The Selection (Troyler AU)

♔Part XLIV♔

THE SELECTION HIT 100K NDEIHEDIHDEIHDEIHDEIHED FUCKING HELL THANK YOU SO MUCH ILY

Also I'm here to tell you that I'm really really thirsty for Demi Lovato right now fucking hell I can't stop watching the Cool for the Summer video and I saved almost fifty pictures of her and the lEATHER and her on the bed and the e v e r y t h i n g I fucking can't okay I can't be saved.

Also I started school rip me.

But because school's starting and because I have no idea what to expect with freshmen year and all that idk how often my updates will be so beware if they're a little sporadic but I will finish this story I wILL.

ALSO PRETTY LITTLE LIARS FUCKED ME UP OH MY GOD.

ALSO CRYBABY FUCK ME SO HARD.

Dan POV

Grace and Phil both turned to look at me as I entered the private chambers, causing all words on my tongue to die abruptly. I blinked, openly gaping at the two of them for a moment, before remembering myself and schooling my features into an indifferent mask. Clearing my throat, I shuffled further into the room, closing the door behind me.

Grace merely raised her eyebrows at me, unimpressed, but Phil at least had the decency to look mildly concerned. "Dan - where've you been? You were supposed to be back here as soon as the ball was over."

"Yeah, I know," I said, snapping myself out of my momentary shock,"I got sidetracked with something - and it's really important."

He opened his mouth then promptly shut it, pressing his lips together.  "I'll keep that in mind," he said after a moment, cautiously shooting a glance at Grace,"But it's gotta wait for now."

"Phil-"

"You can tell me after," he said, unrelenting.  "Right now, I have a pretty important guest, with pretty important information that is like to hear, and I think it's in our best interest to listen to what she has to say." 

He gave me a pointed look, as if daring me to object, but I ended up deciding to just let it go, albeit reluctantly. While I had crucial information, what was even more vital was listening to Queen Grace right now, especially when she could just as easily tell the Illéan authorizes of our whereabouts right now. I gritted my teeth, nodding curtly in submission. After all, from what Grace told me earlier, she wasn't against the Prince at all - liked him, in fact. Nothing she could say to Phil should give the impression that she believed otherwise, as long as what she said before was her honest opinion.

"Fine," I said eventually, clasping my hands behind my back,"Can I at least stay in here while you're talking?"

Phil shot a questioning glance at Grace, and, seeing no immediate objections from her, inclined his head towards the wall. "You can stay," he allowed,"But there's no where for you to sit, so you'll-" he cut himself off, shrugging apologetically.

I put a hand up, stopping him. "You won't even know I'm here," I said, more to Grace than to Phil, knowing that he didn't mind having me around, even when he was going over something particularly sensitive - and not just because I was his second in command.

The Queen shrugged, nonchalant as ever. "By all means," she said, gliding towards the guest chair on the other side of the small desk in the room, the movement effortless now that she'd shed the heavily-skirted attire she'd worn for the ball. "But I don't have much time before people start to wonder where I am, so if you want to talk: let's talk."

Phil waved a hand at the seat, a hint of impatience creeping up in the set of his mouth.  "Take a seat, then."

She complied, but offered Phil a crooked smile.  "A rebel telling a Queen to sit," she mused, lifting an eyebrow,"That's a new one."