A lesson in love

[kittenlover9999]

Cynthia woke up to hear the birds singing outside her balcony doors. She smiled, wishing she could be as free as them. But alas, she would never be fore she was marrying the prince in a few short days. The marriage had been arranged so that the endless war could finally end but she did not want to marry the prince. She wanted to be free, free to chose whom to marry and decide where her life would go. But that would never happen either. She was bound to royal life with the chains of the royal blood flowing through her veins. She sighed and got up, getting dressed in her favorite blue dress and doing her hair. She wanted to look good for her arrival in the kingdom, knowing that looking good was part of everyday life as a royal. She walked downstairs to where her parents and the carriage awaited her. She said goodbye and got into the carriage, trying not to cry as she left the only home she had ever known. She arrived a couple of hours later in the kingdom and eventually she got to the palace. She was escorted inside and to her room. She was to await meeting the prince and which meant she had some time to unpack. She started to put things in the drawers and her closet, organizing them by color. She smiled after everything was put away and she sat down on her bed, awaiting the arrival of prince Marcus.

[Sora1297]

"Marcus!! Will you get dressed already?! Princess Cynthia is gonna be here soon!!" Queen Esmeralda called out as Marcus let out a tired moan. He sat up, very tired, rubbing his eyes. "Guh.." he moaned groggily as he slowly opened his eyes. "UP!! UP!!" his mother yelled as she gestured for him to get out of bed. "God, I hate that woman.." Marcus said under his breath, to which his mother responded by ripping off his bed sheets. "I heard that young man, but I'll forget it because your usually this cranky in the mornings. Now come on, get up!! You don't want to keep the princess waiting, do you?"

Marcus had gotten up and was now slowly walking towards a nearby dresser. He pulled it open and grabbed a white shirt, which he put on quickly. "If I said yes to not wanting to meet another one of these idiotic but hot princesses you and dad try to set me up with, would I be able to head out and practice my sword skills?" The Queen squinted at him, angrily and obviously fed up. "Marcus, your the prince of Codswell. For ONCE, can't you at least ACT like one? she asked, placing her hands on her hips. Marcus let out a noise that sounded similarly close to a fart with his mouth, which made the Queen roll her eyes. "Fine then, I guess Princess Cynthia isn't going to marry you after all."

Suddenly, as if something had been holding an axe to his face, he bolted across the room and gathered up clothes, throwing them on and rushing over to kiss his mother on the cheek before he rushed off. Before she could notice what he was wearing, he rushed out of the room and dashed into the hallway, searching for the room she would be staying in. Finally, when he saw her room, he caught his breath and gently knocked on the door. He fiddled with his hair and smelled his breath before smiling widely. "Um.. Princess Cynthia? I-It's Marcus.. Are you decent? Can I come in?"

[kittenlover9999]

"Yes, please do come in." She said a little too quiet to be her normal voice. She fixed her dress and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked perfectly fine but she wasn't sure of what prince Marcus would think. She quickly bit off a lose hang nail and sat back down on the bed. She knew she had to be curdious but something inside of her felt like a small spark was about to burst into a wild fire. She knew she had a bit of a temper and she knew that's what the feeling meant but she remembered that at any minute, they could say, "off with your head!" And she knew that always meant an exile. One wrong move and she would either be dead or thrown in the dungeon for eternity. And she most certainly did not want to let her father and mother down. She smoothed out her dress one last time before the door opened, making her smile politely. She soon realized that her hang nailhead bled all over hands and dress. She ran to the opening door and slammed it shut. "Um... I forgot to take a bath! I'll be done in a jiffy." She said, taking off her dress and pinning her hair up so it wouldn't get wet. She got into the bath that had already been drawn for her and she started to scrub herself down, looking for any tiny speck of blood left on her. She started to hum a song from when she was a little girl and soon the humming lead to singing. "Speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing, Onward the sailors cry. Carry the lad that's born to be king, Over the sea to Skye. Loud the winds howl, loud the waves roar, Thunder clouds rend the air. Baffled our foe's stand on the shore, Follow they will not dare. Speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing, Onward the sailors cry. Carry the lad that's born to be king, Over the sea to Skye. Though the waves leap, soft shall ye sleep, Ocean's a royal bed. Rocked in the deep, Flora will keep, Watch by your weary head. Speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing, Onward the sailors cry. Carry the lad that's born to be king, Over the sea to Skye. Many's the lad fought on that day, Well the claymore could wield. When the night came, silently lay, Dead on Culloden's field. Burned are our homes, exile and death, Scatter the loyal men. Yet, e'er the sword cool in the sheath, Charlie will come again. Speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing, Onward the sailors cry. Carry the lad that's born to be king, Over the sea to Skye.... Over the sea to Skye." When the song was finished she was completely clean of blood and dirt. She put on a pastel green dress and did her hair before she unlocked the door, sitting down on the bed again. She hid the dress under the bed and breathed in and out to calm herself. "You may come in now." She said, straightening out her dress a little bit more.

