"Your Majesty, may I have a word?" Amelia looked up from her breakfast to face Ambrose, the King's head guard and military consultant.
"Yes, of course Ambrose."
Amelia stood and followed Ambrose into an empty meeting room in the palace. His stern expression worried Amelia.
"Has there been another Red League attack?" She held her breath, dreading the answer to her question.
"No, your Majesty," Amelia felt herself relax. "Actually, it's quite the opposite."
"What do you mean?"
"A photo of Princess Rose and Prince Balthazar strolling the palace grounds was released a few days ago. There's been speculation among citizens of a royal marriage, but no official statement yet."
"And how does a photo and gossip require the attention of the palace's lead military consultant?" Amelia folded her arms. She didn't appreciate those who wasted her time.
"It doesn't, but its effects does." Ambrose slid a piece of paper across the table to Amelia. "The latest reports of nationalist revolts in Nevani have shown a decrease of twenty percent since the photo's release, and violence between Nevani and Adaia citizens is the lowest it's been in almost twenty years."
"I-I don't believe it." Amelia looked at the reports: they confirmed what Ambrose had said. "All because of one photo and a rumor of a marriage?"
"It's possible that it's a coincidence, but to drop violence rates this low over just a few days after a speculation of a political marriage? Excuse my language, but that would have to be one hell of a coincidence."
"Thank you for this Ambrose." Amelia nodded her head, trying to contain her excitement and maintain her composure. "Does my father know?"
"Not yet, but I was on my way to tell him when I saw you."
"Thank you. I'll let Rose know and then I'll tell my father myself. I want to see the look on his face."
"Of course Your Highness."
Amelia felt herself practically bound out of the room. The lowest violence has been in almost twenty years! It's working!
She saw Rose walking on the cobblestone path and ran up to her sister almost squealing with joy.
"Amelia?" Rose laughed as she witnessed her sister bounding towards her. "A soon-to-be Queen shouldn't be seen acting so undignified." Rose was surprised to say the least; she hadn't seen her sister behave so happy, so excited, so... human since she was a child.
"How else can I act when I'm so happy?" Amelia jumped up and down in front of her sister, clutching the report in her hands.
"What's that?" Rose gestured to the papers Amelia was holding.
"Violence reports. Here, look." Amelia pointed at the report.
Rose took the papers and looked where Amelia had pointed.
"Wow." Rose gasped. "I have absolutely no idea what this means!" Amelia and Rose burst out laughing. "But seriously, what am I looking at here?"
"Violence rates have gone down to the lowest they've been in twenty years because of you and Balthazar!"
"Because of us how?" Rose cocked her head.
"Rumors of a possible royal marriage have been circulating and it's decreasing violence rates!"
"Oh," Rose's smile fell. Amelia's plan was actually working. A small part of Rose had hoped that her sister would be wrong, that Rose and Balthazar's union would do nothing to ease tensions between Adaia and Nevani, but her hopes were dashed. She realized that there was no way she could get out of marrying Balthazar now. "That's great news Amelia."
"I know!" Amelia exclaimed gleefully. "Alright, I'm going to go talk to dad about this but keep doing what you're doing with Balthazar!"
With that, Amelia bounded off, leaving Rose to ponder her future.
◈ ◈ ◈
Knock knock
Ferdinand waited patiently outside the door as he waited for a response. He had walked all the way up the stairs with a plate of tea and cookies in one hand and his book bag slung over his other shoulder. Already, his arms were tired. He couldn't imagine how the maids did this everyday.
Knock knock
He knocked on the door again.
"Come in." Ferdinand heard a voice reply groggily.
"Hey Balthazar I-" Ferdinand saw Balthazar laying on his bed, covered in bruises and scratches. "What happened to you?" Ferdinand raced to Balthazar's bedside, sitting down on the bed and placing his tray of tea and cookies and book bag on the nightstand.
"A mean pony."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"A mean pony, that's what happened to me." Balthazar replied smiling, but clearly in pain.
"Okay...I'm going to need you to elaborate." Ferdinand poured some tea into one of the ornate china teacups he had brought up, the steam rising and filling the room with a heavenly combination of vanilla and mint.
"So I-" Balthazar paused and glanced at the tray on the nightstand. "You brought me tea and cookies?"
"Oh, uh, yes."
