This Sunday morning, I thought that I would post a “Previously On…” sort of teaser for my @captainswanmoviemarathon fic “Do as the Romans Do”. It’s a movie AU of the old Audrey Hepburn/Gregory Peck classic, and though it has taken me forever, I have finally completed the last chapter to finish it all up! I am still typing and editing, but I hope to post the final addition within the next day or so, so I thought a bit of a catch-up might be in order since it has taken me so long…
Summary:Crown Princess Emma is on her first solo goodwill tour, and as much as she wants to do her duty and make her family proud, sometimes she just wishes she could live an ordinary life. When she takes the chance to spend a day on her own in Rome, and a lucky chance encounter makes it all the more sweet, will she ever want to return?
And, to hopefully tide you over, a taste of the Epilogue (Part Five):
The uproar Emma’s attendants and minders created when she arrived back to the floor they had been granted in the upper eastern wing of the embassy was grating on her pained psyche after just giving up the happiest and freest moments she had ever felt, and a connection she was uncertain she would ever find again. The way Mistress Bleu fluttered and clucked about, chastising her in much the same manner as she had since Emma was in diapers and onesies had her clinging to her self-control and biting back a frantic sense of the room closing in around her - not to mention barely stoppering the harsh words on the tip of her tongue.
One might have thought they genuinely believed she would abandon her post permanently; leave behind her family and her people heedlessly without so much as a backward glance. Though she had tried to follow their rules, be the sweet, demure princess society dictated, stifled her own longings and aimed to please, none of it had done any good. Those who should know her best beyond her own parents thought her so shiftless and irresponsible as to flee her duties at the tip of a hat. What else could she assume with the way the whole lot of them were exclaiming and gasping at her rumpled clothes and bemoaning her bobbed hair?
Only Ashley seemed truly glad to see her back in one piece, squeezing through the rest of the disapproving faces to hug Emma tightly and to whisper that she wanted to hear every detail later. The moment’s reprieve and sweet understanding from her oldest friend did relax her tense shoulders and lower them a fraction as she blew out a low, calming breath. Still, when the others pressed forward once more, ready to continue berating her recklessness and lack of concern, the Princess finally gathered her royal bearing and firmest resolve to look them square in the eyes. Staring down each dresser, coach, and advisor until their words ceased and at last they stood in silence, she outwaited them all.
Though she could not help but wonder if any of her thoughts or feelings would make much difference, this time at least, she would be heard. “That is quite enough,” she admonished Mistress Bleu and her stuffy cohorts, the nagging matron’s teeth audibly clacking together as her mouth snapped shut. The Princess did not raise her voice nor resort to tempestuous emotion often, but her tone was steady, brooking no argument and clearly conveying that she would not be hushed or interrupted.
Meeting each of their eyes in turn, until one by one her minders looked away, abashed, Emma shook her head sadly; heartsore that despite all she had sacrificed since childhood, and all that she had turned away from, the freedom and possible love she had given up not even an hour ago, they would still question her commitment.
“Contrary to what most of you seem to believe, I know my duty well. I have never wavered in my love for Misthavia, or my subjects, nor in my dedication to serve them well. Never until today…” She paused to draw in a fortifying breath, letting the implication of her words sink in. “Let me make this abundantly clear; if I did not value my honor and my duty as well as I do, I would not be standing here now.”
