Feeling completely exhausted after not being able to sleep or concentrate on anything but what could be happening here in Copanvy, Gabriella fell asleep on the couch in her father's study while she waited for him to be alerted to her arrival. She didn't wake up when Stephen finally appeared as he was content to let his daughter rest, concerned about the dark circles under her eyes, instead working on items from his desk while he checked to make sure she was okay every now and then during the following hours that passed.

Annette had come in a few times too and was now settled in an overstuffed chair near the couch Gabriella was sprawled out on now, tucked under a fleece blanket Annette had brought in for her with Gabriella's head resting on a pillow belonging to the couch. Worry for her daughter ate away at Annette, especially seeing how peaceful Gabriella looked now, hating that things had gotten so bad, so quickly. The book in Annette's hands could have been in French and she wouldn't have noticed for all the little attention she was giving it.

In truth, Gabriella slept for five hours like that, the only indication of her living being the constant movement her body made as she breathed in and out as well as the small movements her right hand would sometimes make, causing the ring there to sparkle from the few lights that were on above them. The peace in the room was quickly sucked out in a hurry as Lauren and Edward both came into the room, having heard that Gabriella was finally back once they returned from another meeting with the representative panel for the Copanvy Royal Advisory Council.

Gabriella jerked awake and nearly fell off the couch as the doors to Stephen's study were banged open, leaving her blinking several times before she focused on her quickly advancing grandparents, noting the two servants who quickly closed the doors behind them. "Grandmother? Grandfather?"

"How could you Gabriella? After our talk when you found my sister's journal, I thought for sure you were seeing reason, using caution. How could you be this careless?" asked Lauren, using a softer tone than Gabriella, Stephen, and Annette all expected.

"Grandmother?" Gabriella asked, a bit puzzled but mostly using caution as to what Lauren was talking about.

Lauren sat down next to Gabriella and gently took Gabriella's right hand in her own, staring down at the ring that her granddaughter now wore that hadn't been there before her birthday, before Christmas. "You went against your agreement with the council Gabriella and they know. To be honest, two of them for sure are rather riled up that you didn't wait until the extended deadline and are demanding answers from our family as to what this means, if it has been confirmed, and when you are stepping down."

Gabriella swallowed, feeling even more pressure weigh down on her tiny shoulders. "They expect me to step down?"

"Gabriella, you should know that the expectation is out there that if you don't marry their choice that you will in fact be declaring your intent not to be part of this country's royal family any longer," stated Edward, taking a seat next to Lauren on the couch where Gabriella was now sitting stiffly upright while Stephen took a seat in his favorite chair in his study next to his wife. "To be honest, the Copanvy Royal Advisory Council is already talking about how plans need to be drawn together for when your father passes on as there will no longer be a royal family in existence in this country. It does not get passed to a cousin or uncle as it may in other countries. Direct bloodline only and if it ends, so does the royal family being part of the governing of Copanvy."

Stephen watched as Gabriella's face became paler with each new sentence, glad to see she understood the ramifications but still regretful that she had to go through this heartache and trouble. "No matter what Peter and Luis think, even Miles who has voted with them on the choice of Patrick, if you Gabriella are happy with the decision and commitment you have made, I will stand behind you all the way."

"And so will I," added Annette, giving her only child the best support she could.

Lauren squeezed Gabriella's right hand that was still in her left. "Do you remember what we talked about the day you found my twin's journal Gabriella? Do you remember what I told you then?"

Gabriella forced herself to push away the anxiety that had built up inside of her in the past few seconds as she realized that the final time had come to make a decision that would change everything forever. Instead, she focused back on the day her grandmother was calling up, the discussion right after finding the journal under her bed.

Gabriella marched down the hall, ignoring the looks she was getting from servants for being dressed only in a bathrobe, heading straight for her grandmother's suite, barging into the personal lounge where Lauren was getting ready, her own head maid doing her hair.

