//Fantasy AU!//
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The sun had started to rise over the land of Cornwall. The sun's warm rays grazed the beautiful architecture of the outside of the magnificent castle. Soon, the castle was bustling with activity. Maids doing the laundry. Chefs preparing the breakfast for the family as well as creating the menu for the day. Today was very special day, for it was the birthday of Princess [Y/N] May, daughter of King Brian and Queen Anita. It wasn't any normal birthday. [Y/N] would be turning 20, meaning she was of age to be married. Invitations had been sent to neighboring lands about the news of the Princess' age. A maid who worked at the castle, opened the door to a room. Inside, the walls were painted a beautiful [f/c] color. The bed was a decent size with red silk sheets laying across it. The pillars of the bed held silk cloth that, when untied, gave privacy to the person sleeping in the bed. Across from the bed sat a beautiful dresser. The wood was made of aspen and had beautiful carvings done into the wood. On the dresser's top, sat three boxes. The first box was a beautiful silver. It had a beautiful amethyst set into the middle of the lid. The second box had the same color as the first and it also had an amethyst set into the lid. The last box was smaller and had the same silver color as its friends. A single red rose jewel was put into place in the middle of the lid and onto the lock that kept the box shut. The maid walked over to the silk sheets that were draped around the bed, hiding the figure on the bed from sight. Once the sheets were pulled back, the maid walked over to the windows and pulled back the [f/c] curtains which hid the sun's warm rays. As the sun hit the closed eyes of the sleeping figure, their eyes screwed shut at the sun's intrusion. The person rolled over onto their other side, attempting to get more sleep. The maid walked over.

"My lady, it's time to wake up." The maid cooed. The figure groaned. The maid chuckled and tried again. When she got a groan again, the maid scoffed. "I don't understand how you can complain about your brother sleeping too long when here you are, being as stubborn as a mule." The maid snapped. Normally, she would have been slapped for speaking to the Princess in such a tone, however, the maid and the Princess had a special relationship. The maid was named Mary and she was the Princess' best friend. Mary yanked the blanket off of her best friend's sleeping form. The Princess, [Y/N], opened her eyes and glared at the woman in front of her.

"You are being rather rude this morning, Mary." [Y/N] groaned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Marry chuckled, placing her hands on her hips.

"I wouldn't have to be if you realized what today was and actually make a move to get up when I open the curtains." She said. [Y/N] chuckled and sat up, stretching her limbs as she did. Once she sat fully up, she looked at Marry, confused.

"What is today and why is it so special?" She asked. Mary sighed and shook her head and sighed.

"Are you really that dense? What happens when someone turns one year older?" Mary asked. [Y/N]'s brows furrowed.

"Turns one year older? Oh! Shoot! I completely forgot! Today's my birthday!" [Y/N] shouted. Mary chuckled and shook her head. She went to the closet and opened the doors, pulling out a beautiful purple dress.

[Y/N]'s eyes widened as she saw the dress. She had never seen such a beautiful dress in her life, nor did she own anything that was purple. She mostly owned blues and [f/c]s. She pulled the blankets away and got out of bed, her white, silk nightgown flowing gently with her movements. She approached her personal maid who was holding the dress. [Y/N] gasped lightly as she gently ran her fingers over the fabric of the sleeves.

"Oh, Mary. This is beautiful!" She said and looked at her best friend. "Where on earth did you find this?" She asked. Mary set the dress down on the bed, smoothing the dress out so that it would not get any wrinkles. She motioned for [Y/N] to lift her arms up. Once her arms were up, Mary pulled the nightgown over her form, setting it aside to be put away.

"It was a present from King Roger and Queen Sarina. It got here early this morning, actually." Mary said, grabbing the dress and slipping it over [Y/N]'s form. [Y/N] chuckled.

"Of course it's a present from King Roger. That man spoils me too much, I swear." She said. Mary chuckled as she pulled the stings together at the front, tying them together into a loose bow that rested against the dress.

"Well, you are like a daughter to him, and he has no daughter of his own, so it makes sense that he would spoil the daughter of his best friend and ally." Marry said. [Y/N] sighed and rolled her eyes, smiling. Her smile then fell. Mary looked at her friend in worry. "[Y/N], what's wrong?" She asked. She led the Princess over to the dresser, having her sit down on the stool so that Mary could brush out her [h/c] hair. [Y/N] sighed.

"Now that I'm 20, I am of legal age to marry. Surely Father and Mother have sent invitations to a ball this evening to Princes all over the kingdom as possibly suiters to ask for my hand. But I don't want to marry because I have to in order to give an heir to the throne after Gwil and I are gone. I want to marry for love. I want to marry someone I feel a special connection with." She said. Mary hummed and continued brushing the Princess' hair.

"Well, if that's how you feel, bring it up to the King at breakfast. I'm sure he'll listen to reason if you speak to him about it." She said. [Y/N] shrugged. She noticed the three boxes that sat in front of her.

"What are these?" She asked. She was about to reach for them when Mary smacked her hand away.

"Ah ah! No touching. Not until tonight at least," she said. [Y/N] rubbed her hand.

"Why until tonight?" She asked. Mary smiled and pulled [Y/N]'s hair back into a half braid.

