Van wasn't sure what it was that he felt when he heard those words come out of Thomas's mouth. One thing was for sure though. 'How the hell did someone like him manage to snag someone like that!' he thought as he watched in shock at the two people before him.
Van wasn't sure why but he felt jealous. 'Why is that? I don't even know her,' he thought as he just kept silent. 'She's definitely quite a looker though,' he thought taking his seat and then shook his head to clear them of the thoughts he was having.
Van found himself glaring across the table as Thomas tried to sweet-talk Fiona. Van couldn't help but notice that although she looked like she was paying attention to him, that her eyes seemed much more distant than she was letting on. He always that that women who were engaged were really excited at the prospect of getting married.
"It is wonderful to be able to meet you dear," Van's mom said with a broad smile on her face. "We've heard quite a bit about you from Mr. and Mrs. Shubaltz. Tell me, what do you think of it here?" she asked as she leaned forward and rested her chin on the palms of her hands.
Fiona looked towards the older woman and smiled brightly. "The area is very beautiful. I kind of regret not being able to live her very long. I loved the unique garden you have also. Your son was kind enough to tell me a bit about it," she said finding a change of topic to be nice instead of having Thomas just talking.
Van's mother seemed surprise top hear that and turned her head in Van's direction. "You never mentioned that you met her before now," she said looking at Van with a curious stare that seemed to look deep into his mind.
Van just smirked. "I just happened to run into her on the way to dinner. She was just looking around your garden," Van explained as he watched the food coming in with much more interest. After not eating all day, he was hungrier than ever and just wanted something to eat.
Dan took some of the food and started to take decent bites out of them. He then looked at the other king. "So, how long was it that you were planning to stay again?" he asked after he swallowed a small mouthful of food.
The elderly king looked deep in thought for a few moments. "Just until the wedding I guess, which will be in about two months. We just came earlier to make sure everything was prepared on time. I hope that it won't be too much of a bother for you," he said looking at Dan curiously.
"Of course not,' Dan said with a broad smile. "Besides, it's been customary for centuries that all royal weddings in these lands to be held here. I'm looking forward to it," he said joyously before taking another bite of a delicious steak.
The man across from Dan just smiled as well and took a quick sip of wine. "Yes, I too look forward to it. I can remember when I got married as well. It was too perfect for words," he said as he looked fondly at his wife right next to him.
Dan just chuckled and took a sip of his own wine. "Yes, when my father was king, he wasn't too happy about certain aspects of that wedding but I must say that it was beautiful as well," he said placing down his cup and turned his attention back to the food before him.
"It was definitely a tragedy of his passing shortly after that. I see that these lands are in good hands under your guidance and I'm sure that your son will also be a good king in his own way," he said looking towards Van and just nodded his head.
Thomas crossed his hands across his chest and just snorted. 'I'd be a better king then,' he thought but thought it best that he kept his mouth shut so that he didn't end up making anymore of a fool of himself than he already had. He still couldn't believe that he did that to the high king's son. He hoped that he wouldn't get in too much trouble for doing that.
Van continued to glance towards the blonde haired woman that was sitting just a few seats away. Up until then she'd been perfectly quiet besides when his mother asked her a question. "Why is it that you moved away from here Fiona?" he asked just figuring he could get her to start talking more. He didn't know why he asked that question in specific but it just came out of his mouth.
Fiona seemed slightly startled with his suddenly question. She looked up and saw Van looking at her and she saw that it also caught almost everyone's attention. "Well… I don't know. My parents just moved away from the area when I was still just a baby," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Thomas glared at Van carefully but then smiled. "Well I'm glad that they moved no matter what the reasons for it were. If they hadn't then I might not have been able to meet my Fiona," he said and everyone thought the smile would remain plastered to his face if he smiled any larger.
Van just rolled his eyes. He'd never let anyone see him doing something like that. "If all of you would like, I can take you all on a tour of the country side tomorrow," he said trying to get back on his parents good side for missing out of the arrival earlier that day.
"Why that's a wonderful idea," Van's mother said and looked at Van proudly. All thoughts of punishment she had just seemed to escape her at the mention of it. "Van knows the lands better than anyone. I think it would a good idea," she said smiling towards the other king and queen.
"I think it's a wonderful idea as well. All the timers that we've been here we've been stuck in the castle. It'd be wonderful to go out and see all that this place has to offer," he said and his wife nodded as well. "Are the two of you up for the ride tomorrow?" he asked looking towards Thomas and Fiona.
