My body tensed against my desk chair. Finally lifting my head up, I hadn’t realized how stiff my neck felt. I should have felt more relieved, but though things were improving, there was still much work to be done. 

The new troops had arrived just in time. The elders were right about the Relkom Elders wanting to honor the tradition of keeping the royal line alive and comply with our wishes. Relkom’s army hadn’t been as large as we once thought, but it was enough. And Orxa stopped attacking once they found themselves outnumbered. 

But I knew the cooperation of the Relkom kingdom wouldn’t last long if we did not wed soon. I expected the merging of our kingdoms to be a nightmare. And then there was the matter of our marriage. It was more than I wanted to think about. 

A messenger met me in my study room. “My Lord, it has been reported that the princess still hasn’t been eating.”

Deep down, I knew it was possibly a bad idea to ignore my bride-to-be for an entire week. But I had a great deal too many other disasters to attend to. And there was the matter of her not entirely being happy with me. Letting her cool off seemed the better option. 

But if the maids couldn’t get her to eat, I would have to deal with things myself. I shook my head with a sigh. Things were far from what I thought they would be. Might as well get this over with. 

This time when I entered, she was crouched at the window sill, staring out. She didn’t even look my way when I walked closer. Her green eyes looked like a frozen lake, cold and unmoving.

It was hard to imagine she was that same little girl who would fall asleep in my arms. The old memories of us almost melted away a layer of hardness from my heart. But now was not the time for sympathy or weakness.  

“Starving yourself isn’t going to do you any good.”

The coldness in her eyes turned to spite as she faced me. “And keeping me here won’t do any good. I’m not whatever princess you think I am.”

I dared to take another step even closer. “You are unmistakably the princess Valenor. No matter what you say, you can’t go back to your old life. But you should be thankful. Living as a queen in a castle is immeasurably grander than living in the wild.”

“The wild?” She scoffed. “You are the bunch of wild pigs here. The gnomes would never steal someone from their home and keep them locked up.”

Though I wanted to be done with putting up with her, I kept on trying to reason. “Don’t forget that the gnomes took you from your true home with the fairies.”

“As I already said, they saved me.”

“You are greatly confused.”

She sprung up to her feet. “You lack a brain!”

It took everything in me to calm my rage and not rush out. I could scold her once again and yell back, but that hadn’t done any good so far. 

Eventually, we would need to present her to the elders of Relkom for proof we had her. And if she looked like skin and bones, there would be resistance. 

“I don’t expect you to understand the situation now. But for your own good, and the good of the entire kingdom, you need to do what you are told.”  

Turning away like a wounded animal, she crumpled herself back to the corner and mumbled to the window. “Like you would ever know what was good for me.”

What an ungrateful brat. I had saved her from the dragon’s fire. I had searched for her through rain and hunger. She knew nothing.

My annoyance almost drove me away, but I knew I couldn’t give up. The moments passed in heated silence, but the longer I stared at her, the less angered I felt. 

My voice lowered to a softer tone. “Eating would be good for you. If you have some food and let the maids help you wash up and dress in fresh clothes, I will let you go out to the gardens. Does this sound reasonable?”

I stood patiently waiting for an answer. Finally, she gave a slow, defeated nod. 

“Very good.” I gave a relieved nod and gave the orders to the maids then left for the gardens to wait.

Though not as glorious as before, the gardens had been regrown after being destroyed in the fire. Things didn’t look exactly the same, but close enough to bring back memories of when I had taken the young Valenor out here countless times. It had been years since I had been here. 

I sat on a bench and dropped my burdened head into my hands. If the princess couldn’t comply soon enough, would Relkom think we lied and withdraw their army? There was too much balancing on my shoulders, and I didn’t have much time to figure things out. 

Treating the princess more kindly had seemed more effective than force. Of course that’s how it would be. I would have to keep my temper tamed if I wished to see any progress with her. But seeing how wild she was, it would not be an easy task. 

Finally, the princess arrived with escort guards. This time she actually looked like a princess. With a clean, fair complexion, long, flowing hair, and a light blue dress, she hardly seemed the same person. To my surprise, I found myself staring longer than intended.  

Walking up to them, I ordered the guards away, leaving us two alone. Her eyes only ever wandered around and never at me. 

“Do you remember this place?” I asked. 

“I have been here before?”

“Yes, many times. You were quite young then.”

Without any answer, she started exploring at a slow pace. The willow trees blew gently in the wind as they protectively bent over the impressive array of flowers. The tall, purple ones were in bloom this time of year. They had been her favorite as a child as well as the butterflies. She was watching one now flutter about. For the first time, she looked calm. Did she really not remember anything?  

“Do you have to follow me?” She spoke, sounding a bit annoyed. 

I rubbed my eyes, hoping my temptation to snap back would pass. “You used to enjoy our walks here together.”

She suddenly whipped towards me and finally looked into my eyes. They seemed to study mine with intensity. “I knew you?” Her voice came out surprised.

For a moment, I simply took in her green eyes. It was hard to reconcile they were the same eyes that had used to calm me when younger. Those days when we laughed together seemed so distant. Surely things could never be like that again. 

When I said nothing, she spoke again. “Who are you?”  

I looked back scoffingly. “Shouldn’t it be obvious?”

She raised her head sternly, though she still stood a foot under me. “Quite. You are some royal goon.”

“The king,” I corrected sharply. 

She turned with a smug look. “Exactly, the king of goons.”

My annoyed reaction automatically caused me to grab her arm. Though her eyes widened in surprise, there wasn’t necessarily any fear. 

It finally occurred to me that she hadn’t shown any fear since being taken here, though she was in a new place and with unfamiliar people and suddenly learned who she really was. Part of me wanted to admire that.

She shook her arm free. “And you are way too tall.” I was about to snap back when she suddenly changed the subject. “If I am truly a princess, then I demand new clothes.” 

“What is wrong with your clothes?”

“Everything. These things are horrid in every way. Hideous and uncomfortable. I can hardly breathe.”

“The thing is, Princess, being royal doesn't mean we always get what we want. Oftentimes, it means we must do things we don’t like. It’s our duty. Something you will soon learn.” 

“Then I don’t want to be a royal. Find someone else.”

“That’s now how it works.”

Without another comment, she continued on walking. I followed at a distance. This whole thing felt like a waste of time. There were many other things I needed to tend to. But if the guards took my place, she might feel like a prisoner again. So I continued on a while longer. 

~*~

“The princess is quite unreasonable,” I vented to the elders. 

The main elder nodded slowly. “Even so, it sounds like you made notable progress. Don’t waste energy on anything else for now. We can deal with the armies and Relkom. Put all your focus on the princess till she is fully moldable.”

A sigh couldn’t help but escape me. That sounded like more difficulty than sorting through the aftermath of the war.