Havoc in Havana [MHA x OC]

❀ 01: The Meeting

Chapter One: The Meeting
Dedicated to FoxyPuff

Once upon a time, there lived a lush and wealthy kingdom deep in Trinidad, Cuba. There lived the son of a stubborn and old king. The Stern king had pestered his son day and night to find a wife to help lead his kingdom in the near future. He explained that as a prince, it was his destiny to act in the interest of his kingdom and settle down. So, the following day, the prince held a ceremony where the fairest women in the land could present themselves and ask for his hand in marriage.

Many of the attendants were starstruck young ladies that dreamed of being princesses all their life. However, the prince was bored of them quickly. He scanned the crowd of eligible women in the palace looking for just one that was different. Out back, far beyond the fanning crowd, was an older woman with dark, curly hair and an unamused, blank expression.

The man asked why the woman seemed so down and she answered "I'm trying to have a word with the king, but I can't even make it past the door with all these people in my way."

The prince responded. "Well, I am the prince. Maybe I can help you with something?"

The woman scoffed, lowering her head and explaining that he likely has better things to attend to. Turns out, the woman was not there to ask for a moment with the prince, but to request to be knighted by the king. When the prince heard this, he almost laughed at her claim. The woman insisted that she was serious, and the prince noticed a spark of fire and determination in her eyes. He felt drawn to this, and soon asked if she would like to be considered to be his future wife. The woman shook her head, saying, "I came here to be a knight and live out my destiny, not to become royalty."

The prince was lost in her answer. He asked, "Why, surely you must agree that being a future queen is a far better destiny than that of a knight?"

The woman disagreed. "My fate is to be someone I can be proud of, and that means doing something no one expects of me."

I had listened to that story a hundred times in my childhood. Storytelling was something my mother loved, often enjoying the opportunity to share her knowledge of her home land with me. Since I could talk, Mom had told me tales of all kinds of Spanish speaking countries. Many were fairy tales, some were real mysteries, but in all of them, she threw in her own life lessons.

This one was her favorite. Maybe it was because of how it weaved into Cuba's society that separated its people in a way resembling knights and royalty. Maybe it was just the fact that the story was set in her home city, Trinidad. Either way, my mom never wasted a chance to tell me this story growing up and teach me the values of one's destiny.

"Some day, mija," she would tell me, "you will be given an opportunity to face your own destiny. Only then will you have the chance to experience all that life has for you."