“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”  Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

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Chapter Twenty – One

Joaquín did not react in the way that Elena had expected. She had expected him to shout at her, scold her for disobeying her father’s orders yet again.

But Joaquín did not scream and shout at her, instead he turned on his heel and promptly left her bedchamber. Elena felt utterly defeated. There was no hope now. Joaquín was either going to her father or to Carlos. Either way her disobedience would be known soon. She shuddered at the thought of being lashed again. She would surely die if that pain was inflicted upon her once more. Elena would pray for death if her father sent her back to the dungeons to receive that punishment.

Elena then realised that David’s life was now in jeopardy. She had told her brother that he was in Spain, but he did not know where. “David,” she whispered as she knelt down on the ground before the bed, “I must get you out! Joaquín will be alerting the guards and there will be a hunt for you. I have to hide you!”

David crawled out from underneath the bed and stood up before Elena, helping her to her feet. “Then let us go,” he urged. “If it is dangerous then we must go. I have enough gold to bribe our way past any obstacle. We shall board the first ship to England and you will be safe. You will have my name and you will be safe.”

Elena wished it could be that simple. “My father will not make the same mistake twice. There are Spanish guards at every harbour. It would be impossible for me to board a ship without being discovered.”

“Did you not hear me?” asked David. “I have gold. I will bribe the guards!” he exclaimed.

“David, if I disappear then my father will know that someone failed. There will be executions! I could not have that on my conscience,” she said firmly. “I have to hide you,” she decided. “Put on the helmet and I will hide you. I will come and find you when it is safe and I will have you escorted to a ship.”

“And you will be married,” realised David.

Elena nodded. “Yes, and I will be married.” Elena knew that Joaquín was right. She would, indeed, be safe in Portugal. She needed to accept that being safe in a marriage was just as important in having love in a marriage.

Marisol helped Elena to smuggled David out of the palace. Whenever they encountered anyone, David pretended as though he was escorting the princess and her maid. When they came to exit that Marisol and Elena had escaped through, Marisol promised that she would hide David somewhere in Madrid. It was best that Elena did not know where he was.

Before they parted, they kissed again. Elena could not help but feel with certainty that it would be the last time that they saw each other.

Elena spent the rest of her day wandering around her mother’s rose garden. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the warmth felt good on her skin, a feeling her skin had not experienced in a while.

Elena sat down on one of the many stone benches around the garden and inhaled the lovely perfume of the roses. She picked one of the flowers off of the bush and she began to peel away the petals.

Elena’s head snapped up when she heard footsteps approaching. She stood up on her toes and peered over the top of the rose bushes to see who was coming towards her. Her heart stopped when she saw Carlos and Joaquín walking side by side.

“Oh, Joaquín, what did you do?” Elena whispered to herself. She looked around for a quick exit, but she knew that guards would be around every corner as per her father’s orders.

“Elena!” called Joaquín.

Elena realised she was now in view. Both Carlos and Joaquín could see her. She quickly decided that she would behave normally, deny everything. If Juan was not with them then there was a good chance that he did not know. There was still hope, she could still avoid another lashing if she acted as though Joaquín was lying.

She could not believe that Joaquín had betrayed her. He was her favourite brother! He was supposed to be protecting her!

Elena put on a false smile as Carlos and Joaquín met her. “Good afternoon,” she greeted cheerfully. “What a lovely day it is.” Elena subtly bit her lip nervously.

“Elena, please sit,” Carlos instructed as he sat down on the bench she had just been occupying.

Elena shot her brother a dark glare. He merely stood some ten feet away with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Elena, sit,” said Carlos again, his tone now firm.

Elena knew there was no point in a ruse. “Joaquín, what did you do?” Elena demanded to know angrily, tears gathering in her eyes, as she sat down on the bench next to Carlos.

“What you asked,” replied Joaquín simply.

Elena turned to Carlos fearfully as he began to speak.

