A/N: This story took longer that I thought it would, having to re-write it twice because I wasn't happy with how it turned out. But I liked this version. It's not too in-your-face typical girl in denial and Thomas is just a deprived little fluffball who needs love. :D

This story might need some prior knowledge of 'The Golden Goose' (as in the fairytale not only my fanfic with the same name) but you can simply roll with it even if you don't know it. Hope you guys like it!

The Lioness's Pride

Pride. It has two meanings that are relevant to me. One is a human emotion associated with confidence and dignity. Often called a sin, but I personally embrace this sin with no regrets. After all, it does you no good to be looked down upon in the elite world that I was born in.

The other meaning is a group of lions, a closely-knitted group that always help each other out and rely on their one and only leader. I'd like to think of my kingdom as my own pride; we are the noble lions and I am the lioness who will rule them all.

Being born a female made no difference to my goal.

However, when my hand in marriage gets treated as a prize for a pointless competition to make me laugh, my pride is hurt. It is treason to start plotting the king's death but when he offers up his own daughter's self-respect to a mere jester, the thought becomes likeable.

Thankfully, when my fiancé's background as a wandering amnesiac was discovered, it was quickly decided that he would become prince consort and me, the reigning queen.

As relieving as this is, I still hated being treated like a trophy. Furthermore, I was now betrothed to a mindless commoner when it would have been more beneficial to marry a baron or neighbouring prince to improve the kingdom's relations. A man of my own choosing, preferably.

Alas, this certain man got lucky with a sticky golden goose and so our fates are intertwined for the rest of our lives. Was I satisfied with that? No doesn't even begin to describe how I felt.

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One day, in my tranquil study while I was revising the theory in the strategies of the battlefield, a meek knock disrupted the peace.

I furrowed a brow, before calling out: "You may enter.", which prompted the culprit to shyly open the door.

I had guessed that my sudden guest to be an inexperienced maid but it was someone who brought an even deeper frown onto my face.

The head of auburn hair peeked out of the opening before blue eyes met with my stoic green ones. The head seemed to shrivel back for a moment but then decided to gain some courage (or lose some good sense) and walked into the room with all the stiffness of a scarecrow.

He fidgeted with the paper in his hands and his gaze was drawn to the ground. "Ah, Princess. G-good morning. D-did you sleep well?"

My patience quickly wore down whenever this man was around and his needless hesitance was the cause of it; I had no intention of beating around the bush. "So it is you, Thomas. For what purpose did you come here?" He should know better than to come in, disturbing my studies, just for idle chatter.

He froze, his mouth fumbling as he spoke. "A-ah, your father, um, the King told me to come to you for, um, reading lessons. S-since I can't read." I stared at him blankly and Thomas flustered. "Can you teach me? P-please, Princess?"

I scanned his gestures for any signs of lies. But alas, I could not rely on those because he was always nervous around me. "Father gave you a note to prove what you are saying, is that correct?"

"A-ah, yes." He handed me the folded paper, creased slightly from his fidgeting. I read it quickly, confirming Father's signature and looking over any details Thomas might have forgotten to mention. So I was to meet up with him in my private study every morning to noon until he could properly read and write. I could fight against this all I liked but Father's words were the law, and I wanted to avoid getting banned from my study like the last time I defied him.

Besides, Thomas had to fit in with the upper class one way or another and having an illiterate within our ranks was simply begging to make our kingdom a laughingstock so I agreed wholeheartedly with his need to learn. I only wished that Father hired a professional tutor for Thomas, instead of making me teach him. I suspected that his reasons were not quite keeping the lessons confidential but rather making me spend time with my 'fiancé', who I had been evading to the best of my ability for the past month.

I sighed. I disliked being played in the hands of my father but it had to be done. The sooner, the better. I motioned at the chair across from me. "Sit there. We shall begin right away."

As Thomas tried to get himself awkwardly settled in the green cushioned seat, I put away my book and set up the paper and ink. "How much do you know?"

"Um, nothing at all, Princess." He looked sincerely apologetic.

"No, I was merely verifying it. I expected this already."

He lowered his head in shame at this and I couldn't help but compare him to a depressed puppy. A second after that thought processed in my mind, I shook it off. There was no need for the animal imagery – it made Thomas seem like a pet that I could get attached to.

