Royally Matched

Part 2

            "Prince James, where are you going?"

Bucky froze. "Uh, nowhere, Damien. Just, um, going to take a walk in the garden."

"Perfect. I'll join you."

"That's not really necessary, Damien. I'm sure I can handle walking through our completely safe gardens on my own."

"It's no problem, your Highness. I haven't had a nice walk in a while." Damien said with a smile.

"Okay, you caught me. I wasn't actually going to walk in the gardens." Bucky admitted shoving his hands in his pockets.

"What exactly were you going to do?' Damien interrogated.

"You know. Get out of the castle walls and do something exciting. And before you say anything, attending the dinner my father has planned with his fancy friends tonight is not exciting."

"Fair enough, but do remember there are many people who would give anything to have your life."

"Sure, Damien. But I'm the prince, and I should get to do whatever I please. And if that means stuffing my face with chocolate or prancing around with plenty of women, by golly I'm going to do it. And no thing or no one is going to change that."

~~~~~

"Whoa, are you seeing this place, Nat?! It's like we walked into some Jane Austen novel or something!" You exclaimed awed with the majestic beauty around you.

"Sure. If you like that sort of thing."

"You can't fool me, Nat. You're internally screaming in excitement."

Nat smiled. You both walked around looking for the person who was supposed to meet you, and their was a guy holding a sign with your name.

"Is that my name? Like I know that's my name but like, is that my name? There are plenty of people with the same name, and—"

"It's your name woman! Let's go!" Nat said grabbing your arm and dragging you toward the limo.

~~~~~

"Your Highness, the King has requested your presence in his chamber." Damien said as Bucky groaned.

"Damien, how many times have I told you to call me Bucky?"

"Uh, a lot, your Highness."

"Then why don't I ever hear my name from your lips?"

"Sorry your High—I mean Bucky." Damien said. "But the King is still waiting."

Bucky ran a hand through his silky hair and smoothed the wrinkles out of his uniform.

"Thank you, Damien. Do you have any idea what he wants to rant about now?" Bucky questioned as they walked down the hall.

"Not in the slightest. Perhaps he just wants to have a decent conversation with his son?"

Bucky laughed. "Not likely. This is my father we're talking about. Maybe he'll tell me how I'm a failure and disappointment to the royal family. Yes, that seems about right."

Opening the doors to the King's chamber, Bucky saw two women talking to his father. He chuckled to himself as he strode over to a chair before falling lazily into it.

"Yes, Your Majesty?" Bucky asked kicking his feet onto the coffee table with a smirk.

"James, this is Y/n and Natasha. They're—"

"Matchmakers?!?!" Bucky interrupted causing you to jump slightly. "Father, what is this? Do you think I am incapable of finding a spouse by myself?!"

"James, you do not use that tone of voice with me. You will treat these women with respect. And I would not resort to this if I thought you were capable. Now I suggest you get acquainted. I have tea ready for you in the common area."

Bucky glared at his father before exiting the room.

"I'll get started on stats and analytics. Good luck." Nat said leaving with a wink.

Before you could reply, she had hurried out of the King's chamber.

"I'm sorry about my son's behavior, he can be a bit, uh, difficult at times. I hope this arrangement we have can work out. But I'll let you get to it." The King said with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." You said leaving the room.

You had no idea where the common room was, so you opted to wandering around and hoping you'd see the prince in one of the rooms. The castle was beautiful. There were golden engravings on the wall, and intricate designs decorated everything. As you slowly walked through the glittery halls, you came across a portrait of a gorgeous woman. She looked elegant and sweet. You stared at the picture in awe.

"That's my mother."

You jumped at the sudden voice that sounded behind you, and turned to see Prince Bucky, his blue eyes staring at you.

"She's the most beautiful woman I've seen." You said, now feeling really insecure around a royal.

"Yes, she is." Bucky said with a sigh. "You know, we usually don't let commoners roam the castle."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know where the common room was, so I decided to wander until I found it and—"

"Would you please stop rambling? You're giving me a headache." Bucky groaned bringing his hand to his head squeezing his eyes shut. "Something about your voice just thoroughly annoys me."

It took everything in you not to lash out at this arrogant man. "I'm sorry Prince James, but—"

"Your Highness." Bucky corrected.

"Excuse me?"

"You called me Prince James, I just thought I'd clear things up. You'll address me as Your Highness. And please, do not say anything back, I do rather hate your voice. It's like a dying elephant mixed with a crying squirrel. Now, if you would excuse me, I think we've had a lovely conversation, you can do whatever it is matchmakers do, and I can get as far away as possible from you." Bucky uttered with disgust as he walked away.

You scoffed as he walked away. Who did he think he was? The prince? You frowned. He was the prince, but still, he could at least have manners. This was going to be a whole lot harder than you thought.