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Patrick stared at the glossy images that Raul had laid out in front of him, along with the printed pictures from a computer, unblinking as he took in the happy glow around Gabriella that he hadn't personally seen in the last few weeks. Time had flown by with all the royal events and appearances both he and Gabriella had made and he was absolutely stunned not only by what he was looking at but that it was already the start of February. "What am I supposed to do Father?"
"What are you supposed to do? Are you fucking kidding me?" snarled Raul, anger flashing in his eyes. "She's making you look like a complete and utter fool! Do you not know how to handle a simple girl Patrick? I am starting to think you don't know how to handle this situation at all!"
"What do you expect me to do Father? Chain her up in the royal dungeon until our wedding day, maybe even marry her there so she has completely no way to escape? It's clear she isn't happy with this arrangement!" Patrick exclaimed, raising his own voice to match his father's. "What if I love her too much to do this to her?"
Before Patrick could blink, he felt his back slam against the hard wall that had been yards behind him moments before, Raul's hands fisted in the fabric of Patrick's button up shirt. "Listen to me Patrick and listen to me well. You will marry Gabriella if it's the last thing you do, got me? I don't care about what you want or that the prospect of spending the rest of her life with you, married to you, makes the girl miserable. What I care about is fulfilling my father's destiny of bringing royal blood into the Diaz family as it should have been done a long time ago."
Patrick was motionless after he heard his father's statement, beginning to finally and fully understand his father's and even his older siblings' passion for this marriage to happen to Gabriella. The sudden anger now freely flowing in his system gave him enough courage and strength to break his father's hold on him, catching his breath as he said, "So all this time you have been pushing me to pursue Gabriella hasn't been because you know I love her but for your own selfish reasons! It wasn't out of concern for me, your son, your flesh and blood! It's been about some vendetta you have against the Montez family because our family isn't of royal birth? That makes no sense at all!"
Raul shook his head. "It's more like righting a wrong they did us. Your grandfather Jose was arranged to marry Lucinda and got stood up when the bitch and her lover ran away together the night before the wedding. We should be within those palace walls and not outside of it!"
Now confused, Patrick asked, "Who is Lucinda? Why does that name sound vaguely familiar but not?"
"Lauren's older twin sister! She ran from my father after your great-grandfather worked so hard to make the arrangement happen. They were a codified chosen match for an excellent alliance but our family never realized the benefits of such a thing because Lucinda chose to disobey the agreement and run. You probably have heard myself and even your brothers talk about it occasionally but I never talked to you directly about this because you have been too young to understand. It's crucial you understand now though. Do this for your family Patrick, in your grandfather's memory!" demanded Raul, no longer seeing through the dark, dark brown eyes that blazed with such intense hatred and rage that Patrick took a reflexive step back.
Understanding now that there would be no other acceptable response, Patrick murmured his agreement. "All right, I get it. Why didn't you tell me all this before?"
"Your age was an issue but until recently I didn't know if I could trust you. I have no choice but to do so now as you are about to give this family the power we were meant to have, to make sure you understand what this means to us all. Your failure to marry Gabriella will be not only a disgrace to this family but a dishonor to your ancestors, to me, to your brothers. Now, what exactly are you going to do about all this supposed 'Troyella' shit?" pushed Raul.
"I'll go over and talk to her now, okay? I'll work it out," Patrick assured Raul, still trying to wrap his mind around everything that had just been revealed to him.
When it appeared that Raul was finally quiet on the matter, Patrick quickly escaped the room without a second glance, planning in his mind exactly what would have to be done.
After an explosive argument at the palace, Curtis and a few other security members tailed a sobbing Gabriella as she raced through Louvis to get to the most predictable destination when she was upset, Troy's apartment. Curtis scanned the parking lot after Gabriella parked her car and raced into the building as if hell's demons were chasing her. Troy's car was nowhere to be seen so it surprised Curtis a little when Gabriella didn't come out right away, realizing later that Gabriella may have a key or know where a spare is.
When nothing happened in the following hour, Curtis got a bit fidgety and decided to make a quick call. As he was walking a few yards away from the rest of the team though, Curtis finally saw Troy's car pull into a parking spot, seemingly unaware of the hysterical woman inside his apartment as he calmly locked his car and walked into the building.