Thomas opened his mouth as if to decline the offer but then the woman next to him spoke. "I'd love to go. It'll be nice to see more of these beautiful lands," she said with a bright smile at the thought of it. She'd be staying here for the next two months so she thought it would be a good idea.
Thomas immediately brightened up as well. "I perfectly agree with Fiona. I say we all get up bright and early to get started," he muttered and then he wasn't sure but he could've sworn he heard the words, "You would," come out of his brother's mouth.
"I guess it's settled then. You'll start out bright and early for a tour that Van will take you on," Dan said before another thought came to mind. "I'm sure your horses are still tired so I'll lend you some of ours. They're all great horses," Dan said before he stood up. "I'm tired so I shall bid you all goodnight and recommend that you get a lot of sleep," he said before he turned and walked out of the room silently.
The room then slowly started to clear out. Van's mother followed shortly after his father, the Fiona left and Thomas followed before being warned by his parents and then went in a different direction, and then even they left. Van was the last one to leave and did it with a big yawn.
The next morning, Van was woken up by a loud pounding on his door. He looked out the window and saw that the sun was just barely rising. "Go away! Come back in a few hours and maybe I'll wake up!" he yelled to the door and he thought that the person left but then the pounding started again.
"Get up Van!" Irvine's voice yelled through the door loud enough to just about wake the entire castle. "You need to get everything ready to take them on a horseback ride through the country!" he yelled before turning and walking away. It was servant stuff, not stuff that the general of the armies should be doing.
Van groaned and rolled over dragging himself out of bed. "Why the hell did I volunteer for this?" he asked himself falling to the floor before picking himself up slowly and stumbled towards his wardrobe. "Who would even want to get up this early to go out?" he muttered pulling a casual shirt over his head.
Van yawned as he stumbled out of his room and started to walk down the halls. "Whose bright idea was it to leave at this time in the morning?" he asked himself stifling a yawn and turned a corner and just as another door opened in his path.
Fiona stepped out of the room and turned into the path of Van. "Good morning your highness," she said politely and bowed slightly before raising herself up straight again. "Where are you taking all of us today?" she asked with a calm expression on her face,
"There's no need for formalities," Van said with a kind hearted smile. "I hate them. You can just call me Van," he said taking a few steps towards her. "As for where we're all going, as soon as everyone is ready than I'm going to take everyone all over the country. We'll probably be gone most of the day," he explained looking at her intently. There was something about her that made Van feel strange.
"Oh I can't do that! It's not very proper for me to address you like that," Fiona said with a small blush on her face at the thought of it. She'd always been brought up to respect her superiors.
Van just grinned at that. "It also wouldn't be proper to disobey my family. So I order you to only call me Van," he said and nearly laughed when he saw the look of confusion that crossed her face. It looked like she wanted to say something but Van knew that she would listen.
"Um… ok… Van," she said with a small smile crossing her face. "I should get going," she said as she carefully maneuvered past Van and walked down the halls to the dining room where she was hoping for a small something to eat before they left on the small trip.
Van eyes watched her until she disappeared from view. He then shook his head rapidly trying to get rid of any thoughts he was having. 'What is it about her! I don't even know her!' he yelled in his head before he turned and started to walk in a different direction.
Van walked out of the castle and to the stables. The stable boy was new and Van still preferred to help take care of the horses when it was possible for him to get the opportunity. So he figured that he'd be able to teach the new guy a few things and just get things going a little faster.
"So you're not going to come with us old friend?" King Trent said as the small group walked towards the front doors of the castle. He had dark circles under his eyes but at the same time didn't look too tired.
"I've seen the places many times in my rule. Van is a good enough guide. I don't think you'll need many others coming along," he said as he walked next to his wife. They were the only two out of the small group of seven that weren't planning on going out on the ride.
"Pity, it would've been nice to catch up with you a bit more," he said with a frown before it turned into a bright smile. "Well I guess we can always find some other time to talk," he said as they headed out the front doors.
There standing before them had to be the most finely raised horses that anyone had ever seen. Six horses were spread out across the front of the castle. They ranged in different heights and colors. There was two simple yet beautiful brown horse, a black one which was also the tallest, one of a grayish color, one that looked almost to be pure white, and the final one and the most unique of them all was an amazing horse of a strange silverfish color.
Fiona looked over the several horses in amazement. "They're amazing. Who is it that bred all of these wonderful horses?" she asked as she slowly approached them and inspected them as if looking for any flaws that she was almost sure were non-existent on these finely bred horses.