Startled by the sudden appearance of her granddaughter, Lauren immediately saw Gabriella coming up fast behind her via the vanity mirror, waving off all the servants in the room before she turned to look at Gabriella. "Gabriella, what is it?"

Gabriella just stood there a few feet away from her grandmother, holding up the journal in her hands, which Lauren recognized immediately. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Please, Gabriella, it isn't what you are thinking," answered Lauren, swallowing as nerves appeared in her gut, for the first time in a long time.

"Then tell me," demanded Gabriella, knowing now for sure that she held the key to not only her family's history but possibly to her future.

"Lucinda was my older twin sister who by birthright should be sitting where I am on the throne," explained Lauren, keeping it simple and short.

Instead of delivering the snappy retort Gabriella had ready, she found herself stopping, sitting back and absorbing this new piece of information. "You are a twin? A younger one?"

Lauren reluctantly nodded her head, feeling the misery she always felt when she merely thought of Lucinda. "Lucinda was the jewel in my parents' crowns, the sparkle in their eyes, and she was the one who was supposed to be Queen of Copanvy. I am merely the second child who is there to fill in that role out of convenience because she isn't."

"Wait, what are you talking about Grandmother?" asked Gabriella, now certain that she was missing a lot of family history, at least as far as she was concerned. "Where is Lucinda now? Was she disowned? Is that the consequence for following your heart like she did?"

With a sigh of defeat, Lauren closed her eyes, knowing she had to be completely honest about everything with Gabriella. "Lucinda was groomed since the day she was born to be a fantastic leader and queen. I am absolutely certain she would have been too for all her talents and traits. In fact, you remind me quite a bit of her. Both of you are and were women of strength, charm, intelligence, and heart. It is that heart though that sometimes proves to be your downfall."

Gabriella sat for a moment, trying to process that she had a great aunt that she hadn't ever heard about before. "Is that why you don't care for me Grandmother? Because I'm like her?"

Lauren gazed back at her granddaughter, floored she thought that. "No! Absolutely not! Gabriella, I may not show it as well as your parents do but I do love you and not just because you are my flesh and blood. It would be hard to find anyone I think who would not love you, but in the same breath, not all love can be put before all else like making sure you are ready to rule when your time comes, including guidance on how to behave now and accept responsibility. Truth be, I have held back too because you came to us so late in your life, which I accept was in large part my own fault, and I didn't want to interfere with the bonds you and your parents have, especially between you and your mother. Back when you first came to Copanvy years ago, I saw how hard it was for you but knew you found comfort in your parents and even Paul and Emma so I took on the role as your guide to the royal life, which brought hard love into the picture. It may not be believable to you but I do love and care for you Gabriella."

"Then why don't you want me to be happy? Why have you not fought for me to be free to choose who I love, who is my life?" Gabriella was unable to hold the questions back, seeing this as the chance to finally get answers to all the questions she had harbored until now. "I could have used my grandparents' love and support both then and now. I've always loved you both even when you didn't want us."

Staring into Gabriella's dark brown eyes, Lauren saw the truth and genuine emotions swimming freely for her to see, feeling her own heart break. "How very muddled all this has become," she muttered to herself before she addressed Gabriella. "I love you too Gabriella, despite the history, despite both of our misconceptions of each other and the situations we face. Trust me when I say I want you to be happy and to have everything your heart desires but I also want you to be safe and remain alive long enough to see your own day on the throne."

Gabriella's thoughts froze as she heard the desperation that crept into her grandmother's voice. "There's more you aren't telling me. What happened to Great-Aunt Lucinda?"

A shiver went through Lauren's body at the mention of her twin's name as Gabriella would have called her. "Lucinda died with the man she was running off with on the eve of her wedding day to her arranged suitor chosen by our parents and the then council members. Both she and her proclaimed love of her life did not survive the carriage accident as it tumbled down the side of a cliff during their escape in the middle of the night, during a storm. The man was of the lower class and an orphan so there was no family that mourned for him. Back then, there was no paparazzi either so no one knew of the affair, not even her intended, Patrick's grandfather Jose. We buried them in secret and let the citizens of Copanvy believe that my sister decided on a life outside of the royal duties and the country, leaving me to be next in line."

