October Prompted Fiction: Aurora's World collection: Sauin Day celebrations: 519 words
Written for
meeks's prompt about Aurora's world's equivalent of Samhain.
Harrison looked around the square, even though he knew that Aurora wouldn't be there. She avoided all of the celebrations she could, which was understandable, and Sauin Day was the hardest of all. If Harrison had a choice he wouldn't have been there either, but he didn't because he was the Crown Prince. Sighing, he sipped his drink again and wished for the absinthe that Aurora had brought down from the mountains. It would knock him out in about ten minutes so he wouldn't have to listen to the same speeches again. First his father would talk about how grateful he was that another year had passed safely, thanks to the work done by the Prime Minister and Head of Security; followed by the Prime Minister giving his speech on how wonderful the King was and how he was thankful that they were kept safe from magic users; and finally there would be a speech from the Head of Security, and the Army, who would reiterate what the Prime Minister said.
The only good thing about the Sauin Day celebrations was the food. Harrison knew how much effort went into making everything and he made sure to thank everyone who worked on it. His mother had taught him that even the people who did the smallest jobs deserved to be thanked, which was a lesson he'd been grateful for his whole life. It meant he was close enough to the servants to hear rumours that were going around, because they trusted people who thanked them even if that person was the Crown Prince. That was how he knew he'd be able to keep Aurora safe if someone found out what she was doing. His drink didn't hold any interest at all, and he knew the food wouldn't arrive until after the speeches, so he looked around the square again.
When Harrison's eyes met with his sister's he could see the same disinterest there. At least as the second child she'd be able to slip off when she wanted to in order to spend time with her friends. Harrison would have to spent the whole afternoon and evening talking to people he saw every day because he had to mingle. Mingling, sometimes, wasn't that bad. It all depended on who he ended up talking to. Occasionally his father would make him talk to the Prime Minister and Head of Security, because he needed to learn about what it was like to be King. Having a parent who was so paranoid about being murdered at any point could be irritating. Other times he would get to spend the afternoon talking to his friends about nothing and everything. Since he'd left school he had much less time to do things like that.
Just as Harrison was thinking that the speeches might have been cancelled his father stood and tapped his goblet. It was totally unnecessary because everyone went quiet when the King stood. Everyone bowed in the same way they bowed at every celebration.
“Good afternoon, my wonderful subjects,” the King started, making Harrison wish even more than he had some absinthe.
© K A Jones 2011
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