“Elena, be not afraid,” he said calmly, “I will not harm you. I would never harm you.” Elena believed him. “Elena, you are miserable.” It was not a question, merely an observation, and he was right, Elena was miserable.

“No, I am not,” she lied pathetically.

“Yes, you are,” he countered. “Elena, you are miserable, and forgive me, but marrying a woman who has absolutely no desire to be married to me is not something I particularly want to partake in.”

Elena furrowed her eyebrows. “I do not understand.”

“Yes, you do,” Carlos replied. “I am saying exactly what you have wanted to hear from me since you were ten years old. Elena, we will not be marrying.”

Elena certainly did not understand. How could this be? What had Joaquín said? What would Juan do to her when he realised that Carlos no longer wanted to marry her? What would he do when his contract was effectively null and void?

Pure fear motivated her next action. She launched at her favourite brother, fully intending to beat him. Whatever he had said, whatever he had done, he had signed her death sentence. If Elena was no longer a marriageable prospect, what use was she to Juan? She could be killed, thrown away like garbage. The people could mourn their princess who had tragically died of a fever or some other illness, not knowing that she had bled to death in a dungeon beneath a leather whip.

When Elena collided with Joaquín, her brother fell backwards and Elena rolled off of him. After focussing once more, she went to launch at him again but Joaquín was ready this time and he stopped her. He secured his hand around her wrists like manacles.

“Elena, stop!” he snapped.

“You killed me!” she cried. “You have just sentenced me to death! When Padre finds out that there will be no union between Spain and Portugal he will slay me himself!” She could not see clearly because of the tears in her eyes, but she could see that there were two figures above her. She struggled with all of the strength that she had but Joaquín did not release her.

“Elena, stop!” growled Joaquín and pinned her arms to the ground. “Hush now or the guards will come to your rescue!”

Elena saw that as an opportunity. Clearly Carlos and Joaquín could both see Elena’s wicked plan. Just as she was about to scream for the guards, Carlos covered her mouth with his hand.

“Elena, listen!” Carlos said forcefully.  

Elena couldn’t speak. All she could do was stare at her brother and her betrothed with wide, frightened eyes.

“Do you truly believe that I would allow our father to kill you?” Joaquín hissed. Did her brother have a plan to get her out of Spain? “Now, if Carlos takes his hand away, will you scream?”

Elena reluctantly shook her head. Carlos then removed his hand from Elena’s mouth.

“Without the contract, I am useless to Padre. He will kill me,” Elena said fearfully.

“Then the contract will be fulfilled,” Carlos replied. “I will take a Spanish bride and there will be a union between our two nations.”

Elena sat up slowly and Joaquín released her hands. Elena wiped her eyes free from tears so that she could see properly. “But who would agree to this? There is a significant chance that Padre will severely punish whoever it is that is willing to take my place. Who would do that for me?”

“I would, Elena.”

Marisol emerged from in and between the rose bushes. She had been listening to their entire struggle and conversation.  

“Marisol,” breathed Elena, “no, I do not understand. What are you doing?”

Marisol knitted her fingers together and sat down on the bench before the trio on the ground. “I am of noble blood. My father was a good friend and trusted advisor to the King. There is no logical objection. I would be just as loyal to Spain so the contract would be fulfilled.”

Elena could not help but roll her eyes. She did not want a logical explanation, she wanted to know why her dearest friend was willing to give up her own chance at marrying for love. “Why would you do this for me?”

Marisol smiled and stood up from the bench, only to kneel down before Elena. She took her Elena’s hands in hers and squeezed them. “Because David loves you, and you love David,” she explained, “and because I know that you would do the same for me. David is not the only person you love. You love me, and I love you. I am doing this for you because you are my friend. The three of us have come up with a plan, one that will make us all happy.”

Elena listened in utter shock as Joaquín, Carlos and Marisol relayed the plan to her. Marisol, like David, had at first suggested that Elena’s virtue be compromised by the British heir that was now somewhere in Madrid. While Carlos believed that this was an easy solution, Joaquín was completely against the idea of his sister not being virtuous on her wedding day.

