Story: Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride (chapter 6)

Authors: Allaine

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Chapter 6

Chapter 6

        "What is it? What's so urgent?" Diana asked, materializing so quickly in front of where Audrey was sitting that the Kasnian woman started and spilled her tea.

        "Diana!" Audrey admonished her, getting a napkin and pressing it against her blouse where the tea had splashed her bosom. "You really need to give me a little warning some times. And how is it you always manage to find where I am without being detected by security?"

        Diana was looking around the room in consternation, not quite sure what it was that had been so important that Audrey had contacted her - via the highly classified and very unusual mode of communication known as "electronic mail" - and asked her to come right away. "Probably because someone inside has given me the exact times and routes of your security detail," she said absently. "You might want to investigate that."

        "Absolutely," Audrey replied primly, her eyes sparkling as she poured herself another cup. "Tea?"

        "Audrey," Diana warned her.

        "Of course. I just wanted you to know how shocked and appalled I was by those horrible comments made on the television the other day. The things that stupid American was saying about how you _dress_." Audrey clucked her tongue. "His manners are hideous, and unfair too. Personally I like your outfit."

        Diana made an aggravated noise. "Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, Audrey . . ."

        "I would be a very sorry friend if I did not support you, Diana," Audrey said calmly. "If it wasn't for the fact that we continue to meet in secret, I would have issued a public statement expressing my displeasure with this silly man."

        Considering the attitude Americans often had with Europeans, Diana was grateful Audrey hadn't had the chance. "But you can't just drag me down here for that, not when I took emergency leave from Watchtower monitor duty to come here. I thought maybe it was your father."

        Audrey had listened with a look on her face that suggested mock remorse, but her eyes became serious when her father was mentioned. "He's better," she said. "He still hasn't spoken, but his physical therapists tell me he should recover most, if not all, of the feeling in his body." She set her tea down and stirred aimlessly with one finger, then put her finger in her mouth and sucked it. "I suspect I will be Queen and Regent for at least two more months, however."

        "As long as he's getting better," Diana said, feeling distracted as she watched Audrey suck on her finger briefly. Now that she wasn't in emergency mode, she also fully noticed the tea staining Audrey's shirt. Was she imagining it, or did she feel heat creeping into her cheeks?

        Audrey nodded. "Actually," she said, brightening, "I do have one favor to ask you."

        Diana had known it. While untrue things had been said of the young woman, not even Diana denied she was spoiled. She could understand why. Hera help her, she _liked_ spoiling Audrey. "What is it?" she asked.

        "Well," Audrey replied slowly, "I couldn't tell you in the message, because I knew you wouldn't like it."

        With a feeling of foreboding, Diana sat down.

        "But now that life in Kasnia has calmed down somewhat, and my father's condition is improving," Audrey explained, "my original duty to the throne remains, and it must be dealt with. With Savage locked away in an American dungeon somewhere - may he suffer forever - "

        "You can't be serious!" Diana gasped, suspecting what was coming next.

        "I simply must find a man who is worthy of becoming my husband," Audrey went on, unruffled. She held up some papers. "It is my responsibility to give birth to an heir, boy or girl, and for that I need to marry. I thought, since you evidently are a much better judge of character than I, you could help me with this,"

        "First of all," Diana replied, appalled, "not realizing that Vandal Savage was a homicidal psychopath does not make you a bad judge of character. It's not like your father disapproved of him. Certainly few people would fault your choice in friends?" Audrey nodded grudgingly. "And more importantly, you don't have to marry someone you don't love!"

        "We had this conversation in Paris, Diana," Audrey said sadly. "My answer has not changed - yes, I do. How else will the line be carried on when I am gone? The fact that Vandal was an ogre doesn't change that. The only thing that has changed is my determination to rule. Before I wanted Vandal to do it for me. Now it is I who will make the decisions, and my husband can do whatever he likes." She leafed through some papers. "I have the bios for some of Europe's most eligible bachelors from the ranks of royalty and the aristocracy. They're also considered generally harmless. Perhaps the two of us can weed out the worst of the group?"

        Diana looked at her in dismay. It was one thing to decide that you were going to confess your feelings to another. It was another thing entirely to actually do it. And now it seemed she'd waited so long that Audrey had re-embarked on her feelings of royal obligation.

        Maybe she should say it now? Or was this request a reminder that Audrey's preferences evidently leaned toward men rather than women?

        Indecisive, Diana could only go with her instincts - which, more often than not, was to give Audrey what she wanted. "All right," she said, defeated, "give me some of those. Although don't expect me to approve of any of them."

        "Diana, darling," Audrey replied, "if you found one you approved of, there would be no further discussion. Unless you decided you wanted him for yourself," she added with a sly grin.

        Diana's stomach clenched as she took the biographical sheets offered and buried her face in them.

