The Raven

Twenty-Three

"Excuse me, Your Highness," a servant interrupts as Henry speaks to a bird in the garden. His face contorts in confusion as he observes his particularly odd behavior; perhaps Prince Henry simply has too much on his plate at the moment. "I apologize, Your Highness," the servant, Hans, says, bowing his head to the prince. "Her Majesty has asked me to inform you of Princess Elaina's arrival."

"The princess is here already?" questions Henry, his expression dropping at the announcement. He is saddened by her too-soon appearance; he is not yet ready to leave his current companion to make idle small talk with a woman he has no interest in knowing.

"Yes, Your Highness. Princess Elaina is awaiting your presence in the throne room," confirms Hans, glancing again at the bird sitting so comfortably beside the prince. His mind reels momentarily; for the life of him, he cannot fathom why a man and a bird would so openly and contentedly sit within each other's presence. It certainly is a peculiar predicament.

Trying his best to maintain decorum and not show his alarming displeasure at the situation, Henry simply says, "Thank you, Hans. I will join her shortly."

With another small boy, Hans replies, "Yes, Your Highness." He returns to the castle, still trying to understand why Prince Henry had been having an evidently one-sided conversation with a bird. He has seen some strange things before, but never any quite as nonsensical as this.

With a sigh, the prince sadly tells his raven, "I suppose our little outing is over, then." Henry wishes he could stay with Caleb and spend more time with him. His heart wants nothing more than to be together with him always. He especially wishes that Princess Elaina was not visiting him--not today, nor any other day, for that matter.

Caleb, quick to soothe Henry's feelings of disappointment, replies, 'It will not be the last; I am sure of it.'

The blond lovingly caresses the raven's head, whispering, "I love you, Caleb."

'I love you, too.'

Removing his fingers from the raven's head, Henry replaces them with his lips in a soft kiss. "I will come to the tower to see you as soon as I can get away," he promises, his tone holding sincerity. "And if you decide you miss me, you can come and find me in your shadow form." With that, he reluctantly stands from his spot underneath the tall tree, his blue eyes gazing at Caleb longingly as he slowly begins the almost agonizing trip to the throne room to meet the princess.

When Henry enters the room, he immediately notices that the princess is indeed waiting for him, along with his mother. The prince suppresses an eye roll at the sight of her; however, it is a taxing effort not to make his disinterest and displeasure at this situation apparently known. Of course, his mother would be here right now, watching the way her son behaves toward the princess she has so unwelcomely and uncaringly thrust into his life. She would never miss the opportunity to spy on him and ensure he is doing exactly what she expects of him; she will likely be watching their interactions throughout the entirety of Princess Elaina's visit if Henry knows anything about his mother.

His stomach practically curdles at the thought; his mother's hovering will make it exponentially more challenging to spend time with Caleb. That thought alone sends another pang of disappointment through the prince, followed instantly by a wave of resentment for his mother, the princess, and the very circumstances that have brought on this predicament. Henry cannot wait until he finally gets rid of this stupid tradition so he will never have to part with his beautiful raven-haired boy ever again.

"Greetings, Prince Henry," a feminine voice says, breaking Henry from his thoughts. "It is a pleasure to meet you," the princess adds, fanning her skirt in a curtsey.

After transferring his line of vision from his mother to the princess, Henry is made thoroughly aware that he had been correct in his previous assumption that Princess Elaina would be "overly-fluffed." This little reminder causes him to chuckle quietly to himself, covering the sound with a singular cough to appear as if he had simply been clearing his throat. The princess's dress is obnoxiously poofy, her hair voluminous to a borderline ridiculous height, and do not even get Henry started on the amount of products caked into her skin and hair. Princess Elaina flutters her long eyelashes at him, a broad smile upon her overly glossed lips. Henry cannot stop the slight furrowing of his eyebrows as he takes in her exorbitantly done-up appearance and her uninhibited flirting. Just from a single glance at her, he is wholly certain that he would not be romantically attracted to Princess Elaina, even if she were a man; she seems to be much too high-maintenance for his liking. Regardless of his immediate distaste for her, Henry gives a short bow and responds, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, as well, Princess."

As the words leave Henry's lips, he has to bite his tongue to prevent the truth from slipping past them along with it. The fact that he absolutely does not believe it is a pleasure burns at his throat, begging to be said aloud. He had never wanted this visit, and he definitely would not marry this girl, not even if his mother ordered it to happen. Henry yearns to spit out those words, to admit his true feelings about all the goings-on that are happening without his consent. However, he understands that now is not the time to do so; it would not be very polite to say those things at this moment, so, at great personal expense, Prince Henry forces a smile at the girl before him.

He will at least keep up appearances of politeness and civility, especially in front of his mother, even though he would prefer not to. The last thing he wants right now is another lecture about his "princely duties" and "responsibilities to the kingdom."

The queen says nothing from her seat on her throne as the two younger royals exchange pleasantries; she simply observes from across the room. Narrowing her eyes at the young couple, she continues her plotting. Nothing will stand in her way, not even her only son's feelings; besides, he can learn to love Princess Elaina with time if he tries. If he simply gives her a chance to be what he believes he needs in a partner. Either way, at least the queen will have done everything within her power to ensure the safety of both her son and her people.