Imagines and One-Shots (Book Two)

The Last Dance (Marshall Traver) - Part 3

i just realized i forgot to post monday and tuesday's updates so i hope you enjoy your three parts at one time. sorry i'm dumb :')

~

The next morning

The maid assigned to tend to you throughout your stay in the castle, Steph, had just woken you up and was now leading you to the dining hall where the King, Queen, Marshall, and the other princesses were already waiting. The Princesses all glared at you while the other three royals smiled – Marshall's obviously being the biggest. Steph took you to the open seat on the corner, letting you sit between Marshall and his mother.

You thanked her softly as she left, hearing the Princesses scoff in return. You didn't understand why they did it – all you did was thank someone who did something for you – but you just brushed it off. You meant what you told Marshall – you were going to face the girls that day like nothing ever happened.

"Morning, beautiful," Marshall murmured when he leaned over and kissed your cheek. You blushed lightly, missing the way the Queen smiled knowingly at you and her son.

"Well, now that we're all here, let's eat!" the King announced.

Throughout breakfast, you tried to remember everything your grandmother taught you about eating 'like a princess'. You were doing pretty well considering you'd only had a few lessons and a couple actual meals to practice during, but you could still tell that the other princesses were silently judging you.

Naomi and Rosa – who were sat directly across from you and Marshall – kept their glaring eyes on you the entire time. You didn't let it bother you though – they weren't the ones with Marshall's hand on their thigh underneath the table.

"Y/N," the Queen whispered after leaning toward you. You looked up at her and she smiled, "Honey, you can just eat the way you normally would. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks."

You let out a small, relieved sigh and slouched your shoulders, scooting forward in your chair so you were practically sitting up against the table. The Princesses' expressions, of course, suggested that they couldn't have been more disgusted with you at this point, but you didn't care – you were finally eating comfortably.

~

After breakfast, you went back to your room to get ready for the day. You were standing in front of the closet door, trying to decide what to wear, when you heard someone knock on your bedroom door. You gave them the okay to come in, hearing the door open and close but no one said anything. You were about to turn around when you felt them come up behind you and wrap their arms wound around your waist

"What's on the Princess agenda for today?" Marshall asked you. You smiled slightly when you felt him kiss the top of your jaw.

"Nothing since that party was yesterday," you informed him, "I was just going to stay in and relax."

"Well, I know of a better way to relax that I'm sure you'll love just as much," he said.

"And what might that be?"

"Meet me in the garden in 10 and you'll find out," he grinned, kissing behind your ear just before pulling away.

You looked over your shoulder just in time to have him wink at you as he disappeared from the doorway. You couldn't help but smile, reaching into the closet and grabbing an outfit.

~

Upon walking outside onto the castle porch, you didn't see anyone around. You were a couple minutes early though, so you just decided to talk a walk by yourself through the hedge maze – you had always loved corn mazes as a kid, so you were excited to see if you could make it through this one as well.

About halfway through – or, at least, what you thought to be halfway – you started hearing voices. As you got closer, you could finally make them out to be Marshall and Naomi. Your heart sank lightly – why did Marshall ask you to meet him in the garden if he was already with Naomi?

"Come on, Marshall," you heard Naomi say.

"No, Naomi," he replied, "I told you I'll be with Y/N today."

"She's not that special, and you know it, Marshall," she stated monotonously.

"How would you know? You refuse to talk to her unless it's to ridicule or humiliate her."

"She is not a real princess, Marshall!" she whispered, "You don't just wake up one day and find out your dead mother was a future queen! It's just some sob story to get you to fall for her!"

"I can't stop you from talking about Y/N the way you do, Naomi, but I will not stand here and allow you to talk about her mother in the same way," he spat back, "Whatever your opinion on her is, it's not an open invitation to disrespect the loss of her mother. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with Princess Y/N." Your eyes widened slightly, not wanting either Royal to know you were listening.

You scurried further into the hedge maze – in the opposite direction of where you heard Marshall going – until you reached a dead end. You turned your back to the hedges, taking a moment to breathe in and out slowly. But when you heard a twig snap behind you, you jumped.

You would have screamed if it hadn't been for the hand that immediately covered your mouth, the lips pressed to your ear instantly calming you back down.

"It's just me, princess," Marshall said softly, not wanting Naomi hearing him to be a possibility.

You let out a deep sigh of relief as he took his hand back. He put his hands on your hips to turn you around so you were facing him.

"How much of that did you hear?" he asked you.

"I don't know what you're talking about," you swallowed, making him sigh.

"Y/N," he put his hands on your cheeks so you couldn't look away from him, "How much did you hear?" You stared at him for a moment before feeling him wipe the tear away from your eye as it fell.

"Enough," you managed to get out.

He smiled sadly, wiping the remaining tears and then moving his arms to wrap around your waist. You, of course, hugged him right back, the tightness of your hold on him telling him how thankful you were that he defended not just you, but your mother as well.

"I'm sorry she's being so awful to you," he sighed again after a couple minutes of silence, kissing your temple.

"It's not your fault, Mar," you murmured.

"I wanted to give you nice picnic without worrying about the other Princesses, but that's obviously changed," he shook his head, a bit of anger in his voice as well, "I don't know if Naomi will come back, so how about you and I just go walk around town? It's Sunday, so the baker goes into his shop to try out new recipes and I always go to help taste test."

"Are you bribing me with food?" you asked, a smile pulling at the corner of your mouth.

"Does bribing with food work on you?" he smirked.

"It hasn't failed yet," you shrugged, making him grin widely.

"Then let's go," he said, tangling your fingers together and leading you back out of the maze so you could head to the bakery.