Ever After - Ella Enchanted AU

Ever After - Chapter 3

Carriages often fly through the Frell countryside, families going out for the afternoon, tradesmen coming in to sell their wears and the odd nobleman who was off for afternoon tea with another person of nobility. That afternoon though, a person of far grander standing sat looking out their carriage window as they jackknifed down the country road.

"Father, why do I have to go to this mall opening?" The young man asked tiredly as he leaned his chin into his hand. He stared out over the rippling green pastures that streaked past his window with a longing he didn't know he could have until he got in the carriage that morning. They had been driving for hours and his legs were starting to twitch from disuse.

He regretted asking the moment the words left his mouth from the way his father looked up from his book to stare disapprovingly at him. He had grown used to the admonishments and overly critical commentary on his every movement, but the quiet looks made him want to crawl back into bed and hide.

"As heir to the throne, it's your royal responsibility," King Gabriel replied coldly as he looked back down at his book. "It's unwise to go back on your word Adrien. Besides, you're a public figure. Appearances are important."

The young man heaved a long sigh as he turned back towards the window. Yes, if it was one thing that had been ingrained in him since he was a boy, it was that appearances weren't just important, they were everything.

King Gabriel and his son Prince Adrien did these types of appearances multiple times in a week; whether it was a mall opening or the christening of a new ship in their navy, they were there to kiss babies and shake the odd hand or two. It didn't mean Adrien had to like it. In fact it was one of the major reasons why when his father offered the chance to go away to school, he couldn't pack quickly enough. But the sad thing was that term was up, which meant he was home in Kyrria with an obnoxious amount of personal appearances.

"You're the one in charge, though, Father." Adrien said under his breath, more to himself than to his father, but that didn't mean his fathers sharp hearing didn't catch it.

King Gabriel was a man of stature, sitting tall in his seat without a deviation in his posture as he closed his book and rested his pale folded hands on it's cover. He looked like he was carved from marble with gaunt skin and pale hair streaked with gray from years of stress, a regal crown sitting upon his head. He oozed regality from every pore but also a rigid coldness that Adrien could never quite crack, even after 19 years spent under the same roof.

"I am only in charge for a little while longer. Your coronation is next week and because of your absence you have been out of the peoples' eye. You need to be out there with the people, Adrien, so that they can learn to trust us."

Adrien blinked in surprise at that, pulling his gaze away from the landscape to look at his father quizzically. "What's not to trust? We've always done what's right for the people have we not?"

His father seemed to consider his answer for a moment, looking at his son unwaveringly as he did so. Adrien tried not to fidget under the weight of his gaze. Any movement would be considered a sign of weakness which would not be allowed. It was something that reminded him of the big cats or wolves that he had learned about in his science classes. A predator only goes after the weak and his father was nothing if not a predator.

"There isn't anything not to trust, Adrien, but while you were away, the kingdom has been under siege. In your absence, the ogres have become impossible."

"He's right Adrien," The quiet voice of his fathers new advisor Natalie Sancoeur, piped up from where she had been reviewing a list of legislation for most of the ride from Lamia. Natalie wasn't all that new in hindsight, Adrien often had to remind himself. She had been his father's advisor from the time that his father's old advisor, Nooroo, had been killed by a group of outraged ogres. She wasn't all that bad. She kept the kingdom running and made sure that his father was well cared for whenever he got into his work moods and stopped eating or sleeping, but she was no Nooroo. She scribbled a note down on one of the papers quickly before continuing on. "Even the giants have become more and more treacherous in recent months."