Chapter Thirteen:

A Princely Persuasion

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Prince Frederick jolted in his seat, doing his best to stay awake.

His father, the King, his father's chancellor, and Frederick were holding another meeting on the topic of the four balls that would be starting the next day. His mother, Queen Marianne, was elsewhere, overseeing the preparations for the ballroom, ensuring that everything was perfect, while his little sister, Adelaide, was probably following along behind their mother.

Trying to tune back into the conversation that he had been steadily not focusing on, Frederick adjusted his posture and tried in vain to listen to the chancellor's droning voice with his full attention.

"... Of course, the prince will have to be introduced at the beginning of the night." This made Frederick snap to attention.

"What do you mean, introduced at the beginning of the night?" The chancellor blinked owlishly as if he was surprised that anyone had been awake to even ask a question.

"Your Highness, these sorts of functions cannot be dealt with behind the mask of anonymity. Your father will be introducing you at the beginning of the night so as to avoid confusion." Frederick shook his head, frowning.

"The whole purpose of this endeavor is for him to find a woman who is fit to be a queen," Frederick's father said, placing his teacup into its saucer with a clatter. "A queen should be poised, honorable, and above all, know that her place is to be a companion to you, not an equal. Additionally, if every woman in the room knew Frederick's face it would make for a fine test from which to weed out the unlikelies. We can't have you marrying any scullery maids dressed up as if they are ladies. An introduction would make it easier on everyone."

"Father, while I understand where you are coming from, would it not also be beneficial to have me be just an anonymous face? This way none of the ladies would know to be dishonest about their station in the first place," Frederick said, choosing not to voice the rest of his disagreement to his father's words.

"Your majesty, I agree of course, but hasn't this gone on long enough?" The chancellor asked, his wrinkled hands fluttering around his papers before he turned towards Frederick and his father. "Prince Frederick is to be King one day, he can't rule from the shadows."

"I am not King yet," Frederick said, giving the chancellor a pointed look. "And I won't be for at least another five years."

"Of course, your majesty, but, you have been back from your studies in Marenta for almost a year now. It made sense for you to be anonymous as a young child who needed to be anonymous for his safety, but you have returned and tomorrow is to be your twenty-third birthday."

Frederick tried not to raise an eyebrow at his parents' chancellor. Clearly, the chancellor hadn't been privy to the real reason behind his "anonymity". Frederick was the second son, not the first.

His elder brother by four years, Alexander, had run away in the middle of the night when Frederick was twelve. Their parents had never found Alexander, and having lost their eldest son, they kept a tight hold on Frederick.

However, news of the crown prince's disappearance never reached the general public. For all they knew, Crown Prince Alexander Rupert Antonius had perished from a hard day of training, leaving Frederick to be the next in line. In reality, if Frederick was to guess, he was probably off somewhere exploring the world while Frederick was subjected to the careful planning and grooming that Alexander had never been subject to.

Frederick couldn't help but feel envious of his elder brother. While it had been his decision to remain unknown for so long, his parents had readily agreed to his wishes. Though they didn't know his real reasoning for wanting to be just another face in the crowd.

He hated it, being treated like all of his people must worship the ground he walked on, and he knew that was one of the reasons why Alexander had left in the first place. Alexander and Frederick had both been raised practically by their nursemaids as their parents had been busy running the kingdom. Frederick did not feel any greater than any of his parents' subjects, he felt equal to them,

"I don't see why we cannot continue in this way," Frederick said, doing his best to put forth the kind of kingly manner that he had gone to Marenta to learn. "Additionally, if no one knew of my identity, we could entirely skip over the presentation of my person to each and every young lady within a fifty-mile radius."

The King and the Chancellor exchanged a look, and the Chancellor was obviously trying to contain a frown.

"Very well, but you will be introduced at the end of the night of the fourth ball," Frederick's father said, his voice ringing with finality. "Now, if you will excuse us, Frederick. We have important matters to discuss."

Frederick kept his face carefully blank as he stood up from his chair. Tipping his head towards his father, and the chancellor, he left the room, keeping his head high. However, by the time the door had been closed he was scowling. They insisted on him playing the part of the king to be, but refused to let him know anything about the role he was to play!

He strode off towards the gardens, making sure to rush past any servants along the way. He had known the majority of them most of his life, and they would recognize instantly his look of annoyance. The last thing he needed was to be waylaid for a heart to heart, no matter how well-intentioned the other person may be.

By the time he had reached the garden, his annoyance had died down considerably and he found his thoughts has taken on a more pensive turn. He took his now customary seat on a stone bench facing the quietly gurgling water fountain and lost himself in his thoughts.

On the one hand, he had been dreading the ball for months. Ever since his parents had informed him that they intended to keep with the tradition of multiple balls to celebrate the crown prince's birthday, he had been waiting for them to be over.

Thankfully, he had been able to talk his parents out of the traditional seven-day long celebration, instead opting for a four-day celebration with a parade on the morning after the last ball.

However, while he was dreading the whole affair, he was also looking forward to it, if only marginally. He could not deny the fact that the idea of possibly finding the person he'd be spending the rest of his life with had a certain appeal to it. Of course, he was not entirely oblivious to his parents' wish to have him marry a woman of high rank, but the idea of knowing more about his own future was always appealing.

There was one small problem though, he did not agree at all with the idea of having a wife who bent to his will. His parents' marriage had been for political reasons, and Frederick knew they were hoping he would marry the princess of Carigan to put a stop to the unrest between Carigan, and their country, Ecrivenia.

During his time in Marenta for his schooling, he had stayed with the royal family, and the attitude towards royal marriages was far different from the attitude towards royal marriages here. Frederick had become incredibly close to the royal family of Marenta, and he saw King Percival and Queen Margot as a pair of second parents. He saw their son, Prince Leopold, as a brother despite the fact Leopold was three, nearly four, years younger than him.

