Hey guys! I just wanted to let you know that I went back and reedited both chapter 1 and 2. Not by much but I hope some of it comes out better than before!

I do not any of the characters depicted in this story.

All rights belong to Andrew Hussie.

"I'm to do what?"

At the elegantly furnished dining table, sat a family of blondes, all who were dressed in standard majestic purple gowns and suits, much like the rest of royals seated around them. They appeared to be calm, but a spark seemed to emit through the air, almost as if it was about to strike down anyone that challenged it.

The spark seemed the most apparent from the teen boy, who had stood up stiffly. The boy's face was young, a small amount of childish roundness still peaking through despite the sharp angles of his chin. His slicked back hair shimmered in the light of the dimly lit candles, giving his disturbingly red eyes a haunted sort of look. Those haunted eyes rested on the woman seated across the table. The woman in question sat calmly sipping her glass of wine, obviously unfazed by the boy's outburst.

"I assumed my voice carried just fine, but I suppose if you need to hear again, I'll repeat myself." It almost seems like she's chastising the boy. "I have arranged the marriage of you and the Princess of Prospit." The woman went on, now having placed down her glass to give the boy her full attention.

The boy's posture tightened, the subtle bulge of muscles in his arms shifting his tunic slightly.

"Is this some kind of joke? `Cause it ain't funny." he hissed, his voice rough and distorted slightly from its proper vocabulary by the flashes of anger.

The woman shoots the boy a sharp look, which caused him to flinch back a bit at the ice in it but he stood his ground and continued to make eye contact. Some of the other royals seated around them have started to notice the disruption at the center table and with a slight head wave from the woman; Dave reluctantly reseats himself; though he still refused to drop his gaze.

"I don't joke about things that could prevent a war between our countries. As a Prince of Derse, you are aware of this, aren't you Dave?" The woman replied, voice carrying an edge.

Dave's hands clenched at the table cloth, but he nodded stiffly at the woman.

"And," the woman continued, "as your queen and mother, I have the right to offer your hand in marriage as a way to bring a peaceful end to our countries feud. After all, our first duty is to serve our people." The Queen finished her explanation, her wine glass now back in her hand.

Dave was tempted to throw his wine glass at his mother.

"Dave, please be calm about this."

Dave looked to his left and saw his sister's stern gaze. She held herself with as much dignity as the Queen, her elegant air was charming as well as intimidating. Had he not grown up with her, he would have failed to see the trace of concern in her eyes. Despite her warning, Dave sent his mother another harsh glare.

"Why do I have to marry some spoiled little princess? Dirk's the next in line for the throne, if we're talking succession than this duty should be his, not mine." Dave bit back, eyes shooting to his older brother sitting next to the Queen.

Unlike everyone seated around the table, Dirk's posture wasn't prim and proper but slouched and laidback. His blonde hair styled into all sorts of odd angles, making him appear achingly rebellious. He's been sporting this look for about a few months now and it only worried the lower nobles of the family since they fear he would not be straightened up before he inherits the throne.

"The throne was never a variable in this arrangement." It irked Dave how she made things sound like one of his math workbooks. "The current king of Prospit refused to marry his daughter to any older man. Dirk is three years her senior and can't fulfill that part of the deal. You are the only one in the higher nobility that is fit to marry her. This marriage is not for power but for peace between our two Kingdoms." The Queen smoothly responded.

"And you suspect me to just accept this marriage?" Dave snapped. Dave didn't want to admit that it sounded like a viable reason to simply hand him over as some pacifier then to end up starting war over more petty differences but he was stubborn and that stubbornness is often said to become his downfall one day. The Queen paused in the middle of her sip before she sighed and put down the nearly empty glass.

"I at least expect you to attempt to act maturely about this." The Queen's voice suddenly sounds exhausted. The teens seated around her take a look at just how tired the Queen looked. They noticed that behind the thin layer of make-up, Deep bags darkened the Queen's usually careful expression, making her appear older than what she was.

Dave wanted to backlash at his mother, honest to whatever god was watching over their messed up lives, but to see his mother pull down her wall of indifference for even a moment was a sure sign of things becoming too much for even her and to him, it'd be dick's move continue batting at her as she is now. Dave lets out an irritated huff and all but knocked his plate of untouched food off the table as he stood.

