[Music Recommendation: 6.6 Gigue ~ Peter Gregson and Richard Harwood]
As everyone got ready for the first event of the day, King Fidelis paced back and forth in his room. After talking to his son last night, the idea of Oriana being sent out of the palace worried him.
"I need to make sure it doesn’t get to that," Fidelis muttered to himself, tapping his fingers thoughtfully on his lips. He stepped out of his room with his train of servants behind him. When he got to the room he was looking for, he knocked gently on the door.
Rowan showed up, surprised to see the king himself at his doorstep. He stepped out and bowed.
"Your Majesty, if you needed something, I’d have—"
Fidelis waved his hands dismissively. "Shh, no need for that right now. The weight of the throne depends on what I’m about to tell you."
Rowan raised his eyes. "Your Majesty?"
"You’re going to meet my son now, right?" Fidelis asked, with an excited look on his face, like someone who had plans ready to dish out. Rowan nodded, still looking confused.
"Good. Now remember, Rowan, what we talked about; ask my son what he likes in a woman and also what a woman would need to do to make her stay forever beside him." Fidelis patted Rowan on the shoulder.
Rowan blinked, confused by what was going on. "When did we—"
"Don’t think too much, just go inside and ask him. The fate of the kingdom depends on you. Now go on, it’s an order from your king. And make sure my son doesn’t know who put you up to this." Fidelis stomped his feet, sucking his teeth to show seriousness.
Rowan bowed. "I’ll do just that, Your Majesty." Though it was an odd request that might make Adric push him out of his room, it was still an order.
"Go, go, go," Fidelis waved, pushing him forward. When Rowan left, he turned, rubbing his palms together. "Now one part is done. It’s now time for Oriana to show her skills. Nobody is leaving the palace, especially not my daughter-in-law," he muttered, looking at his servants.
"We are going to wait around. I’ll make sure to deliver this personally." He pointed; he wasn’t going to make the mistake of handing such an important message to the wrong servant.
Rowan entered Adric’s room. Close to him were two maids fixing his shirt and another two styling his hair.
Adric had his eyes on the parchment, with one leg crossed over the other. He raised his eyes to look at Rowan.
"I know that look on your face," he said, sucking his teeth. "You’re here to let me know how important you are and how you don’t get paid enough. Pray tell, how much of an increase do you expect this time?"
Rowan rolled his eyes, scratching his nose. "We can talk about the increase since we’re on it now," he muttered. When he remembered that it wasn’t the reason he came to start with, he continued, "You know you’re Prince Adric, the heartthrob of every woman in Avon."
Adric moved his head to the side, his eyes narrowed, looking at Rowan suspiciously. He brought his leg down and said to the servants, "You can leave," he waved.
The maids bowed deeply before leaving the room, closing the door behind them. Rowan’s eyes followed the servants until they were out of the room, then he turned to look at Adric, who was also staring at him.
"What do you want?" Adric asked.
Rowan sighed. Knowing how Adric was, he was going to tease him nonstop about it, but it was an order given directly from the king himself. Rowan braced himself.
"What do you like in a woman, something that will make you keep her beside you forever?"
The guard’s question hung in the air, with silence engulfing the whole room.
Adric’s jaw dropped, his eyes wide with disbelief. Even Rowan was embarrassed with himself; he turned his face to the other side to cover his shame.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Adric rubbed his arm, showing off the goosebumps. "Good Lord, Rowan, what a ridiculous thing to ask!"
Rowan nodded. He regretted it so much he decided to explain to Adric how his father had requested for him to do so. He opened his mouth to explain, but Adric cut him off.
"Rowan, dear, it must have hurt you to watch me get married." Adric sighed, standing up from his chair and walking towards Rowan.
Rowan took a step back. "Don’t, don’t say it."
"I understand, my dear friend, but..." Adric turned his face away dramatically with his hand on his chest. "You’re no longer my muse or my object of affection. I’ve moved on."
Rowan shouted in horror, "Ah!" He pointed at Adric. "I told you not to, didn’t I? I said don’t do it!"
Adric raised his brows. "Why? Do I look too pretty?"
