Chapter 1
A soft breeze gracefully dance through the large field of grass, the strands swaying with it. Standing bare foot in this peaceful field is the prince of Galedon, he outside the capital. In a few days, he’ll be introduced to the young lady he’ll marry when he becomes king. She’s the daughter of a wealthy family not too far from here, her father good friends with the king.
“Run away,” he mentally tells himself, “just a few steps forward and you’ll be away from all of this.”
The prince slowly blinks as he tightly clenches his fists, pivoting on the heels of his bare feet before walking towards a line of trees.
“There should be a clear path leading to the capital so it’s easier to get there,” he comments mentally.
~
The prince hops over the railing of his balcony then walks through the door and into his room, the servant in it blinking as he watches the younger walk by.
“Prince Cornelius,” he calls, “your fiance and her parents came early! Don’t you want to put on some shoes and change your clothes?”
The younger looks at the servant with his honey yellow eyes then looks away, the older sighing as he watches the prince leave the bedroom.
“He’s been like this since he was a baby,” he mumbles, “never once has he willingly put on shoes. He’s going to get scolded by the king.”
~
Cornelius slows his walking as he hears the sounds of people’s voices, walking into the library. The room is rectangular and leads to the royal gardens, the doors cracked slightly to allow the air from outside to flow in.
Books in all cultures and tongues fill the shelves, a desk in front of an empty fireplace on the right side of the room. There is where the guests and the king and queen of Galedon are sitting.
The king looks to his son as he approaches them, “Ah, Corneliu-! Cornelius,” he says as he slowly glares at his son, his voice threatening and deep. The queen touches her husband’s arm, “Cornelius, dear, why don’t you change into your prince clothes and put on some shoes?”
“I hate shoes,” Cornelius states, “and my prince clothes are uncomfortable.”
The king makes a “chee” noise as he turns his head, disapproval written all over him. The queen sighs with a soft smile, “I know. Come, meet your fiance and her parents.”
Cornelius hesitates before he walks towards the group, standing next to his mother without sitting down. He looks to the young girl sitting between her parents, slowly blinking. Her black hair is cut short and is wild, her eyes are a sketchbook brown. Her dress hugs her upper body, but is frilly at the ends. The colors are black and purple, her father wearing black clothing while her mother wears a purple dress.
She blinks slowly then looks to Cornelius, blinking twice before smirking slyly. The taller raises an eyebrow, why was she smirking like that?
“Cornelius, this is Petra Ernest.”
“Cornelius Free,” the prince says softly, the girl nodding her head properly as her mother looks at her. As soon as the older woman looked away, she went back to smirking slyly.
~
Petra, “You don’t wear shoes, you don’t like talking. What kind of a prince are you?”
Cornelius doesn’t say anything, the two standing in a field of grass. The prince still hasn’t changed his clothes, shoes still not on his feet. Petra moves her hands behind her back as she takes a few steps forward, she not in the heels she was wearing in the library.
“I don’t mind that you don’t like talking, I’d rather be listened to then conversed with. Makes winning arguments easier,” she muses with a grin, Cornelius blinking slowly. He averts his eyes from her, “I don’t want to get married.”
“Me either,” she falls back in the grass, “and yet here we are. You and I are going to be spending a lot of time together.”
