Shamus watched her with an absent smile as she walked ahead of the caravan with her friend. Ryu and she laughed over a shared joke or 'remember when'. Her wingtips flutters when she laughs...
Shamus adjusted his seat in the saddle, moving his gaze to his hands and the reins he held. During breakfast she had insisted he call her 'Nina'. Shamus had respectfully declined, saying he would try to work up to it. He just couldn't even think about doing such a thing. She's a princess of one of the oldest family lines in Wyndia. I'm barely a farmer. Shamus could still hardly believe her father had suggested the match. All I wanted was a trade contract! Why would he give me his daughter?
Shamus heard her laughter again and lifted his eyes. They crinkled at the corners when they focused on her. Nina... Shamus intercepted a smile she sent over her shoulder toward him, feeling his ears flush pink as he returned it. Then he looked away with a clearing of his throat. Any other thoughts couldn't survive the shock of his pleasant predicament.
Shamus felt a sudden brief touch on his foot and looked down.
Nina smiled up at him. "Why don't you come and walk with us the rest of the way, Shamus?"
Shamus returned her smile. "My pleasure, Princess." He dismounted and stepped over to the nearest wagon to secure the horse. Then he moved to walk beside her.
Nina slowed her pace instead of hurrying to walk next to Ryu. "Father will likely want to meet with us once we arrive."
Shamus nodded, holding his hands behind his back as he glanced toward her. Her gaze met his with a smile. Shamus could only momentarily return it, then a serious expression robbed away the smile. "I know," he confessed. "We still need to settle a few things." And I need to make sure he wasn't joking when he offered your hand.
"Such as?" Her bright eyes widened slightly.
Shamus looked away as he briefly cleared his throat. "Dowry for one. Wyndia involvement with McNeil for another."
"I doubt father will opt to be too terribly involved with McNeil, Shamus. He's quite impressed with how you've managed to help the community flourish in such a short amount of time."
Nina intercepted his sidelong glance with her same enchanting smile. Shamus' ears grew hot as he returned her smile and glanced away again.
"As for dowry," Nina continued, "what had you planned to suggest?"
What do I offer a Wyndian king for his only daughter when that daughter is Nina? "I don't rightly know," he admitted with another quick glance toward her. "Normally I would offer whatever the father needed most. Your father doesn't really need anything."
Nina brightly smiled, and her wings fluttered. "That isn't true. Everyone needs something at some point in their lives. The hard part is discovering what that is."
Shamus returned her smile with an easy one of his own. "Isn't that the truth."
"Did you have any ideas?"
On the dowry, or on how this could possibly be happening? "Actually, I'm expecting a few champion-blood foals this year. Is your father at all interested in horses?"
If possible, Nina's expression brightened to an even lovelier version of herself. Her wings fluttered with excitement. "Father adores horses!"
Shamus smiled. "I'll see about offering him his choice of mares. Maybe I'll throw in free studding for the first five years of our marriage?" Shamus' ears pinked, but he ignored it as he continued to watch Nina's reactions to the statements.
Nina nodded her approval, eyes twinkling as she rested a hand on his arm. "Oh Shamus, he would love that," she confessed.
"Who would love what?" Ryu asked, walking backwards so as to watch and listen to the duo as they very slowly approached.
Shamus' ears burned as he looked away from Nina's face and stepped from her touch. Nina excitedly told Ryu of the intended dowry. Ryu nodded his approval and came to walk on Shamus' other side. Nina moved back to her previous degree of closeness, and Ryu left Shamus no opportunity for escape.
Shamus finally settled into the easy pace with a slight smile, occasionally feeling the breeze from Nina's flutter of wings.
Too soon, Wyndia came into view and the easy banter between Nina and Ryu ceased. The trio halted outside the entry, the caravan moving past to unload.
Ryu stretched out a hand. Shamus accepted it. "It was good to meet you, Shamus." Ryu faced Nina, and she stepped forward to embrace him. "I'm sorry I can't stay."
