King Ray rubbed his chin thoughtfully, unconsciously tapping his fingers against his wooden desk. There was a lot on his mind, but that was only to be expected. Except for the fact that today, he wasn't really thinking about anything related to Kaiyo. He was thinking about his daughter.
Lately, she had seemed happier than she had before, and while that was certainly a good thing, he couldn't put his finger on why. Part of it must be because Prince Zane and his fiancee was there, but as for the rest of it... He had no idea.
If only Maya was still alive... she would know.
The thought made him depressed, and he shook it away, determined to figure out what was causing his daughter to be smiling all the time. Whatever it was, he wanted to be sure it stayed. He loved it when she smiled.
A quick and nervous knock on his study door drew his attention away from his thoughts and back to the present. "Come in!" He barked, pushing a paper to the side.
There was a pause in which nothing happened, and he could hear rustling sounds right outside his door, but finally, the door opened and Prince James walked in, looking distinctly nervous.
"Ah, Prince James. Is there something I can do for you?"
James shifted, looking uncomfortable. "Well, actually sir, I was... wanting to tell you something."
"Really?" Ray paused and gestured towards the chair across for him. "Well then, James, sit down."
James sat down, twisting his hands together nervously. He didn't speak and seemed merely able to open and close his mouth a few times.
Ray raised an eyebrow, watching him. This kid was awfully nervous about something... "Well? What was it you wanted to tell me?"
"Um-" James exhaled, trying to relax. It was kind of amusing, if also a bit worrisome. "Well, it's about your daughter."
"Nya? What about her?" Almost immediately, panic raced through him. What was wrong with her? Was she alright?
As if he could see how worried that made him, James backpedaled a bit, hurrying to reassure him. "She's alright, I promise. It's just..." He grimaced. "Just hear me out."
"... Of course." The way he was acting wasn't very reassuring...
James took a deep breath, sitting forward and slowly placing a bright gold lamp on his desk, turning it so it caught the light. "Do you recognize that?"
Ray slowly sat forward as well, running a hand over it. It looked so familiar... "Is this the Teapot of Tyran?"
"Yes."
"But-" Ray's eyes flickered up to James', shocked. "How did you- this should be impossible to-"
"It's not. I was able to find it."
"What exactly are you saying here, then?"
"I'm saying..." James looked away for a second, drumming his fingers against the table. When he looked back at Ray, his eyes were determined. "I'm not who I say I am. I've been using genie magic."
Ray sat back, instantly on his guard. "Then who are you?"
"My real name is Jay, and I'm an orphan. I've lived in Agrad all my life, my parents moved here when I was a kid."
As soon as he said it, his image wavered, almost like Ray was seeing it through a reflection on a lake. He looked the same, but not... exactly the same. It was really odd.
"So, what you're meaning to say is that you are not a noble, you have been lying about your identity, and you have possession of a powerful magical artifact?"
Jay shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable. "Yes, kind of, and yes."
"I cannot believe what I'm hearing..." Ray sat back, trying to think through this. There was a stranger living in his palace... "You said that you have 'kind of' been lying about your identity, correct?"
"Yes."
"And what do you mean by that?"
"Well... Nya knows the truth. I told her the first day I was here."
He gave James an odd look, confused. "Why did you tell her? I am glad you did, but..."
"To put it simply..." James took a deep breath and sat forward in his seat, all nervous motion gone. "I love your daughter, and the very reason I took this up was to be able to get to know her."
"You what?!" Ray stared at him incredulously. "Do you not realize what exactly you're saying here? You have the audacity to come here under a false identity because you have somehow fallen in love with my daughter?"
"Do I have a reason to lie about any of it?" The boy looked nervous, and rightfully so. He had absolutely no right to be coming in and courting Nya under such false pretenses!
"Apparently so. What possessed you to come and tell me the truth now?"
Jay didn't even hesitate, just drew himself up and levelly replied, "I want to marry her, and both of us want your blessing on it."
For one second, he had absolutely nothing to say, rage and shock going through him. "You what?"
The boy in front of him didn't flinch, just nodded once in determination. "You heard me. I wish to marry your daughter, Nya."
"And she has agreed to this?"
"To put it simply, yes." Jay shrugged a little, still not breaking eye contact. "She wants to marry me, and I want to marry her."
"I doubt you know the full implications of what you're asking, boy. Nya's hand has already been given to someone else."
"Against her will! You didn't even ask her if she wanted to marry Robert Soto, and now that she's trying to chose me over him, you're just going to shut it down. For once, just listen!"
The venom in Jay's voice was so disrespectful, so close to insubordination that he almost had him locked up right there. For some reason, though, he didn't, just fell completely silent, almost in shock. Since when had someone dared to speak to him like this?
But Jay wasn't finished. "Most of the stories I've heard about you are totally and completely true, but there isn't truth to some of it! I thought you truly loved Nya, and would do anything to be sure she was protected and happy! Well, it turns out I was wrong. You made her get engaged to a man who couldn't care at all about whether she was happy and only wants to marry her to get the power that will come from an alliance like that, and you're too blind to see it! You don't care about her happiness, you just want to not have to worry about her future, because apparently she can't be the queen for some messed up reason! She's more than capable of ruling, you just can't see it!"
"Now see here-"
"I'm not finished yet!" Jay snapped, interrupting him. "You're trying to force her into a marriage that would be properly awful for her, you brush her off when she tries to get you to listen, and you don't want to see the evidence that's right in front of your face that Soto is not a suitable match for her! Why won't you just listen to her?"
"Because-"
"I'm still not finished!"
Ray growled, the urge to throw this stranger out of the palace increasing by the second. Even so, Jay kept talking, ignoring the murderous glares he was getting.
"She is your daughter, for goodness sake! You must want what's best for her, and that man is nowhere close to good for her! Start thinking of her first, not of what you think she wants!"
"So you're saying that my daughter would willfully disobey my orders by accepting-"
"Yes!" Jay glared at him right back. "This is why I'm telling you this right now, your Majesty. You deserve to know the truth, and this is the truth. You're asking Nya to do something that is totally and completely unreasonable, not to mention against her best interests. Gosh, you didn't even ask her to do it, you're just doing it without giving her any say in the matter! What does that say about you?"
"It says that I am looking out for the good of Kaiyo." Ray finally said, making sure that Jay couldn't say anything more. "Tread carefully here, orphan. You are on very thin ice."
Jay shut his mouth with a click, reaching forward and picking up the lamp from the desk. "Fine. If you're unwilling to listen, then I accomplished what I intended to. You know where to find me if you want to talk." He stood, the expression on his face stormy and angry. "Or better yet, to listen. That would be even more surprising."
Ray sat in stunned silence, unable to do anything but stare as Jay swept out of the room and slammed the door behind him.
He dared to speak to him that way? A liar, a stranger who had burst into his home solely for the purpose of courting his daughter had dared to insult him? No one spoke to him like that. Kings trembled when he walked into a room, a boy did not have the ability to insult him like that and get away with it.
He dared to accuse his king of not listening to his own daughter? Well... maybe it was time he had a talk with his girl. Maybe then this would get resolved. She was clearly choosing wrong, and for whatever reason, she didn't seem to trust that he knew what he was doing. This Jay person wasn't going to get away with this. Proposal or no, he'd stop this.
Running a kingdom was hard, but in his experience, trying to keep his small family together on top of that was even harder.
Sup y'all! Believe it or not, writer's block has not, in fact, murdered me yet! TW is still alive! *happy dance*
Anyways, hope you enjoyed Jay making a dumb decision (because who doesn't love that?). Feel free to leave me a review if you so please! I love to read them!