Snow scratched the back of his neck in an awkward gesture and laughed nervously. “Oh, right. Of course. But then…does Reginald know that you’re here?” He shot a worried glance in Reginald’s direction.

Florinda smirked. “Yes. Reginald invited me.”

Snow’s expression turned befuddled once more. “Why would he do that?”

“Even though we’re currently at war there is always the possibility for an alliance between our two Kingdoms through a political marriage,” Florinda explained and gave the prince a meaningful look. “Perhaps, Reginald practices the belief of keeping one’s friends close but one’s enemies even closer.” Florinda stepped closer to Snow as they danced so that her breasts pressed against his hard chest.

Snow felt his cheeks heat and his gaze lowered to stare at Florinda’s cleavage. He swallowed as he felt a pang of arousal. “Marriage? And how would you feel about that, Princess? Marriage to me, I mean?”

Florinda blinked and then a slow smile formed on her face. “I would be honored, of course.”

Snow shook his head. “No, I mean, wouldn’t it bother you…marrying a wizard when your father despises our kind and is trying to eradicate us from the realm?”

Florinda shrugged her shoulders delicately. “Wars are fickle things. I don’t really have anything against wizards or witches personally. I’ll tell you what does bother me though. Human slavery.” Snow stiffened. Slavery existed in Apple Kingdom after all. Florinda’s gaze sharpened upon his telling reaction. “Do you condone slavery, Prince Snow?”

“I, er, well, I’ve never really thought about it,” Snow admitted shamefully as he thought of all the trouble his friend Ashe Smoldris had gone through in order to buy his freedom back from Lord Christian Tremaine. “I grew up with slaves waiting on me hand and foot, and I suppose I grew used to it. It was normal to have slaves around. I suppose I forgot to question whether it was right or wrong for a person to be enslaved by another. When Reginald conquered this Kingdom and defeated the people who lived here…they were all enslaved. That’s just the way of war. To the victor go the spoils.”

“Oh?” Florinda raised an eyebrow at Snow. “But that’s not entirely accurate. Reginald only enslaved those without magic - dullards. Do you discriminate against dullards, Prince Snow?”

Snow shook his head adamantly. “No. Of course not. I only recently awakened my own magical powers. I lived most of my life as a dullard.”

“I read about that, you know? In the Glass Gazette…” Florinda began conversationally. “All about how you’d befriended a slave named Ashe Smoldris, how you helped him to fight in the Glass Coliseum, and how he eventually won his freedom. Your friend must have suffered at the hands of the sadistic Lord Tremaine. Even after knowing all that can you still turn a blind eye to what is going on in your own Kingdom, Prince Snow?”

Snow raked a hand back through his short, wavy black hair in an exasperated gesture. “But that’s just it, isn’t it? This isn’t my Kingdom. The Kingdom’s policies have nothing to do with me. It’s all Reginald’s doing.”

A winning smile curled Florinda’s lips. “Ah. But King Reginald won’t be alive forever, surely. He looks young for forty-five, but eventually you will be King of Apple Kingdom, and then you can change things as you see fit. You won’t have to follow in Reginald’s footsteps. You’ll be able to forge your own path. You could end slavery with a snap of your fingers if you so desire. Isn’t that marvelous?”

Snow frowned as he grew thoughtful. Florinda had an interesting point, but…if King Reginald turned out to be the mysterious, immortal Leader of the League of Villains then he’d never die and Snow would never become King, so all of this would be a moot point.

Snow couldn’t stop the hopeful feeling that welled up inside him at the idea that Reginald was probably a normal wizard and he’d die eventually. This would mean Snow would become King and he could put an end to slavery…just like his friend Queen Juleka Glass had done in Glass Kingdom. Snow and his friends, their generation, was changing things in Fantasia for the better. Antiquated ideas that made people suffer were being thrown out the window and new innovative ideas were taking their place. The people in Glass Kingdom and the newborn Sol Kingdom were happier now. “I admit that it would be nice to have the power to change things,” Snow admitted softly. “To better the lives of the people here in Apple Kingdom.”

Florinda smiled and drew circles on Snow’s chest with her index finger. “And would you? Have the guts to make those changes? Would you really end slavery? Would you let dullards and witches and wizards live in Apple City side by side? My, how shocking that would be.”