Nina tightened her arms around him with a whispered, "It's all right, Ryu. Thank you for coming." They pulled back. "Visit again soon. And if you see Momo, tell her 'hello'."
He nodded. "I will." Then Ryu moved off in the direction of the Eastern Wyndia region, Nina waving after him.
Shamus watched her with an absent smile. Friends meant a lot to her, and she seemed to make them easily. I guess that's what comes from being a princess.
Nina looked over at him, catching Shamus in his new-found hobby. He flushed but held her gaze.
"Thank you so much for allowing him to stay," she said.
"My pleasure, Princess. It was great to finally meet Rei's roommate."
Nina smiled and surprised Shamus by wrapping her arm around his. She tucked her hand into the nook of his elbow and motioned him forward. Shamus struck an easy pace into Wyndia, oblivious to the hustle and bustle as he focused his attention solely on Nina beside him.
"Father insists we have the ceremony inside the castle, but I so wanted it to be in the square." She looked toward him. "Do you mind an outdoor ceremony?"
Shamus wordlessly shook his head.
Nina's smile twinkled in her eyes. "I want flowers and doves and ribbons all over."
"Of course." Sammy boy, is this girl for real? Shamus reached around to cover her hand with his. She didn't fade and Shamus was too embarrassed at what he did to pull his hand away. So he only looked ahead of them. "Flowers are always nice," he continued absently. I'm marrying a princess? But I raise crops and breed horses... "Unless you have allergies."
Nina laughed, and Shamus felt the tickle of the breeze from her wings. He looked down at her with a slight smile.
"I suppose you're right. Perhaps I should create ribbon flowers instead."
"It's your wedding. If you want flowers, you should have flowers..." Shamus' smile wavered. "Though I guess it would be bad to have someone sneezing the entire time."
Nina giggled, nodding up at him as they ascended the stairs of the square into the castle. "Father would be furious."
"And I guess I shouldn't make my future father-in-law angry before the wedding is over."
Nina shook her head with a serious expression, but her bright eyes twinkled. "It wouldn't be recommended, no."
"Then I guess we stay with ribbons."
Nina's eyes widened. "No doves?"
"Only if everyone brings an umbrella or a hat. It's liable to get messy."
Nina giggled again. "Ribbons it is."
Shamus chuckled, examining her profile once she'd turned away. He had heard so many different stories of what to expect from an 'arranged marriage'; of the condescension, the strained pleasantries, and the barely held tolerance. Nina seemed to be making an actual effort to become a friend. She hadn't looked down her nose at McNeil, or his home, or even himself. She laughed at his jokes and offered her own.
Nina looked over at Shamus as she pointed to the bakery on the way to the entrance to the castle. She explained something about it, but Shamus didn't hear anything except the honest interest in her voice. The princess wanted him to know about where she came from. About what happened there. She wanted his opinion. His approval?
"Did you want to taste some?"
Shamus blinked, finally realizing they had stopped outside the bakery doors. His ears pinked. "Oh. Um..." He cleared his throat and looked to the doors. "If we have time." He met her gaze again. She still smiled. "That would be great."
To Shamus' surprise, Nina's hand moved to take firm hold of his own. Then, still smiling brightly, she said "Their berry bread is divine," as she pulled him forward into the bakery.
It was divine. As was the fruitcake, the white bread, and so many others that Shamus felt certain he'd never be satisfied with McNeil cooking again. When Nina looked about to offer yet another slice of something, he shook his head with a chuckle and raised his hands.
"Please. I'm already ruined for Cook's bread, and I've got to save room for dinner yet."
Nina laughed as she set down the tray of breads and cakes to again tuck her hand into the crook of his elbow. "All right," she reluctantly acquiesced. "I suppose father and mother are anxious to see how we fared."
How do we fare? Shamus wasn't quite sure.
The duo entered the castle and made their way to the throne room. Instead of halting and waiting for an audience, Nina gave his arm a gentle tug and led him down specific hallways of the castle to a stairway. Nina began to ascend, but Shamus remained on the bottom step.
