Family comes Fifth

1: The baker

He was hers as well, so they matched perfectly. He decided to tell them the best story he knew, drawing the words out his mind as easily as he would out of the fairytale book.

"Once upon a time, there was a prince who claimed family should always come first, but failed to prove it with his actions.

Not that he didn't tried to. He was a lovely son to his parents, always hardworking, always trying his best to make them proud. He spilled tears, sweat and blood just to spill even more of them while his drunken guardians beat the child out of him.

So, he ran away from home leaving his precious family behind. He wandered all over the coutryside like a lost bug, a creature that didn't belong to any place it came across and with only one goal in mind - survival.

He would let himself get hypnotized by whooping clouds above him, every rock and blade of grass he stepped on and the wind which decided the path of the journey for him. He learned to be humble and appreciate every gift of the land and every job of a human he was given.

As the years passed by, he became one with the earth and sky, the embodiment of the purest nature: untouched and inviolated, gentle and understanding. And yet, under all of the layers of independence and freedom, he was lonely. His wounded heart longed for the one thing he had lost and could never restore.

Family.

In those moments of uncontrollable craving when he would search for his parents in the dense bushes, in the frezzing river and under the hefty stones and begged forest rabbits to accept him as a brother, the young lad would remember his mother's wise words from the forgotten sober times.

'If there something your heart desperately desires, it will either find it or die trying.'

He didn't die.

His heart find the way before helplessly and utterly falling for the loveliest girl in the existence.

She-"

"Father," the call of his child who grew up too fast interupted him. "I mean, dad. Can I talk to you? In private?"

Arthur eyed his children with puffy eyes and they disappeared in their rooms with only Adela shouting "You must tell me the rest the next time!"

The young man wasn't coping well even with his very existence at that moment. His whole body was shaking like a tiny earthquake and his hands were making gestures like he was trying to pinpoint the quickest route to heaven.

"So, I did some thinking ... and feeling ... and crying..." he murmured as his eyes restrained themselves from letting a single tear slip.

"Without procrastination, I get it," he said to himself. "Firstly, thanks for informing me. I really appreciate that, I do, trust me, and I'm glad you came, but I know what is the real reason for coming."

Two pairs of blue eyes met. "The answer is no."

"Are you sure? You know, Adela might want to become a princess. Or, what, a wizard? She could afford to hire as many magical teachers as she wanted. Perhaps she has a spark within her, you can never know."

"Thanks, but no. I'll just buy her a dress ... or a cloak. A wizard robe?" he shook his head nervously. "I... Look, dad, I'm sorry. I would want to be your perfect prince, I would, but I just can't. My home is right here."

"I understand," whispered the gray-haired prince. The room went quiet and both of them hated silence. Their pupils ran around, searching for something interesting to bring up. The prince's blue eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of a red scarf that started to form around his knitting needles.

He hadn't noticed he had moved his hands an inch while telling a story, but the intertwined wool claimed otherwise.

"However, I must warn you, that means you won't be able to lay your hands on this sloppy knitted red scarf. It's for the new king or queen and the new king or queen only."

Both blondes laughed, filling their souls with desperately needed comfort. "Wait a minute. When did you learn how to knit?"
"I didn't," he explained and didn't at the same time. "It just... It brings me closer to her. At least I feel that way."

"Can you teach me?" the son asked somehow shyly. "Please?"
"Of course!" the father cried happily.

The older and the younger prince lost their titles to become only a father and the son for the day. They knitted the whole night long and woke up with a rooster, fresh as daisies.

However, as the sun was rising slowly above the land, the old prince reclaimed his crown and disappeared, leaving his precious family behind.