Snow gave the princess a lopsided smile and nodded. “Yes…I think I could scrounge up the guts. I believe dullards and witches and wizards should be allowed to fall in love and marry if they wish. Right now, it’s a crime punishable by death here in Apple Kingdom.” A dark shadow fell over Snow’s face at the depressing thought.

A flash of surprise crossed Florinda’s face. “Why, Prince Snow, I never knew you were such a romantic. Your reputation says otherwise.”

Snow knew exactly how sordid his reputation was. He was still called the ‘playboy prince’ throughout the realm. “Just because I have a way with the ladies doesn’t mean I don’t believe in true love,” Snow argued a tad defensively.

“True love?” Florinda raised an eyebrow at Snow. “Now I’m even more surprised. I would have thought you’d agree with me that ‘true love’ is an antiquated idea. The idea that there’s only one person destined to be your perfect match seems silly to me. I think love is something that comes with time as two people get to know each other in their marriage and overcome obstacles together. That’s my idea of love.”

Snow gave her a sly look. “I see. You wouldn’t be too adverse to the idea of an arranged marriage then?”

“Exactly,” Florinda said, batting her eyelashes at the handsome prince. “You know, in the gossip column of the Glass Gazette there are rumors that some of the witches and wizards in Apple Kingdom are currently in love with their dullard slaves…and would get married if they could. You could really end up helping a lot of people find love, Snow. You would be just like Cupid!”

Snow frowned. “But in their current station as slaves it would be hard to tell if their love is sincere for their Master or Mistress, or if they’re just pretending for their own survival, self-preservation, and benefit.”

“How can one tell if love is ‘true’ or ‘fake’?” Florinda mused aloud. “It’s not like you can read people’s minds. What truly lies within someone’s heart will always be a mystery. If you give your heart to someone…all you can do is hope that they love you back while running the risk of them breaking your heart.”

Snow shuddered at the thought of putting himself in such a vulnerable position. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle something like that - giving a girl his heart only to have her crush it. He would break. “Maybe that’s why they say ‘love is pain’,” Snow joked.

“The one who wins in the game of love is the one who is loved,” Florinda said, giving Snow a wink. “So, in a way, my prince, you have nothing to worry about. All of the women in the Kingdom are in love with you, you know?”

“Oh, really?” Snow asked teasingly.

“As I was saying…about the slaves in your Kingdom,” Florinda began, her expression turning serious. “There are some slaves that are being taken advantage of…sexually by their Masters or Mistresses. This is one of the reasons why I agreed to the mission my father gave me. Reginald needs to die for the greater good. His antiquated and dangerous way of thinking is hurting your people.”

Snow’s eyes grew wide with alarm and he quickly looked around to make sure they were far away from Reginald. “Shhh! What you speak of is treason, Princess!”

Florinda gave Snow a searching look. “Do you really care about whether or not King Reginald lives or dies?”

“My mother loves him,” Snow said in a stilted manner. “Reginald makes her happy.”

“You trust him,” Florinda said, her voice tinged with disbelief. She let out a heavy sigh. “What if I told you that Reginald has been behind the assassination attempts on your life?”

Snow stiffened and he frowned down at Florinda reprovingly. “I wouldn’t believe you. I trust King Reginald. We’re friends.”

“Your trust is sadly misplaced,” Florinda snapped.

“Or you could be lying and scheming something,” Snow suggested.

Florinda let out a frustrated huff. “I could be up to something, but I’m not. You would be a fool to continue to blindly trust Reginald.”

Snow glanced over at Reginald and his mother who were still dancing. He watched as his mother began to giggle. Reginald must have said something witty. He smiled fondly down at her. Snow frowned as he watched their intimate interaction. Could Reginald really be pretending to be in love with my mom? How could anyone be such a good actor? “Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep it in mind,” Snow said and decided to turn on the charm. “I’m touched you care about my well-being, Princess.”

“Well, you could become a useful ally one day, Prince Snow,” Florinda said casually.

“Oh, so you only like me because of my political connections?” Snow teased. “Most women like me because of my handsome face, muscular body, and huge co-”

“Prince Snow!” Florinda interrupted the prince with a scandalized look on her face. “You must remember yourself. You are in the presence of an innocent lady.”

Snow raised an eyebrow at Florinda. “Innocent? I don’t know many ‘innocent ladies’ that have a dagger hidden in their cleavage.”

