Anything Could Happen

Chapter Fifteen: The Royal Polo Match

"What are the rules of polo again?" Briana asked walking alongside Ariana and her two daughters for the event, she knew next to nothing about the sport and it worried her what might happen. 

The last thing that Briana wanted was to make a fool of herself, she was nervous and she knew that everyone was watching her; she would be relieved to hide back in the royal box but she couldn't right now. 

"It's a bit like Earth's polo," Ariana replied smiling, she was about six weeks pregnant now and had a small bump showing through her dress; she was excited about having her third child and she couldn't wait until August when he or she was born. 

Briana nibbled on her lip, that still didn't answer her question and she hated that she hadn't taken more notice to what happened at events that Carlos attended. 

It was not something that Briana had ever thought would be useful to her, she was just going to have to deal now and she just hoped that she would be able to keep up with what was happening. 

"Now come on. Leo wants to see you before the match," Ariana insisted leading Briana towards the stables, she wanted to tell Cristiano good luck since he was captaining the team that Lionel was playing against for the trophy. 

Following after her friend, Briana couldn't help but nibble on her lip as she tried to shake the sudden feeling that someone was watching her; she shook her head knowing that a lot of people would be that now. 

It didn't take long for them to reach the stables were the two teams were preparing for the match, Briana stuck close to Ariana not wanting to attract too much attention. 

"You came," Lionel said grinning as he stopped Briana, he had been so sure that she would hide away in the royal box with his parents away from prying eyes.

Briana nodded her head, she peeked over at Ariana as her friend headed over to Cristiano with Leila and Lana; she wasn't entirely sure what was expected right now of her and she was so nervous. 

"You look beautiful," Lionel murmured admiring the print dress that Briana was wearing, he was relieved that she was here and he hoped that it would build her confidence even more about being out in public.

Gerard was hovering around making Lionel feel more comfortable about her being there, he had been furious hearing what Carlos had done; he didn't know why the man could bring himself to raise a hand to his daughter like that. 

Gently taking Briana's hand, Lionel gently tugged her closer to him with a small smile; he was pleased that things were moving forward, even if they weren't moving as fast as he had expected. 

Peeking down at their joined hands, Briana tried to remember if this was acceptable; she knew that there was so much that she wasn't sure about what they should be doing. 

"It's okay," Lionel murmured seeing how nervous she looked, she was doing so well and he couldn't imagine what was going on in her mind right now. 

Everything was working so well for them and Lionel wanted nothing more than for Briana to be comfortable, they were doing this her way and he was determined to make her happy before anything else. 

Briana nibbled on her lip before she made a quick decision, she ducked forward and kissed Lionel catching him by surprise; he barely had chance to respond before she pulled back. 

Brushing some hair from Briana's face, he gently pulled her back into a kiss knowing that he couldn't resist; he held her close not caring who was watching them. 

Lionel had a feeling that today was going to be a good match and that things were only going well.

***

Watching the match, Briana couldn't stop herself from smiling as she thought about the kiss that she had shared with Lionel; she kept thinking about it and it was a step forward for them. 

"You look happy," Ariana teased sitting down next to Briana, she settled Lana on her lap and peeked over at Leila who was playing with her cousins; she was pleased that things were actually starting to look up. 

It was strange to think about how much things were going to change and Ariana was sure that it wouldn't take long before things would completely calm down again. 

"I am," Briana replied with a smile, she wasn't going to deny that she had liked kissing Lionel; it had been strange but she could still feel his lips pressed against hers. 

Ariana looked to Briana, she was pleased with everything and she knew that no one in the family had any problems with Briana; they were just hopeful that Lionel would be able to produce an heir soon after their wedding. 

There wasn't really a rush for an heir but it was sort of standard that an heir would be conceived during the first couple of months of marriage. 

"Leo is playing well," Ariana mused watching her cousin, she did want her husband to win and she was sure that Cristiano had every intention of winning this match for her. 

However, there was no doubt that Lionel would play to win as well, he was doing so to impress Briana and Ariana didn't blame him. 

It was no secret that Lionel and Cristiano were very competitive and they would both not hesitate to win this at any cost; they were bound to play until one of them were injured or unable to carry on. 

"My Lady," a voice said disturbing the two women, Ariana furrowed her brow as she turned to see who addressing them; she already knew they weren't addressing her.

A woman with short blonde hair stood before them, she curtsied low before she focused on Briana; she had wanted to come and meet the future princess even if her fiancé had tried to talk her out of it. 

"I am Lady Zoella," the woman stated, her blue eyes watching Briana curiously wondering if she knew who she was; she wasn't sure what to say but she hadn't been able to miss the chance. 

Of course while her engagement wasn't something that was really pleasing, Zoella had grown to care for her fiancé and she was sure that the marriage would work out well. 

"I am engaged to your brother," Zoella mumbled peeking back at Alexander who was trying not to watch the exchange, she was surprised to find that he had little to say about his younger sister. 

It was like Briana had never really existed to him, Zoella didn't understand that especially now that Briana was going to marry into the royal family; Alexander acted like she was nothing to him when she was raising his family status. 

Briana didn't say a word, she stared at the woman wondering why she wanted to speak with her; she didn't get along with Alexander, he might not have been cruel to her but he had completely ignored her for years. 

"I just wanted to meet you... we will be family after all," Zoella mused with a smile, she bowed down to the two women before she walked away from them to return to Alexander. 

It would do well for her to befriend the future princess, Zoella knew that it would look good for her and her family if she could be seen out with Briana at events. 

Watching Zoella walk away, Briana shook her head and turned back to watching the match; she didn't care who this Zoella was but if she was marrying Alexander then she was going to need all the luck in the world. 

Taking a deep breath, Briana tried to forget about the meeting knowing that it would change nothing.