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Another day. Sunny, but it was a perfectly normal day. Servants rushed in the gardens, taking their respective paths to carry on with their duties. Her form didn’t rush, however. With perfectly steady hands she watered a lovely, yet simple porcelain pot filled with yellow flowers placed in a terrace in the Prince’s Estate. Her dress was clearly not that of a maid. It belonged to the daughter of a respected family. And while watering the plants could be considered a task for a maid, she preferred to do it herself, as it brought peace to her mind.
Indeed, she couldn’t hide from herself or the servants, who knew her very well at this point, that she Young Mistress had a certain affinity for doing little, almost unnoticeable tasks to elicit a smile from him. Arranging the books he left scattered on the desk in his study, sometimes leaving notes inside, telling the kitchen to prepare him his favorite snacks when she knew he would come back from a long day of helping his father in court, mending small holes in his clothes from time to time. Everything was done without his knowledge, and she’d smile every time his face lit up at seeing her hard work.
“These good days will soon be over…” She smiled defeatedly, leaving the bowl of water aside as she braced herself on the table that held the flowerpot. Her personal maid, Pearl, a rabbit monster, rushed towards her. “My lady, don’t think so grimly of the future. Your family loves you the most and they will surely find a great prospect. I heard them mentioning Captain Sans, My lady! He’s devoted to you and a man of great…” The Young Mistress turned her look towards Pearl, the pain and resignment in her eyes making the girl stop her mouth. “I fear that Father could find me the best marriage in the world, with the most devoted husband the earth has to offer, but that man could not ever light up a candle to the one who is to belong to someone else after today…” She sat down in front of the small, wooden desk in the back of the terrace. A quill and paper, as well as brushes and water paints sprawled across. She took a sheet of paper, placing it delicately in front of her. Her hand then moved to the quill, dipping the tip in black ink.
“Today is a happy day for Your Highness. The whispers in the halls, the echo of the flowers, they all say each candidate is as beautiful as a gem, and as pure as snow. I hope that the one whose fate you weave with yours will bring you joy every day of your life. Above all, I leave not only Your Highnes, but the future Princess Consort, with my final wish. One that I feel with every fiber of my soul: I wish an eternity of prosperity and happiness to Their Highnesses.” She mumbled the last words, then started at the paper, the quill still in her hand. Not even the quickly approaching footsteps caught her attention, not the shouts of a his servant pleading with his master not to rush.
“I finally caught you red-handed. You cannot deny it any longer! It is you!” He declared with a joyful smile, his tall form approaching her with quick steps, making her land back to reality, quickly moving to hide the letter with her arms, her long sleeves shielding its existence. "Your highness?" She asked as she smiled awkwardly. Looking up, her eyes scanned the full, powerful form of Crown Prince Asriel who held a scroll in one hand and waved with the other. His imposing height, strong build carried by a proud, elegant gait wherever he went. Every inch of his magnificent presence perfectly curated by years of careful, strict teaching and tutoring, until his elevated way of carrying himself became a second nature. Every bit of him carved into a fine, young Crown Prince. Talented beyond reproach, kind to his subjects, endlessly filial, proven to be capable by sharing his Father's burdens managing the court.
He took a glance at the yellow flowers she previously watered, bright and fragrant, a beautiful contrast with her simple purple gown, embroidered with a pattern of similar flowers. To him, she looked like a painting. A perfect picture of youthful innocence. A frame to be frozen in his mind from here to eternity. He grabbed a flower from the pot and moved next to her, placing it on her half-bun, then took three steps back, holding the scroll with both hands. “In the middle of spring, as the air carries the scent of the blooming flowers, a beautiful woman writes in my terrace, not even the flower in her hair matches her beauty as the sun washes over her. I must be the luckiest man in the world.” The words come out of his lips, sweet like honey, strong and sure as the rivers. He’s never been this forward before.
