As the prince, Alfred had everything. He had the cars, he had the servants, he had the money, he had the- well, actually, he didn't have a wife.
But he wasn't too concerned about that. You see, he figured that one day the right person would come to him and he'd know. Alfred would know that that person is the one he will love for eternity. Is the one who will challenge him and drive his passion. Is the one he will ultimately marry.
He hadn't found that person yet of course, but he will. He had no doubts about it.
So you could imagine his surprise when his parents announced that he will be married when he turns 21.
To whom you ask? Good question.
Apparently she's been trained to be his perfect queen since birth. She will know everything about him from his favorite color, to his favorite food, to his favorite sexual position. It was actually a bit intimidating. Sure, as the prince, Alfred was used to being watched like a hawk by his guards, servants, family, and the citizens of his kingdom. But to have somebody study every inch of you… yes, it was weird.
She was supposed to be the most perfect wife for him though. A compliant and agreeing woman. She will listen attentively to every word he says and know everything he likes, so she will never say anything to agitate him.
Oh yes. Life was indeed perfect…
Not.
Why would anybody want that!? Alfred couldn't wrap his mind around it. Who would want to love someone who knew everything about you already? All their favorites were the exact same as your own and you couldn't even hold an intelligent conversation with them. It didn't make any sense to Alfred. What were his parents thinking!?
Alfred didn't know how he could get out of this. He didn't exactly want to disappoint his parents or the girl who basically just wasted her entire life on him, but there was no way he could follow through with this! It was ridiculous!
But here he was… sitting next to his father who was next to his wife… in the throne room. They were about to be presented with the bride-to-be amongst all of these people who attended his birthday party. To be honest, it was the worst birthday Alfred's ever had. All he could think about was that after today, he will be chained to basically a robot.
He tried to explain to his father before that he did not want to marry this woman. But his father just laughed it off.
"You are being ridiculous," his father said, brushing off his son's comment.
"No, I'm not!" Alfred said offended. "This whole thing is ridiculous! I don't want somebody who already knows me!"
"Of course you do!" his father said.
"No, I'm pretty extra-sure I don't."
"Sure you do! Who wouldn't?"
"Me for one!" Alfred protested. "I want someone who can challenge me and talk to me like a normal human being. Someone who has faults and disagreements, and doesn't know my favorite food for once!"
His father scoffed. "You're the prince! Everyone knows your favorite food! It's hardly a secret."
"That's not the point! I want to get to know somebody before I marry them!"
"Perfect!" the king exclaimed. "There will be several days before the wedding. You will have time then!
Alfred groaned and face-palmed. "That isn't what I meant!"
Needless to say, Alfred didn't quite get through to his father nor his mother. They both thought that this was a wonderful idea. A noble lady who will look very lovely next to Alfred on the throne. They never asked for Alfred's opinion on it nor listened when he went ahead and voiced his opinion.
So, this birthday was a total bust… or at least it was in Alfred's opinion. He still had yet to figure out what he should do with this problem. He was starting to run out of time.
Finally, a guard came up to the royal family, and bowed deeply before announcing that the presentation was ready to begin. The king gave a big smile and nodded for it to commence.
The guard turned around to address the people of the room in a loud voice, "Announcing, the presentation of the fiancée!"
The ridiculously large double doors of the room opened and dancers, tamers, musicians and other entertainers poured into the room. They danced elaborately to their memorized steps and actions. There were elephants and jugglers and others displaying impressive feats with fire. But Alfred wasn't paying attention.
Instead, he was focused on the scantily clad dancers in the middle of the performance. They were beautiful and fluid in their movements. They all wore loose pastel-colored pants that hung low on their hips. The females wore tub tops of the same color with shiny embellishments adorning it and the few males that were there wore short vests that hung open revealing their chests.
In actuality, Alfred was focused on the one in the middle. He couldn't hardly see her since she was near the back, but a flash of green caught his attention. How he managed to see such beautiful eyes at such a distance was beyond him, but she was absolutely beautiful. A blonde beauty dancing in a way that Alfred had never seen. There was passion and mystery and everything Alfred wanted in a wife. She was perfect.