It pained Gabriella to see the tears gathered in her grandmother's eyes. "If you don't want to go on, it's okay."

Lauren gave Gabriella watery smile. "No, you deserve to know. We publicly staged a funeral a few months before I married Edward, citing a horse riding accident and wanting to bury her in peace. As she fled duty and country, everyone in Copanvy appeared to have accepted this, had a nice public mourning, but no one ever questioned it. I think that the circumstances that the public knows about is why no one mentions her or maybe don't even remember at all but I certainly do. Your father knows of her but only that it is a family secret. All family portraits with her are hidden away, at least when the two of us appeared together."

"I'm so sorry that you had to live through all that Grandmother. It must have been terrible," commented Gabriella, finding herself almost unable to imagine the pain. "So were you originally matched then to Jose?"

Lauren shook her head, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. "No. By the time my parents thought I was ready, fully trained on how to be a proper Queen, Edward was chosen for the alliance we would create with our marriage. Edward is of the upper class in Tafur, a country made of islands that is North of here with rich and prospering lands and trade. The Montez name is carried each generation to the children, and the female heirs who marry keep it as well with the last name of their husband becoming a middle name."

Silence filled the room as Gabriella continued to digest all of this while Lauren gathered her own thoughts and emotions. Feeling that this wasn't everything, Gabriella prodded further. "There's something more…"

Not surprised by how insightful Gabriella was, Lauren nodded. "Your Uncle Mario died in a car accident, days after it happened, that much you know but I don't think you were told that he was in the process of being arranged again by the council. You see, the council had no real idea that you existed in this world, a new generation on your own and they were desperate for an heir, thinking Stephen too was childless. Keeping you away in the United States hid you from the crazy paparazzi as well as the harsh world royalty live in."

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Gabriella, now confused.

"Mario didn't want to be arranged again and had been secretly seeing a woman in England," stated Lauren, watching Gabriella's face.

It took Gabriella a few moments but she finally understood what was going on. "You think that there's some curse or something on heirs who follow their heart romantically, something that ultimately gets them killed. That's it, isn't it?"

"Yes," answered Lauren. "I can't lose you to it too. Please Gabriella, marry Patrick so you will continue to live, even if you forever love Troy from afar. It's selfish of me to want you to do this when I know clearly where you heart lies but I cannot bury another family member in my lifetime."

Shock filled Gabriella, parts of her afraid of the possibility that her grandmother was right but a larger part of her telling her that this curse or whatever it was wasn't possible. "Grandmother, nothing will happen. They are just accidents, that's all. Freaky with common circumstances being what they were but accidents just the same."

"But what if they aren't just accidents? Is Troy Bolton worth dying for?" pushed Lauren.

Without hesitating, Gabriella nodded. "Yes, he is. I will though commit to you to be more cautious and give this more time to work itself out if I can get the council to do so as well. Please don't worry about what could be Grandmother. Sometimes worrying too much about the future now will cause you to lose out on so much in the present."

"You really amaze me with your advanced maturity at times Gabriella, I have to tell you. If you promise to try and to give everything some more time and not make any rash decisions, I promise you that I will live less in the future and try to stay focused on what's going on now because in truth I don't want to miss another day having you here as my granddaughter, all royal obligations aside," stated Lauren, relieved at least that everything was finally out in the open and that Gabriella seemed to be handling it rather maturely.

Pieces of the puzzle started falling into place as Gabriella finished reliving the memory. "Grandmother, what is it that you all have to tell me? What is it that was so important to be so secretive and was so urgent?"

Lauren looked at her family and knew then that it would be all on her to explain the current situation to Gabriella. 'I owe her at the very least the complete truth about everything and this situation.'