"We have an excellent breeder here by the name of Stinger. Weird man but is great with the horses. He's good out finding new types but leaves it to us to take care of them afterwards. Probably a good idea to try and avoid him but since he had a fascinating interest in horses so we gave him the job and he's done wonders for us since," Van explained as he came out from behind the horses.
Trent slowly walked towards the silverfish one. In all of his years, he never saw a horse so unique as the one before him. "I think I'll take this one. It looks like a very reliable horse," he said starting to reach out to pat it.
Van immediately jumped forward and grabbed the king's wrist. "I'm sorry but this one's mine. It's not really too friendly with many other," Van explained as he slowly led the king backwards away from the horse. "It was hard enough for me to tame and now it won't listen to anyone else and even has a tendency to strike out from time to time," he continued his explanation.
"Oh please," Thomas snorted as he looked at the horse. "Doesn't look all that dangerous to me," he said walking forward to it. He reached a hand out and placed it on the back of the horse. "That was easy, No one here must know how to handle horses properly," he thought trying to climb on.
Van was haven't a small conversation with Trent when there was a high pitched yell followed by the loud neighing of a horse. Van turned around and saw the silver horse trying to stomp on a figure that was on the ground before it.
Van rushed forward and grabbed the horse to bring it down to the ground. "Settle down!" he yelled trying to calm down the angered horse. "Settle down Zeke!" he said sternly and was glad when the horse finally settled down but it still kept it's angry eyes on the man cowering on the ground.
Thomas's parents rushed forward and helped to pull him away from the horse he so foolishly thought he could handle. "Are you ok sweetie?" his mother asked him as she looked him over. It didn't seem too bad but he was covering his face as blood gushed out from behind his hands.
"That damn horse just busted my nose!" Thomas yelled as he was helped up by his parents. His hands were pulled away and it wasn't really the prettiest of sights to say the least. The nose was definitely broken and there was blood all over his face.
"You can't say I didn't warn you because all of you heard me," Van said as he watched Thomas intently. He never knew that someone's stupidity could reach as high as Thomas's. Even when warned he tries to do everything his own way. Van was really starting not to like Thomas even more than before.
Dan and his wife rushed after hearing the loud noises and saw the mess before them. "He tried to get on Zeke, didn't he?" Dan asked and everyone just nodded their heads and Dan sighed. "I'll take him to get it looked at. He won't be going anywhere today though. All of you had better get going. He'll just have to go another time," Dan said as he basically pushed Thomas back to the castle.
Mrs. Shubaltz looked at her husband. "Should we really go without Thomas?" she asked in a worried tone like any mother would after seeing her son get hurt in the way that Thomas did.
Mr. Shubaltz looked at his wife. "Dan will take care of Thomas. I don't see any reason not to still go," he said but also in a worried tone. "There's nothing we can do about it anyways. He'll be fine," he assured his wife as he walked over to the brown horses. He got on one of them and his wife got on the other.
"It must take a lot to tame that horse," Karl pointed out looking at Zeke before he walked over to the large black horse and climbed on top of it. "great horse that is only loyal to one master. At least you won't have to worry about it being taken by someone else," he said trotting the black horse over to his parents' horses.
"Yeah, there were quite a few times that I ended up like Thomas before I was finally able to get Zeke to listen to me. He's the best horse I know of and I wouldn't want to have any other," Van said patting Zeke affectionately.
Fiona walked over to the white horse and patted it a few times before she carefully climbed on top of it and swung her legs to one side since she was wearing a dress. "You're obviously good with horses if you're able to tame such a horse," she commented and saw him just smirk.
Van took a look up at the sky and saw that the sun had already long since risen. The fiasco took a little longer to calm down than he first thought it did. "Let's go," Van said getting Zeke started as he turned him towards the south. Everyone followed him without question as he led them towards a small town that was just outside the castle since it was their first stop.
As they entered the village about ten minutes later, everyone took notice of how lively everyone was. They were able to go about their business without having any sort of care in the world. It was a wonderful sight to see when there was always some sort of fighting happening every once in a while.
Van brought Zeke to a stop and carefully climbed off of it. "Might as well a few things up before we leave. Feel free to have a look around unless you'd rather come with me," Van said before he started to walk amongst the people who didn't seem to mind having their prince walking amongst them.
"What fine material this place sells," Fiona said coming to a stop as this small stand. She picked up a very silky blue material and felt it in her hands. She guessed that having the village be under the high kings castle made it so that they could get all sorts of things that would be hard to find elsewhere.
"You like it young lady?" the man selling the fabrics asked and Fiona just nodded her head. "I had that one specially imported. If you'd like, I can give you it for a special discount," he said and it was pretty obvious that he was just trying to flirt with her more than trying to sell her things.
