Chapter 10

Link held his stomach. "I guess I won't get too close to him. Better put him in another seat. This one's too close for how full I am..."

Avalon snapped her fingers at a toad. "You, fetch a chair for him. He can sit next to my father's chair I suppose."

The toad rushed off, to find the most uncomfortable chair he could.

Avalon smiled at him warmly. "So how did you meet the chancellor? When did you decide to ask me to be your queen?"

He fixed his tie, and winked at her. "My dear, I have always loved your pretty face. Ever since you and... that fat guy with the red outfit broke off your attachments I've been waiting to meet you face to face. I must say.. you are more gorgeous than any other creature I could ever imagine..."

The toad returned with a broken folding chair. When the suitor sat in it, the thing collapsed in a heap, after it stuck him with a rusty nail.

He was helped out of the rubble by a couple clumsy yoshis who tried to make it more difficult on him. Soon his hair was tousled, his suit dirty and ripped, and his face red with anger.

"My! You're having a rather big dish of bad luck, aren't you? Maybe you should have stayed home tonight..." Avalon whispered to him, trying to restrain the laughter as best she could. "My, I can't believe they gave you that chair to sit in... that black insignia on the arm is bad luck... Some ancient pagan tribe had it, then gave it to someone in my family as a wedding gift. After my ancestor died in that chair, we've had it off limits... Now it's off limits forever I guess."

He dusted himself off. "Where do I sit now, your highness?"

She waved to a toad, who immediately rushed to get another chair. "Please find one that's not cursed!" She picked up her teacup and took a sip.

The suitor stood by Avalon, somewhat nervously. He shyly smiled at her. "We have a few repairs that need to be done when I move in... Before our son arrives."

Avalon put her teacup down rather roughly. "I cannot bear children. Didn't you know that?"

The suitor blinked three times. "Then we will find someone who can give me a child... I need a son. You will raise it as your own. As soon as we are married, I will find an attractive woman."

Avalon seemed horrified. "You will not sleep with another woman if we are married. I will not allow it."

The prince laughed. "You must be joking. You expect me to go without a child?"

"I have already decided to adopt an underprivileged child, and when my king and I pass on, they will take the throne."

He snorted, and looked away from her, as if disgusted. "How sweet. You're going to give some flea-bitten mutt a chance to be best of show. Doesn't that make you feel happy? I think underprivelaged children should be slaughtered like livestock. Save us royalty from troubles, revolting peasants and such."

Avalon slammed her palms on the table, and stood. "You are such a negative human being! My great great grandfather was a 'mutt' whom the King and Queen took in. He became King as soon as he turned twenty! My bloodline, our throne, stemmed from a 'mutt.' Do you insult everyone's bloodline when you enter their palace?"

He gasped. "Why you aren't even real royalty! If I knew you weren't of noble blood then I would never have asked for your hand!"

She pointed toward the door. "Out! You are not king quality! You aren't even human enough to LIVE!!"

The suitor was fuming by this time. "I want my money back, Chancellor! The deal is off! You should have paid ME to marry this... stupid wench!"

Link literally jumped from his spot at the table, drew his weapon, and pushed the suitor into a wall, the sword at his throat. "You! Don't call her a stupid wench! She is neither stupid nor a wench. In fact, she is much too smart and beautiful to settle for a king who has to pay for a queen. Why can't you find a 'stupid wench' to marry in your own kingdom?"

He was so scared he couldn't breathe.

"Get your uncouth funny accent ass out of here before I get mad at you!" Link dropped him to the floor like a bag of garbage.

The suitor scrambled to his feet and hurried toward the door. "I expect my money back in one week!" He yelled at the frightened Chancellor, and the door slammed.

The chancellor sat in his chair, jaw agape, clutching his green handkerchief in disbelief.

"I HATE YOU!" Avalon screamed as she threw her wine glass at him. He raised his arms to shield the blow. "You dirty old scoundrel! Pack your things and be out tomorrow or I will have the guards carry you out in pieces! I considered tonight your formal resignation...."

"Come on, Avalon, you must be joking. It was for your own good that I found you a suitor. You don't want to be lonely do you?" He followed her down the hall.

"I'm not lonely, and if I was, I would rather be lonely than sold like... a chicken at the market or something! Maybe you don't get it. I don't want you to be chancellor any longer. I want you out of office! That way I can take over and fix the corrupt laws you put in place. I still can't figure out why you added them in the first place! I want to live my own life, I am sick of you controlling it! I am quite capable of choosing my own king."

"I find that hard to believe, your highness. You've been eyeing that beast you brought back with you from Delfino. Like your great grandparents, you always find a lost puppy. Lost puppies often become rabid dogs when they grow up. You know nothing about that creature you brought back. It isn't even human!!"

Avalon stomped her foot. "He is from star haven, just like I am! I don't care if his ears are different! I like his elfin ears! I think they're very cute! In case you didn't notice, my ears are also slightly pointy! So do you think I am a 'beast?"

"You are not a beast! You are a young queen who is much too naive to rule by herself. I will find you a king and then you can take over. But I will not allow you to marry someone like... him. He is unruly, and he's not even the same specie as you."

She crossed her arms. "You know that cute little toad who has those weird purple-silver spots on his head? He's the only toad who's ever had spots like that, right? And he does a good job as a yoshi trainer?"

The chancellor nodded. "Yes, he does! He's one of the best we have."

"Then the man I love has ears different than mine, does that mean he is incapable of being King? I don't see how it does." She tapped her foot impatiently, her arms firmly crossed in front of her chest.

"He is not going to rule this kingdom! If you want to marry him, then by all means, do it! But just remember that you will be letting down your whole kingdom when I kick you and your husband out of the palace and on to the streets."

Avalon grumbled. "You are a lowly being. Pond scum is too good of a name to call you. You would kick your daughter out just for... following what her heart tells her. I'm leaving, and I won't be back until you change your mind, or die. And no, you aren't invited to the wedding." She announced, as she turned, and headed back into the dining room.

Link was helping clean off the table. When he saw her, he excused himself and approached her. "Ava, you look upset, what happened?"

She looked at him. "I've been kicked out of the palace."

Link gave her a confused look. "Why? How?"

"Because I told him I wanted to marry you."

Link blushed, and pulled her close. "I... I am speechless. I can't believe how courageous you are... I've been wanting to ask you to marry me, but I figured you were too good for me."

Avalon pulled away from him. "That's not true. Neither of us is better than the other. If I thought you were lowly, I wouldn't want you as my king."

He kissed her hand. "You go pack up whatever things you want. I'll gather my few belongings, and we'll get out of here. Maybe we should stay for tonight at least. We can leave at early light."

"I think that's a good idea. You go tell the chancellor we're staying tonight and leaving tomorrow at 5 AM." She ran her hand along his face, and smiled warmly at him. "It's just a standoff, we'll be back in the palace within the day. He's just testing to see how much I like you."