Into the Spotlight: A Little Mermaid Remix

Chapter 2

A/N: A base idea for Prince Liam^

Prince Liam resisted the urge to yawn into his hand.

He only was attempting to resist due to the daggers his father was currently shooting in his direction.

If looks could kill, Liam would definitely be six feet under by now.

But then again, so would all of his father's advisors.

His father was a stern and grumpy man, always scowling and frowning, but never yelling.

It was always interesting to see his father next to his mother because she almost always had a smile or likewise encouraging expression on her face.

They couldn't be more opposite from each other if they tried.

His sister, Willow, was deeply immersed in whatever they were talking about, providing claims with evidence and opinions, as well as scrawling notes in neat steady cursive without looking or stopping.

He slightly envied her multitasking abilities.

But for the life of him, he just couldn't completely remember what they were talking about.

He resorted to the 'acting' part of being a royal. Nod, give an encouraging smile now and then, make a slight noise that could be determined as an assent, and don't let them see your elbows on the table.

Easy.

Well, it would be easy if his father wasn't so damn good about seeing through it.

As soon as the person packed up and left, Liam made to leave as well until an especially icy glare from his father prompted him to sit back down.

Willow gave him a slightly sympathetic look before folding up her notes and running out of the room.

"What is the matter with you? I know you're not paying attention, just as you haven't been for the past five days."

Liam tried to make his expression as innocent as possible. "Who, me? I always pay attention."

"Then tell me one major point of the whole presentation." His father challenged with narrowed eyes.

Liam reached back in his memory, centering on something Willow said.

"Um... how we need to be more careful with our resources because they are so limited and our current consumption of goods is too high for what it should be considering the size of our population?"

His father sat back in his chair. "Impressive. Perhaps you were listening after all. Dismissed."

Liam waited until he was out in the hallway before grinning wildly and fist-pumping the air.

He could always count on his little sister to bail him out of trouble. Always. Even if she didn't do anything directly, she was always there to help.

Willow approached him with her notebook hugged to her chest, the pen poking out of the top of its spiral binding.

"So I'm guessing you survived?" She asked, her green eyes mocking him slightly as he frowned at her.

"Of course I did."

"Mhmm and how did you manage that?"

"Through you of course. Always thanks to you." He inclined his head slightly, and she smiled brightly, turning suddenly and whipping his face with her long auburn hair.

"And don't you forget it! I'll give you a crash course on the presentation later."

"Thanks, Willow, you're a complete lifesaver."

She laughed. "You don't really need me. Honestly, if you got more sleep and stopped daydreaming in meetings, you'd be brilliant. Maybe you should take a break."

"I can't. Dad won't let me take a break until Ashton shows up."

Willow clapped her hands around her notebook. "Really? Well, how lovely! Finally someone's coming to visit. Do you know when he'll get here?"

"Within the week."

"I'm so glad he's decided to visit more often. I thought he would visit even less since Evelyn disappeared two years ago and he put off taking up the throne. But he's actually been visiting with some consistency. Do you think he'll bring his girlfriend for once? I'm dying to meet her." Willow sighed longingly and Liam smiled.

His sister had been badgering Ashton for a year on meeting his girlfriend, Fiona. From the sound of it, Willow longed to make a new friend, and Liam couldn't blame her.

Making friends as a royal was hard. You never knew if people wanted to actually hang out with you, or if they just wanted something from you. Willow had given up on trying to make nonroyal friends entirely after she had been double-crossed and lost one of her favorite dresses and an expensive pair of heels to a fake friend.

Willow hadn't completely recovered from the betrayal. She threw herself into work and the betterment of their kingdom to avoid having to think about how lonely she probably felt.

And Liam could relate to that more than he wanted to admit.

"So." Willow dropped her voice conspiratorially as they walked outside toward the palace gardens. "Meet any cute guys lately?"

He gave his younger sister a half-hearted glare. Ever since he'd cracked three years ago at the age of 14 and told his sister he was gay, she'd been trying to find suitable men to set him up with.

All without telling their parents of course.

Liam suspected that they already knew on some level. But he wasn't about to tell them. As much as it pained him to admit, his father was terrifying. He didn't think he'd be able to handle extreme animosity, or worse, a disownment.

Willow insisted that if that ever happened she'd break all ties with their parents and simply follow him instead.

She truly was a lovely sister.

When she wasn't openly meddling in his romantic affairs that is.

"No, Willow, I haven't."

"Really? Not even the new support assist guy? He's cute and if you don't want him I most certainly do."

Liam gave her a look. "Are you being serious?"

"Yes and no." She admitted. "He's cute but not really my type."

"Why is that?" Liam asked, half dreading the answer.

"Because he's more your type. You know, nerdy. Light brown cardigan, green shirt, pale jeans, those shoes without real laces, curly black hair, mocha skin with dimples and onyx eyes that are just to die for-"

"Are you describing a person or an artwork?" Liam interrupted.

Willow winked. "You can make anyone sound hot with just the right descriptive adjectives."

Liam sighed. "That may be, Willow, but I'm just not feeling it."

He looked out past the waving greenery and leaves to the ocean that was just barely visible in the distance. "I just feel like I'm missing something, you know? It's gotten to the point where it's messing with my head. I can't concentrate, I can't sleep, and I just-"

"Am steadily falling apart at the seams." Willow finished, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You, need a break. I'll see what I can do to get Ashton here faster. You aren't like others Liam. You can't work yourself nonstop the way Ashton and Dad do. Give yourself a break. You'll feel better, I'm sure."

And she walked back inside leaving Liam to stare at the slow rise and fall of the ocean waves in the distance.