More time passed after Curtis made his phone call, somehow not all that shocked when he saw Paul and more members of the security team arrive when Edward and Stephen both drove into the parking lot in Stephen's car and parked.
As one of the more senior members of the team, Curtis fell into step with Paul, who barely glanced at him as they followed Edward and Stephen into the building. They took the stairs and were soon in front of Troy's apartment, Stephen banging loudly on the door, both he and the King looking grim. Eventually, the door was answered by Troy who was shirtless with only a pair of jeans on, no longer wearing the sweatpants and t-shirt he had arrived in a little while ago.
"Your majesties?" Troy nervously greeted, furiously rubbing the back of his neck.
"Where is my granddaughter? We know she's here Troy," stated Edward, all the power he had radiating from his voice, brushing by the young man with Stephen following.
Curtis too entered the apartment after Paul, closing the door behind them as Troy was now in the living room where Curtis could hear the raised voices belonging to Edward, Stephen, Gabriella, and Troy.
"If things are so innocent, why the hell is he half naked?" demanded Edward, gesturing with his hand towards Troy's unclothed chest.
"Sir, I was merely changing from my practice clothes since practice ended about an hour or less ago. You can call Coach if you want to verify that I was in fact there," replied Troy for Gabriella, daring to wrap a comforting arm around her waist.
Edward scoffed. "I hardly need your permission to do that! After everything we talked about Gabriella, everything you committed to, I can't believe you'd try to run away, especially to him!"
"I love Troy Grandfather!" declared Gabriella. "Nothing or no one will ever change that! Not even the time that has passed this past month since my engagement to Patrick has dampened it!"
"Gabriella, stop! Your grandfather is right. You are engaged to Patrick Diaz and will be married to him during the first weekend of March. There's no changing that!" Stephen drilled into his daughter. This surprised Curtis especially as he hadn't seen Stephen go against his daughter's will in a long time, actually since her high school days.
"But Dad, you know I don't love him!" cried Gabriella, the tears now freely flowing again.
"It matters not, not anymore. This is the last time you are going to disobey us and this tradition Gabriella. The absolute last time!" shouted Edward, the steel in his voice sending shivers down even Curtis's back. "Give me Troy's ring Gabriella."
"What? No!" protested Gabriella while Troy's arm released her waist only to slightly push her body behind his. "You can't do this!"
"Oh, he can Gabriella," disagreed Stephen, shaking his head. "There's no use trying to protect her Troy."
This time, Troy shook his own head. "There's every reason to protect her sir! Gabriella should have the ability to make her own choices as a human being and if she doesn't want to marry Patrick then she shouldn't have to! We'll leave the country and never come back if that's what it takes."
Edward smiled a cruel smile. "Funny you should mention that. Troy Bolton, you are hereby exiled from Louvis and all of Copanvy. Your contract with the Louvis Knights will be taken care of and you are expected to be out of this apartment of yours by the morning."
Troy felt his jaw drop at this, seeing the seriousness in Edward's eyes along with the lack of a protest from Stephen. "You can't be serious!"
"Fine, I'll go with him!" replied Gabriella, courage in her blood as she faced off with her grandparent. "You can't stop me!"
"Unfortunately I can and I will," bit out Edward. "Paul, Curtis, escort Gabriella out to the cars, take her back to the palace, and have her under heavy watch. She is not to leave her room without my permission. Now, give me that ring and your key to this apartment Gabriella."
"No!" protested Gabriella even as she felt Paul and Curtis both stand by her side, ready to catch her if she tried to flee. "Please, reconsider Grandfather! You can't be this cruel!"
"I'm sorry but you leave me no choice. Paul, take the ring off her right hand. Curtis get her keys," ordered Edward, seeing Gabriella wouldn't be surrounding either easily.
Curtis quickly did as he was told and got the keys from her purse while Paul used as much firm but gentle force as he could to slide the ring off Gabriella's struggling hand, a pained expression on his face. "I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear as Paul finally got it off, handing it over to Edward.
Immediately, when Gabriella felt herself being guided out of the apartment, she ran back into Troy's arms as the waterfalls continued, finding no comfort in the sad goodbye they were having. Their lips met in one last tender kiss before Paul and Curtis both pulled Gabriella away while a few other security team members held Troy back with him in their own grip. "I love you Brie, always!"
