Long Live the…Prime Minister?
In the Magaña Kingdom, Princess Ivy is next in line for the throne. Once a princess or prince reaches the age of eighteen and gets married, they obtain the throne. They must select a prime minister when they turn sixteen. Princess Ivy immediately chose the wisest maiden in the kingdom, who also is one of her closest friends. That maiden is Vanessa, the daughter of a seamstress. One day the two of them were discussing how they were going to organize an army for werewolves. Werewolves had never been an issue in the Magaña Kingdom, so there wasn't an army for them. The two girls started to have a little disagreement.
"Vanessa, my brothers have always been the ones who've organized the military. Why don't we keep things that way?" Princess Ivy suggested.
"They can't be in charge of the entire military. That's too much pressure to put on two young princes." Vanessa said.
"But the dragon slayers and orc hunters are independent and don't rely too much on us to tell them what to do. Most of the time, they just go and fight without us even realizing it. So there's not too much pressure on them."
"But we will also have a sea monster navy. Your brothers are very brave and organized but they can't cover military in the air and under the sea. We need to find someone else."
"I really want my brothers to do it but…I guess maybe you're right." Princess Ivy stuttered.
"Don't worry; you'll see things will turn out great." Vanessa patted her on the shoulder and left. Princess Ivy went to go look for her brothers. They were practicing their fencing. She sighed. How was she going to tell them that their own sister lowered their position? Prince Isaac was newly married so maybe he'd be fine with it. Maybe not though… She went back inside and thought about how she was going to break the news. While she was pacing back and forth in her room, Sir Kevin climbed through her window.
"How come you never just come through my door?" Princess Ivy asked.
"It's not as dramatic."
"You really are full of it."
"So I've been told. You look concerned about something. What's wrong?"
"I have to lower my brother's position."
"You're about to be a queen. You don't have to do anything."
"Vanessa told me to."
"Since when did Vanessa become the boss of you? I thought you were her boss."
"I am. I just need to think of a way to change her mind. What if more of the military went independent?"
"I don't think they will. They won't even breathe without orders."
"The reason you guys and the dragon slayers are so popular is because you're independent. Maybe we should use popularity to drive our military."
"You can try. I still don't think it will work."
"Ugh! I'm so stuck!"
"Calm down. Hey where is that little green friend of yours?"
"Not here. He's with Princess Miley and Sir Edmund."
"Good. I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"I love you."
"Kevin, we've been down this road twice. You promised that you wouldn't try to be more than my friend."
"I lied. Don't you get it? I'm hopeless without you."
"I'm going to marry Prince Stephen in two months."
"Do you love me? You better not lie."
"Yes Kevin. I do. But that doesn't mean anything."
"Why not?"
"Because, I've had a crush on Prince Stephen for years and crushing on you is just a phase I'm going through with the rest of the young maidens in the world. Prince Stephen and I, we just make sense. He knows me."
"No, he's just some guy who completely ignored you for years then all of a sudden became interested in you when he realized you were next in line for the throne and also when he realized those were no longer balloons in your shirt."
"You idiot! Why did you even have to go there? Prince Stephen knows me a lot better than you do. I want to marry someone who knows me inside and out. Who loves me when I'm happy, sad, pretty, ugly…no matter what."
"Good luck looking. Because that guy isn't Prince Stephen."
"Its not you either."
"Okay, I'll give you some time to think about it. Once you've made your decision, I'll be waiting for you."
"Don't hold your breath."
"I have to go home. Goodbye Princess." Sir Kevin kissed her on the cheek then left. Princess Ivy sighed deeply and wished more than anything that Prince George was around so she could vent. He always knew the right thing to say. She went to go look for her girlfriends. Daisy was still on her four month honeymoon with Sir Joseph so she found Alicia and Hazel at their favorite clothing store.
"Hello Princess, what's wrong? You look concerned." Hazel greeted.
"Everything is wrong! First of all, Vanessa thinks she's the boss of me. Second, I have to get married to someone I don't love. Lastly, I'm in love with someone who is wrong for me."
"I'm sorry. Life is rough. And those shoes are gorgeous!!!" Alicia squealed and ran inside the store.
"I can't think of any potions that can help you. We can try the anti-love potion again but if it didn't work the first time, I doubt it'll work this time. If anything, it'll just make you love Sir Kevin even more." Hazel explained.