"Whatever, I'm excusing myself. Night." Dave gruffly stated before stalking out of the dining hall.

It would be a few more hours before someone would come to check on the brooding prince. By this time, he had already filled out many of pages in his journal, all littered with simple but meaningful poems. The pages of his work littered the room, some nearly being squashed under the feet that entered through his heavy, padlocked door.

Dave looked up from his notebook to see Rose as she seated herself at the small desk opposite of his bed. Unlike the two older teens of their family, Rose and Dave preferred rooms up in the towers to the ones on the main floor, liking the privacy and solitude it includes.

"If you're here to psychoanalyze my brain than feel free to leave." Dave muttered, returning his gaze back to his notebook.

"I am merely here to inform you that the Princess will be arriving here in about 5 nights. Shall I assume you're going to hide out here until mother makes you present yourself to her? Or will you face up to the responsibility as an heir to the Derse crown?"

While Rose appeared solemn and strictly business, Dave knew better than to take her seriously.

"I thought I said no psychoanalysis of my person?" He replied smartly. Rose's lips quirked into a small smile.

"So you did." She mused. "But with all that aside, don't you feel it would be better to let some of that anger out than to keep it bottled up?" Rose addressed seriously.

Dave turned his gaze out to the city outside his window, dodging the question. The purple city below lay bare of citizens, white and black checkered streets deserted as the townsfolk peacefully enjoyed their lives from inside the safety of their homes. While the city was a beautiful sight, legends from centuries past surrounded it with haunting tales of dark creatures hiding in the shadows waiting for naïve children or lonely adults to snatch them away from existence. These stories, be real or made up, often left many allies wary of holding any sort of meeting in the Dark Kingdom.

Then, it hit him.

Dave quickly jumped from his bed and scrambled over to his desk. Rose instinctively moved away from the desk as Dave began to pull out drawing supplies. The fire that appeared in his eye only proved to worry Rose.

"Dave." Rose warned. "I want to advise you to think out whatever moonstruck task you are about to begin plotting…" But she could already tell that her request fell to deaf ears.

"I suppose that once you start, I cannot hope to stop you." She crosses towards the door, an action that went completely unnoticed by the boy. "But let me tell you to envision what you're about to initiate. You must be prepared to take all responsibility for what might come from this incident."

Her warnings were met with busy scribbles. Rose sighed and quietly exited the plotting Prince's room.

'May the Gods watch over him and piety the poor soul whom he may cause harm to.' Was her final prayer before she descended down the tower's stairwell.

Dave worked well into the night, eyes drooping ever so often before he finally fell into a small snooze on his desk.

As his dreams surfaced, Dave found himself lying in a field full of blossoms. All sorts of smells and colors surrounded him, making him feel a pleasant amount warmer than he would be awake. He attempted to move his limbs but they failed him and continued to lie at his side uselessly.

And soon, the figure appeared.

As of lately, his dreams have been plagued by this mysterious figure. It always seemed so blurry to identify specifically even when it was right in front of him and all he could make out was long wavy black hair and eyes that would have made an emerald jealous. He would often try to talk to her but whenever he opened his mouth, she would shake her head at him and he would follow her command instantly. Despite the lack of any actual interaction, Dave found himself entranced by the girl as she would arrange little white flowers (daisy he was pretty sure they were called?) around his body and giggle softly whenever their hands brushed slightly. She seemed so pure and while normally he couldn't see the draw of innocence, he longed to use his hand to take her dainty ones in his and see her smile at him. After what seemed like hours of him lying there and her flitting around him like a busy bee, Dave could feel sleep being dragged from his body and he would find himself back in his room and in a pool of his own drool.

One day he swore, he will discover who this girl is.

The days leading up to the Princess's arrival left the castle in a frenzy to prepare. This worked in Dave's favor. He began to sneak around the corridors setting up all the stuff he needed for his plans, his actions going completely unnoticed by the busy servants and attendants. As the arrival day neared, Dave found himself called to his mother's throne.

He entered the throne room to see the Queen seated elegantly at her ebony throne. She beckoned him forward before she dismissed the guards at her side. The guards quickly exited the room before the Queen relaxed her posture.