Troy groaned in frustration as the basketball left his fingertips only to miss the basket and backboard all together for the thirtieth time in the past fifteen minutes. Shaking his head, Troy jogged over and grabbed the basketball before lining up and trying again, cursing under his breath as he missed, again. After he picked the basketball up this time, frustration at sucking at the moment at his chosen profession but mostly at feeling so helpless overwhelmed him, causing Troy to chuck the basketball against the fence nearby, letting himself fall to the cold concrete of the basketball court in his parents' backyard.

He stared up at the sky, not even feeling the biting cold of the wind as it washed over him while Troy tried to make sense of his feelings, what he wanted. "You know what you want Bolton, you want Gabriella and your future with her. It's just a matter of time right? Yeah, time that will either give you the biggest blessing in your life or take it all away. God, you should have just gone with her!"

"And that would have solved what exactly?" questioned Jack, letting his presence be known to his son as he walked down the back porch after watching most of Troy missing easy shots. "From what you told me and your mother, Gabriella was adamant that you stay put here, although you aren't really doing anyone any good here with all your moping. Chad and Chucky though seem to be understanding of it."

"I know, I'm just lucky I have them as best friends otherwise I'd be completely hosed," replied Troy, content to continue laying on the ground, even with his dad now standing right over him. "Dad, how it is possible that I go from this completely blissful, carefree state to this screwed up situation in the span of only seconds? I know I was fooling myself, a part of me believing that since I had proposed and she accepted that everything would be blissfully unchallenged but I always kept it in my mind that this could happen. However, even as I did that, I still am hurting just as much as I would have been if I hadn't been realistic."

"Wrong, you'd be hurting worse if you weren't real with yourself son," countered Jack, taking a seat on the ground next to Troy, who now had his hands under his head. "You've always been very level-headed about everything, including proposing to the woman of your heart. Anyone who gets to know you would know that what you did took a lot of concentrated thought on your part, including what it would mean and how it would affect everyone, especially Gabriella. For you to have done it means that you believe that you and Gabriella will work out and that there is a definite future."

"I used to think so," mumbled Troy, sighing as he felt his hopeless mood spinning out of control. "Do you know that I had a private meeting with both her grandparents after I met with the rep panel of the council? I don't think I even told Gabriella because I didn't want her freaking out but it was actually a rather nice visit. Nothing gave me the creeps and I didn't feel intimidated by them at all."

Jack was surprised by the news but was relieved at least that it went well. "You didn't mention that before. What brought that on?"

Troy shrugged, pulling himself up so that he was sitting with his knees drawn up under his folded arms and his chin. "Not sure but they were asking a lot about me, you and Mom, and just questions in general as to who I was as a person."

"Sounds like they wanted to get to know you better. That's a good sign Troy," stated Jack, clapping his son on his back. "Where is all that endless amount of faith you had in yourself back in high school and college? Even up to a couple of months ago, I still saw that in you."

"It's hard to be that certain about things when your future is tied to another's who is being told by people what she should be doing. What gets me is that there really isn't anything I can do to sway the tide if it goes against my favor. The best thing is to take Brie and run for it," summed up Troy. "For all I know, Patrick could be plotting in his own mind how to whisk Gabriella away before I get there."

Shaking his head, Jack disagreed. "I don't think you are giving Gabriella enough credit if you think for a second she would go along with that. Troy, this woman who is made for you in every way possible is far more intelligent than to fall for any trap this Patrick guy may lay out for her."

"Oh, I know that. Question is though what will happen if Patrick and his family use their influence in Copanvy to make things turn their way. Will Gabriella really walk away from being a genuine princess for me?" questioned Troy, feeling better just being able to talk everything out, even if it was with just his dad.

"I think you aren't giving yourself enough credit if you think you aren't good enough for her to do exactly that. Even her father seems to be expecting it if it all comes down to that," stated Jack, watching as Troy opened his eyes again with a faraway look in his eyes. "Just focus on what you know, your love, and everything you two have been through. We're all rooting for you, not just your friends but also Mom and me, along with her parents as well. Stephen wouldn't have given you his permission if not."