"NO! You don't get it, I don't want any potions. I just want you to listen to me vent." Princess Ivy hollered.
"Well, could you hurry up? The ten minute sale ends in nine minutes."
"Forget it. Let's get Alicia out of the shoe store." Princess Ivy went in. Alicia was arguing with the store manager.
"Are you sure you don't have a marine discount?" Alicia asked.
"You're a marine?" The manager asked.
"Yes. I've been a mermaid my whole life." Alicia said.
"Look! It's Princess Ivy!!!!!" A little girl shouted. The manager ran over to her.
"Is there anything I can do for you your majesty?" He asked.
"Yes, I'd like to know how much those shoes are." Princess Ivy pointed at the shoes Alicia was trying to buy.
"You can have them."
"Oh, thank you sir." Princess Ivy took them and left. She handed them to Alicia.
"You're welcome." Princess Ivy said. Vanessa noticed her and ran over.
"Princess, come with me. There is an urgent matter we need to discuss." Vanessa said.
"I have to go. Later girls." Princess Ivy left with Vanessa.
"Now, since we need to recruit more military, we need to raise the taxes. They need homes to stay in." Vanessa said.
"But if we raise the taxes, the peasants that live south of the kingdom will go into complete poverty. They can't afford to pay any more than what they're paying right now." Princess Ivy explained.
"It's not like we have much of a choice. The evil creatures will only get more vicious."
"What if we sell some of our personal possessions? Those pearls you're wearing could pay for a home for all the werewolf hunters."
"Princess, part of living in this beautiful country is that you have to pay taxes. If we pay everything for them, they'll start taking advantage of us. We can't let that happen."
"I guess maybe you're right. Compared to other countries, I'd say the poorest of our peasants live pretty luxuriously." Princess Ivy gave in.
"I knew you'd see things my way." Vanessa went to go make plans.
Oh no, Princess Ivy gave in again. She needed to find a way to show Vanessa whose boss. But she didn't want to hurt her feelings. They were still friends. She had to think of a way to graciously remind Vanessa that she is prime minister, not the queen. WHERE WAS PRINCE GEORGE WHEN SHE MOST NEEDED HIM!!!!!!!! Princess Ivy decided to go shoot some arrows. Prince Stephen found her.
"Good afternoon Beautiful." He greeted.
"Oh, it's you." Princess Ivy whined.
"Well, you certainly have a way of making a prince feel special."
"Sorry, it's just because right now, you're one of my biggest problems."
"Me? What did I do?"
"Nothing yet. It's what you're going to do."
"Are you talking about what I think you're talking about?"
"Getting married? Yes."
"I thought we weren't going to discuss this until the time comes."
"I thought so too but no matter how much I try to avoid it, it somehow finds me. I think I just need to quit hiding and face the truth."
"I hate to say it but you're right. I know you don't love me. I don't love you either. I mean, I love you as a friend but not romantically. But just because I don't love you now, doesn't mean I never will. We can learn to love each other. Starting now." Prince Stephen grabbed her and kissed her.
"So?" He asked.
"So?" She asked.
"Did you feel anything?"
"Well…it wasn't quite as pleasurable as the orc hunters but then again, they are professionals. If I hadn't already been kissed before, I'd say that was the most magical moment ever."
"How about we try again?"
"Okay." They kissed again.
"Okay honestly, that time it was a little annoying. This really bothers me because you're soooooooooo handsome."
"Me too. I mean not because I'm handsome, because you're pretty. I mean, yes I am handsome but that's not why it bothers me."
"I get it Stephen. We'll try again later." Princess Ivy picked up another arrow. She accidentally shot it in a tree. She struggled to snatch it out. Princes Isaac and Isaiah came storming over.
"So is it true?" Prince Isaiah asked.
"That I'm horrible at archery? Yes, it's true." Princess Ivy said.
"No, that you're denouncing our position." Prince Isaac asked.
"I haven't decided yet." Princess Ivy sighed.
"What is there to decide? We're your brothers. If you denounce us, you'd be betraying us. Why would you do that?" Isaiah asked.
"Vanessa made some very good points. How can you handle the entire military?"
"Because we've kicked butt 500 times and still counting."
"What about the werewolves?"