"King Brian is holding a ball in honor of your 20th birthday. And the boxes are birthday presents." She said. [Y/N] sighed. Of course her father would hold a ball in honor of her birthday. She knew the real reason behind the ball. He wanted [Y/N] to find a proper suiter for marriage. But she had just turned 20. [Y/N] wanted more time to explore things that hadn't been explored yet. She wanted a chance to still experience freedom before she had to settle down with a husband and rule the kingdom beside her older brother after King Brian and Queen Anita passed on.

"Do you know who the presents are from?" She asked. Mary hummed and pointed to the first box.

"Well, this larger one is from your family," she pointed to the two other boxes. "And these two, are from two admirers of yours." Mary said, gently nudging [Y/N] in the shoulder. [Y/N] smiled and rolled her eyes. She knew exactly who they were from. Ben Taylor and Joe Deacon. Ben was King Roger's only son and Joe was King John Deacon's only son. Ben, Joe, Gwilym, and [Y/N] had been best friends for as long as [Y/N] could remember. However, as the years came and went, [Y/N] started to notice that the two boys were acting different around her. They would make up excuses to be alone with her, whereas before, they had no problem playing together. Later today, she and Gwilym were actually supposed to go on a horse ride with the two Princes to see if they could find the infamous White Stag.
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[Y/N] and Mary descended the stairs to the dining room, where King Brian, Queen Anita and Prince Gwilym already sat, waiting for the youngest family member. [Y/N] walked over and took her seat next to Gwilym, who was sitting next to his father. [Y/N] smiled at her family.

"Good morning, Father, Mother, Gwil." She said. Anita smiled gently at her youngest child.

"Good morning, dear. Did you sleep well?" She asked as the family started eating. [Y/N] nodded, using her fork and knife to cut into the eggs, done just the way she likes them.

"I did, Mother." She said. Brian smiled at the dress his daughter was wearing.

"I see you're wearing your birthday present from King Roger. How do you like it?" Brian asked. [Y/N] swallowed the food that was in her mouth before responding.

"I love it, Father. It's a different color to the ones I usually wear, but a little change never hurt anyone. I'll send King Roger a letter later today and tell him thank you." [Y/N] said. Gwilym looked at his younger sister. Gwilym was older than [Y/N] by two years.

"Or you could wear the dress while we go riding with Ben and Joe today. I'm sure King Roger would love to see the dress on you." Gwil suggested, knowing the large smile that would appear on his face, seeing the young woman wearing the dress he sent her. [Y/N] nodded in thought. She glanced up at her father and cleared her voice.

"Um, Father," Brian looked up at his daughter. "There's something I was hoping that I could discuss with you, concerning the ball tonight in honor of my birthday." She said. Brian nodded, prompting his daughter to go on. [Y/N] took a deep breath. "I-I was wondering if we could post pone me finding a suiter for marriage till later in life?" [Y/N] asked. Brian frowned at his daughter's question.

"What do you mean?" He asked. [Y/N] sighed.

"Well, I mean, I have just turned 20. Don't you think that's a little young for me to start looking for a husband?" She asked. Brian frowned.

"I don't see why. You are of marrying age now. It would make sense for you to try and find a proper suiter sooner so that you can bear an heir for the throne." Brian said. [Y/N] frowned.

"But what if this isn't what I want? You always tell me to do what I want to do. This isn't what I want. I don't want to spend my birthday looking for a total stranger to marry after just one night of meeting them." [Y/N] insisted. Brian narrowed his eyes.

"Do you not think that finding a suiter and bearing an heir is important?" He asked. [Y/N] shook her head.

"No. That's not what I'm saying. I think finding a suiter is important, but for later on in life. Father, I have just turned 20. I still want time to be me before I have to settle down with a husband." [Y/N] argued, hoping that her father would see reason. "If I find someone, I want it to be out of love, not out of necessity. And if I find someone tonight, at the ball, then I do. But I want it to be on my terms." She said. Gwilym sighed and looked at his father.

"She does have a point, Father. Once she finds a suiter, she is going to spend a lot of that time courting the suiter and getting to know them. I would think that, as a father, you would want to spend as much time with your daughter as you could. I know I would." He said. [Y/N] looked at her older brother in astonishment. Gwilym normally never stuck up for her when it came to things that [Y/N] asked her father directly. Brian sighed and connected his fingers under his chin, resting it upon them in thought. Brian looked up at his daughter and sighed again, resting his hands on either side of his now empty plate.

"Very well. You do not have to choose a suiter right away," he said. [Y/N] smiled in relief. "However," her smile fell. "I do ask that you at least keep some suitable men in your mind, so that, when the time does come, you know exactly who you want to be your husband. Someone who will treat you right and have the kingdom's best interest at heart." Brian said. [Y/N] smiled and nodded, accepting those terms. She was beyond happy that her father had said yes to her and her brother's statements instead of rejecting them. Now that breakfast was over, it was time for [Y/N] and Gwilym to ride to their neighboring kingdom and go riding with their best friends. However, as she and her brother left to the stables, [Y/N] couldn't help but feel like something might go wrong.
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//I am going to divide this up into three parts. In the second part, the reader will get to spend some quality time with both Ben and Joe. I hope you like this one. Please let me know what you think down in the comments.//