Without tearing his eyes off of the dancer, he leaned over to his parents and said, "This is a presentation of my wife, right?"
"Yes, my son," the king replied. "This is for you."
"So, my wife will be among those presenting?"
"Of course!" he replied confidentially.
Alfred absentmindedly nodded, lost in thought. Then he abruptly stood up and yelled out "Stop!"
Immediately, the room froze. Guards, guests, performers, and even the king and queen. They glanced at each other uncertainly and confused as to what was going on.
"That one!" Alfred said pointing to the crowd of dancers and walking towards them. "I want that one for my queen!" The dancers parted one by one as Alfred walked forward looking for the green-eyed beauty.
"No, not that one… or that one. Not you either," he mumbled to himself as he walked through them. Then he spotted her. "You."
"A boy!?" The king exclaimed jumping up from his spot on the throne, once he saw the dancer singled out by his son.
"Oh well…" Alfred faltered. She actually turned out to be a he. He was lean but with the muscles of a dancer still visible by the opened vest. His short choppy blonde hair wasn't quite long enough to cover his enormous eyebrows or those wide, beautiful grass green eyes. He looked at the prince in shock with his mouth hanging slightly open and a light blush on his cheeks. He was perfect.
Alfred smiled. "Then yes! He's perfect!"
"B-but he's a boy! And a… a… dancer!" he sneered at the word. "Besides, you already have a wife!"
But Alfred ignored him in favor of the blushing man in front of him. "Hi, what's your name?" Alfred asked quietly.
"A-Arthur Kirkland, your majesty," Arthur responded shakily, unsure whether he should even be talking back to the prince.
Oh god, he had an accent too. As if he couldn't be any more perfect. "Arthur…" Alfred repeated with a smile. "I like it."
Then Alfred spun around to face his father who was still next to the throne. The queen had also now stood up in concern. "I want Arthur Kirkland to be my wife!" he announced, mainly to the king and queen, and grabbed Arthur's hand who made a cute squawk of surprise.
"But you can't!" The king protested. His face was beginning to turn red from anger. "He is not female and the low-life knows nothing about you!"
"There's no law about the gender of my wife! And sure he knows me!" Alfred said before turning to face the dancer again. "Hey Arthur, what's my favorite food?"
"U-uh… erm… scones…?" Arthur replied.
Alfred stared at him, unblinking, for a long moment. Welp. Yep. That didn't go as planned.
"You see?" Alfred said to his father, turning back to face him. "He doesn't know my favorite food! He is perfect!"
The king rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Just because one person doesn't know your favorite food, does not automatically make him your wife!"
"So? I want him!"
"You can't just pick someone and marry them. You don't even know him!" the king cried.
"Perfect!" replied Alfred jovially. "We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other in the few days before the wedding! Right?" he said the last part to Arthur with a wink and a squeeze of his hand. Arthur just blushed deeply. Hey, the prince was handsome. Nobody can deny it.
"Argh!" The king groaned. "That's not what I meant! Stop twisting my words around!"
But Alfred was no longer paying attention. Instead, he was staring again into those mesmerizing eyes.
The queen put a calming hand on her husband's arm, and he looked at her dejectedly. They made silent conversation with their eyes. The king was mainly saying What's your son thinking? and the queen saying Actually look at him for once right now. Look at the adoration there. The king groaned.
"Fine!" He gave in. Somehow, his queen always won the arguments. Must be some power she possessed. "But! You had better take extra precaution that this is what you really want, son!" Alfred grinned and Arthur gave a small bashful smile back at him.
The king briefly wondered if his wife's power came with the position and was something Arthur would eventually have as well.
Oh little does he know how right he was.
A/N
Oh yes, little does he know. Arthur will be the snarkiest queen ever xD
So, I came up with this idea a little while ago while I was watching the movie "Coming to America" and from the beginning scene with the presentation of the prince's "perfect" wife and the dancers xD And, well, it's bothered me non-stop since then, so I finally buckled down and finished it.
It's not great nor perfect but I liked it and thought it was a little bit clever, so I hope you enjoyed it too xD
Close to finishing the last chapter of "Do You Believe in Magic" so be prepared! :D
Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think! =D