Prince Inbu smirked. No woman in their right mind would want to dance with smelly pigs: not even for his hand in marriage. He heard that some of the women drowned in the milk. It was sad how far people would go for a bit of power. He rubbed his hands together, he had to think of some more tasks. He couldn't wait to see the maidens flee because they were unable to let the Dragon sleep.
None of the women appealed to him, there was the farmer's daughter, but she was mad. They all looked the same to him. He wished he didn't have to sit next to his father. He hoped that the tournament would be a disaster and that his father would banish him. He'd be a free man, free to do what he'd like and see who he liked. "Cardiff sounds exciting," he said to himself. His taste buds battled against the bitter tea leaves. He stood up and slammed his cup down. "I don't need any more tea after this."
The King pushed his son back into his seat, ordering the maids to make more tea. As if the prince was still a baby, he rammed the cup to his lips and said, "You must drink green tea to purify your soul and mind!"
Most of what the King tried to feed him dripped from his lips. "It's just tea."
"Just tea!" His cheeks turned red, as he smacked Inbu's shoulders. "Tea is a gift from the Gods."
"Gods don't exist and tea is made from leaves."
The tears in the King's eyes dripped down his cheeks. "This is why you need a wife. You need a feminine touch to be in the right direction."
"Shut up!"
The elders around the unstable king gasped. "Please forgive the Prince," they requested. "He's stressed out. He doesn't mean what he says."
"You're right," the King said. He looked up at his son. Prince Inbu felt his stomach churn. "You must drink more tea and eat spinach."
Prince Inbu bit his lip. "I hate spinach!"
He knew he was in for more lashes of his father's stick. "If I can get out of bed, you can eat spinach. Ladies! Get some spinach and add it to the dog pie."
"How can you eat a dog?" Prince Inbu mumbled. "How do you live with yourself?"
"Dogs are tasty! And where do you think you're going, son?"
"To the fields, the next trial is about to start?"
"Oh!" The King wrinkled his nose. "And what sort of rubbish are you going to make the ladies do this time."
"Dance with pigs."
"How can you, an honourable member of the royal family say that such a straight face?"
Prince Inbu lowered his tone. "Same reason you eat innocent creatures."
"Ah, here we go again with all this vegan nonsense!" King Abu mumbled as he dismissed himself from the table. "Humans are omnivores, we get our food where we can and that's that!"
"But fried slugs and dog pies?"
"They're traditional meals of this country we must honour them." Prince Inbu sighed in relief that there were several nobles in the room. Had the two of them had been alone, his stomach shuddered to think about what kind of abuse his father would put him through. Perhaps his arms would drop off from all the times his father whacked him.
"If I was king, I'd ban both: eating slugs is unhygienic and all living creatures are sacred creatures."
"That is foolish," King Baboon squinted his eyes. His tight fist broke his cup. "If you make the whole kingdom go vegan you'll kill everyone. Our farming economy is the kingdom's main source of income!"
"Good day, Your Majesty." Prince Inbu bowed, leaving his supper behind.
The King and Prince Inbu left through opposite doors, leaving the nobles to gossip amongst themselves. At the end of the corridor, Prince Inbu could hear his father's voice echo through the halls.
"HELLEN! BRING ME A BIG VASE AND FILL IT WITH WINE!"
Prince Inbu shrugged his shoulders. So much for a pure spirit.