The white horse arrived with blasting horns. The prince's hair danced in the wind as the entire city came out to witness his arrival. He hung high his bright purple royale coat of arms that depicted his kingdom and the monarchy that ran it.
Rynad.
A small kingdom to the far east. One of many that were set up in hopes to form an army to defend themselves and fight back against future threats from empires such as Tanba.
Besides the prince, sat an older looking man, hunched over with a large cloak draped over him. A stereotypical villain, as if he was about to hand someone a poison apple, but, despite that appearance, this man was the king, one whose mind had clearly not aged well.
"Who is in charge here?" The prince called out. His voice singing in the air as all the young girls fell in love whilst the boys disgustingly swallowed their own sick.
"I am…" A small voice cried out as the pink-haired Clara pushed her way through the crowd, followed behind by the executives of the city.
"Ah…" The prince jumped off his horse, approaching Clara and gently kissing her hand whilst giving a slight bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Prince Sebastian. I hail from the Kingdom of Rynad. I'm sure you've heard of us?"
The crowd talked amongst themselves, questioning the name of the kingdom. Of course, the majority of civilians in the city had never left, so it only made sense for none of them to have heard of such a small place.
"I believe I have…" Clara said, pulling her hand away.
"I wish to have a private meeting with you if you do not mind?" The prince's kind words were too soft to refuse. As much as Clara wanted to tell him to get lost, the crowd around her wouldn't let her.
"Very well, we shall discuss your arrival in private."
# # #
The village split as Clara and Prince Sebastian walked into the meeting hall. The doors were shut behind them with Ziu and his spy guards protecting the area. As much as he wished he could be in there, he had to stay outside with the drunk looking old man, talking to him, as he claimed to be the king.
"So… you must be the royale guard?" The king said, to Ziu's disgust.
"I am… but I do not serve, Clara, I serve a much stronger man."
"Oh, and who would that be?"
"That would be Fishy… he is our-"
As he was about to speak, he remembered Fishy's rules, should Fishy not be in the city, Clara will be in charge. And Ziu didn't want to lie to their guests, nor go against his master's words.
"Nevermind…"
"Well, I wonder what they are talking about?" The king sat down on the concrete floor next to Ziu who still stood. "The prince is doing the best he can. I raised him well."
"You raised him? Does that make you the king or something?"
"That is correct…" Ziu realised what was going on and quickly bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Oh don't worry. I'm basically retired, I'm leaving most affairs to my son for now… I just tag along to get this old man out of the house. The name is Valoe. I don't need the title anymore."
"I'm Ziu… Nice to meet you."
Ziu shook his hand carefully, not sure what he was expecting. The only other King Ziu had met was King Dean, and these two were nothing alike.
# # #
"So, what is it you wish to discuss?" Clara closed the last of the windows and blinds to make sure no one was listening to their conversation in the moody dull meeting hall.
"I hear you seem to be in a sorry state. You've lost all reputation when it comes to trading. People used to love this place but recently you seem to be running low."
Clara saw what was happening. She had met King Dean and that was enough for her to now that all royalty sucked and wanted land.
"What are you saying."
"I'm saying we can help each other out. Rynad is rich in both money and resource and we will happily trade with you."
"What do you want?" Clara watched as the prince walked around the room, admiring the finely crafted wooden shelves and decorations that only a craftsman, like no other, could create.
"I want your hand in marriage."