Nina looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What is it?"
Shamus cleared his throat and motioned up the stairs. "Isn't that your father's office?"
Nina nodded as she stepped down to stand beside him. "Yes. Why?"
"Well..." He cleared his throat again. "I'd just feel better if I knew that he knew I was coming."
"But he does know you and I are coming."
"I know," Shamus agreed with a slight nod, "but not into his office."
"I go up all the time," Nina offered.
Shamus looked up the stairs and then back to her. "I know that, too. But you're his daughter."
"And you're his future son-in-law," Nina countered with a smile. "Come on, Shamus," she pressed gently, bringing her other hand up to completely encircle his arm. "It's all right. I promise."
Shamus was at a loss to argue with her.
So they climbed the stairs as Nina called "Father, we're here," in a singsong voice that tickled his ears.
Shamus and Nina crested the stairs and turned into the room just as the king stood, stepping toward them with outstretched hands and an eager smile. "Nina. Shamus. Marvelous." He greeted his daughter with a gentle grip of hands and a kiss on the cheek. Shamus received a hearty handshake and a grip on the upper arm. "Come, come. Sit. Shamus. Wine?"
Shamus refused with a simple shake of his head as he and Nina were ushered to the table. Then the king gathered and stacked and organized his papers as he asked on Shamus' health. Shamus didn't remember his responses, but they must have been appropriate for neither the king nor his daughter commented.
Finally, the king sat across from them and folded his hands on the table. "How did you enjoy your journey?"
"Very much, father," Nina volunteered. "McNeil is lovely."
Shamus smiled, his face aglow at the simple statement.
"Shamus?" the king asked, returning his attention to the slightly dazed young man. "What of you? She didn't regale you with too much chatter, did she?"
"Father," Nina protested.
Shamus shook his head, wide eyed. "No, your highness. I don't talk much myself, so it was nice. Her and Ryu shared a lot of good stories."
The king nodded along with the telling before asking, "How did you find each other? Agreeable?"
Shamus' ears burned, but he was saved comment when the king focused attention on Nina first. Who promptly smiled.
"Father, you know very well that Mayor McNeil is a kind and thoughtful gentleman."
Shamus' entire face flushed, and the king chuckled. "Yes, yet now I know you find him to be the same."
Nina's wings fluttered with an accompanying, "Oh Father," as she gave a shake of her head and a slight smile.
"Shamus?" The king drew Shamus' attention from Nina's profile. "Is the match approved? I know you had an initial hesitation."
Shamus flushed darker still, and he felt Nina's gaze on him. "Yes, your majesty, I did, but... But it wasn't because of your daughter. I..." He cleared his throat and forced himself to meet her curious expression. "I'm a simple farmer who happens to be mayor," he explained. "I didn't want to..." Shamus helplessly shrugged.
"Take advantage," the king offered.
Shamus looked to the king again, nodding. "Your majesty, I only wanted permission to trade a little farther than what I do."
The king slightly smiled. "Yes, Shamus, I know. I have every intention of allowing that."
"Then why," and Shamus quickly faced Nina, "no offense, Princess. Please." She smiled with a slight shake of her head, and he again faced the king. "Why ask me to marry your daughter?"
The king's expression softened. "Shamus my boy, you have quite the business mind for a lad of 23. You are also soft-spoken and fair-minded, though you use the facts known persistently to the advantage of McNeil. Not many men your age are as eager to not only hear the words spoken but to listen to what is said."
The king scrutinized Shamus' flushed face. "I love my daughter, Shamus. Though I know I should utilize her beauty and charm to strengthen our borders when war seems so far distant a possibility, I choose to arrange a marriage to a man I believe most capable of caring for her and her people." The king stretched out a hand. "What say you, Mayor?"
Shamus stared at the hand in muted shock, unable to voice an answer through the fog in his brain. Then there was a slight flutter and breeze from his right... Shamus accepted the hand and looked up with a gentle smile. "Do you like horses?"
Nina stifled a giggle.