"What about the werewolves? We have three as pets. If we don't bother them, they won't bother us."
"And the attacks?"
"What attacks? There haven't been any attacks since that one eyed wizard. And he was just cruel I would've killed him too."
"In the last month, there have been five people killed by werewolves."
"Where did you get that information?"
"Vanessa."
"Uh huh, when did she suddenly keep track of creature attacks?"
"I don't know. Since she found out I'm betrothed to Prince Stephen."
"That was a not the answer I was looking for. Listen, we are doing a great job keeping our citizens safe. If you denounce us, not only will you be the worst sister in the world and a lousy queen, but you'd also be a huge pushover."
"I guess you're right."
"You've been saying that all day haven't you?"
"Yes. Hey, do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"A crowd of people cheering."
"Oh wait, I do."
"I'll be right back." Princess Ivy went to go see what was going on. She found a huge crowd of people all cheering for someone. She recognized the person's voice but was too far away to see. It didn't take her too long to see what was going on.
"And that's why I, your faithful prime minister promise to be sure every spider in the Magaña Kingdom is seized." Vanessa said. Princess Ivy pulled her away from the crowd.
"This is it. I'm so sick of you acting like you have the final word on things. I chose you as my prime minister because you were responsible, got things done and respected me as your boss. I give you a little bit of room and you completely take advantage of me. Get it together or I'll find a new prime minister." Princess Ivy scolded.
"You know what, it bothers you that people like me more than you. Now, you're jealous."
"What?! I am not jealous of you."
"Yes you are. You're jealous that I somehow always get what I want."
"You know what, this obviously isn't working out. You may still live in the castle because you're my friend but you no longer have any say in what happens to our government."
"You're firing me?!"
"I prefer to say I'm relieving you."
"Fine. But I don't need to live in your castle. Princess Andi hasn't selected prime minister. I know she'll pick me as soon as we meet." Vanessa pranced off. Princess Ivy shouted out every swear word in the fairytale dictionary.
"Dickensbury Jones!!!!! Son of a Leprechaun!!!!! Virgin Mary and Joseph!!!!! What did I do to deserve this?!" She continued shouting.
"Such language Princess! It pains me to see you like this." Prince Stephen snuck up on her.
"Oh, sorry. What were you doing?"
"Just visiting Princess Andi. I have a confession to make."
"What?"
"We kind of…um…well we…"
"Spit it out already."
"We kissed"
"Great. Now my betrothed is cheating on me."
"Princess, I know you don't love me either but things don't have to be this way."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Go get your man. I know you guys don't make the traditional couple but who cares. You love him and I love Andi."
"You're not kidding?"
"No, I'm not. Run into his arms you know you want to."
"Thank you." Princess Ivy kissed him on the cheek and ran to the orc hunter's house. She knocked on the door. She waited and waited for someone to answer. She noticed Sir Nicholas practicing his archery.
"Hey. Whoa, you're pretty good at that. I stink at it." Princess Ivy greeted.
"It takes a lot of practice. I'll help you sometime. What are you doing here?" He asked.
"I'm looking for um…"
"Kevin's inside."
"Uh thanks. Would you let me in?"
"Listen to me first. I know you think we're good for nothing but orc hunting and that may be true for most of us but it's not true about Kevin. There's more to him than what you expect. He's trying to be someone that actually amounts to something. He's trying to be someone you'd love."
"He accomplished his mission. Now let me in!"
"Okay." The moment Sir Nicholas opened the door, Princess Ivy ran to Sir Kevin, threw her arms around him and held him as tightly as she could. She felt his heart beating against hers and it just pounded harder and harder the longer they held each other. Finally Sir Kevin said,
"What caused you to come back to me? Was it because my tights make me look hot?"
"No, it's because I was tired of running from my feelings."
"If I ask you to kiss me again, promise you won't take the anti-love potion."
"It won't work anyway." Princess Ivy grabbed his blouse and pulled him toward her. He gazed at her for a few moments before he locked his juicy lips to hers.
"What are you going to do about Prince Stephen?"
"He knows. I'm not going to marry him. Even if it means passing the crown to my brother. Isaac will make a fine king. It's the least I owe him for almost denouncing him as a knight. Besides it'll end this whole drama with Vanessa."
"What about Vanessa and denouncing Isaac?"