"I trust that you have thought this over?" The Queen questioned, eyes searching the Prince's face for any sort of objection.

Dave held his stoic expression and nodded as slowly as he could attempt with his hidden excitement.

"I have and I believe I must ask you to forgive me for my rash actions prior to now. I'll assure that no hair on the Princess's head will be harmed."

The Queen and Dave made eye contact with each other for a moment. Both knew that the other was quite aware that Dave wasn't telling the complete truth but neither looked ready to call the other out. Not yet.

The Queen pulls on a charming smile, causing Dave's own to flicker downwards for a millisecond before returning.

"That's great news to hear. I am glad that you are acting much more refined and rational about this now." Dave refused to acknowledge the almost mocking undertone to her praise.

"Thank you, your majesty. I learned from the best." The Queen smile drops slightly as well, before returning in the same fashion as Dave's.

"Of course. After all these years of your silly little shenanigans, I almost feared you were never going to be ready to be an adult."

"I guess the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree, huh?"

The Queen waves off the comment flippantly and before Dave could properly add on, a loud bell began to chime. The Queen's guards return and she stands from her seat.

"I must go. There are some final touches the chef wishes for me to oversee. You may see yourself out." She takes a few steps down from her pedestal to stand a foot aware from Dave. Despite being almost shorter than Dave, he couldn't help but back away at her mere presence.

He wasn't really lying when he said she was the best.

"But before you depart, I would like to inform you that while the Princess is here, you will be held accountable for her complete safety, so I hope I can trust her to you, hm?" Her request was a threat in essence and Dave knew she was waiting for him to back down and submit to her.

'Well tough luck, mommy dearest.' Dave snarked silently.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Her eyes drew into slits and he knew he got one point up on her.

"Well than", she muses dangerously soft. "I'm glad we have come to an understanding."

"Same here." He responds, his voice now almost a whisper.

His ruby eyes meet her magenta ones in a furious stare down and they both knew it was game on from there on out.

The citizens watched from their windows as the beautiful carriage trotted by. The next day had finally arrived and the Prospit royalty arrived right on time.

Dave and his siblings had been forced to wait in the throne room, and Dave was beginning to become extremely antsy as the moment grew nearer. As the throne room doors opened, Dave felt Dirk elbow him.

"Don't pull any stupid stuff." Dirk muttered, his eyes kept trained straightforward. Dave smirked a bit as the golden-gowned royals were escorted in.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He was met with another, and harder, jab to his ribcage.

A total of six figures entered, all dressed in an almost dazzling yellow fabric and faces bowed.

The Queen stood from her throne and walked towards the royals.

"It is a pleasure to welcome the Prospit royalty to our wonderful country. We trust the trip here was a pleasant one?"

As the Queen conversed with one of the attendants, Dave scanned the small group of royals to locate his supposed fiancée. He spotted the veiled figure quite instantly and all but assured himself that it was her.

"This is my son, Prince Dave. I trust he would wish to meet the Princess?" Dave nearly jumped when his mother suddenly brought up his name. Regaining himself, Dave stepped towards the Prospitarians and gave them his most lavish bow.

"Welcome to the Kingdom of Derse. I feel honored by your presence in our city and hope your visit with us is… eventful." Dave's momentary pause didn't seem to be detected by none of the Prospit royals.

"Please, the honor is all ours." The attendant bowed to the young royal and didn't hesitate to usher the veiled figure forward.

Dave could hardly contain his excitement as the Princess was put face to face with him.

"I would now like to introduce you to your fiancée, Prince." The attendant announced, carefully stepping forward to remove the veil. Dave felt his heart's pace pick up, adrenaline filling his veins as the veil was lifted…

And then all of a sudden, his breath caught and time seemed to freeze.

Long wavy black hair.

Eyes that would have made an emerald jealous.

Little white flowers.

The girl under the veil clenched a small bundle of daisies to her chest before reaching out and handing them to Dave with a nervous giggle.

"Please to meet you Prince Dave. I am Princess Jade of Prospit. I hope that this arrangement will work for both our favors."

This suddenly appeared much harder to do.

Reviews are appreciated!