The Law
Artie found the girl wandering in the walled off flower garden. Her head was hung, her form shuddering from her sobs, hands clutched onto her arms. He bit his lip, quietly approaching her, "Elena?" he asked softly.
"I'm sorry," she choked out, wiping the tears that seemed to be endlessly spilling over her cheeks, "I'm so sorry, I just- I just..." she paced a little, not knowing where to stand or where to look.
"Hey," he put a hand on her shoulder, stilling her movement, "It's okay, I get it," he offered her a slight smile.
"We're too different... I couldn't..." she met his eyes, "I tried."
"I know," Artie nodded at her, "I know you did," he awkwardly offered her a hug and was surprised that she took it. She cried onto his shoulder for a moment, clutching onto his tunic. It was the first contact they had that didn't seem completely forced. He held onto her for a moment. So distracted by his own, he didn't realise the extent of her inner turmoil. He knew she didn't entirely want to marry him; she had been avoiding him and spending a lot of time alone in her room, that much was obvious. But she was always the most enthusiastic one in conversation, always the one most comfortable with the idea of their marriage. He realised now how much of that had been a lie, had been her own efforts to make their love real.
"I'm sorry I didn't try as hard as I should have done," he gently admitted. She didn't respond. Perhaps if Abbey didn't exist and he continued to want the relationship to work out, their combined efforts would have made it happen. But then again... wasn't love, true love, supposed to have an element of effortlessness? "But you deserve someone who you don't have to try to understand," his voice was quiet, "You deserve someone who makes you comfortable and just... just gets you."
Elena lifted her head from his shoulder, sniffing. She gently wiped the tears from under her eyes, though not to much avail. "You deserve that too," she gave a small smile. She took a breath and backed away from him, sitting delicately on a bench. She looked up to the sky; she had no plans to go back. Neither did he. It was the break he'd been waiting for. He just never expected it to happen like that.
"If you were going to do that... why didn't you say anything earlier?" Artie couldn't help but let a little of the frustration out.
"Many reasons, I suppose," she sniffed, wiping a tear, "I didn't want to be the reason you lost your kingdom," she stifled another quiet sob, "I thought that maybe we'd get along just fine," her tearful gaze met his, "You're a kind person, Artie. We would have been... just fine as husband and wife. But-"
"Just fine isn't in love," Artie finished her sentence for her.
"Yes," she confirmed, "Standing there with you, all I could think about were my hopes and dreams for the future," she shrugged, holding onto her arms, "I was giving up on all of them." A small smile slipped onto her lips, "I've always wanted to be a queen, but I'd like to be happy more."
"I know..." Artie nodded. The relief finally began to wash over him. It finally felt like he could breathe.
"I'm sorry if I've just ruined everything for you," she blinked down at her lap.
The king shrugged, "No you haven't," he hoped he was telling the truth. He sat next to her, suddenly feeling tired of everything. A sense of carelessness seemed to take over his thoughts, "I'll figure it out... at some point." He looked at her, she was on the verge of tears again. He gave her a smile, "Hey, I'm king, right?" he nudged her gently, "I make the rules." She laughed quietly, though his joke suddenly gave him pause. "I make the rules!" he jumped to his feet, "Elena... to change a law, what are the basics?"
Elena eyed him suspiciously, "Changing an age old law?" she questioned his idea, "That's going against tradition and the very reason it was put there in the first place..." She sighed, "Which isn't relevant anymore and a perfectly good solution," she gave in. The princess paused in thought, "You need a good reason, a proposal, approval from people of high status, and an audience of-"
"Of all the people sat right in there!" Artie enthusiastically interrupted her again, "And I have your approval, right?"
Elena smiled genuinely at him, "Yes, you have my approval, and I can imagine your aunt's too," she gathered her skirt and carefully stood. "Why didn't you think of this before?" she spoke teasingly.
The king shook his head, "Well maybe I would have if I was allowed a meeting to discuss it!" the frustration almost bubbled over again, but it didn't. He held out his arm for her, "Let's see their faces when we walk back in only to announce we're still not getting married."
She shook her head as they began to head back into the building, "For a moment, I thought you were going to convince me to come back and finish the ceremony," she hesitated, "I'm not sure I would have been able to say no. So... thank you, for letting me go," she quickly leaned closer to him and kissed his cheek.
Artie felt himself blush, "No problem, I guess."
"I feel much better about you now I'm not fated to be your wife," she admitted as they reached the small side door. They took a moment to give a relief strewn laugh. "Oh," she suddenly spoke, quieter this time, "That maid - uh, your friend – I believe she has a crush on you." Artie couldn't help but laugh, properly, shaking his head as she raised a questioning eyebrow. Though he had to silence himself as he pushed the door open.
The flustered crowd turned to dead silence, only a whispered question from one of the triplets and a subsequent hush. All eyes were on them as they walked back up the steps to where they stood before. The priest looked to them questioningly. Artie shook his head in response. Taking a breath he looked to their audience, Elena squeezed his arm.
"Hello, everyone," he began awkwardly, "We're not getting married today." He cringed as gasps and alarm were sent around the crowd. Elena's father began to stand but the princess simply smiled at him, shaking her head and he took his seat again. "However, there is still a purpose for everyone sat here." He looked to his family's curious gazes and gave them a small smile. "I intend to change the law that dictates I marry in order to keep the throne... right now."
There were more gasps, but not from his family. Their puzzled expressions broke into encouraging grins. Murmuring spread around the audience. It was Elena's father that spoke up first, directly addressing his daughter, "Do you agree to this?"