"Where have you been lately?"
"In love with you."
"Seriously, knock it off. Remember I told you how she was acting like she was the boss of me?"
"You mean you never took care of it?"
"I did a few minutes ago."
"Well, I'm glad you finally did it."
"I'm not. Vanessa's mad at me."
"You were at an intersection. Your family or your friends? Do you feel you made the right decision?"
"Yes. I just wish she'd not be so mad."
"Well there's not much you can do about that."
"I know! Don't tell me stuff I already know."
"What do you want me to say?"
"I don't want you to say anything. I just want you to listen."
"I am listening."
"No you're not! Prince George listens to me. You just stand there waiting to see when I'm going to stop talking and start making out with you again."
"That's not true!"
"Ugh! I'm just going to go home."
"So are you really going to do it?"
"Do what?"
"Pass the crown to Isaac."
"I don't know. I want us to be together but I also want to be the queen."
"What do you want more?"
"I want to be happy. If I became queen I know I could make us the best kingdom in the universe but it won't mean anything to me if I can't have you."
"I think you'll be a way better leader than Isaac and Isaiah combined. I love you but I don't want to be the one thing that's holding you back from changing the country."
"I know you don't. Sorry I snapped at you. I just really miss that little green guy."
"I bet you do. I bet he misses you too."
"I have to go." Princess Ivy kissed him again and left. When she got home she saw a small little fellow sitting on top of her dresser. She could hardly contain herself.
"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE BACK!!!!!!!!!! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!" Princess screamed at the top of her lungs.
"I missed you too dearest princess." Prince George smiled from one ear (well hole in his head) to another.
"How was the hunting trip?"
"Long. Too long. I thought I was going to die going that many days without you. We didn't even do that much hunting. Princess Miley and Sir Edmund mostly kissed each other. Turns out Bigfoot is real. He almost ate me for lunch. That's about it. How are you?"
"TERRIBLE! George, everything is all wrong. I might not even be queen anymore."
"Why not?"
"I'm going to marry Sir Kevin. No one's going to stop me."
"We talked about this already. You don't want to go down that road again."
"Yes I do. If you want me to be happy you'll let me marry him. Why don't you like him anyway?"
"Because…you love him. I'm jealous."
"What? You weren't jealous of Prince Stephen."
"You didn't love him. I like it just being the two of us. I don't want any guy to get in the way."
"You and I will always be friends. No one is going to change that."
"Princess, I want to be more than your friend. Give me a chance."
"Wake up and smell the coffee. YOU'RE A FROG!!!!! We can't be more than friends. Even if we wanted to."
"Do you want to?"
"No. I don't think about animals in that way." Princess Ivy said then covered her mouth.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you an animal but sometimes I forget you were once a human."
"If I were a human would you give me a chance?"
"If you were human you wouldn't need a chance. I'd already have my wedding dress on."
"Marry Sir Kevin. If that's what you really want."
"Thank you George!!!! Your approval means everything to me."
"Your welcome. I just want you to be happy."
"I'm tired. I should get to bed."
"It's been a long day for you."
"Would it make you too uncomfortable if I asked you to sleep in my room tonight?"
"Not at all. Can I sleep on top of your stuffed dog? He's a very comfy bed."
"Sure." Princess Ivy set up a little spot in her vanity and placed her stuffed dog on top of it. The next day, Princess Ivy didn't know what to do about Vanessa. She thought and thought until Prince George came up with an idea.
"How about you just let her have her way for now? Nothing she says is going to happen will happen if you're not the queen. You might as well keep the peace." He said.
"What about the twins?"
"Tell them the truth. They're your brothers; you can't keep stuff like that from them."
"It's going to be hard to tell them. They already hate orc hunters, but me giving up the throne to marry one? I hope they don't die of misery."
"Princess, your drama is showing!"
"Sorry. How about you tell them?"
"This is something you have to do yourself. Remember when we first met? You didn't want to go back to your party but you knew you had to. I was on your shoulder then and I'll be there now."
"Thanks. I appreciate that."
"Anything for my future queen." Prince George bowed. Princess Ivy ran outside to look for her brothers she didn't see them but she did see someone she missed.
"Ivy!!!! I haven't seen you in forever!!!" Princess Haylee squealed.