I wrote the letters from A to Z on the paper in a neat and simple print, all in capitals. I turned it upside down and passed it over for Thomas to see. "These are the letters of the alphabet." I explained. "They are the essential basics for learning how to read and write so I would expect you to memorise them by the end of the week."

"M-memorise? All of them?" His eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yes." I gave him a stern look. "Is that a problem?"

"N-no, Princess. I promise..." His eyes gleamed in determination. "I promise to memorise these letters by the end of the week."

"Good. Because there is another set you would need to learn called the lower case letters." Thomas looked dismayed. "There is much to teach and I would like for this to be done with as quickly as possible. Here," I passed him a blank sheet of paper and an ink set. "It would be faster if you wrote them over and over again. You watched me write just now, did you not? Mimic my movements and trace the shapes of the letters on that sheet of paper."

Thomas picked up the feather pen like was going to explode in his hands.

Why on earth was I getting my hopes so high?

"Your posture is wrong." Thomas readjusted his fingers. I shook my head. Must I do everything for him?

I got up and strode around the desk until I was right behind him and I manually adjusted his fingering so that it was correct. "There, now try writing."

He started trying to write but the ink didn't make a mark on the paper, sending Thomas in a spiral of confusion. "Dip the tip of the pen in the ink pot." I suggested.

He did so and tried again but still the paper was blank. I carefully watched him write. "Your grip is too weak and you are not pressing hard enough on the paper."

This time he pressed too hard and made a blotchy, black, mess.

I sighed. "No, you do it like this." I held the pen over his hand and guided him to write the letter A. His hands felt rough and bony. "Relax, Thomas. The pen is not going to hurt you."

At this he seemed to tense up more. I let go of his hand, realising what might be the problem. I resisted the urge to massage my brow in frustration. "...Would like to continue on your own without me watching you?"

Thomas shrivelled up in his seat, cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "...Yeah."

"I shall mind my own studies then." I settled myself in my seat across from him, absorbed in the world of strategics.

Hopefully, Thomas wouldn't prove to become any more of a hindrance than he already is.

xxxxxxxxxx

"How has your tutoring been, Charlene?"

"Well enough. Thomas is now able to read children's books and write simple letters. His spelling and handwriting is still horrendous but those will improve with time and practice." I reported.

"Good." Father stroked his beard and then smiled. I didn't like the look of that smile. "How is your relationship with him, then?"

I stifled a groan and remained defiantly silent. My opinions of Father had plummeted to the base of the earth since Father proposed the competition.

Father chuckled under his bushy beard. "I know you well enough to sense when something has changed, Charlene." He said. I blinked owlishly at him. "I understand that you did not meet under the best circumstances and I wish they had been better. However, what has been done is done, and I could only hope that, with time, you would get along with Thomas."

"So," I frowned. "this was the true reason why you brought us together for tutoring."

"As expected of my clever daughter, you have figured it out. From the beginning, I would wager." His eyes glimmered with unconcealed affection, reminding me of the days back when I followed him around copying everything he did. He would laugh good-heartedly and let me do do what I pleased.

I turned my head away in embarrassment. "That is besides the point."

"I suppose it is." He still smiled that smile making me feel uneasy. "He is not a bad boy, as I am sure you have realised by now. But you probably don't like him either, do you?"

I said nothing to support or deny it.

"You have always been too prideful for your own good. So much so, that it has clouded your judgement." He stood up from his throne suddenly, looking down at me with a seriousness that could instantly make crying babies fall silent. With this drastic change in mood, I faced him with all the attention I could give.

"This is not an order, but listen to me for this one time, Charlene. I cannot force you to get along with him because that is for your heart to decide. However, if you do not let Thomas in you are going to create a rift between the two of you that will be impossible to fix. You will be hurting yourself this way, and that will be the most saddening for me to watch. I beg of you, Charlene," At that moment, Father got on his knees, shocking me immensely as much as if I had been slapped by him. "Open up to Thomas. Give him a chance to become someone precious to you. Please."

It was painful to see Father like this. I have never seen him bow down to anybody like this and he does this to me. I've always looked up to Father. He was and is the person I strived to become and eventually surpass. After the stunt he pulled with the competition, my respect for him died down considerably but it didn't disappear. I don't think it ever will.

I took a breath. "Please father, stand up." He didn't budge so I continued. "I realise that I have been cold to Thomas only because I had to watch my fate be bound to a witless commoner and not be able to do anything about it. I despised that and I vented by taking it out on the young amnesiac... I-I'm sorry father, I will talk to him. I promise."

