"Prince Wolf, what have you brought me here to talk about today?" asked Margarette Myles with a sweet smile on her face while she looked at the Prince.
"...I was wondering... what do you think of us getting married?" asked the Prince as he shyly looked at Margarette who gave him a surprised look.
"I have thought that we would talk about this sort of thing until after we graduated from the Academy," said Margarette as she twirled her long, blonde hair. "We are still students and you know how I want to be a famous dancer one day. Getting married now would only get in the way of my dreams. So shouldn't we speak of this once we are a bit older? I mean, we are not even eighteen yet."
"I understand completely what you are saying," said the Prince as he nervously went through his flaming red hair. "However, due to Royal Decree, I am going to have to marry soon. I thought that if I married you, someone I knew, it would be easier than if I married a stranger..."
Margarette looked at him with an incredulous look on her face as she had frozen from twirling her hair. There was silence between them for a moment more before she looked down briefly, then looked off into the distant.
"I do not want to ruin our relationship that we have. If I marry you, would that not mean that I would have to become a Princess? If that happened, would my dream of becoming a famous dancer be for naught? Just thinking of the pressure that comes with the title, I do not think that I can be a good Princess."
"...I see..." said the Prince a bit dejectedly. "I am truly sorry that I surprised you with this proposal."
**********
"It looks like this girl would give up a chance to become Queen one day just so she can twirl on stage. I have to say, I greatly respect her," thought Elizabella as she heard their conversation while she kept the still, frightened cub behind her and her CD on her lap. "...I feel bad for the Prince. I wonder if something is happening in the Palace for them to be forcing a marriage at such a young age."
Elizabella's hair and eyes had gone back to normal from their black color as she pondered to herself. She sat there thinking as she glanced over at the awkward couple.
"Somehow, I cannot see these two together. I do not mean to be negative, but I do not think the girl is suited for politics. If I remember correctly, in some of my classes Margarette, I think is her name, is a dancing nut and more specifically, ballet. I have never seen her do any other form of dance so I often thought that she must not have a willing and opened creative mindset.
"She is definitely someone I would normally not approach. A Royal Prince or Princess should have an opened mind to learn to accommodate to the masses, which in this case would be the commoners. For many years, the Royals have held onto their traditions and the citizens trying to imitate them have also held onto them as well.
"Not that this is a bad thing, just that their views on creativity is too conservative. I know that people crave it, but do not understand it or where to start. All of my performances have always been things that they may have never seen amongst the nobles but have heard of them. At least with the larger masses I can easily communicate with. I just wish that the nobility was not so rigid when it came to creativity..."
**********
"Sorry, Prince Wolf. But I do have other things that I must do..." said Margarette as she was caught off by a loud growling noise coming from behind the bush they were talking near, making her take a step away. "What is that noise?"
"Is someone there?" commanded the Prince as Elizabella wished she could strangle the little cub who had eaten all of her snacks and leaving her with an empty stomach. "Show yourself!"
Prince Maxen came closer to the bush as Margarette took a couple more steps back. Elizabella steeled herself as she heard footsteps coming around the bush to face her.
"...I think I should really get going now," said Margarette as she felt embarrassed that someone may have overheard their conversation while she turned to leave. "I will leave you to handle this."
Prince Maxen stopped his steps momentarily as he heard her words and bit his lips. He continued to walk forward as he felt upset and embarrassed that someone heard that he had been rejected.
"Who is back here?" said the Prince as he saw a female student with her hands behind her back and a CD in front of her, making him frown while she kept her head down. "Did you record what you just saw?"
Elizabella contained all her anger that she felt; from the cub following her and causing her to not eat, to the Prince having his little drama in front of her and ultimately involving her. She took a deep breath as she finally looked up at the Prince with a rather displeased look.
Prince Maxen's eyes widened for a moment when he saw her as he felt her familiar.
"Have I met this girl before? Is she a daughter of one of the nobles that have attended one of our parties? Why does she feel familiar..." the Prince became lost in thought as Elizabella looked down where her CD was and picked it up before pressing a button.
The device rung for a moment before a hologram image of her Steward appeared.
"My Lady, how may I be of service?" asked Steward Josaf.
"Steward Josaf, send Walliams over. I have someone that I am sure he has been looking for all day. Apparently, this little guy followed me to school and was caught by another student. Fortunately, it has not been reported yet."
"My Lady, he has been with you this whole time? Walliams was going insane with trying to look for him all morning. Everyone has been searching for him as well. It is good to know that the little one is safe."
"Yes, he is safe for the moment. Tell him to hurry!"
"I will, My Lady," said Steward Josaf as his image disappeared.