Wait
“Wait” you said to your new friend as he climbed down the stairs with an armful of fishing gear. “I think I’d like to get to know your parents a bit more.” The young man seemed upset upon hearing this, dropping his pile of gear clumsily before letting it tumble down the last of the stairs. By the time you noticed his fumble, you were already making your way into the dining room with the king and queen.
“Stop th racket boy!” the king yelled back at his son before they entered the kitchen. Decatur quickly padded in behind everyone, huffing with annoyance as he slid into a spot at the table where everyone had already made themselves comfortable.
“So what brings you here young’n” the middle aged woman said as she leaned onto the table to talk to you.
“I’m a travelling pescitarian. I left my parent’s kingdom to find myself after I had spent some time studying some books.” both of their eyes lit up, almost seeming to perk up with excitement upon hearing your explanation. In your peripheral vision, you saw the young man slumped over the table and rolling his eyes in annoyance. He seemed to fidget a lot more than earlier, leading you to believe that he too had felt some anxiety about whatever was going on.
You and his parents continued to talk until the sun went down. Your mind was filled with their kingdom plans, tidbits of their culture, and their local practices before they finally hit you with the big kicker of their final plan, and to your surprise, you didn’t seem to mind what they had in store for you.
‘Ya see, we’re lookin fer a princess just like you fer our son!” the queen said in a high pitched cheery voice.”
“Yep, n he isn’t apt ta accepting any a th suitors we’ve given em!” you could hear the young man huffing angrily, “we think it’s bout time ta arrange somethin if ya know what we mean” The middle aged man winked and nudged you slightly out of his son’s gaze. The young man slumped in his chair anyway, eyes lowered and seeming to check out of the conversation.
“As you can see, I’ve carefully picked your son as a suitor, being from a much larger and richer kingdom, I have decided to bless you all with my opulence!” the parents seemed to glow, radiating happiness. They thought and whispered to themselves about how articulate you were; way better than any other woman in the kingdom, and the decision was made the same day.
By the end of the week you were married to your new suitor, having most control in this situation, you had finally gotten something you wanted out of the situation, despite the fact that your relationship with the young prince wasn’t as good as it could have been. He always seemed a bit distant with you. Despite this, the two of you ruled over the kingdom for many years, and though you had never had the kind of opulence you once had in your hometown, you tried to help every one of their inhabitants until the day you were dethroned by your kids.
Decatur never seemed to be happy, though this was the least of your worries as a queen, and one day the young prince seemed to just disappear without a trace. Nobody had any second thoughts about this, and you just lived your remaining years being taken care of by your children until the final day of your regency.
Written by Driftingdragon on 29 August 2020
The end (for now)