“You Highness has already feasted on the sight of maidens more beautiful than I could ever be, thus your mouth finds ways of mocking me.” She stands up, folding the letter as she speaks. “Speaking of which, it seems it was quite fast.” She walks towards him, the folded letter in one hand as she circles him. “Did you fancy any of them at first sight like a fairy tale? With your strange temperament, for all I know, you could have closed your eyes and picked randomly. That’s not befitting of a Prince, Your Highness. Playing with your life like this.” She says, half-mocking as he taps his shoulder twice with the folded letter. He chuckles and takes the letter from her hand, holding it over her head. Compared to her, he was a tower, so no matter how much she jumped, at most her hand reached his horns, not the letter held up high in his hand. She gave up quicky and crossed her arms. “I suppose you are quite interested in knowing who I chose… but I am quite interested in knowing what you’ve written as you idled your time away in my terrace.” He tapped her forehead with his clawed finger, and her eyes widened, a rush of embarrassment clear on her face. Before she could speak, he unfolded the letter, cleared his throat dramatically, standing up straight and paced around in front of her, the hand with the letter in front of him, the hand with the scroll behind his back, as she looked to the floor. “Today is a happy day for Your Highness…” Asriel gulped, still pacing around, but quickly realizing what the letter was about. Yet, he refused to break his mask of playfulness. “The whispers in the halls, the echo of the flowers, they all say each candidate is as beautiful as a gem, and as pure as snow.” His hands were sweating. Perhaps, had another read this, it would have seemed rather neutral. But years of carefully trying to dissect her mind made him understand the hidden sorrow behind her words. “I hope that the one whose fate you weave with yours will bring you joy every day of your life. Above all, I leave not only Your Highness but the future Princess Consort with my final wish, one that I feel with every fiber of my soul: ...” He took a deep breath as he read the rest of the letter silently, before forcing a smile and kneeling before her, placing both the letter and scroll against his chest, mocking her solemn voice:”…I wish an eternity of prosperity and happiness to Their Highnesses.” He finished dramatically, bowing his head as she rushed towards him, holding onto his arm, and pulling him, trying to make him stand up.
“This is inappropriate, Your Highness. I’m being serious!” She couldn’t move him, but he stood up, grinning as she took the letter from his hand. “You need to stop being such a child, Your Highness. You are to be a married man, you need to act like it or Her Highness the Princess Consort will be displeased.” She huffed some air, masking her grief with annoyance. “You just selected her, not even married her, and you’re already causing her trouble. Typical of you.” She turned around, her back facing him as she bit her lip, deep in thought. The Prince took her arm and turned her around, now a peaceful, almost timid smile on his face. “Now that I know the contents of your letter, it’s only fair that I tell you about the wife selection, no?”
Asriel stepped back and opened the scroll with both hands, clearing his throat once again. “By the decree of His Majesty King Asgore, and per the will of Crown Prince Asriel, Lady…” he glanced at her, savoring her name as he read, “daughter of the Deputy Head Mage, is blessed with a gentle nature, outstanding morals, is upright, talented, possess an exemplary character worthy of praise. I hereby order you to become Crown Prince Asriel’s wife.” The goat Prince finished, and she looked at him in complete shock. Perhaps… it was just a dream, one she would wake up from only to be informed of who would be his actual wife. She jolted when he tried to hand her the scroll and quicky kneeled. “You Highness, I was not included in the Wife Selection as I’m neither the biological daughter of my family nor a monster. If this is another joke, I’d rather not hear anymore of this nonsense.” She looked down, not daring to see his eyes. “Get up! Get up…” he quickly grabbed her by the arms and tried to make her stand up, but she refused, still looking down. He couldn’t bare seeing her this way, putting a barrier between them. In private, she knew she didn’t have to kneel, bow or refer to him as “His Highness”. It tasted bitter, especially after his announcement. “Who is joking? This is serious. I went to the selection, but I couldn’t even look at the women. Not without feeling like I was unfaithful to my very existence.” He was on his knees, holding her face between his hands as a servant stood next to them, the scroll in his hands. “So I looked at Royal Father and begged for him to let me marry you. That if you couldn’t be my wife, I’d rather be like a widowed bird and spend my days alone, waiting for them to end.” He slowly helped her up and Asriel’s head servant stepped forward. “Congratulations, You Highness. His highness the Crown Prince worked hard for your sake. It’s a blessing to be able to give this scroll to you.” The young monster bowed and stepped away.
“Then I was right, Asriel.” She wiped away her tears with her sleeves as she placed her hands on his shoulder while he placed his hands on her waist, “you have not yet married your wife, and you already made her cry.”
“Then I must atone for making the Princess Consort suffer by toiling every day to make her smile” he said before leaning down.
The servants, rushing in and out of the Prince’s garden sneakily watched the scene unfold. Some sighing with relief, some whispering “finally”, many of them had already guessed this would have inevitably been the outcome for the couple. Nonetheless, it was a sweet story and oh, how the servants loved to whisper of the events happening in the palace to one another. Oh, but how bitter for someone deep in the barracks once the guards caught on to the latest gossip in the palace, even before the decree was announced to the Kingdom.