"I love you too!" called out Gabriella, struggling with both Paul and Curtis until all three were out of the apartment, still fighting them every inch of the way out of the building and even in the car with the other members of the team that were in the apartment following them to ensure Gabriella didn't escape, leaving Troy alone with Edward and Stephen.
"I hate you Paul! Why did you have to get involved? Why couldn't you have left me there?" pushed Gabriella, stifling her tears to shoot daggers at the one person on the security team Curtis knew she trusted with her life, at least up until today.
Paul sighed. "Gabriella, you gave me no choice. You know your grandfather means business about this engagement. It would look too dishonorable to back out now, especially after all the time that has lapsed and your pledge to Patrick at the engagement ceremony a few weeks ago. If it weren't for those pictures on that huge website supporting you and Troy, I don't think this would have blown up like this but it's too public now."
"I didn't do that though! Why am I having to pay for the consequences for some other people seeing that Troy and I belong together?" countered Gabriella, hating the fact that she was sandwiched between the two men.
"Perhaps people are trying to do what's best for you Princess, the way they see it to be. I tend to agree that Patrick is the better match for you to be honest," Curtis confessed, wanting Gabriella to know there are people who support the arrangement.
Gabriella just remained silent, refusing to look at either Curtis or Paul, knowing she was acting like a child but not really caring. When the car finally pulled up to the palace, she was not at all surprised that she was surrounded by guards, all of them following Edward's strict instructions to ensure Gabriella was under heavy watch. Upon reaching her suite, Gabriella took the time to pause and give Paul one last meaningful look before entering and slamming the door in Curtis's face as he looked poised to follow her.
The only thing that brought a smile to her face was the loud swearing she heard outside her door, knowing she must have pegged him in the nose, hard, with the door, finding sick satisfaction in that. However, that smile disappeared as her mind returned to what had happened today in less than seven hours, all starting with someone on the security team, most likely Curtis knowing him, pointing out a website that was pretty visible that supported Troy and Gabriella, Troyella.
There were pictures that were from mainstream media but also more intimate ones, alerting Gabriella as to who was really behind it. Along with the pictures though were biographies on both Troy and Gabriella. The biggest threat to the arranged engagement though was an online petition to allow Gabriella marry her chosen man for love and not for an old tradition. It had less than one hundred signatures but its mere presence was enough to gain the attention of not only Gabriella's family but the Copanvy Royal Advisory Council. George, Peter, and Luis had come by unexpectedly to discuss this and its ramifications on not only Gabriella herself but how the citizens of Copanvy now viewed the way Copanvy is run.
A knock on her main door interrupted Gabriella's recall of the day as she walked over and ripped the door open. "What?"
Paul gave Gabriella a look before he said, "Patrick is here to see you Gabriella. I suspect it has to do with the website or something like that. He doesn't look happy."
"Who of us is?" mumbled Gabriella before she stepped back from the door. "Let him in please and tell him I'm in the sitting room."
Paul nodded, walking away before Patrick entered the suite, finding Gabriella in the small sitting room off to the left. "Gabriella? Are you all right?"
He took in the even duller eyes that stared back at him, tinged with pink around the brown orbs, mixed with the puffy appearance of Gabriella's face and knew that she wasn't. Taking her silence as a 'I'm not dignifying that with an answer,' Patrick cautiously walked towards where she was sitting on a loveseat, choosing to sit on the longer couch close to it instead of next to her.
"What are you doing here Patrick? Here to be the hundredth person to tell me how to live my life and who to live it with?" questioned Gabriella, cringing as she herself heard exactly how bitchy she was being to him in such an unprovoked manner. "Sorry."
Patrick gave her a sad smile. "I can tell you have been getting harassed more than enough today. No need to be sorry, I'd be super edgy and moody too, not that you are either. That's just how I'd be. Want to talk about it?"
Gabriella gazed back into Patrick's own brown eyes, seeing the sincerity and genuine concern, cursing herself inwardly for snapping at the poor guy who was just a pawn in all of this as much as she was. "I'm sorry for being a bitch with a capital B to you Patrick," she apologized. "I am just so frustrated with everything, hating how very little say I have in anything these days. Before you say anything though I want you to know that I am very sorry if I have shamed you or worse yet, hurt you, in any way. That isn't my intention at all and I want you to know that if I could spare you all that I would but I can't help being in love with Troy as I am. That's something that won't ever really change for the rest of my life. Troy has gone through so much for me, protecting me, that he's literally like my other half."