__________________________

        Audrey sighed as she let another sheet drop into the fireplace. "That's the problem with royalty," she said. "When you don't admit newcomers, the gene pool shrinks."

        "The last one wasn't a total loss," Diana said with extreme reluctance. Her mind wanted to completely trash every candidate until Audrey gave up all thought of marrying anyone, but her heart felt compelled to go on being the friend and advisor she'd been for weeks. So she went on making fair, if stern, comments.

        "Maybe," Audrey replied, watching the paper turn black and the edges curl in the fire. "He did have that horrible slack jaw, but perhaps he doesn't photograph well. Then again, my consort should be photogenic, don't you think?"

        "Maybe if he's ugly, your people won't think twice about you having the upper hand in the marriage," Diana pointed out.

        Audrey groaned. "Just because I'm not marrying for love doesn't mean I want the man lying next to me to turn my stomach, Diana."

        The sudden image of Audrey in the marriage bed with a faceless prince hurt Diana on the inside more than any punch Solomon Grundy could have thrown, and she looked away.

        "Diana? Is something wrong?"

        "I'm fine," she lied. "Can we stop now?"

        "Well, it's only been an hour," Audrey said doubtfully. "Maybe just another thirty minutes?" She picked up the next one. "This one fathered a child out of wedlock, it seems. At least he's potent, and really, isn't a high sperm count all I want in a partner?"

        "Damn it, Audrey, just stop it!" Diana suddenly shouted, her last words pushing her over the limit. She immediately regretted it and lapsed into silence.

        Audrey stared at her, shocked. "I'm - sorry, Diana," she finally said. "Sometimes I can think only of myself. I'll just do this later. I shouldn't have asked you - "

        "You shouldn't have started this in the first place," Diana retorted, mortified that she seemed unable to hold the words back. "I can't go on watching you plan a marriage to a man you haven't selected yet, let alone fallen in love with."

        The Kasnian regent laughed without humor. "So often, princes and princesses never marry for love, Diana. Too much gets in the way. Even when the marriage isn't arranged, we never truly get to know each other until it's too late. If the husband and wife come to love each other, this is good. If not . . ." She raised her hands, palms up in resignation. "They make do. No one has had the chance to get to know me. So how could anyone love me?"

        "Audrey!" Diana gasped in horror. "How can you believe something like that? _I_ love you."

        It took her a second to realize what she had just said, and she stood up and turned away, clamping her hands over her mouth. Not before she saw Audrey's eyes become as wide as saucers, however.

        "Take it back, take it back," her mind whispered, panicked.

        "Diana," Audrey said strangely, "do you profess your love as a friend? Maybe as a sister, perhaps?"

        Audrey appeared to be offering her a window of opportunity to put what she'd said in a less-offending light. Diana thought Audrey would believe her, because she would want to.

        But Diana had already committed herself once before to tell Audrey the truth, and her continued cowardice was totally unbecoming of a former Amazon princess. "No," she responded softly, looking at Audrey, who appeared to be chiseled in marble, "my love for you is - something more, Audrey. It's . . . the kind of love I once told you many Amazons feel for each other. The kind of love you seem to think you'll never find."

        Audrey stared at her. "I see," she said. Her throat sounded dry. "I did not - believe you felt that way."

        "It wasn't until recently that my feelings blossomed to this extent," Diana told her, feeling that now there was no need for anything but total candidness. "But they have been growing inside for some time now."

        The smaller woman appeared to be at a loss for words.

        Diana looked down. "If this is the last time we meet, I'll understand, Audrey. It's hard to be married to a man when your best friend is in love with you."

        "That's true," Audrey said quietly. Then her head jerked up. "Diana, no, no! This is not the end."

        Surprisingly, she then burst into tears.

        "Oh, Hera," Diana whispered. "I never meant to hurt you, Audrey."

        "You didn't, you didn't," Audrey said through her tears. "I just - I'm so ashamed of myself. I thought I could behave like an adult, but I didn't think this would happen, and now I'm a blubbering wreck!"

        "I'll go," Diana promised.

        In an eerie repeat of her visit with the alternate Diana the other day, she found her progress arrested by a small hand grabbing her wrist. "You will _not_ go," Audrey said firmly. "While you're in Kasnia, I make the rules, and I say you _stay_."

        Diana hesitated, but she sat back down meekly.

        Audrey exhaled loudly and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I imagined this would go somewhat differently," she muttered.

        "What?" Diana asked, stunned. "Wait, you mean you _knew_?!"

        "Knew how you felt? Of course not," Audrey replied.

        "Oh. Then what did you mean by that?"

        Audrey sighed. "What is it they say in America? I did everything but - give you a street map?"

        Diana stared. An overwhelming feeling of déjà vu possessed her. "Road map," she managed to say, remembering what Hawkgirl had told her.

