"Do you really think so?" His little eyes lit up like the stars light up the night sky. His amber eyes with a little fleck of gold were unmistakeable. His parents smiled down at him and gave him a small nod. Every child wanted to live in a castle, but they knew the likelihood was slim, their parents had told them the same thing when they were his age, all wishing to be royal until reality hit them in their late teenaged years. They knew their son was special, he loved wearing attire more suitable for a dinner party day-round than wearing simple smocks. He was always the first to start singing as they walked down the streets, and his parents noticed how the young girls would run up and ask him to sing them a song. His smile was always there as he sang for the girls and he loved to make people happy.

"Blaine, sweetie, are you ready to go?"

"Yes mother, I'm coming." Blaine rounded the corner in their small house and stood in front of his mother. Now he was a sixteen year old boy, just as charming as he was when he was a child, but now he had the physical stature that the girls in the town swooned over. Hardly one trip down to the market would pass without these young girl asking Blaine to be theirs, he always smiled politely and kept on singing the tune. Never quite saying 'no' but he also didn't want to hurt their feelings. He knew that he wasn't interested in girls the way he should be. His parents kept pressuring him to find himself a woman to marry, but he couldn't tell them that a woman wouldn't do, so he kept telling them at he wanted more time before he settled down.

As he and his mother left the house, he started humming his tune. He always started with the same tune, a song his mother used to sing to him when he was a child. He partially sang it because it was a beautiful song, and partially because he knew it made her smile. As if on cue, a herd of girls came running up to him and surrounded him and his mother as they kept walking to the market.

"Blaine," his mother began, "sooner or later you will have to marry, and you have all these young, beautiful girls at your feet."

"I know mother, thank you." He always say this by means to end the conversation and carried on with his song.

"Blaine!" One of the girls beside him grabbed his arm. "Please marry me? Mother would be so happy to accept you as her son!"

"No, me!" A girl said from his other side grabbing his other arm.

"Ladies," Blaine began with his most charming smile. "today I am just out with my mother going to the market, I am not looking for my bride today. However, I would consider myself exceptionally lucky to have one of you as my own." He wasn't entirely lying, they were beautiful, and some were then envy of other girls, and boys in town. He knew that all he had to do was point at one of these girls and they would marry him on the spot, but that thought made him a little sad too. He knew that if he married one of these girls, they wouldn't be as happy as they could be, especially if they found out he was not interested in girls. But for now, he had to play the part. So, he kept his smile in full beam, and kept singing for them as they reached the market in town square.

"Blaine, wait here, would you? I'll only be a moment." His mother told him.

"Yes mother." He knew why she asked him to stay there at the edge of the square, she had done it many times before. She had hoped that he would get to know at least some of the girls that swooned at his feet and would eventually pick one to marry. It was common for a man to marry between the ages of 16-22, and now that he was of age, as of a few weeks ago, his mother and father pushed harder to have him married.

They weren't the most well off family, but they had enough. Blaine even had women of a higher class at his feet, his parents pushed that he choose one of those women as his bride, but he remained insistent that he wasn't ready yet to be married. He secretly hoped to reach an age where his parents would stop asking, but he doubted that would happen. Sooner or later his parents would get their wish and he would have to pick a bride. Knowing this saddened him, although loving a man was not heard of and he would disgrace his family should he act on it, let alone admit it. So Blaine would wait, and hopefully love a woman as much as he could, but he hated the idea of lying to them.

Blaine found a crate to sit on, as these women sat on the ground around him, he continued to sing to them and prayed his mother would return soon. "Blaine?" One girl with bright red hair and emerald eyes began as he finished his song, he was sure her name was Jasmine. Her father worked as an advisor to the king.

"Yes?" He asked as he looked in her direction.

"Why won't you marry?"

He smiled so much you could see the smile in his eyes. "You see, I always thought I would marry for love, and as I am still getting to know all of you lovely ladies, it's hard to say whom I love the most." They girls broke into a chorus of sighs and giggles, hanging off his every word. He, on the other hand, hated every moment of it.

"Blaine, dear," His mother called after another two songs, "would you mind helping me with these bags?"

He sprang to his feet and to her side. "Of course, mother." He said as he took all but one bag from her. "Adieu ladies." He smiled at them as he walked off with his mother. After they had walked down a block or two, his smile let up a little. "Why do you insist on doing that?"

"Sweetheart, you are sixteen and these girls are waiting for you to pick a bride."

"Why can't I take my time and marry when I am ready to marry?" He asked.

"Because the longer you take, the good ones will be gone." She didn't mean any harm by it, but he knew she was referring to the women in a higher class than they. "I know that Jasmine has said no to other suiters waiting for you to ask her."

"I have no interest in Jasmine." He told her honestly.

"Then how about Elisabeth? Or Gwen?" He noticed that the women his mother was suggesting all came from an upper class.

"Please mother? Be patience with me? I just need time."

She sighed. "Very well, just don't take too long."

"Thank you, mother." After that, neither of them said another word on the walk home.