Father stood up at that moment, raising his face so I could see it, see it burst out into great happiness that could only be attained when you knew that all of the lingering worries in a troubled father's heart had been eradicated at last.

xxxxxxxxxx

I never had the initiative to venture into the yard beyond the castle walls. While I have gone out to make visits to important cousins and officials, I never felt the urge to take a walk in our gardens. Why, I only had time to absorb the fine print of books so I could become a good queen someday.

But today was different. Months ago, I never would have fathomed doing this, but my destination today was the pond next to the dog training grounds.

The castle gardeners bombarded me with astonished but curious gazes but with a solid and stern look they quickly averted their eyes.

As I neared the pond, I could hear talking. His speech became clearer as I approached Thomas from behind.

"-mad at me today because I didn't know how to shake hands with somebody properly. I mean, a handshake is just a handshake right? That's what I thought, Beth. Who knew that there was a whole lot more depth to a such a simple action?"

Beth? I craned my neck slightly to catch a glimpse of blinding gold. Oh, it was the golden goose. So he gave her a name?

I cleared my throat to draw attention. "Thomas."

"Ah!"

He jumped up waving his hands in the air as if he didn't know what to do with them. Unfortunately, his one of his wild arms had slapped the goose, Beth, making her make a leap of revenge at Thomas, splashing water droplets (causing me to step back), and pecking him with a ferociousness that surely couldn't belong to such a small animal.

In bouts of the angry quacks, I could hear Thomas apologising as the goose forced him into a fetal position, "I'm sorry, Beth! Ow! I'm sorry! Please stop pecking! Ow!"

Imagine a river dam, built up over years and years, sturdy, organised and careful. Then some rogue comes over and knocks the dam a bit, the water sloshing around inside, but calming down after a while. That was how I felt when I first met Thomas.

But now, that rogue has completely destroyed that dam and all the contents were free to tumble down the river uncontrollably.

And so they did.

"Ahahahahaha!"

You might expect a princess like me to be graceful and beautiful, even when laughing. But I'm an exception. I hadn't even giggled or chuckled before. How can you practice laughing when you never planned on doing so in the future? It simply comes out.

So my laughter came out in snorts and endless giggles, that I was sure would suffocate me if I didn't stop. I started to feel a pain in my stomach that was unrelated to anything I ate, and clutched at it for life.

Through my tear filled eyes, I saw that the goose had stopped attacking Thomas at some point and the young man was staring at me like a he'd never seen me before.

I halted in my laughter and it felt like forcing a cork in my throat. I straightened up and brushed the tears away. "What is it?" I asked, in what I hoped to be in a nonchalant manner.

Thomas spluttered. "...D-did you just laugh?"

"No, I did not." I stared at him, challenging him to claim otherwise.

He held my stare for a few seconds with his mouth dimly agape, before his lips turned up into a happy grin. "Okay, Princess."

I scanned his face for any amusement but all that I found was pure elation and, from the time I spent observing him, I knew that Thomas could not act his way out of a feather quilt.

Still, I found his grin irksome. And still, this was not going anywhere.

"Thomas, I had a purpose in coming here and it was not to play fun and games." I gave him my stoniest look yet, trying to make him understand that this was quite the serious matter. My message got through and his eyes focused. The goose had wandered in the pond, already settling in its own business.

"It's time we talked about our future." Thomas's eyes widened. I went on although my chest was feeling heavy as I spoke. "The topic has been ignored for a long time but this issue needs to be addressed now. With the way things are now, it's only going to lure disasters. My behaviour towards you since we met has been unfair and... immature of me."

Thomas seemed to want to protest but I cut him off before he could open his mouth. "Don't speak yet." Or I'll lose my nerve.

"I don't know if we will grow to love each other, or if we will become friends. But there is one thing we have to be and that is allies."

"So, let's begin with a clean slate. I am going to give you a chance as long as you," I held out a hand to the young man staring from the ground. "Stop calling me 'Princess' and call me Charlene."

Thomas took the hand and I helped him up. "Okay, Charlene." The smile from before revived with a new-found vigour. "By the way, I think your laugh is pretty."

I flushed in embarrassment. "D-don't you dare mention it again." I glared at him, but I didn't I ever had the heart to be angry with him.