Spending time in Marenta had greatly changed his perspective on many things, but the idea of marriage most specifically. The royal family of Marenta married not for political gain, but rather by who would be able to help the other party rule the most effectively. While they still had arranged marriages, they did it by figuring out who would compliment the ruler's personality the best.

For the millionth time in the past ten years, Frederick desperately wished that he was the Crown Prince of Marenta and not Ecrivenia. Granted he knew that this way of marriage led to sometimes later marriages amongst the rulers, he couldn't help but envy Leopold.

Leopold was a headstrong, quick-witted, and tactically minded young man who specialized in war plans, much to his parents' chagrin.

Unlike Frederick, Leopold would probably marry a woman just as headstrong and strong-willed as he was. Whereas Frederick had the misfortune of knowing that if his parents, or more accurately, his father had his way, he would be married to a girl who preferred to look at her own reflection rather than the outside world or would be afraid to even utter a word to him. That was not what he wanted.

Frederick, pushed a lock of light brown hair out of his eyes, running his hand down his face tiredly. If the conversations he had with his father and the chancellor were any indication he would never marry the kind of woman he wished to. He wanted to marry someone who understood him, who would tell him if he crossed a line, who cared for her kingdom and for all those within it. He didn't want a puppet.

"Frederick?" He brought his hand away from his face to see Adelaide standing there, watching him curiously. He couldn't help but think she looked happy. She was almost fifteen and this was to be the first ball she had ever helped organize, even if she wasn't allowed to attend it, she had been incredibly excited.

"Yes, Adelaide?"

"Mother asked me to come fetch you." Frederick nodded, unsurprised. "Is it true that you won't be introduced at the beginning of the ball?" She asked suddenly, looping her arm with his. Frederick shot her an incredulous look, though he didn't know why he was surprised. News traveled fast in the Palace.

"It is true." His words had barely left his mouth when his younger sister's soft smile nearly tripled in size.

"Oh Freddy," she said, calling him the nickname she had given him as a child. "How romantic!"

"Romantic?"

"Yes! Can you not imagine it? I can!" She exclaimed, her bright blue eyes alight with wonder. "You will be the dashing stranger that sweeps her off her feet and regales her with tales of far off places! I cannot wait to see the look on her face when she finds out you are the prince!"

"Hold on, you cannot wait to see it? I was under the presumption that you would not be attending the ball." Adelaide's heart-shaped face colored considerably as she blushed to the roots of her blonde hair. Frederick smirked down at his sister, it was good to know she hadn't changed too much.

"I-um-"

"Oh, do not mind him, Princess Adelaide, can you not see he is teasing you?" A masculine voice said behind them, and Frederick spun around, standing protectively in front of Adelaide until he realized who the speaker was.

There standing in the hallway was a tall man with dark auburn curls, wearing a red waistcoat made of leather and a smile on his face. While his form was splattered almost entirely with mud, no doubt from the journey from Marenta to Ecrivenia, Frederick could clearly see his light blue eyes sparkling with barely concealed mirth.

"Leopold?" Frederick said, reaching forward to shake his friend's hand. "What are you doing here?" Leopold grinned.

"I could hardly let my best friend get ready to find his wife-to-be without me," Leopold said. "How about you give me the grand tour? I am sure we have much to discuss."

"I would, but my mother has requested my presence," Frederick responded but was taken aback when Leopold started to chuckle.

"Is that what you told him?" He directed his question to Frederick's sister who was blushing even more now. "What a clever girl. It was I who asked for her to fetch you, not your mother."

"Speaking of which, I must return to her," Adelaide said, before turning around and rushing down the hallway and up the marble staircase her light pink dress streaming along behind her with her sudden movements. Frederick and Leopold exchanged a look, both amused at Adelaide's embarrassment and abrupt departure.

"In that case, shall we?" Frederick said, motioning for Leopold to follow him. They walked off in the opposite direction that Adelaide had gone, instead heading towards the western side of the palace.

"So how are you, my friend?" Leopold asked, his voice holding the odd mixture of regalness and sincerity that it always did.

"I am well."

"Well?"

"Yes."

"Hmm." Frederick glanced over to his companion to see him watching him thoughtfully. "Forgive me if I do not believe you."

"What reason do you have to believe I do not tell the truth?"

"I do not doubt that you are well, what I think is you are also settling."

"Settling?" Leopold had always been far too perceptive for anyone's liking. It was one of the reasons he was such a brilliant military man, he seemed to always be able to guess the enemy's next move.

"Yes, settling. I am no fool, Frederick, I am well aware of your country's customs."

"I never said you were one," Frederick responded. "I cannot just go against my family's wishes."

"You are quite wrong on that point." Frederick looked at Leopold quizzically as they both stopped in front of one of the large windows. "Are you not the Crown Prince? They cannot replace you, nor can they get rid of you or control you, if you do not let them. You are the future king, the future king who is looking for a wife, in this matter you have the deciding vote."

Frederick moved his gaze to look out the large window, taking in the sight of the entire kingdom sprawled out below the cliff on which the palace was built. Leopold was from a kingdom where women had more worth, where kings-to-be had choices. While his advice was sound, Frederick wasn't so sure.

"I cannot just turn my back on what they think is best for the kingdom."

"Precisely, what they think is best. You are the future king, you should start going with what you think is best. You will have to learn to stand up for your own opinions and thoughts eventually, might as well start now."

"I'll think about it," Frederick said, but inside he doubted he would be able to figure out what to do. He knew he should follow his parents' wishes, but he knew that it wouldn't be such a bad thing to listen to his own conscience for once. Anyway if he made his own choices, what could possibly go wrong?

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