“Touché,” Florinda acknowledged with a nod.

An amused smile curled Snow’s lips. He was finally enjoying the ball, he realized. Snow decided to take a closer look at Princess Florinda of Cross Kingdom. She’s beautiful. Snow thought, his eyes widening as he took in her golden hair and blue eyes. Florinda had an angelic, otherworldly quality about her. She’s also pious, witty, intelligent, and a little dangerous. She’s different (from those other girls). What more could I ask for in a wife?

Florinda seemed almost perfect. But if she were perfect then why didn’t Snow feel butterflies in his stomach? Weren’t people in love supposed to get butterflies in their stomach? Maybe he’d have to kiss her first and then he’d feel those butterflies people always talked about. Snow decided that he needed to perform a little experiment for the sake of finding true love. He leaned forward, cupped Florinda’s cheek with his hand, and kissed her.

Snow moved his lips languidly against hers, waiting to feel…something. Anything. A spark. A tingle. Butterflies. But a couple of minutes passed and Snow felt…nothing. He pulled back with a disappointed sigh. When he opened his eyes and looked down at Florinda he noted that she’d been affected much more by their kiss. Her cheeks were flushed a bright pink, her blue eyes were glazed, and she was slightly panting for breath. There was this needy look on her face.

Snow felt a strange stab of jealousy at her reaction. Maybe her reaction was normal…and his was abnormal. Maybe his heart really was broken. Why haven’t I fallen in love with someone already? Why can’t I just force myself to fall in love with Florinda? Does love work like that though? Can it be forced to obey my will? Is that what everyone else is doing? I wish…I were in love with her. Maybe if we get married and have children I’ll end up falling in love with her. Is that how love works? I’m supposed to be some kind of womanizer, but the only thing I understand is sex.

“Prince Snow,” Florinda said in a breathy tone.

Snow could tell his charm ability was working on Princess Florinda. She was now putty in his hands. He knew that he could take her to bed. They would fuck like rabbits all night long, and then the next day she would leave and return to Cross Kingdom. But Snow was so tired of this pattern. He wanted something to change in his life. “Florinda, what if we got married?” Snow pondered aloud.

Florinda’s blue eyes widened, she smiled, and threw her arms around Snow’s neck. “I…yes! I’ll marry you, Prince Snow!” She pulled him down for another kiss. This one was deeper and more passionate. As Florinda pressed her body eagerly against Snow’s he felt his cock start to harden in his silk pants. Is this love? Or is this just lust? Snow wondered with a sinking feeling in his chest. Maybe I’ll never know the difference.

***

Meanwhile, at the Fuddled Fairy Inn and Tavern, Apple City…

Fern took a moment to gaze upon the tavern’s gloomy exterior before she made her way inside. The Tudor-style building had a sloping, gray tiled roof with a crooked chimney that was spewing out a stream of black smoke. The large front window was covered in dust making the inside of the tavern barely visible. But Fern supposed that amount of privacy was just what the tavern’s dodgy clientele preferred.

A painted, carved, wooden sign depicting a fairy swimming in a tankard of beer was hanging over the front door and swinging back and forth in the slight breeze on rusty hinges that creaked. Fern snorted at the inebriated look on the fairy’s dopey face. The fairy looked stupider than fairies actually looked, but Fern knew that this was because of the discrimination the fairy race received here in Apple Kingdom. Fairies were considered to be ‘lesser beings’, and had been enslaved by King Reginald.

Fern pushed the heavy door to the tavern open and boldly strode inside. She glanced around its dimly lit interior and frowned. If you’ve seen one tavern in Fantasia you’ve seen them all. Fern thought as she took in the tavern’s long bar that took up most of the right side of the establishment, bartender who was diligently wiping a glass with a dubious looking rag, scattered tables and private booths. Yep. Even the sketchy patrons all look the same. Fern shook her head at the people seated at the tables who were all wearing hooded cloaks, which were shadowing the features of their faces.

There were, of course, subtle differences when comparing this tavern to a tavern that would be found in, say, the Glass Kingdom, however. The most notable difference was the source of light for the tavern, which consisted of melon-sized, glass globes that contained live fairies. These trapped fairies were forced to will their bodies to glow, and the pale golden light they were giving off illuminated the inside of the tavern.