"And this arranged marriage is like killing part of you right?" answered Patrick, sighing as he ran both of his hands over his face and through his black locks. "This is just so screwed up Gabriella, I can't even begin to tell you. Things I cannot even think of telling you. When I proposed to you in the field, I admit I was pressured by my father but I really wanted to. Yes, you and I started dating because of this arranged marriage deal in the beginning, but I like to believe that we continued to see each other because we connected, maybe not on the same level as you and Troy, but we did."
"We did," agreed Gabriella softly, feeling a part of her heart tear to pieces yet also repair itself in the same time. "Can you really be happy spending the rest of your life with me knowing how I feel for Troy?"
"Can you see maybe loving me a fraction of how much I love you?" countered Patrick, searching Gabriella's face for any clue to the truth of how she feels.
"I do love you Patrick, I don't want you to forget that but it is admittedly not the type of love you are after, that you want," Gabriella said, hoping to soothe Patrick's hurt feelings at least some. "I believe you when you say that you proposed out of genuine wanting to. A part of me wanted you to, especially out of all the suitors that were presented. There was a definite time when I was falling for you, when I saw us having the happily ever after, fairy tale royal life together most people imagine being royalty is like."
Patrick could vividly recall when that time was, the time when it was him and Gabriella, without Troy in the picture. "Then Troy broke off his engagement to his then fiancé and moved across thousands of miles and an ocean for you. You know, I can't blame you for feeling the way you do. I think that's how I'll always feel about you, even though you don't reciprocate it. I think that's what makes this somewhat not a real love triangle, the fact that Troy is in love with you, I'm in love with you, and you love me but are in love with Troy. God, what a difference one little word like 'in' makes in the arena in which the heart plays."
Being led by her emotions, her instincts, Gabriella got up from the loveseat and crossed over to the couch, sitting down next to Patrick. "You will find a woman one day soon who will be in love with you too and you'll realize I was just some silly young woman who wasn't ever truly worthy of all your time, attention, or love. No matter what though, I will always love you as a dear friend."
Patrick let out a dry laugh. "Ah, the deadly 'friend' card I hear females deal when they really are trying to tell a guy to get lost. For what it's worth, I am here for so long as you need me in that friend capacity as I know you would be for me. If there's nothing else I've learned about you, I do know how very fiercely loyal you are to those who qualify to be your friend."
"Well, that friends list is pretty elite you know," teased Gabriella, laughing for the first time all day, smiling as Patrick joined her. "But you certainly belong on that list. I will always be here for you and help you in any way I can."
"So, is this when you tell me to go get lost and I pretend I don't see you sneaking out the window to rush off to Troy before he leaves the country?" asked Patrick, not wanting to ruin the moment but knowing at the same time that this was a reality and he hated seeing Gabriella in this much pain, especially as he knew he had some part in it, even if it was indirectly.
Eyeing the window, Gabriella shook her head, already having scoped it out when she first entered the room. "Nope, no can do. When the King orders heavy guard at all times he means it. I am worse than a prisoner on Alcatraz."
"Alcatraz?" asked Patrick, drawing his eyebrows together as he tried to recall any knowledge on the place.
"Oh, sorry," mumbled Gabriella, realizing that Patrick probably wouldn't have knowledge of Alcatraz. "It used to be a high security prison, among many other things, located on an island where some of the biggest criminals were sent as it was difficult to escape. Now it's a tourist trap that brings in people who want to see what it was like and still looks like. It's located in Northern California."
"If only the prison cells still worked because I know someone who we could lock up," murmured Patrick, so quietly that Gabriella didn't quite hear him but let it be based on the hard look Patrick got in his eyes. "So, Ella, what are we going to do? We're both stuck between a rock and a hard place."
Surprising Patrick, Gabriella leaned into his side, placing her head on his right shoulder as he automatically wrapped a soothing arm around her shoulders. "I honestly don't know Patrick, I really don't."
The two stayed liked that for quite some time in silence, each letting the other have their own thoughts as they individually examined their options and what they both wanted, needed, to be happy for the majority of the rest of their lives.