It was a hot, sticky August afternoon and Christine was sitting on the couch, a bored expression on her face. "Christine," her cousin, Renée Alicia Lopez-Fitzgerald said, "don't you want to play with us?"
"No. I'm bored." She stuck her lower lip out in a pout.
"Well then… do you want to hear a story?" Renée asked.
"Depends."
"Do you want me to continue the story that Aunt Sara, Rachel and Andrew began?"
Christine's eyes brightened. "Yeah!"
"Well, where did she leave off?"
"Mommy finished when Princess Sheridan got arrested."
"Okay. Here goes…"
Well, after Princess Sheridan got arrested, her nephew, Prince Ethan came and tried to get her out of jail. But it didn't work, so she had to spend the night there. But only a night. Afterward, she got out, and she was driving her own carriage when she crashed into the police officer's horse… again. So, he took her to court, and she was sentenced to one hundred hours of community service. Meanwhile, she kept bumping into him in the strangest places. Like Pilar's birthday party. Pilar, the officer's mother, is a maid at the castle where Sheridan lives. But Pilar is more of a second mother to Sheridan, because her own mother died when she was a baby. At the party, they danced a tango. And then the next day, when she went to start her community service, the director of the Activity Place, where she was assigned her community service, was none other than that police officer.
Princess Sheridan had met another guy, Hank, who liked her. She kind of liked him, but… Anyway, as the princess and the police officer spent time together, they still fought, but they were seeing a side of each other that they didn't know each of them had. Luis… that was the police officer's name… he thought Princess Sheridan was a spoiled, stuck-up, princess… but she was anything but. Except for the princess part. And Princess Sheridan thought that Officer Luis was an egotistical, self-centered, arrogant man--
"What does egotistical mean?" Christine asked.
Renée smiled. Being the youngest of all of them (Christine was five, five years younger than Renée's youngest sibling, Derek), sometimes she didn't understand things they said. "Well, Christine, to be egotistical means that you don't care about anyone else but yourself. Princess Sheridan thought that Officer Luis didn't care about anyone except himself, and that really ticked her off."
"Okay… what happened after that?"
After she started her community service, Princess Sheridan and Officer Luis saw each other a lot… and they really bonded when they both went to the Western Kingdom to find Officer Luis' father, who had disappeared a long time before that. Princess Sheridan almost drowned and Luis saved her. They found Officer Luis' father, but they left the Western Kingdom soon after. Officer Luis had broken a keepsake of Princess Sheridan's, which he replaced… and they were getting closer. Princess Sheridan wanted to go out with him on New Year's Eve, but she asked Hank--remember, that guy that liked her? He also happened to be Officer Luis' best friend. Anyway, on New Year's Eve, Martin Fitzgerald, Officer Luis' father, came and kidnapped Princess Sheridan. They both almost died, but Officer Luis saved Princess Sheridan and let his father die. Turns out that it wasn't his father at all. He was an impostor. Princess Sheridan comforted Officer Luis, and they got even closer. Then… Officer Luis asked her to dinner, to discuss some business things, but Princess Sheridan thought that he was using her (she has this thing about men using her) and threw wine in his face. But he went back and apologized.
After that, they went on another date, which was nicer… Princess Sheridan fed Officer Luis some lobster… :) and after that, they ate ice cream together (CoLoReD sPrInKlEs rule!) and Officer Luis kissed her on the cheek…
Christine made a face. "Yuck. Did you have to tell me that?"
Renée laughed. "Okay, we'll stop there for now…"
"But I want to know about Lady Sara and her knight in shining armor!"
"Okay, okay," Renée compromised. "But I don't know that story all too well. Why don't you ask someone in your family?"
"Okay, Renée. Thank you," she said, as her cousin walked out into the backyard. Christine wandered around the house, until she found her father. "Daddy," she said, "can you tell me more of the story?"
Casey looked up. "Huh? Oh… that story?"
"Yeah, Daddy, that story."
"Okay, sweetie, come here." Casey picked his daughter up and put her in his lap. "Okay. Where did you leave off?"
Christine thought for a minute. "Lady Sara and the knight had just broken up."
Casey nodded. "Okay. Let's go on."
After a month or two, a man came into town. His name was Jude. He was a lawyer or something like that. Anyway, he met Lady Sara and was instantly charmed. They went out to dinner and incidentally, the knight and one of his friends were there. The knight was bewildered at seeing his ex-girlfriend with another guy. In fact, he almost went crazy. And this particular knight never went crazy. The next day, Lady Sara and Lady Meg were opening up their new shop together, and the knight was there again--remember, he's also a good friend of Lady Meg's--and he saw Lady Sara with this Jude fellow. And he got really jealous. But Lady Sara told him (Jude) that she wasn't ready to start over, because she was still getting over her knight.