That was when Carlos recalled the two conditions that he had for a bride. She needed to be virtuous and she needed to be Catholic. If Joaquín was unwilling to have Elena’s virtue compromised, then it would have to be her religion.

If Elena’s faith no longer belonged to the Roman Catholic Church then she could not be married to Carlos. At first Elena did not understand how she could simply abandon her faith, but Marisol suggested that their time in England had encouraged Elena to join the Church of England.

To Spain, Elena would no longer be a Catholic virgin, she was now a Protestant virgin.

Elena had initially been against this idea whole heatedly. She respected her faith. But when she was thinking logically, she knew that this was the only way. She would have to stand before her father and tell him that she was now a faithful Protestant. Before he had a chance to slay her where she stood, Carlos would have to announce that Marisol Fuentes was his choice for a bride, and that the terms of the contract that had been agreed upon would stand so long as Elena was protected from any harm.

Elena knew that to be protected from any harm then she would have to leave Spain to live in exile so long as Juan was alive. Joaquín promised that as soon as their father was dead she would be welcomed back to Spain with open arms. She would sit at his side as a privy counsellor if she so wished it.

Together, they had created a plan that would grant Elena her freedom. As a princess, she had been given every jewel and gown she had wanted, but she had always been denied her one true desire – her freedom.

Her brother, her betrothed, and her dearest friend were now gifting her this freedom.

“I am told that this David,” Joaquín said as they made their way back inside to the throne room, “is Alejandra’s older brother. I highly doubt he is as sweet and pretty as his sister so we shall have a meeting before you depart Spain so that I can threaten his life. I will be a king someday and I will have no qualms sending the Spanish Armada after him.”

Marisol and Joaquín walked ahead of them while Elena walked beside Carlos. She wanted to speak with him out of earshot of the others.

“Thank you for doing this, Carlos. I know you do not owe me anything,” she said gratefully. She had already thanked Joaquín and Marisol profusely, it was now time for her to properly thank Carlos for releasing her.

He smiled down kindly at her. “You are welcome, Elena,” he replied. “I did not get to marry the woman that I loved, Elena. If you have a chance, then I am going to give it to you.”

“And what of Marisol?” she asked. “Will you love her?”

“Marisol is willing to come to Portugal with me to give you the marriage she believes that you deserve. She is selfless. I sincerely believe that I could fall in love with someone as kind as her,” he said confidently.

“I am glad to hear it,” Elena said, smiling. “Marisol deserves everything.”

“And I shall give her everything,” replied Carlos.

Elena breathed a sigh of relief. This relief was quickly replaced with utter panic. They were on their way to the throne room to tell Juan that Elena was now Protestant.

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Hope you like it :) 

Okay, Katherine Pierce rant time. The cow just took Elena's body and broke up with Damon and now he's heartbroken and back to his naughty boy ways!!! NOOOO!!! Then I had to go look ahead and he dies and then Elena gets her memories erased and then he comes back to life - WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME???? I get way to emotionally involved in my otp's! I'm shipping Elena and Damon so badly, and I'm also shipping Caroline and Klaus. Can't help it, I love the British :) btw, my Elena is not named after Vampire Diaries Elena - Elena is one of my favourite girls names. I have a list of girl and boy baby names I like and I often use them in my stories. My three favourite girls names are Annabelle, Sophia and Elena. I'm still yet to use Sophia .... future series protagonist perhaps? I've got to write something after my Ascot series ends ;) hehe. I've loved the name "Elena" ever since I saw Zorro for the first time when I was 9. I found my old journal from Grade 3 where I was bragging to my teacher about seeing an M15+ movie :P I thought Catherine Zeta-Jones was the most beautiful person in the world. Seeing that movie made me want to have dark eyes. I've always had blue eyes :(

Also happy birthday to Taylor Swift! I'm a major fan and have found a kindred spirit through listening to her songs. My friends and I have just bought tickets to her Melbourne show next year in December :D

Anyways, vote and comment :)