Troy nodded, knowing his dad was right. "Thanks Dad, I needed this. Maybe do you want to play some hoops with me?"

Jack chuckled. "Sure but if you were playing as crappy as you were just a little while ago, I may have to use only my left hand without my right just to make things even."

"Hey!" exclaimed Troy, playfully shoving his father's shoulder before getting up on his feet, giving his father a hand. Troy retrieved the basketball and brought it back dribbling, checking it before starting a nice, leisurely but competitive game with his father.

"Princess Gabriella, it is nice to see you again," greeted Raul, a fake charming smile on his lips. "You look well rested."

"Thank you Mr. Diaz," replied Gabriella, putting enough false sincerity in her own tone to convince everyone in the room, Raul, all five representatives of the Copanvy Royal Advisory Council, her grandparents, her parents, and Patrick that she meant it.

The nice formalities had been made as Gabriella, Lauren, Edward, Stephen, and Annette had made their entrance into the small meeting room at the hall where the Copanvy Royal Advisory Council met but Gabriella couldn't help but wonder why they were all here this evening, wondering if the time really was upon her as her grandmother had warned her. Gabriella didn't have to wait long as Peter spoke up.

"Princess Gabriella, as you have seemed to have gone back on your word to wait until our new deadline to make a decision, we too have voted and have selected Copanvy's future king in Patrick Diaz," stated Peter simply, as if that was the only logical choice. "We lived up to our bargain and interviewed the other candidates but we feel that Patrick is the best fit in all regards."

Gabriella's eyes flickered towards her grandmother, who seemed unsurprised by this, as Gabriella herself actually felt. Her gaze moved across the room to where Patrick was seated, observing how uncomfortable he looked there, a rather large change compared to the usual confidence he had.

"We have spoken with both of your grandparents and it has been decided that you and Patrick will be married in a few months time to help dampen the rumors circulating right now," explained Luis, the smirk on Raul's lips at his friend's words not unnoticeable. "It is our understanding Gabriella that you understand what this means and that you are prepared to accept this as your life now. Is this true?"

Despite the tears that threatened to choke her, Gabriella cleared her throat and replied, "Yes, I accept."

"Perfect!" exclaimed Raul, giving George and Benjamin a victorious look. "Patrick, why don't you place that lovely ring you picked out for your future queen on her finger?"

Without a word, Patrick approached Gabriella where she was sitting on a chair on the other side of the long table, feeling his stomach somersault even more with each step he took, seeing the truth of her feelings about the situation written clearly in her eyes despite the false smile on her lips. Patrick cleared his throat a few times, finding that his voice escaped him, and settled for slipping the engagement ring he had presented Gabriella with on the night of his real proposal onto her finger, ceasing his breathing as the ring got stuck right before her knuckle. He tried a few times to push it past, growing frustrated and embarrassed when it wouldn't budge except for when he slid it off. After a few more attempts, Patrick gave up and settled for kissing the back of Gabriella's left hand, ignoring the smaller ring he saw sparkling on her right hand.

"I guess we'll have to get this resized," commented Patrick, looking up to see Gabriella looking down on her lap, not meeting his gaze. His heart tore that much more as he realized truly how unhappy this made her, knowing Gabriella enough to read her well enough without even seeing her face.

"No matter. The ring can be resized in a matter of days," Raul stated with another grin. "Shall we toast to the happy couple?"

Gabriella felt like she watching the rest of the meeting outside of her body, talking only when directly spoken to with a small smile on her lips the entire time. Her eyes had connected once with Benjamin but she knew already that Benjamin understood how much it had cost Gabriella to be here tonight, to do what she had. It helped to have her parents and grandparents there with her but a part of her couldn't help but feel wretched knowing exactly what tonight meant and how very hard this was going to be to explain to the one person who mattered the most, especially as he had unconditionally given her all his faith and love only to be hurt this way in the present moment.

Next Chapter
Back to the Dream Page