Original: Silver and Gold, fairytale, PG-13
Here be the previous bits
"Princess... er... Prince Rowan." Rowan barely kept himself from sighing. Sometimes he felt bad for the servants. His mother threw an absolute fit every time they called him Prince and he wound up snapping at the servants when they called him Princess. Or at least she had before she locked herself up in her room. Now she refused to speak with anyone but his father. "The King has requested your presence in the Eastern chamber."
"The Eastern chamber?" Rowan asked. The Eastern chamber was a small room used to entertain important diplomats when the larger or even the smaller of the throne rooms weren't private and intimate enough. It was usually reserved for particularly delicate negotiations such as border disputes or marriage arrangements. "Did he say why?" Which was Rowan's not so subtle way of asking if he needed to change into something more formal.
"I'm afraid I do not know the exact reasons his highness has called you." A pause. Then the servant seemed to relent a little. "He is entertaining a noble from another country."
"Tell the King I will be with him as soon as I've changed," Rowan replied. His clothes were fine for being around family and the castle, but not for entertaining nobility. Rowan walked quickly back to his rooms and then had a small internal debate. To dress as a boy or a girl? Dressing as a boy was his preference. Then again, a lot of foreign nobility came to see the "Princess" and they were usually not happy when they found out Rowan was actually a Prince. Did he want to risk offending this noble before he even got to know him? Would his father care one way or the other what he dressed like?
Rowan wound up worrying so long about what to wear that another servant was sent to fetch him. So much for changing. His father had gone from requesting his presence to requesting his presence right now. Fine. If he wound up insulting some noble because he wasn't dressed finely enough then it would be on his father's head. He'd tried.
He should have realized something strange was going on when he didn't recognize the guards stationed outside the chamber. Correction, he didn't recognize the livery of the guards standing outside the chamber. The royal guards were in the house colors: pale blue and black. These guards wore dark blue and tan. Before Rowan could inquire about what was happening, the servant had the door open and was motioning him to enter. Any hesitation now, under the watchful eyes of these strange guards, would be noted. So instead, Rowan kept his head high and walked into the room.
The Eastern chamber was so named not because it was in the eastern part of the castle, but because it had been done in the style of the eastern most part of the known world nearly two centuries ago. The floor was laid in a geometric pattern of light and dark colored wood. The walls were painted a dark, rich red with large, ornate molding covered in gold leaf. A marble fireplace with colored tiles dominated one wall. Above it hung a mirror nearly as tall as Rowan in a gilt frame. All of the furniture was solid dark wood with gold accents and emerald green cushions. Stone vases and rare ceramic plates decorated heavy end-tables. A large painting of a swam hung on the wall opposite the fireplace.
Privately, Rowan always thought this room was a little ostentatious. Then again, that was the point. The room practically screamed wealth. And to think, this was one of the smaller of the room used to entertain nobility.
There was a man, probably in his mid-twenties, admiring the painting. His clothes were foreign to Rowan, but he had to be nobility. No one else could afford to wear that much embroidery, gold and fur. As though sensing that someone was watching him, the man turned.
His first thought was that he'd never seen anyone with eyes that piercing before. They reminded Rowan of stories of the raiders from the north that use to come ashore to plunder the land centuries ago. Who else would possess eyes the color of the sky in winter? His hair was dark though and Rowan struggled to remember whether all of the raiders were pale of hair. He wouldn't know. The raids had stopped more than a century before he was born.
"Princess Rowan?" the noble asked. His voice was mildly accented, both lyrical and rough at the same time. Rowan couldn't immediately place it. It was not an accent from one of the neighboring kingdoms then. Only years of training kept him from wincing at the title.
"Prince Rowan." He gave a small bow, as though to an equal. "I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage. I do not have the pleasure of having heard of you."
"Then it is true. You are a Prince. I had heard rumors... but they are notoriously unreliable." Rowan would have been more put out by the lack of introduction if he wasn't so surprised by thenoble's smile. He seemed genuinely pleased at the confusion of Rowan's gender. It was not the reaction Rowan was use to. "My apologies. Where are my manners? I am Grand PrinceAmadis, from the country of Tser." He gave a bow, slightly deeper than Rowan's.
"Grand Prince?" It was not a title Rowan had heard before.
"Ah... I am afraid I do not know the correct term in your language. I am the heir to the throne, though I have no yet taken it from my father. God willing, I will not take it for many years to come,"Amadis stated. "If you do not mind, I would like to drop the usual formalities. My business here is rather urgent and quite frankly I do not have time for all the words formality requires."
