REQUESTS OPEN!!!!!!!
Each one shot starts with a different letter of the alphabet (in order). All Dear Evan Hansen characters and a lot of strange things from my brain. Posting is random, but most likely on Fridays :)
It was the prince's eighteenth birthday and Sir Jared of Glenwood was determined to bestow upon His Majesty a gift better than any other. Jared had been focused on winning the young prince's attention for years now but never seemed to succeed. To be honest, no lords and ladies in the entire kingdom had been able to impress Prince Evan because of his shy and reserved demeanor. Although Evan was young, handsome, and wise, he often stayed within the castle walls and rarely showed his face in public.
Jared remembered the prince's tenth birthday parade. He had watched in awe as the royal family passed by on an ornate float. Evan looked miserable but Jared was in love.
Despite being up against the odds, Jared, almost foolishly, maintained that he was different from the other suitors. Jared was determined to win Evan's favor, or at least a kiss. And if he couldn't, he would die trying. He had nothing better to do.
He was to fight a mighty beast that had become a problem of late for the kingdom and present its heart to the prince. The townspeople had nicknamed it "Fluffy" so as not to scare any eavesdropping children when the monster was being discussed.
Sir Jared set out to slay Fluffy the dragon at dawn on Evan's birthday. He lived on the outskirts of the kingdom and was soon on the road up the winding mountain in a matter of minutes. There was only one problem; Jared was not a knight. His father was a cobbler and his mother was a seamstress, so needless to say, his family was on the lower end of the middle class spectrum. Jared himself was a struggling flutist and could not afford to purchase fancy weapons.
He was armed with a rusty, hand me down sword, some muffins so firm that they could be rocks, the dusty clothes on his back, a piece of granite he had carved to resemble a shield, and of course, his flute.
The journey was a peaceful, but steep one, at first. Jared ascended the mountain as the sun rose. At one point, he paused to take a bite of muffin, but decided against it after he nearly cracked a tooth. Jared resumed his climb. The first rays of sun didn't manage to cut through the thick fog, but did manage to blind Jared even further. Jared's grip on his granite shield loosened as his hands and forehead beaded with sweat. His legs burned with every bend of a step and his breath came in pants.
Finally, Jared reached the top of the mountain and collapsed to his knees. He surveyed the kingdom below him. My kingdom, he thought with pride. He had grown up there, after all. Jared then directed his attention to the castle. It somehow gleamed in the sunlight. Jared imagined that somewhere in there, Prince Evan was just waiting for a middle class, plain, stupidly brave suitor to present to him Fluffy's heart. All Jared had to do was slay a dragon. Easy.
The gaping hole of a cave that Fluffy was rumored to reside in stood before him and Jared approached carefully, his worn boots making soft thuds against the ground. Just before entering the darkness, he attempted to draw his sword in one smooth motion, but the old thing had become stuck. He dropped his shield and gripped on with both hands, yanking until it finally came free. He stumbled back as the sword came loose, but managed to regain his footing.