Later that day, Lady Sara and the knight talked, for the first time, and he told her that he had gotten his feelings straight. He cared about Lady Meg, but only as a friend. He was still in love with his own lady, though. And she was still in love with him… so he made her promise never to lie to him again, and she accepted… and then they got back together.
"Yay!" Christine cheered. Casey smiled. "But this next part is very complicated, so listen well, okay, Dani?"
Christine smiled. She loved it when her father called her by her middle name. "Okay, Daddy."
Anyway, Lady Meg was confused during that time. You see, the tall, dark and handsome guy wasn't acting like himself lately. And one day, Lady Meg and Lady Sara decided to check things out. But the knight did it for them, because he was afraid that they were going to get hurt. As it turns out, he was right. But he was the one that got hurt instead.
After Lady Sara and Lady Meg hadn't heard from the knight in a while, they started to worry. Until the knight called them. He left a clue, telling them that he was in trouble, which they picked up on. So they decided to act quickly. Lady Sara would go to the tall, dark and handsome guy's house and check things out, while Lady Meg would go and talk to his "son," Benjy. When Lady Sara broke into the house, another evil sorceress, Tess, who was keeping the knight hostage, figured out that Lady Sara was onto her and she held Lady Sara at gunpoint.
"Uh-oh," Christine breathed. "I don't like the sound of this, Daddy."
"Well, it will get better in time. Just listen to the rest of this story. Okay, Dani?"
"Yes, Daddy. Keep going."
Well, Lady Sara was dragged over to a run-down cottage, where she figured out that the tall, dark, and handsome guy really wasn't the tall, dark and handsome guy… it was his evil twin brother. They all thought he was dead, but that's another story, way before this one started. Anyway, Lady Sara and her knight were reunited, but they both got tied up and locked in a closet; the knight was knocked out again for about the sixth time.
::Flashback::
Casey was out of it, but he could hear a faint voice. He knew it was Sara…
"…you know, I really thought that I was so lucky by getting a second chance with you. After everything that went wrong, I actually started to dream again, about… white picket fences and two kids and a dog and all those stupid secret dreams that I knew would never come true. Only somehow, you made me think it was possible; it was just a matter of time. I couldn't believe that there was actually going to be somebody in my life--my life, Oh, my God--that would…that was going to care about me and… and believe in me and love me. You made all those dreams seem like possibilities." Casey felt something land on his shoulder and stroke his face gently. "I'm so sorry and I love you so much. I will always love you, and even if you never know it, I figure if we have to die, at least I get to die with you…"
::Story::
The knight woke up and saw Lady Sara looking back at him. He managed to get them out of the closet, and they got out safely. The tall, dark and handsome guy-the real one-had been kidnapped by his twin brother. In the end, the evil twin died, and Lady Meg, Lady Sara, the knight, the tall, dark, and handsome guy, and Lady Maria, the tall, dark, and handsome guy's first wife all got out safely. And then…
The knight took Lady Sara to their special spot and they started talking about things; one thing led to another and then he told her why he took her there. He wanted her hand in marriage.
"Did she say yes?" Christine eagerly asked.
"What do you think?" Casey smiled.
::Flashback:: "Sara, I know I'm just a lifeguard, and not some sort of hotshot executive. I can't buy you a lot of things, like this ring." He motioned to the ring in his hand. "I'm sure that you could find a lot of guys who could come up with something much more impressive--and I'm sure that you deserve it, but--"
"Casey, stop." Sara's voice interrupted his train of thought. "I… I don't care about all of that… money, and diamonds and… All that matters to me is that I love you, and that you love me, and… I would love to spend the rest of my life with you." She grinned.
"So… are you saying what I think you're saying?" Casey asked, hopeful.
"Yes." Sara smiled again. "I am saying yes, I would love to marry you!" They hugged, kissed, and Casey twirled his new fiancée around.
::Reality::
"I think she said yes," Christine said.
"And you are right."
"So… did they live happily ever after?"
"Not quite…"
"Well, then, what happened?"
"That's all I'm going to tell you for now, Dani. I don't want to tell you the whole thing. Remember, it's a bedtime story."
"Okay, okay, Daddy. Thank you though."
"Anytime." Casey kissed his daughter on the forehead and watched her leave.
Chapter 3