"We would use the title Crown Prince," Rowan said. As Grand Prince, Amadis outranked him. Technically, Rowan had already offered insult by not giving a deeper bow upon meeting him, but Amadis didn't seem to mind. This was what his father got for sending him into a situation blind. "Why are you here?"
Amadis frowned. "Your father did not tell you? I had thought that he would explain." Rowan watched Amadis move across the room to stand in front of him. He had the urge to step back, but kept himself still. Crown Prince Amadis reached out as if to touch him but stopped himself in time. "I can see how many would mistake you for a woman. There is a... ah... what is the word? Delicateness about you."
"I know." Rowan stepped back, confused and a little insulted. No one called him handsome. No one. And no one ever would. His brothers had all filled out with wide shoulders and narrow hip and lean muscle. No matter how much practice Rowan had with the sword he, would never be anything more than lithe. He knew this. Usually he was fine with this.
Not this time.
"I have insulted you," Amadis said. His enthusiasm dimmed and Rowan watched the Crown Prince's expression shift to a tight, unhappy look. "My apologies. I spoke too plainly. It is a fault of mine. I am just so... Perhaps if we sat?"
Rowan heistated for a second, before nodding and taking a seat in one of the two chairs Amadis indicated. It was upholstered in dark red velvet trimmed in gold, with high backs and wooden arms. Not uncomfortable, but not exactly designed for sitting for long periods of time. In between the chairs was a small wooden table. On the table was a tray with glass of wine and a small spread of fruit, cheese, and crackers.
"Would you like something to drink?" Amadis said as he took the seat opposite of Rowan's. "I believe the servants brought wine."
"Crown Prince Amadis, why are you here?" It wasn't often Rowan spoke so plainly, but it seemed to be the only way to figure out what was going on. Amadis fiddle with the ring on a finger, a gold one with an insignia that Rowan couldn't quite make out.
"I am looking for a wife," Amadis said. He looked up and met Rowan's eyes. "My advisers are pressuring me to marry, and Princess Rowan was on the list of those deemed suitable in station. But I had heard rumors..."
"That the Princess was a Prince," Rowan finished for him. Amadis smiled and nodded.
"Yes exactly."
It would not be the first time something like this had happened. Rowan took a deep breath and then another. It was not the Crown Prince's fault. Although why his father had left him to explain, Rowan had no idea. Usually King Kendrick was kinder than that. "My deepest apologies to you for having come all this way to find out the truth. As you have said, I am most definitely male. I am sure that one of the other princesses on your list will make a suitable bride. Feel free to spend..."
"No! No, wait. You misunderstand... I am happy that you are male. Pleased even. It is not that I do not like woman. I am very fond of them, almost too much if you ask my father. But I dislike being forced into this decision." Amadis shook his head. "I am still making a mess of this. I have spoken with your father and he has already agreed to my proposal. Rowan, I would like to ask for your hand in marriage, if you are willing."
"But... I am a man." It didn't seem real. Couldn't be real. Rowan didn't know what to feel other than confused.
"That is not a problem. You are on the list, which means that my advisers have already approved of you." Amadis spread his hands wide. "Perhaps this will teach my advisers to think before they demand."
"With all due respect, Crown Prince, I do not want my future to serve as a lesson to your advisers." The words came out sharper than Rowam would have liked.
"That is not... well, that is not the only reason. I admit the rumors of you have intrigued me." Amadis took Rowan's hand in his own. The Crown Prince's fingers were warm and gentle against his skin. "It takes a strong person to be what they want to be, to be who they feel they are despite what others say. I admire your strength and offer you freedom. While my wife, you will have the freedom to dress as you want, to act as you want, to be as you want whether it is male or female or both. In return, I ask that your strength be beside me and support me in my duties."
"I..." Rowan found he couldn't look away from Amadis's eyes. One of the Crown Prince's fingers was stroking the delicate skin on the inside of his wrist and it made it hard to think. "I don't know... I never thought this was possible." A chance to be who he was without pressure to be someone else? Rowan wanted to jump at the opportunity, especially given his mother's actions laterly, and that made him nervous.
"You do not have to give me an answer right away. I will be here for two weeks before I either must journey to meet another Princess or return to my country with you." Amadis released Rowan's hand. "Think about what I offer. We do not know each other, but I think we could be great together."
"I'll consider your words." Rowan got hastily to his feet. His heart was beating too fast in his chest and breathing seemed difficult. Still he remembered his manners and bowed low to Amadis. "Until later, Crown Prince."
"Until later, Princess Rowan."
To Rowan, the false title had never sounded sweeter on someone's lips.