"Fiona couldn't help but love the material. "Sure, I'll buy it. I don't want a discount though," she said feeling bad about getting something for cheaper just because of who she was when others had to pay full price for it.
"She'll get it later," Van said as he approached the cart. He then turned and looked at Fiona. "Be best to wait unless you want to haul it around with you all day," he explained with a smile. "Come on," he said leading her along a path as Thomas's parents followed behind them.
Van knew what that merchant was doing and he didn't know why he wanted to get her out of there as quickly as he did. "Careful about him. He'll do anything if it means that he can flirt with a pretty lady," Van said winking at Fiona which just caused her to blush slightly.
Fiona just giggled as she followed Van. Sure she was used to Thomas always complimenting her but it was something that she wasn't used to hearing from other people. She never really felt that she was all that beautiful though so it was always strange to hear it from everyone.
"Van!" a bunch of kids ran up to him happily. There were a whole group of them and they all looked really happy to see him down there. "Why haven't you come to play with us lately?" one of them asked as he held a small wooden horse in his hand.
Van smiled and kneeled down so that he was level with the kid. "I've just been really busy lately. I'll be sure to drop by if I ever find the time," Van said and the kids nodded before they ran off to play the game they were playing before the group decided to show up.
Fiona looked a little amused by what she saw. "You like to play with the village kids?" she asked with a giggle erupting in her throat. She didn't have a problem with it. She actually thought it was kind of cute that someone of Van's status would take the time to play with all the kids.
Van looked towards Fiona and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, got a problem with it?" he asked thinking that she was just making fun of him. He actually found it kind of fun to get out of the castle and just have some fun every once in a while.
Fiona waved her hands in front of her wildly. "No, of course not. It just strange to see someone of your status playing around like that. I actually think it's kinda cute," she said laughing a little before she walked on towards Thomas's parents who were looking over a small stand of figurines.
Fiona sighed. Sometimes she wished that Thomas could at least be a little more sensitive. He was always too serious. That was just one of her regrets about having to soon be married to a man like him.
Van just grinned at that statement. "I have too many responsibilities as prince that I don't get to have fun from time to time. So I just try to sneak out when I can. The kids around here can be fun to play with. Although sometimes I wish there were more people my age to talk to," Van admitted paying the man for some fruit since he didn't have the time for any food earlier that day.
Fiona was surprised that someone as nice as Van didn't have many people his age to talk to. "I'm sure there has to be people your age that you talk to," she said but he just shook his head no. "Why?" she couldn't help but ask him.
"Because I don't want to be used," Van said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I once knew someone that pretended to be my friend just so his family could get things out of my family for it. I haven't been too trusting since then," he admitted taking a bite out of a papaya he was holding in his hand.
"I guess that there are a lot of sacrifices that you have to make to be where you are. There are a lot of sacrifices that I had to make as well because of becoming Thomas's fiancée," Fiona said as a bunch of kids ran past them.
Van looked at Fiona a little confused. She almost seemed a bit sad at what she had to do. "You don't sound happy about it," he pointed out as they all turned around and started to head back to the horses. "Don't all women want to be princesses and queens?" he asked as she walked next to him.
"Some maybe, but I couldn't really give a care. Thomas is only second in line for the throne and I could care less if he gets it or not," Fiona admitted with a passive look on her face. "If I could just have a nice husband and be happy, then I'll be happy," she said as she continued to watch the children play.
That was definitely something that Van definitely think he'd hear. 'Somehow I don't think Thomas's is the type of person to give that to her. He's more the type that wants to prove himself by being king over all else,' Van thought thinking of the previous encounters her had. The guy liked to bark orders at others far too much.
The two didn't say much after that and just walked silently with Thomas's parents back towards the horses. Fiona just kept looking around at how happy all the people looked. They act so naturally even in front of their future king.
Back in the north, people will drop whatever their doing when Thomas's family shows up. She gets the feeling that Thomas enjoys it too much. She knew Karl would prefer them not to and it was somewhat the same for his parents. It was just nice to be able to see the people act in such a way.
When they got back to the horses, Fiona was surprised to see that many of the children from earlier were there and gathering around Zeke. "I thought Zeke hated for other people to get near him," she said turning to Van but was again surprised to see that there was just a smile on her face.
"Adults maybe but he seems to love it when kids play with him. Maybe it's something about the young and innocent nature of a child," Van said walking a few steps forward before coming to a stop. "Then again, that might mean that he'd let you," he said as a joke as the kids started to scatter again. He didn't mean it seriously but it was kind of fun to see Fiona's cute reaction.
