Queen [Sarawat×Tine]

2

The whole court stayed quite, so quite that a pin dropping would echo in the room. The king's face contorted, but he only stayed silent.

It was 6 in the evening, the sun dulled down to create a beautiful mix of pastel colors in the sky, but inside the whole palace reigned something dark.

"Your highness, she has made a run." A guard came running with more guards behind him. The king thumped on the granite with his foot, grinding his teeth to still keep something in.

Why?

"I want forty groups, fifty to hundred people each, go look for her all over the country. She has to be back in a month."

"But the wedding- Honey!" The Queen exclaimed, frustration crawling under her skin. This wasn't unexpected, she knew Princesses had previously run away to prevent themselves from getting wed for reasons only they knew.

"I have a plan for that." The King sighed, looking away, then proceeding to command, "Guard, summon the Prince to my bedroom at once."

"The court is dismissed."

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"Young Master, The King demands your presence in his bedroom."

Tine nodded from behind the light curtains, watching the silhouette of a guard walking away. He got up and sighed, the thought of getting this over with quick sounding like the perfect plan.

Except, how, exactly, was what most of the question entailed.

He got up, reciting the entire conversation up in his mind and walked out in the hallway. His footsteps echoed throughout, as usual, but something unsettling kept prodding on his mind.

His mind started sweeping into a spiral, his stomach churning with anxiety. He wanted to turn. He wanted to turn back now. He wanted to puke. He needed to-

"Tine."

The churning in his stomach stopped, but a bizarre and unsettling feeling made him nauseous. He silently stepped in, his eyes catching a glimpse of his father's royal robe.

"Yes, father?"

"Son, I need you to come with me to the garden. No one rests there except my most trusted guards, and this is very private." Tine noticed that his father almost sounded anxious, but tired, like he'd already given up; like he knew this was to happen.

"Okay," Tine, keeping his gaze fixed on the marble tiles, turned swiftly to make his way to the gardens, one that he loved ever since he was a child.

"So, what is it?" Tine questioned, noticing when his father took off the crown, carefully holding it in his grasp. A sign that they could have a casual conversation.

Even though this one would be miles away from the very consideration of a casual conversation.

"Well, you know, that I..." the man stopped walking, an apparent frown on his face, making Tine halt as well. A voice spoke up again, "I l- ...uh, care, about you, and even though I know this is much too big a favor to ask, Tine...

I need you to marry Prince Sarawat."

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