Rowan drew his sword out. "I will say a ghost possessed the Crown Prince. I’m sure it’ll justify my action." Holding his sword tightly, he raised it up. "Come out of Prince Adric’s body now!"
Adric touched his neck and moved back. "It’s out, I’m fine." He started laughing. "You should have seen your face, Rowan."
Rowan exhaled, he undid the top two buttons of his shirt so he could let the breeze calm him down. He sheathed his sword and went to sit down.
"But seriously, why would you ask me something like that?" Adric stood in front of his mirror, touching his hair that was now out of place.
Rowan closed his eyes. The king clearly said it was an order, and Adric shouldn’t know. "Never mind," the guard muttered. He decided to tell the king something else.
A thought crossed Adric’s mind, and he grinned. When he turned to look at Rowan, he said, "I already mind. I mean, if my friend needs help, I should give it. You’re doing this because you want to choose a wife, right?"
Rowan raised his face. It wasn’t the reason, but that could suffice. He nodded. "Yes, yes. That was why I asked."
Adric pressed his lips, trying to cover the mischievous smile on his face. He decided to give Rowan all the wrong qualities in a woman. Rubbing his palms, he started with all seriousness.
"Well, in a woman," he touched his chin, "I desire a woman—"
Rowan raised his hand. "Wait, let me get this..." He got a parchment and quill. "Continue."
Adric bit his cheeks, trying to stop himself from laughing. Rowan was actually taking his advice. "Alright, dear friend. I love a woman with a sharp tongue, one who can scold me, criticize me even. It makes our love bloom every morning. Next, I love me a woman who can drain my treasury with her lavish tastes. Drain the kingdom’s treasury until we have absolutely nothing left!"
Rowan raised his face to look at Adric, his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he stopped writing.
"What?" Adric raised his hands. "I guess you don’t believe me." He turned away, but Rowan called him back.
"No, no, continue. Everyone has their own taste in women. Go ahead," Rowan said with a calm voice. It wasn’t his woman, so it wasn’t his problem. He shrugged, ready to note more down.
Adric cleared his throat, then continued, "Oh, how I long for a woman with a talent for nagging, one who can relentlessly pester me about my every move. One who can turn every minor issue into a grand opera. And lastly, I dream of a woman with a gift for gossip, one who can ruin people’s reputations with ease. This way, we will have so much to talk about at every point, and I will never want to send her away."
Rowan looked down at the things he had written. He sucked his teeth. Everything was the opposite of what any man should ever want. "That’s all?"
"That’s all," Adric whistled, going to pick up his jacket. With his back turned, he laughed silently.
Rowan folded the parchment. "I’ll be right back."
"Go on, I’ll be at the event arena soon." He waved, still laughing at Rowan with his face hidden.
Rowan went outside the room where the king was waiting and handed him the parchment.
"That was fast!" Fidelis smiled, touching Rowan’s shoulder proudly. "I knew I could count on you."
Rowan bowed, with a skeptical look on his face. He wasn’t really trusting Adric on this. "Your Majesty, um, can you not use this?"
"Why?" Fidelis asked with a look of worry on his face.
Rowan sighed. He really didn’t want to make any mistakes. Maybe Adric was really serious about what he wanted in a woman. "Nothing at all, I’m sorry, Your Majesty."
Fidelis tapped the young man on his shoulder. "Go in now and continue your work. Don’t worry yourself." He waved before leaving the passage, going towards Oriana’s room. When he got to her door, he knocked twice.
Oriana opened the door, surprised to see the king. She bowed. "Your Majesty."
"Why is everyone looking at me like they’ve seen a ghost?" Fidelis joked. "We don’t have time. Quick, as you’re preparing for today, put these into consideration." He slipped the paper into Oriana’s hand and winked.
Oriana blinked, holding the paper tightly. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew the king was always out to help her. "Thank you, Your Majesty." She smiled.
"Now quick, get ready." Fidelis waved for her to go back inside. Impressed with himself and the good work he had done, the king touched his chin. He looked at his servants who had been following him around and said,
"I can now enjoy today’s event with ease. My daughter-in-law is not going to leave anytime soon." He smiled, walking towards the arena with a proud look of victory on his face.
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