"That's so sweet. Thank you." Balthazar's eyes twinkled.
"Yes, yes, I'm an angel, now tell me what happened." Ferdinand waved his hand in the air and gestured for Balthazar to continue his story.
"Well, I went for a riding lesson with Rose, and Felix, you know, the stableboy?"
"Yes, I know him."
"Well he gave me this pony, Bethany, and said she was sweet." Balthazar paused. "She was not."
"Cream or sugar?" Ferdinand gestured towards the tea.
"Yes cream, no sugar." Ferdinand handed him his tea. "Thank you." Balthazar took the cup and took a sip of tea before continuing. "Anyway, we went out on one of the forest trails and Bethany was being difficult, but I guess she must've seen something that spooked her because the next thing I know I'm being thrown onto the ground."
"Oh my god," Ferdinand took a sip of his tea. "Wait, isn't Bethany the tiny little pony?"
"Yeah..."
Ferdinand began to laugh.
"Hey! I'm in pain here!" Balthazar mock protested.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just," Ferdinand looked Balthazar up and down. "the image of you, a muscular six-foot tall man, being thrown off a pint-sized pony is quite frankly the funniest thing I've ever heard."
"I know, it's embarrassing."
"No, it's not." Ferdinand smiled at Balthazar, but Balthazar raised his eyebrow, silently questioning Ferdinand's sincerity. "Okay maybe it's a little embarrassing," Ferdinand admitted.
Both boys burst out laughing.
"I wouldn't worry about it, Bethany's just evil." Ferdinand reassured Balthazar once both princes had recovered from their laughing fit.
"But I don't get it. Felix said she was nice."
"Yeah, he was definitely lying to you. Everyone in the castle knows Bethany is the worst horse in the stables." Ferdinand shrugged and poured himself some tea.
"I knew Felix didn't like me." Balthazar grabbed a cookie from the tray.
"Why wouldn't he like you?"
"I don't know. I asked Rose about it earlier today and she couldn't think of any reason either."
"Well, Felix can be petty." Ferdinand lowered his gaze. "It's probably because you're from Nevani." Ferdinand regretted saying it as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Of course, Balthazar had probably already figured out that there would be some animosity towards him due to his home land.
The room was silent for a few moments before Balthazar noticed something inside Ferdinand's book bag.
"What's Fulton: An Unwritten History?" Balthazar asked.
"Oh, it's just like, the most incredible book ever written about the most incredible musician." Ferdinand reached into the bookbag and pulled out the novel, admiring the front cover. Balthazar chuckled.
"Tell me about it."
"Well, have you ever heard of Winton Fulton?"
"Can't say I have."
"So to catch you up, he's this amazing harp player, and this book is the story of his life. I mean, he came from nothing and built a musical empire." Balthazar watched as Ferdinand's eyes lit up.
"Your sister told me you love music. I can definitely see that now."
"Yeah, I'm a lousy player, but an avid listener."
Balthazar adjusted his position in bed to turn towards Ferdinand.
"Why don't you read me some of it?"
"Really?" Ferdinand smiled.
"Yeah, it sounds interesting."
"Okay." Ferdinand began to read, his melodic voice filling the room. Balthazar found himself at ease for the first time in what felt like forever. Ferdinand's baritone voice was like a blanket, safely tucking Balthazar into a peaceful trance. Before long, Balthazar was fast asleep.
Ferdinand looked up from his reading when he heard a soft snore coming from the raven-haired prince. He smiled and tucked Balthazar into his bed, being careful not to wake him. When he pulled the covers up over Balthazar's shoulders, he found himself mere inches from the Prince's sleeping face. Never before had Ferdinand been so entranced by anyone before, but seeing Balthazar look so peaceful, so serene was almost intoxicating. Ferdinand found his eyes wander down to Balthazar's lips.
Ferdinand quickly pulled away from Balthazar and rushed out of the room. As he shut the door behind him, he felt his heart beat a million miles a minute and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
What the hell was that, Ferdinand?! Ferdinand silently screamed to himself. You can't just do things like that! He leaned against the door. You can't... feel things like that.
Ferdinand found his mind drifting back to Balthazar, his eyes, his smile, his laugh.
Stop that! He squeezed his eyes shut and desperately tried to block out his thoughts. What is wrong with you? He slumped down to the floor, placing his head in his hands.
What the hell is wrong with me?