This has been spellchecked, but not really grammar checked.
"Princess... er... Prince Rowan." Rowan barely kept himself from sighing. Sometimes he felt bad for the servants. His mother threw an absolute fit every time they called him Prince and he wound up snapping at the servants when they called him Princess. Or at least she had before she locked herself up in her room. Now she refused to speak with anyone but his father. "The King has requested your presence in the Eastern chamber."
"The Eastern chamber?" Rowan asked. The Eastern chamber was a small room used to entertain important diplomats when the larger or even the smaller of the throne rooms weren't private and intimate enough. It was usually reserved for particularly delicate negotiations such as border disputes or marriage arrangements. "Did he say why?" Which was Rowan's not so subtle way of asking if he needed to change into something more formal.
"I'm afraid I do not know the exact reasons his highness has called you." A pause. Then the servant seemed to relent a little. "He is entertaining a noble from another country."
"Tell the King I will be with him as soon as I've changed," Rowan replied. His clothes were fine for being around family and the castle, but not for entertaining nobility. Rowan walked quickly back to his rooms and then had a small internal debate. To dress as a boy or a girl? Dressing as a boy was his preference. Then again, a lot of foreign nobility came to see the "Princess" and they were usually not happy when they found out Rowan was actually a Prince. Did he want to risk offending this noble before he even got to know him? Would his father care one way or the other what he dressed like?
Rowan wound up worrying so long about what to wear that another servant was sent to fetch him. So much for changing. His father had gone from requesting his presence to requesting his presence right now. Fine. If he wound up insulting some noble because he wasn't dressed finely enough then it would be on his father's head. He'd tried.
He should have realized something strange was going on when he didn't recognize the guards stationed outside the chamber. Correction, he didn't recognize the livery of the guards standing outside the chamber. The royal guards were in the house colors: pale blue and black. These guards wore dark blue and tan. Before Rowan could inquire about what was happening, the servant had the door open and was motioning him to enter. Any hesitation now, under the watchful eyes of these strange guards, would be noted. So instead, Rowan kept his head high and walked into the room.
The Eastern chamber was so named not because it was in the eastern part of the castle, but because it had been done in the style of the eastern most part of the known world nearly two centuries ago. The floor was laid in a geometric pattern of light and dark colored wood. The walls were painted a dark, rich red with large, ornate molding covered in gold leaf. A marble fireplace with colored tiles dominated one wall. Above it hung a mirror nearly as tall as Rowan in a gilt frame. All of the furniture was solid dark wood with gold accents and emerald green cushions. Stone vases and rare ceramic plates decorated heavy end-tables. A large painting of a swam hung on the wall opposite the fireplace.
Privately, Rowan always thought this room was a little ostentatious. Then again, that was the point. The room practically screamed wealth. And to think, this was one of the smaller of the room used to entertain nobility.
There was a man, probably in his mid-twenties, admiring the painting. His clothes were foreign to Rowan, but he had to be nobility. No one else could afford to wear that much embroidery, gold and fur. As though sensing that someone was watching him, the man turned.
His first thought was that he'd never seen anyone with eyes that piercing before. They reminded Rowan of stories of the raiders from the north that use to come ashore to plunder the land centuries ago. Who else would possess eyes the color of the sky in winter? His hair was dark though and Rowan struggled to remember whether all of the raiders were pale of hair. He wouldn't know. The raids had stopped more than a century before he was born.
"Princess Rowan?" the noble asked. His voice was mildly accented, both lyrical and rough at the same time. Rowan couldn't immediately place it. It was not an accent from one of the neighboring kingdoms then. Only years of training kept him from wincing at the title.
"Prince Rowan." He gave a small bow, as though to an equal. "I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage. I do not have the pleasure of having heard of you."
"Then it is true. You are a Prince. I had heard rumors... but they are notoriously unreliable." Rowan would have been more put out by the lack of introduction if he wasn't so surprised by thenoble's smile. He seemed genuinely pleased at the confusion of Rowan's gender. It was not the reaction Rowan was use to. "My apologies. Where are my manners? I am Grand PrinceAmadis, from the country of Tser." He gave a bow, slightly deeper than Rowan's.
"Grand Prince?" It was not a title Rowan had heard before.
"Ah... I am afraid I do not know the correct term in your language. I am the heir to the throne, though I have no yet taken it from my father. God willing, I will not take it for many years to come,"Amadis stated. "If you do not mind, I would like to drop the usual formalities. My business here is rather urgent and quite frankly I do not have time for all the words formality requires."
