King Regal and Queen Jemma were the rulers of the Jewel Kingdom. Today they were attending a wedding for their friends King Mica and Lady Calmane of the Golden Kingdom. It was called the Golden Kingdom for it was where all the finest and purest gold was mined and the ballroom of the Golden Castle they were now in was made of shiny gold from floor to ceiling and the walls were decorated with tapestries and banners of golden silk. The furniture was also made of gold as were the clothes of the Golden Kingdom dwellers woven from gold fabrics.
Accompanying the rulers of the Jewel Kingdom were their four daughters, Princess Demetra, Roxanne, Sabrina, and Emily. Each of the four princesses had been given their own part of the Jewel Kingdom to rule based on the jewel that suited them best. Demetra's jewel was a diamond and so she ruled the White Winterland. Roxanne's jewel was a ruby and so she ruled the Red Mountains. Sabrina's jewel was a sapphire and so she ruled the Blue Lake. Emily's jewel was an emerald and so she ruled the Greenwood.
"It was such a beautiful wedding, wasn't it?" gushed Emily after the ceremony was over.
"It certainly was," agreed Roxanne. "I hope they live happily ever after."
"I would really like to live happily ever after with the one I love, too," said Sabrina dreamily.
"So would I," said Emily. "What does happily ever after mean?"
"It means to live in happiness for the rest of your life," replied Roxanne.
"And I can't think of anything that would bring more happiness than to find your one true love," added Sabrina.
"That may be true, but all the same," said Demetra, "don't you think we're all a bit too young to be talking about finding our soulmates now?"
"You may be right, Demetra," agreed Emily. "Though I thought you had been seeing Wink a lot lately," she added with a charming grin.
"Wink, the apprentice of the Great Wizard Gallivant? We're just friends, and nothing is happening between us, honest," Demetra said quickly with a slight blush to her cheeks.
"Well, for my part," said Roxanne, "I'll always be happy just to rule over my friends and subjects of the Red Mountains by myself."
"So will I with the Greenwood," added Emily.
"So will I with the White Winterland," added Demetra positively. "I don't care to have any shallow and insincerely charming prince by my side."
"I'm sure, though, that not all princes are like that," said Sabrina. "There's bound to be a few out there who are as sincere as they are charming."
"Well, they must be very rare, I suppose," said Demetra, tossing her long brown braid over her shoulder.
"I'd love to have a prince like that by my side to help me rule the Blue Lake," said Sabrina wistfully with her blue eyes gazing over. "Whether he is near or far I'm sure I'll find him someday."
Demetra rolled her eyes as Emily giggled while Roxanne just smiled.
Far ahead of them their parents were surrounded by their friends of royalty and nobility as they all toasted to the long and happy lives of the new King and Queen.
"I congratulate you, my good friend," King Regal said to King Mica after the toast. "I always knew you'd find the one you were always looking for. And you found her in the same way I found Jemma, no less!"
"Thank you, my good friend," said King Mica. "I hope we will also have children as lovely as the four daughters I've seen you have. And," he added thoughtfully, "speaking of your daughters, aren't they just about old enough to be looking at suitors now?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure," replied King Regal. "They are all only between the ages of nine and twelve, after all."
"I met my first suitors when I was twelve years old, though," said Queen Jemma.
"And come to think of it so did I," added King Regal.
"There you see what I mean," said King Mica. "And while they may not find who they want to spend the rest of their lives with overnight as it happens very rarely they will at least be well equipped and prepared for it when it happens."
"Alright, my friend, I do see your point," said King Regal. "Now may I ask if you have any suggestions for suitors to start with for my daughters?"
"Well," King Mica said without hesitating. "There is the young prince Fabian, the son King Delrado and Queen Ria of the Silver Kingdom that borders yours and my kingdom. He is twelve years old and is everything any young princess could wish for, or so I've heard."
"Thank you," said King Regal. "I'll arrange a meeting for him with my daughters first thing tomorrow."
Shortly afterward the wedding waltz began. Everyone in the room quickly found a partner to dance with including the four jewel princesses who were each offered the hand of a prince from another kingdom. Emily danced with Prince Eduardo, Roxanne danced with Prince Roy, Demetra danced with Prince Donovan.
Sabrina looked around waiting for someone to ask her to dance and suddenly she felt someone take her by the hand from behind. She turned around quickly and found herself looking into a pair sparkly eyes of the lightest blue she had ever seen belonging to a boy who looked to be a year or two older than her with midnight black hair and wearing a long silver cape with a matching tunic and boots.
He smiled at her sweetly. "May I have this dance, my fair princess?" he asked in a silvery voice.
"Charmed," replied Sabrina as she took his hand and they began their waltz around the golden ballroom floor.
As they began to dance the night away they continued to gaze into each other's eyes and they also kept smiling. Sabrina began to feel warm and bubbly inside as they did so.
As the dance came to an end Sabrina continued to clutch his hands as she asked. "What is your name, may I ask?"
"Fabian," he replied. "Prince Fabian of the Silver Kingdom. And may I ask also what your name is?"
"Sabrina," she replied. "Princess Sabrina of the Jewel Kingdom and ruler of the Blue Lake. I'd be honored if you could come and visit me at it someday."
"Thank you," he said. "And if you could come visit me at the Silver Kingdom I'd be very honored indeed."
Then slowly their hands separated and they bade each other goodnight.