"Hello. How are you?" Princess Ivy greeted.
"Good. Princess Miley was just showing me around. Apparently the two of you are good friends."
"We are. I introduced her to her husband."
"Ohhhhhh…and did she introduce you to yours?"
"What do you mean? You know I'm not married."
"Not yet. Everyone already knows you're engaged to Prince Stephen, Princess Miley's cousin."
"Oh…I guess the word got let out sooner than I thought."
"You seem disappointed. Is something wrong?"
"No…of course not."
"We made a promise years ago that we'd always be honest with each other. Tell me what's wrong."
"Okay, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else. Under any circumstances."
"I promise."
"I'm not marrying Prince Stephen. I'm marrying Sir Kevin."
"But if you don't marry Prince Stephen, you won't be queen."
"I know, this is for love. Isaac will be a good king."
"You'll be a better queen. It's like we said since we were little girls. Anything boys can do…"
"Girls can do better. Like I said, I know I'll do better but it won't mean anything of I can't have Kevin. I love him and he loves me. Prince Stephen is cheating on me and said he never loved me. He cares about me, that's why he was willing to marry me but he will never see me as more than a friend."
"If that's what you really want, I'm sure the kingdom will manage."
"Thank you Haylee. You were right."
"About what?"
"That you will always be there for me."
"You know it."
"Have you seen my brothers?"
"Yes. They're at the rematch for the Prince vs. Knights competition."
"That's strange. I don't think Kevin wanted a rematch and Joseph's still on his honeymoon."
"I know. It was going to be Just Franklin and Nicholas against the twins but Sir Edmund decided to join the orc hunter's team and Prince Stephen is helping the twins so it's three against three."
"Now the knights really don't stand a chance with Stephen on the prince's team!"
"I don't know…Edmund is pretty skilled."
"True. Let's go watch."
"Okay, I'm going for the knights."
"Well, I'm going for the princes."
"You're on." The two princesses raced to the competition. They looked around for seats but it was very hard considering the Prince vs Knights rematch was the biggest, most exciting sport in the entire kingdom. Princess Ivy waved at her brothers, way up high from far away seats. They waved back. They were barely on round two. There were six rounds total. The knights won the first round. Princess Ivy saw Prince Stephen blow a kiss at someone. The crowd assumed it was at her but she knew better. Sitting right next to her was Princess Andi. Next to Princess Andi was Vanessa. Princess Ivy felt a huge sense of jealousy at that moment.
"Vanessa, you were right. About everything. Asking you to be my prime minister would be too much to ask. But at least be my friend." Princess Ivy said. Vanessa acted like she didn't hear her. The next round started. Unfortunately the challenge was…to save a maiden from an orc. Sir Nicholas and Sir Franklin looked at each other and laughed. They thought it was going to be a piece of cake. They pointed their arrows toward the orc but the twins had already rescued the maiden.
"I'm a lover not a fighter Sweetheart." Prince Isaiah said to the girl. Vanessa got up and left. Princess Ivy chased her down.
"Vanessa, please. Replace my brothers, raise the taxes, kill all the bloody spiders for all I care. Just please be my friend." Princess Ivy begged.
"Fine. I forgive you and I will stay your prime minister." Vanessa said.
"Thank you." Princess Ivy hugged her. They went back to the competition. The knights were losing. Horribly. Sir Nicholas can tend to be extremely competitive and sometimes blurts out things he doesn't intend to when he's losing. Princess Ivy was happy that the Princes were winning. She was cheering quite loudly for her brothers. This was driving Sir Nicholas crazy.
"SHUT UP!!!!!!!!! Since you're marrying my brother, you're cheering for the wrong team!!!!!" He hollered. There was a huge gasp from all two million people in the crowd.
"I thought she was marrying Prince Stephen." One man said.
"If she doesn't, she can't be queen." One woman said. Sir Nicholas realized what he just did and covered his mouth. The ground started shaking. Shauna appeared again out of no where and grabbed Princess Ivy.
"I already lost Joseph. You're only getting Kevin over my dead body." Shauna said to Princess Ivy. Shauna was 20 feet taller. And a little bit scarier. (Though she plenty scary before.) Then, they were gone. No one knew where they were. They thought Princess Ivy was gone forever. Only her true love could rescue her now.
To be continued…