You're The Only One - Prinxiety [COMPLETED]

Chapter Seven: Endangered Alliances

Roman was trying to fight back the smile on his face as he headed for his wing of the palace. His day with his dragon tutor had incredibly pleasant; after their test of each other's personality, he'd found that Virgil was an interesting person.

The stable boy was sarcastic and witty. He wasn't afraid to call him out when he was behaving entitled, which Roman loved rather than found offensive. He had given him a warning that he shouldn't speak like that if anyone else besides the other stable hands were around though. The last thing the prince wanted to see was the new boy getting punished for just being himself around him.

Virgil treated him as an equal once he established that he didn't want to be treated as his superior. It was comforting to know that he wasn't too intimidated by his royal status to talk to him like a normal human being.

He sighed happily as he passed by the throne room but paused as he heard voices coming from inside. It was fairly late in the evening. He wasn't certain who would be discussing matters with the queen at this time, but he was curious to find out. Peaking around the edge of the doorway, Roman's eyes landed on his mother with no surprise. They then shifted to see Logan, the royal advisor, standing beside her.

What on earth could be so important that he's discussing it with her this late? he wondered, feeling his curiosity increase further. Logan is typically in his quarters by now.

Roman leaned close, careful to stay out of sight as he listened intently to what they were discussing. "Your Majesty, the Fire Stone King was incredibly explicit with his letter. Either we unite our kingdoms or we must come up with another way of gaining back his trust and allegiance," the advisor explained, sounding stressed.

"By unite, does he mean a marriage?" the queen asked, sounding frustrated herself. "Because Roman is of age to do so."

The prince cut off a gasp as his heart rate spiked. They were talking about marrying him off to some princess in another kingdom. Come on Logan, you know how much I don't want to be married away, he thought to himself. Please come up with something else!

"Perhaps there's another way to regain his trust rather than marrying Roman off," Logan said. He sighed in relief; the advisor was on his side in most situations, which he was incredibly thankful for. "Perhaps some kind of special celebration or event that you could invite his kingdom to attend. You could even include the other kingdoms in our alliances."

"Like what? We've got nothing really to offer in terms of entertainment," Roman's mother replied tersely.

Logan sighed and shook his head. "I'll brainstorm tonight about what we could do. I think marrying Roman off should be our absolute last resort," he informed the queen. "He's the next heir to the throne and his brother has already been married off. Unless you bear another child, marrying him off will jeopardize the stability of this kingdom if you should pass while he's ruling the Fire Stone Kingdom."

"Very well, I see your point. We'll try and come up with something," the queen said as she stood from her throne. "I'll discuss this matter more with you tomorrow."

"Goodnight your Majesty," the advisor said, nodding.

Roman quickly hurried down the hall, keeping his steps silent. He didn't want his mother knowing he'd been eavesdropping; he couldn't silence the sound of his heart beating however. He couldn't help but feel panicked over the idea of having to get married to some princess he'd never met. He'd also never liked the Fire Stone King, having always thought he wasn't very respectful to lower class citizens.

Oh god, I hope I don't have to marry his daughter, he thought desperately. We've got to come up with something.

His brother Remus had been married off about two years ago and though they'd seen it coming, it was a huge blow to Roman personally. They shared little in common, but they were still brothers. He hoped that he was fairing well in the Kingdom of Serpents.

The prince was pulled from his thoughts a knock came from the other side of the door. He pulled it open to reveal Logan.

"I thought I saw you pass by the throne room," he stated simply, entering the room before Roman could give him specific permission. "I assume you heard everything?"

"At least the part where our alliance with the Fire Stone King is endangered and that my mother might marry me off if she has to preserve it," he replied indignantly as he closed the door. "I can't be married off, Logan. You know I'm not interested in princesses. I've been there once and if you recall, it didn't end well."

His advisor looked stressed and tired as he nodded. "Yes, I'll admit, your relationship with Princess Cassandra was... interesting," he said. He cleared his throat. "I agree that you shouldn't be married off but unless we can come up with another way to appease the king."

"You mentioned entertainment or a celebration of some kind," Roman pointed out, biting down on his lip. "What could we do in that regard?"

The advisor began to pace about the room, clearly in thought. "The Fire Stone King is a very competitive man... his kingdom holds many competitions of strength of mind, body, and will. Perhaps we could host a competition and he could be our honored guest."

"What kind of competition? Who would compete?" the prince countered. He sighed and walked over to the window. His eyes landed on the dragon stables and he got an idea. "Wait! A dragon race!"

"A dragon race? That... that might work," Logan said thoughtfully. "We can send out invitations to our allies to come with a designated champion to represent their kingdom in the races. They can bring their dragons with them and we can hold several smaller dragon related competitions before the main race. It would give him a chance to display his dragons and his champion's ability. It would please him greatly."

Roman grinned confidently. "I know just who to ask to be our champion."