[Sora1297]

Marcus stared at the door as he walked in and heard her scream as he felt a large impact on his nose. He stumbled away from the door, holding his nose. l"AHH!! SONOFA.." he stopped short before he said something he regretted, muffling the last part with his hand. He looked at the door, slightly impatient. He checked his nose for blood, which there thankfully wasn't. After a while, she finally opened the door again and he walked in, smiling at her. "Um... H-Hey.. I'm glad you.. Came.."

[kittenlover9999]

"Of course I came, how couldn't I?" She said, getting up and walking to the window. She was very insecure at the moment, and she had not meant to say that so harshly. "I-I'm sorry.... It was not easy for me to come here and away from my family. I didn't mean to be so harsh." She said sitting down on the window ledge and looking out at the kingdom below.

[Sora1297]

Marcus shook his head and softly smiled. "Of course it wasn't.. Sorry you had to deal with that... I'm sure that after the ceremony things will get better.. My dad still kind of wants to kill your dad, but that's the point of this marriage, isn't it? To stop the fighting..?"

Marcus sat on the chair by the dresser and sighed. Deep down, he knew that the marriage was wrong and she didn't want to be part of it, but... He couldn't help but wanting it. He didn't care if it brought about the end of the war... When he first met her, before the war even began... He fell so hard, that seeing her in this state was killing him. "Y-You know... We technically can do whatever we want here... D-Did you maybe... Wanna go for a... Walk? W-With me?"

[kittenlover9999]

"Your allowed to go outside!?" She asked, almost jumping up from the windowsill. "I've never actually been outside before, well only on a balcony but never ever walked outside!" She said, her eyes gleaming with delight, "Of course I'd love to go outside for a walk with you!" She took his hand in hers and smiled. "Thank you so much!" She said kissing his cheek.

[Sora1297]

Marcus blushed wildly as she kissed him on the cheek and chuckled. "Uh, yeah!! Of course I can go outside. Where did you think we were, a high-security prison? Come on Cynthia!!" he said, holding her hand firmly as he led her down the halls of the castle. His choice of clothing seemed odd, for it was a light green shirt with a brown vest, accompanied by light brown trousers and dark leather hiking boots. He seemed almost as if he weren't a prince at all, but a villager. Once they were past the castle walls, Marcus led her through the large metal gates and into the town of Vestial, which lay on the borders of his fathers castle. He sighed and took a deep breath of the fresh air. He turned and smiled at Cynthia. "By the way, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you have a lovely singing voice."

[kittenlover9999]

"Oh.... You heard that?" She asked, blushing a deep red. Back at home, she had been forbidden to sing even dancing was forbidden. Inside the castle she had stayed her whole life, and she never could sing unless her parents were gone on a trip. And that only happened every six months. And she had never thought she was a good singer until Marcus heard her. And that was by coincidence! She blushed even deeper as her eyes met his.

[Sora1297]

Marcus smiled and gripped her hand tighter, smiling intently. "Not a problem at all, Cynthia. It's probably the first time I've ever heard somebody sing that nice in a long time... My mother used to sing to me before bed when I was young, so hearing your voice gave me fond nostalgia for my younger days..."

He noticed her blush when their eyes met and found himself doing the same thing. When they finally reached Vestial, Marcus left her for a brief moment before he returned with a small wooden basket. "Follow me, I know this great place..." he whispered happily, before taking her hand and rushing off into the fields, outside the town of Vestial. After a few minutes running, they came to a hill with a single tree on it, but that's not what they stared at. What they saw, was a large view of the kingdom of Codswell, surrounded by rivers and forests, houses and fields... Everything was green.