Fiona just blushed and glared at Van for a second but she thought it was rather flattering for him to say that. Van points out her personality while Thomas points out her looks. 'I shouldn't be comparing the two of them. It's not proper to do that to my fiancé,' she thought as she approached her own horse.
Fiona then looked towards the silver horse and saw how happy it looked then compared to when it kicked Thomas earlier that day. Fiona didn't know why but her feet seemed to move by themselves and they directed her towards the horse.
Zeke saw the woman approaching and just watched her intently. It didn't seem to be making any move to frighten her away but then again it did that to Thomas before kicking him.
Van was having a small discussion like earlier but he saw Fiona approaching the horse. He wanted to say something but his voice seemed to get caught in his throat. It surprised him most when his usually temperamental horse just bowed it's head towards the woman as if it was actually asking her to pet him. 'I've never seen Zeke act like this before,' he thought remembering kicking Thomas. Fiona did seem like a good person though and he guessed that Zeke saw that as well.
"I'm impressed," Van said as he took a few steps towards his horse and Fiona. "I'm surprised he let you close so easily. I never could figure out what was going his mind," Van said also placing a hand on the silver horse's head.
Fiona just smiled as she smoothes out the hair on the horses back. "It's truly a remarkable horse," she said with a smile and laughed when it seemed like Zeke was really getting into it. "Except for what it did to Thomas, I see absolutely nothing wrong with it," she continued before she walked over to her own horse and climbed on.
'There's nothing wrong with him period. He just did what I wanted him to do to Thomas,' Van thought fighting back the urge to laugh as he climbed onto Zeke and rubbed the top of Zeke's head affectionately. He knew that Thomas had it coming to him. He was rude and obnoxious. "Good job," he mumbled under his breath.
They were about to start off once again but the sound of another horse made all of them stop. They all turned around to see the last of the horses they were going to use that morning coming. Yet it didn't have the expected rider on it. Instead it was another woman with tan skin and dark hair held up in small ponytails.
"It's Moonbay!" Fiona said happily when she could make out specific features. Fiona watched as she galloped up to them and brought the horse to a halt. "Where have you been Moonbay? I haven't seen you since I first got here," Fiona said sharing a brief hug with Moonbay.
"I came with the rest of them. You came late," Moonbay said with a laugh as everyone just set off. Van didn't even bother to question who she was at that moment. "If I knew all of you were going out then I would've joined along. So I slept in and you all left without me!" she said looking a little offended but everyone could see she was joking. she always was one to joke around.
"We're so sorry Moonbay. You weren't looking too good yesterday so we thought we'd just let you get some sleep," Thomas's mother said with a smile as she rode next to her husband. "If we knew you were feeling better than we would've thought to bring you along," she said with a smile as she patted the younger woman's shoulder.
"You know I like my freedom. Sitting around in carriages sucks. I have no control over what happens. I was merely bored, not sick" Moonbay said with a laugh wondering how they could've possibly mistaken it for being sick.
"If you weren't sick then where were you all day yesterday?" Thomas's father asked in a curious tone of voice. He didn't receive an answer to his question. "Moonbay," he said in a warning tone of voice. He didn't want to hear it if she was getting into trouble again but he knew he had to hear what was happening.
"It was nothing. I got lost in the castle. I was barely able to find my room and dinner was already done. I had to scrounge things from the kitchen and then somehow manage my way back to my room," she said almost as if she was trying to think fast, which wasn't normal for her.
"Whatever you say Moonbay," Fiona said with a small chuckle. It was then that they all came to the top of a huge hill and Fiona could see almost all the lands. There were several villages all spread out and many mountain ranges and lakes. The lands were truly magnificent in her opinion.
There's a mountain range about three hundred miles in that direction," Van said pointing in one direction. "Those are the borders to the southern lands. It's at least double that to the borders to the eastern lands and as you probably know, about just a little over that to the borders of your lands," Van said turning north where you couldn't even see where the borders were.
"I'll say! I thought that stupid carriage ride was going to take forever!" Moonbay said and Trent and his wife just laughed. "Why couldn't your castle have been built closer to the north?" she asked glaring at Van who just shrugged. Moonbay just rolled her eyes and grumbled to herself. She probably would've been happier walking all the way here instead of taking a carriage. At least that way she'd have a choice of what to do.
"I had no control of that," Van said before having another thought. "No one alive had any control over that," he said as he started his horse forward. "Come on. There are a lot to see and not a lot of time to see it," he said and everyone quietly followed after him a few moments later.