        "Road map, that's right," Audrey said. "I mean, do you really think I was raised to stir my cup with a finger? Do you think I'm still so unused to your comings and goings that I would splash my tea when you appear?"

        The Amazon could only go on staring. Her brain appeared to be malfunctioning. Does - not - compute . . .

        "I was getting pretty desperate, I will admit," Audrey continued blithely. "I thought if there was any hope at all, helping me choose a husband would provoke you." Then she smiled. "I was right, but the reaction was, if hoped for, completely unexpected."

        "I'm sorry," Diana finally said. "Could you perhaps start over? And speak to me like I'm seven? Because I don't understand any of this."

        Audrey colored. "Sorry, Diana," she replied. She sat next to her. "You see, I've been trying to seduce you."

        "WHAT?!"

        "Well, it's not like I've never done it before!" Audrey said hotly. "Usually it takes about two tries with men. Is it different with women? Because you've never responded before tonight. I thought you just weren't interested, but I also thought there was a chance what I was doing was merely going over your head. You are from a different society, after all."

        There had been one or two instances in the past where she _had_ responded, but she'd been careful not to show it. Diana slowly cleared her head. "You're saying you've been playing some sort of elaborate game with me all this time?" she asked.

        Audrey gaped. "A game? Well, yes, I suppose seduction is a kind of game - but Diana!" She took her hand. "If you think I would do something like that to someone so close to me, then I have been too subtle by half." She looked down. "I've become very fond of you myself, you know. And . . . not fond as a friend, or a sister."

        A tiny portion of Diana was pointing out to her that this went in the category of "unexpected news so good your head spins", but she was paralyzed with bewilderment, and all she could do was ask more questions. "So you've been trying to get me to feel the same way?" she asked.

        "Sort of," Audrey admitted. "But it was more like I was testing your feelings. I wanted to tell you before, I really did, Diana. But I was afraid you wouldn't feel the same way. So I tried to signal my feelings to you. I never really thought you'd reciprocate them."

        The irony was too much, and Diana burst out laughing.

        "Diana? Why are you laughing? Is that a good thing?"

        "So . . . so you're in love with me, but you thought I didn't feel the same way, so you never said anything?" Diana asked.

        "Yes," Audrey said, feeling like she was being mocked. "I don't know for sure if it's love, though. I've never felt it before."

        "Neither have I," Diana said, her smile disappearing. "And how are you feeling now?"

        Audrey paused. "Well," she replied, "if you really do love me, then - I suppose I feel very happy right now."

        "Good," Diana said. "Because I've been afraid this whole time too, but I'm also feeling very happy now, so I think I know where you're coming from."

        "I see."

        "So what happens now?"

        "Maybe a kiss?" Audrey asked hopefully.

        Diana blinked. "Yes," she said slowly, "we probably should have done something like that by now. Or like this," she added, slipping her arms around Audrey's body and pulling her close.

        Audrey closed her eyes and let her head drop onto Diana's shoulder as she put her own arms around Diana. "You haven't carried me in your arms since those first few nights we met, Diana. Over the weeks, I have remembered those moments quite happily."

        "Really," Diana said, smiling. Before Audrey could prepare for it, she stood up and swept Audrey into her arms. "Like this?"

        The princess smiled and wrapped her arms around Diana's neck. "Yes, Diana," she whispered. "Although perhaps we could forgo the flying part for now. I'd like to stay in tonight."

        "That should be fine," Diana agreed before they finally kissed.

        Diana couldn't suppress a little moan as their lips met. Audrey was softer than the expensive down pillows on the Kasnian princess' bed, and when her tongue darted across Diana's, Wonder Woman trembled.

        "Wow," Audrey said when they stopped after a minute.

        "Yes," Diana replied.

        "You know, for a woman who has survived hits from the most powerful people in the world, you are surprisingly soft and tender, Diana," Audrey told her, smiling naughtily.

        "Well, for an experienced seductress like yourself . . ."

        Audrey leaned her head back and laughed, but then she looked serious. "I'm not a virgin, I admit it," she said, sounding almost ashamed.

        "It's all right," Diana said, unsurprised. "Are you saying you want to? Tonight?"

        She seemed to think about it for a moment, but then she shook her head. "I would like to," she said. "I have fantasized about it. But perhaps we could wait for another night. We could have a proper date first?"

        "I'd like that," Diana replied. "You know, you didn't ask if I was a virgin."

        Audrey chuckled. "Oh, you are. I have no doubt of it."

        "And I want to give it to you," Diana told her with the utmost seriousness.

        Blinking, Audrey blushed before burying her face in Diana's hair.

        

        "It's all right, dear Audrey," Diana whispered. It looked like Diana now had a league of her own.

        To be continued . . .

(Author's Note #2 - The TV personality who criticized Diana's choice of costume is a reference to a scene in the two-parter "Eclipsed", which first aired 11/8/2003.)

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