princess | s. reid

Fifteen

a winter ball (part two)

Derek and Spencer were standing in the corner at the Ball, waiting for Penelope and Aya. When the former finally arrived, Derek showered her in compliments.

"Damn, baby girl! You look hot! As usual," he exclaimed.

Penelope beamed at him. "Thank you, Chocolate Thunder. You clean up nice, the both of you!"

The three talked about where the woman had vanished off to, ignoring the introductions of various political figures.

Finally, they heard, "Queen Eileen and Princess Aya of Otharia!"

The BAU agents applauded politely as the two women joined the festivities and separated to say their hellos to everyone. 

After an hour or so, Spencer moved toward his girlfriend, but by the time he found her, she was embracing a man he didn't know as they spoke in a language he didn't recognize.

The two pulled apart and the man kissed the princess's cheek. Aya then saw Spencer and greeted him with a smile.

"Spencer, this is my closest friend, Prince Pierre. Min kære ven, dette er min ven, doktor Spencer Reid."

Prince Pierre was a very conventionally handsome man -- he was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders and a dark head of hair. He held his hand out to the skinny doctor and with a thick accent, he said, "A pleasure to meet you, Doctor Spencer Reid!"

"Nice to meet you, too, Prince Pierre," the American doctor responded, shaking the prince's hand. "May I ask what you are the Prince of?"

"Denmark!" he replied with pride.

Spencer nodded, feeling uncomfortable. He considered sharing facts he knew about Denmark, but assumed Pierre would already know anything he had to say.

"I will leave you two to it. So many people to greet," Aya said, kissing each of the gentlemen's cheeks before she moved away.

"How do you know my dear friend, Aya?" the prince asked.

"She's my, uh, girlfriend," Spencer replied.

"Ah," Pierre said, pausing awkwardly. "How wonderful! Aya is a phenomenal woman."

"That she is," he responded. "She's been a great help to our team."

"Yes, she told me she is working for the American government now, as, uh, retsmediciner," Pierre paused. "Forensic scientist, correct? And you work with her?"

Spencer nodded and looked over his shoulder to where Penelope and Derek were dancing. "Along with those two."

"You must introduce me! I want to meet more of Aya's American friends," he told Spencer.

The Doctor nodded and led the Prince of Denmark to meet the two goofy Americans. When they got to the two, Penelope couldn't help but gawk at the man before her.

"This is Supervisory Special Agent Penelope Garcia, the team's technical analyst, and this is Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan. This is, uh, Prince Pierre, one of Aya's best friends. He is the Prince of Denmark."

Penelope's jaw dropped, but before she could say anything, Aya and her grandmother came over to the group. The group all bowed a bit to the Queen.

She immediately turned to Pierre and started speaking to him in Danish, looking to Aya frequently. The princess turned to her friends and rolled her eyes at her grandmother.

"You all look so nice!" Aya told them. "How have you enjoyed things so far? Have you danced? Ate?"

They all nodded.

Aya beamed at them and took Spencer's hand, turning back to him. "Let's dance?"

He smiled and followed the princess onto the dance floor as the music slowed. The two danced together with little attention to the area around them, just fully enamored with the other.

"You look so beautiful," he told her after dancing in comfortable silence.

"You look quite nice yourself, Spence," she responded, placing her hand on his cheek. "I like your hair."

Spencer smiled at the compliment, blushing a bit. Before he could say anything else, Pierre tapped his shoulder.

"May I cut in?" he asked.

Aya laughed it off. "I will find you after this song, mijn vriend."

Spencer and Aya made light conversation for the last bit of the song, then he bowed slightly and kissed her lips gently.

"I'll find you soon," she promised him.

Pierre came around to dance with her and spoke Dutch to the woman. "May I?"

She nodded and they returned to the dance floor. "Pierre," she scolded. "Why would you interrupt?"

"Your grandmother was pushing," he replied. "I have the utmost respect for your American doctor. He seems like a very good man indeed. Is he marriage material?"

"He definitely is, but you know," she told her friend. "Otharian law is very strict. Look at the queen, she couldn't remarry her love after my grandfather died."

Pierre nodded. "You know, Aya, I would marry you in a heartbeat. Doesn't have to be romantic, could be strictly for Otharia and Denmark's best interests. You are my best friend."

Aya gave a faint smile. "Thank you, Pierre."

Pierre was also the heir to the throne and he found himself constantly being approached by affluent women in Denmark, trying to encourage him to court their daughters. His mother didn't deter them and seemed to have a way of encouraging the women. Aya had been lucky as her grandmother refused to allow anyone to push their sons on to Aya. The princess had always assumed this was because Eileen had hopes that Pierre and Aya would be together.

The two had been close since they were toddlers and had dated for two — almost three — years in undergrad, before ending the relationship when Aya decided to go for a PhD, while Pierre stopped after his Masters.

"The offer will remain on the table until my wedding day, my dearest friend," he told her. "Now, go dance with your American friends. They seem quite fond of you."