Twisted | Nascar AU

Chapter Two

Daisy brushed on her last bit of mascara before stepping back to admire herself in the full-length mirror. Beautiful, was the first word that came to her mind. For the first time in a long time, she felt beautiful.

A long golden dress fell from her shoulders, cinching at the waist, and falling loosely at her feet. She chose to accompany the dress with stark black heels that gave her a couple of extra inches. Her hair fell by her chest in coils that her maid had just brushed out.

"You look gorgeous, Daisy," Cynthia smiled. Daisy suddenly felt her heart beating. The reality of what came next had just hit her.

"Do you think I'll be gorgeous to them?" Her eyes fell on Cynthia who gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Oh, sweetie. You don't know just how gorgeous you are. Any man who couldn't see your beauty, inside or out, would be blind." Daisy felt a little calmer with Cynthia's words but no pep talk could prepare her for this moment. She was going to meet her future husband.

Cynthia followed Daisy out the door to where her parents waited for her. Queen Eleanor displayed a glowing smile at the sight of her daughter. "You look lovely," she smiled. "Just like my little Daisy." The Queen then placed a kiss on Daisy's forehead, easing her nerves only slightly.

It was then the King's turn. After all, this was the first day of his daughter's future. Unfortunately, he didn't seem to have his heart in the matter.

"Let's go," he ordered gruffly. The security guards standing by took their routine formation and the family began to walk down the hall.

Daisy's mother reached over and gave her hand a squeeze before quickly pulling away. Appearance was everything to the kingdom, and even on this day, Princess Daisy was not allowed to be nervous. Everything must always be handled with carefulness and grace. The people expected this of her.

So when the ballroom doors opened and Daisy saw all twelve men waiting for her, so didn't know how to keep her composure. Her knees wanted to buckle and her heart could have jumped out of her chest. All the years of schooling and limelight the media brought upon her had not been enough preparation for the stares of twelve devilishly handsome men.

Although she didn't know how Daisy somehow managed to walk to the throne where she sat beneath her parents. All eyes followed her as she did so but she refused to let her knees buckle. She had to be strong.

Her father made some speech that he probably had someone else write for him and then gave his wife the opportunity to speak. Daisy knew her mother had taken time to perfect her message and make sure it came across just as she wanted. So it was a shock when Queen Eleanor looked over to Daisy and then proceeded to rip up her speech. Daisy only let out a small gasp before regaining composure.

"Living in a castle grows tiresome after a while," Queen Eleanor started. "I wrote a speech about the impact of your actions while in the castle but looking at you all now, you look like wonderful young men. I know any of you could make my Daisy happy. So here is my new advice: enjoy your journey. The lucky man who will eventually join our family will soon grow tired of the palace just as I sadly have. So put your relationship with my daughter first, but also think of your happiness. While you're here you are family to me. I look forward to meeting each of you personally," the Queen concluded.

She then waved her hand towards Princess Daisy to give her the floor. Daisy stood up and mustered all of her remaining confidence to speak.

"I'm extremely honored that you all have taken the time to be here tonight and for uncountable nights in the future. Tonight I will talk to each of you one-on-one in hopes of growing my relationship with each of you. I've faced many adversities in the palace but I'm afraid none of them have prepared me for the journey we're about to begin. So I ask that you grace me with your patience as I navigate this new experience. Here's to the rest of our lives!" Daisy raised her champagne glass and turned towards her father to clink glasses.

She was surprised to see he actually displayed a slight smile. Had she actually made him proud? A grin grew on her face and she returned his gesture with a nod.

The servers then preceded to bring out trays of lunch and the strange group gathered in the ballroom began to dig into their food.

Princess Daisy and Queen Eleanor took note of the handsome men who filled their sight. They watched how they interacted and the Queen even picked her favorite. She spotted the brunette with brown curls framing his face.

Daisy remembered his hair from the pictures her father had provided her. Ryan Blaney. He definitely stood out to her.

Meanwhile, the men were doing the same. Each of them snuck glances up at Princess Daisy. She seemed so regal, so untouchable. Her presence alone left them speechless.

One man was left especially touched by her presence. Alexander, known as Alex, Bowman felt like he was suffocating in the large room. The beauty the princess cast upon the men was enough to bring him to knees. On top of that he was surrounded by eleven, if he had counted right, other men who presumably were just as awestruck by the princess as he was.

The testosterone in the room only seemed to grow as the afternoon went on. The royal family became more comfortable with the men the table across from them, and the men became more at ease in the presence of their kingdom's royalty.

All seemed to be going well, so Daisy mustered up the courage draw the attention of her boys to begin her one-on-one conversations. "Who'd like to go first?" She asked.