smiled, yes, things were going very well.
*
“Well that’s what the Archduke says anyway,” Sid finished.
Lying on her back on a grassy knoll, staring up at the starry sky Sid’s deep, slow voice could lull Gwen to sleep if she wasn’t so focused on him.
“You call your father ‘the Archduke’?” She asked with a raised eyebrow, playing with a strand of her overlong hair. True, it was much nicer than the things Gwen called her father but it was a tad unusual.
“He’s not my father,” said Sid to her surprise, when Gwen raised both eyebrows this time, he elaborated. “When I was little my parents were banished from Wysteria. They had nothing and nowhere to go and didn’t want to bring their kid into that so they asked a good friend of theirs to adopt me. He did, made me his heir and gave me a new name. He’s been good to me, but he isn’t my father.” It was a little more complicated than that, but that was the gist of it.
“That’s why you don’t go by ‘Lloyd’,” said Gwen, understanding immediately, “‘Sid’s’ the name you were born with.”
“That, and ‘Lloyd’s’ a stupid name.”
Gwen choked on a laugh and Sid took the piece of hair she was playing with and wound it through his own fingers, “I don’t know why I told you that.” He admitted.
“Is it a secret?”
“Not really, just not something I talk about very often,” he tugged on the lock of hair, “you have very beautiful hair, princess.”
“I already know that but you can tell me any time you please,” said Gwen, shutting her eyes and it was Sid’s turn to cough out a surprised laugh.
Sid began to card his fingers through her long hair and Gwen didn’t think there was a woman alive who could resist that. She felt herself beginning to drift off and fought it, she needed to stay awake, and she wanted to talk with Sid some more.
Funny though, how she already trusted him enough to fall asleep in his presence.
Gwen shook herself, physically and mentally, flirting was fine, getting attached was not. For both of them. She’d do well to remember that the next time he kissed her.
Still, she didn’t remove his hand from her hair.
“Your turn,” said Sid.
“Hm?”
“Tell me a secret?”
Just one? But she had so many. Oh boy…
Gwen turned her head slightly to look at Sid, propped up on his elbow beside her.
She had lots of secrets and could tell him none of them. I think I could fall in love with you.
I really hope that I don’t.
*
“Hm? What was that?” Gwen turned right around, to look at Giles, there was nothing subtle about the way she’d jumped but Gwen was too surprised to care.
“Yes, it appears the old King of Stein is plotting a rebellion against his son who overthrew him a few years ago.” Said Giles, continuing off what he’d been saying.
Ah, so Giles hadsaid what Gwen thought he had. Her heart hammered and she tugged at the end of her elbow-length glove. We knew this was going to happen, she thought, but for once in her life being right didn’t give Gwen any joy.
“What does that mean for us?” Asked Gwen absently, both Sid and Giles were looking at her funny and she didn’t blame them, considering she’d jumped about a foot in the air at the mention of her father. But still… they hadn’t even heard a hint of a whisper of this in Stein. As far as she knew, Byron was completely in the dark. And a lot of nobles in Wysteria didn’t like Stein; a big and militarily powerful neighbour that, while not aggressive, certainly wasn’t friendly. If they decided it was better for them that Stein was crushed under the rule of Gerald rather than allowed to flourish and threw their support behind him… Damn, Gwen hadn’t expected to have to fight both her father andWysteria.
Giles was explaining how this would benefit and disadvantage Wysteria but Gwen wasn’t listening.
There was only one country she cared about, and it wasn’t Wysteria.
*
Later that day Gwen was pouring over a report when Nico knocked, “I’m sure you can guess who these are from,” he placed a pot of lush blue flowers on her desk.
Gwen perked up immediately, “Sid sent me flowers?!” Score. Maybe today wasn’t complete rubbish.
“Yeah, he said he ‘hopes you cheer up soon.’ What’s wrong?” Nico asked. Oh boy.
She told him what she’d overheard about her father, “Sid’s offered to look into it and he’s the best informant on the continent so I want to stay for that but we need to leave, and soon.”
Nico nodded, mouth tight. He’d only been sixteen when he’d helped lead Byron’s successful rebellion against his tyrant father. Nico had nearly died helping. Gwen wasn’t going to let that happen again. Ever.
Nico left and Gwen dropped her head down with a sigh, this was exhausting. She was going to be nicer to Byron when she got home, he ran their country and that was no walk in the park, it was the least she could do for him.
When Gwen’s head dropped down she nearly planted her face in the pot of flowers Sid had sent her. Their sweet smell surrounded her and a smile touched her mouth, maybe it was a small victory but Gwen would take her wins where she could get them.
The sound of Nico’s footsteps had barely faded away when there was a second knock at the door.
“Come in,” she called.
Robert Branche pushed the door open.
Gwen’s mouth went dry with nerves as she stared up at her old teacher. When he’d been barely more than a teen himself Robert had tutored Byron, Albert, Gwen and Nico. Everything Gwen had learned about forgiveness, about gentleness, about honour, had come from this man. And he did not look impressed with her right now.
Looks like it was time to have that conversation.
Gwen swallowed, “shut the door.” Robert did so.
“So,” he asked in a quiet tone, “are we finally going to talk about you and Nico committing international espionage Gwendolyn?”
Busted. “I guess we are, aren’t we?”
Guys! Please love my Midnight Cinderella fanfiction. I’m begging here!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/30807311/chapters/76048739
GUESS WHO UPDATED FOR ONCE IN HER LIFE! Chapter 2 is up now. Sid x female!OC fanfiction. Don’t make me beg again guys.
It’s been much longer than I care to admit but chapter 3 is OUT! Please read guys! It’s about Sid falling in love with Byron’s sister.
