Reign - Ryden

1

"But why do I have to marry? Cant I just rule alone in peace?" Brendon all but whines at his father. The ball was in mere hours and he was expected to find a princess to marry so that one day, kingdoms would unite and rule together and blah blah blah. In Brendon's opinion, the whole idea was a load of shit. He could rule perfectly fine on his own. And it wasn't as if the country needed any allies. The kingdoms had been at peace with one another for going on one hundred years. There had been no wars, no quarrels, no halting of trade. So why was Brendon's father so set on 'uniting kingdoms and strengthening ties'? Was there some sort of uprising in the works? No, there couldn't be. Brendon would have been made aware of such an uprising immediately. He, after all, was next in line to be King. Well, once his father died anyways.

"You know the answer to that." King Boyd answered with a small laugh. Brendon's father was a good king, most would say great, actually. He was well liked among his peers, and the citizens or Angardia loved him as if he were their own father. He was sensible and had quite the sense of humor. Sometimes, though, Brendon questioned his decisions, like now for instance.

"I haven't even met any of these people before. How am I supposed to know if I pick the right person." The use of genderless pronouns makes King Boyd lift a brow at him. "Right... Girls. How am I supposed to know which woman I will pick? I mean, i don't think an hour of dancing will be enough time for me to decide who I will spend the rest of my life with."

"You'll just know." Boyd says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I knew the instant I laid eyes on your mother." He smiles, ruffling Brendon's hair as he moves to the grand mirror on his dresser. For a moment, it seems his eyes linger on a picture of his late wife, Brendon's mother. The woman who died while giving birth to an heir. Brendon never quite forgave himself for that, though he knows it wasn't his fault. Boyd quickly moves his attention to the crown on the middle of the dresser. The golden features practically sparkle in the moonlight that shines from the open window.

"What was she like?" he had asked his question before, many times, but he never tired of hearing the story of his parent's first meeting.

"You want to hear the story again don't you?" Boyd asks with a small smile, lifting the crown from its red velvet holder and placing it atop his silky white hair. When he looks back at Brendon, he's met by smile that says all he needs to hear. "I was training to become king, just like you are now. My mother set up the date. She said i needed to find a suitable girl to fool around with, rather than the whores at the local brothel. Word was starting to spread that the soon to be king was spending most of his times with paid ladies of the night and well, that wasn't the best look for the kingdom. So, of course, like the good son I was, I agreed." he smiles to himself. "When she walked in my jaw hit the floor. I must have looked like the biggest idiot on the planet." He chuckles. "She wore a long rose gown and her hair was in golden curls that fell just below her shoulders. She was a commoner. that much was obvious. But mother knew how to pick them. She challenged me in ways any body else would be scared to. She was smart, and adventurous, but all so elegant when she needed to be. I knew after the first date that I wanted to marry that woman. And so I did. But not before months of begging." Brendon and Boyd both find themselves laughing at that. "And the rest is history. So, son, trust me when I say when you see your better half, you'll know instantly." Boyd smiles gently and pats his son's shoulder gently before motioning towards the door that led to the hall. "Now go. get ready. You have a lot of people coming to see you and we don't want you looking like a commoner, now do we?"

"No sir." Brendon answers quickly, smiling with the new found confidence that, yes, he would know when he found the right pers-- uh, girl to spend the rest of his life with. "I have a future wife to look good for." He chuckles, before skipping off happily to his room. Tonight would be the night he would meet his soulmate. He could feel it.