Spring is the season for love, they say. With the heart of the cold melting away with the warming sun like dragonfire, and the flowers blooming in place of the vanishing snow as fast as sprites, spring is the picturesque epitome of love.
Foolish, my father would say. There is no once upon a time. There are no happy endings, nor magical godmothers to save the day. Genies do not appear in a washed up bottle at your feet to grant you those desired three wishes. Dreams are what those are, and dreams do not come to those who wait. Dreams, as I have known, only come to those that work hard and seize the opportunity. My father, the King of the North, has made it a mission to teach me this. He built his kingdom overnight, claiming his ever-expanding territory with his might. He did not have magic, nor mystical creatures. He did not rely on hope and wishes. He spat at the mention of fate. He only had one thing - his loyal army.
I am a prince. I do not say that lightly. I have responsibilities and expectations from my people. I am to wed a beautiful wife from a family that can provide a political advantage to our kingdom, who will carry beautiful and strong children. She is beautiful and stunning no doubt, but there is no love in our courtship – it is solely charades that we play, hoping that if we tell our people that we love each other so, one day it will come true. I was ready to commit my life down this road, and thought I had it all planned out, and knew exactly what to expect.
And then, I saw her.
She was magnificent, bedazzling, and beautiful. She was from the scorching South, where dragons are as common as our snow owls, as indicated by her banner. She had come up for the Annual Spring Festival held for royalty, arriving on a majestic unicorn pulling a cart full of gifts, a cluster of yellow tulip flowers that had not yet budded from her home land. She gracefully dismounted from the cart, and giggled as she almost fell. Oh, that laughter and voice, vibrating through my body with the lightest of touch, was the purest of sounds. Her sweet, tender smile melted my cold heart that ached for true love. Her sleek, black hair, speckled with brown from the Southern sun, danced in the spring wind. And finally, her large, brown eyes which was accentuated by her long, demure eyelashes, caught my own eyes, and at that moment, I knew what love was. And I knew how badly I needed her, no matter the cost.
She gave me a brief pause, as if to take in my presence, and politely smiled before turning away to her attendants, and started heading towards the Grand Hall with her cart. I immediately followed her, but stopped as soon as I entered the castle. For the first time in my life, despite all my etiquette and lessons with the best of the country, I absolutely did not know what to say. Conversational rapport, one of the easiest skills I've mastered being a prince, has betrayed me and left my side. I stood there, dumbfounded, as she began to slip away into the corridors of the hall.
That's when I made the most foolish, yet best split decision of my life. I frantically yelled the first thing that I could think of.
"I know you, don't I?"
She turned around, confused at whom that statement was directed at. I finally found feeling to my legs, and jogged up to her until I was a few feet away, staring right at her and awkwardly waiting for a response, an oxymoron of how a prince should act.
She slowly smiled, timidly shaking her head, and lightly laughed before saying, "No, but I believe you do now."
At that exact moment, a single red tulip which I had missed previously in the cart, blossomed among its yellow brother and sisters.
I guess they were right, whoever they are.
Spring really is the season for love.
(A/N:) And that's it! I hope you enjoyed it. I left it hanging for a purpose, as I just started this relationship with my girl very recently, yet am already madly in love with her. The possibilities of a happily ever after are endless, and we'll be the ones to write out the ending, together. Wish us both the best of luck, FF community! Maybe you'll see us both back here, tackling another short story together in the future. One can only hope!