"We would use the title Crown Prince," Rowan said. As Grand Prince, Amadis outranked him. Technically, Rowan had already offered insult by not giving a deeper bow upon meeting him, but Amadis didn't seem to mind. This was what his father got for sending him into a situation blind. "Why are you here?"
Amadis frowned. "Your father did not tell you? I had thought that he would explain." Rowan watched Amadis move across the room to stand in front of him. He had the urge to step back, but kept himself still. Crown Prince Amadis reached out as if to touch him but stopped himself in time. "I can see how many would mistake you for a woman. There is a... ah... what is the word? Delicateness about you."
"I know." Rowan stepped back, confused and a little insulted. No one called him handsome. No one. And no one ever would. His brothers had all filled out with wide shoulders and narrow hip and lean muscle. No matter how much practice Rowan had with the sword he, would never be anything more than lithe. He knew this. Usually he was fine with this.
Not this time.
"I have insulted you," Amadis said. His enthusiasm dimmed and Rowan watched the Crown Prince's expression shift to a tight, unhappy look. "My apologies. I spoke too plainly. It is a fault of mine. I am just so... Perhaps if we sat?"
Rowan heistated for a second, before nodding and taking a seat in one of the two chairs Amadis indicated. It was upholstered in dark red velvet trimmed in gold, with high backs and wooden arms. Not uncomfortable, but not exactly designed for sitting for long periods of time. In between the chairs was a small wooden table. On the table was a tray with glass of wine and a small spread of fruit, cheese, and crackers.
"Would you like something to drink?" Amadis said as he took the seat opposite of Rowan's. "I believe the servants brought wine."
"Crown Prince Amadis, why are you here?" It wasn't often Rowan spoke so plainly, but it seemed to be the only way to figure out what was going on. Amadis fiddle with the ring on a finger, a gold one with an insignia that Rowan couldn't quite make out.
"I am looking for a wife," Amadis said. He looked up and met Rowan's eyes. "My advisers are pressuring me to marry, and Princess Rowan was on the list of those deemed suitable in station. But I had heard rumors..."
"That the Princess was a Prince," Rowan finished for him. Amadis smiled and nodded.
"Yes exactly."
It would not be the first time something like this had happened. Rowan took a deep breath and then another. It was not the Crown Prince's fault. Although why his father had left him to explain, Rowan had no idea. Usually King Kendrick was kinder than that. "My deepest apologies to you for having come all this way to find out the truth. As you have said, I am most definitely male. I am sure that one of the other princesses on your list will make a suitable bride. Feel free to spend..."
"No! No, wait. You misunderstand... I am happy that you are male. Pleased even. It is not that I do not like woman. I am very fond of them, almost too much if you ask my father. But I dislike being forced into this decision." Amadis shook his head. "I am still making a mess of this. I have spoken with your father and he has already agreed to my proposal. Rowan, I would like to ask for your hand in marriage, if you are willing."
"But... I am a man." It didn't seem real. Couldn't be real. Rowan didn't know what to feel other than confused.
"That is not a problem. You are on the list, which means that my advisers have already approved of you." Amadis spread his hands wide. "Perhaps this will teach my advisers to think before they demand."
"With all due respect, Crown Prince, I do not want my future to serve as a lesson to your advisers." The words came out sharper than Rowam would have liked.
"That is not... well, that is not the only reason. I admit the rumors of you have intrigued me." Amadis took Rowan's hand in his own. The Crown Prince's fingers were warm and gentle against his skin. "It takes a strong person to be what they want to be, to be who they feel they are despite what others say. I admire your strength and offer you freedom. While my wife, you will have the freedom to dress as you want, to act as you want, to be as you want whether it is male or female or both. In return, I ask that your strength be beside me and support me in my duties."
"I..." Rowan found he couldn't look away from Amadis's eyes. One of the Crown Prince's fingers was stroking the delicate skin on the inside of his wrist and it made it hard to think. "I don't know... I never thought this was possible." A chance to be who he was without pressure to be someone else? Rowan wanted to jump at the opportunity, especially given his mother's actions laterly, and that made him nervous.
"You do not have to give me an answer right away. I will be here for two weeks before I either must journey to meet another Princess or return to my country with you." Amadis released Rowan's hand. "Think about what I offer. We do not know each other, but I think we could be great together."
"I'll consider your words." Rowan got hastily to his feet. His heart was beating too fast in his chest and breathing seemed difficult. Still he remembered his manners and bowed low to Amadis. "Until later, Crown Prince."
"Until later, Princess Rowan."
To Rowan, the false title had never sounded sweeter on someone's lips.
This has been spellchecked, but not really grammar checked.