"Yes," she spoke evenly, "I support the idea."
Her words seemed to quieten the crowd a little, he waited until it fell silent again. "The reasons for this law, as I understand them, are so that someone with little experience cannot take over the kingdom completely. There have been issues with this in the past, that I do not believe are relevant today."
There was baited silence, "I propose we add a clause to the law," he took a breath, glancing at Lillian, "That if the rulers before the... the subject think they are worthy to rule alone, they can."
All eyes seemed to turn to Lillian. The former queen didn't flinch like her daughter and son-in-law beside her. She simply smiled and gently stood, raising her voice to address the crowd, "Arthur hasn't needed to rely on me for at least two years," she moved her firm gaze from the audience and her eyes softened as she beheld him, "I believe he is a wonderful king and would continue to be so regardless of marriage. I have every confidence in him and I know my husband would agree. This change would be nothing but positive."
The tension in the crowd seemed to lessen. He grinned at his aunt.
Fiona then stood, "I have every confidence too."
Elena joined in, "I agree. King Arthur is a great ruler."
"Why not marry him then?" a comment was delivered louder than Artie was sure the person intended. Though it was not posed as a real question, people still seemed to wait for an answer from the princess.
Elena briefly glared at the contester, though he noticed her gaze then drift, surprisingly, to his cousin. "Because it's not supposed to be. A kingdom will flourish under great love. Not under a monarchy who are strained to be around each other."
"Just because one of them needs to be a perfect royal," Artie concluded. He searched the crowd once again, but Abbey was still nowhere to be seen.
The crowd began mumbling again. Artie knew there was nothing left to say, nothing but the part he was dreading. "Does anyone have any questions?" he asked, slightly more hesitantly than he was intending.
"I do!"
Artie's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. He felt Elena's grip tighten. A part of him wondered why she was so nervous. Would she really stand back at the altar with him and get married if everyone disagreed? Perhaps she would. But Artie decided he wouldn't let her, not after backing away once already. His attention was quickly turned to the stout man who stood in the audience.
"Why should we let a stranger to royalty rule independently when we have other heirs?" his greying brows were knitted.
The woman sat beside him who seemed to encourage his opposition suddenly seemed alarmed by his words. She clandestinely tugged at his arm.
"Ogres ruling the kingdom? We'd be a laughing stock," a harsh comment erupted from someone Artie couldn't quite pinpoint. The opposer's partner nodding along with the criticism. The stout man who was still stood seemed conflicted with the point. Artie fought the urge to roll his eyes at their conflict of interests.
A different person stood, "Princess Fiona has a royal upbringing, she has the knowledge and-"
"She was left in a tower, how much more experience could she have?" Shrek interjected loudly, arguing back. The kingdom being back placed back on their doorstep left the ogre very little thinking time.
"Shrek!" Artie could barely hear Fiona hiss at her husband. It almost brought a smile to his face. But the audience were still murmuring.
"Though I wasn't bought up royal, I'm still an heir," Artie hesitantly pointed out, "I am King Harold's nephew. My father was in line to be king just like him. I'm on the same level as Princess Fiona," he thought it was an obvious fact that he wouldn't need to point out, but there were a few who seemed to react in surprise, "I am royalty," for a moment he was glad his friends weren't there. They'd be sure to make fun of that one.
The crowd's chatter seemed to get heated. A couple of disagreements were becoming more apparent.
"Royalty doesn't mean much without the exposure," someone else stood. He was met with argument. "We need royal stability, not just one person who's... who's normal."
"I rule a kingdom of normal people," Artie used his words, the audience hushing again. There was quiet agreement from some, "Wouldn't it be a good thing that I know what that's like?"
"Yes!" another enthusiastically stood, grinning at him. The king smiled back, chuckling.
"Ask for a vote," Elena spoke in a low voice, she still held onto his arm.
He nodded, almost having completely forgotten that was required. For a second he realised the protestors may have a point, it made him smile in amusement. He cleared his throat, raising his voice, "Everyone?" the crowd hushed, a few people still debating quietly. "Those in favour..." he remembered having to practice moments like this in his training. Though a crowd like his was much bigger than the typical table of people it was supposed to be. "...raise your hand and say aye."
A bunch of hands shot up immediately, voices from all over the room exclaiming their agreement. Artie grinned, it was well over half the room. He even heard Elena squeak a little in excitement. His eyes were immediately drawn to his family. They were smiling at him, the triplets all stood, their hands in the air, excitedly announcing their own agreement. He laughed as a cheer spread through the crowd. The muffles of those who didn't agree drowned out.
"Señor!" Puss and Donkey approached quickly, "Where is your lady?" the cat whispered, "Go to her!"
"Yeah, Artie! We told ya there was a way!"
Artie ran through the castle, high on the energy from his success. It had taken a painstakingly long time for everyone to leave, and for him and Elena to try and explain themselves to her father. He had to rush the congratulations from his family. As soon as he saw an out, he took it and he didn't want to waste any more time. He ran directly to the worker's base, something he rarely did to avoid questioning gazes, but Abbey wasn't there. He checked every place her daily routine took her but she was nowhere to be found. He'd even feigned a complaint about something he knew she had done to ask for her presence, but the poor person in question didn't know where she was either.
Finally, he headed towards the place he realised he should have checked first; the ballroom. He grinned as he approached, gathering speed, ready to burst in and make their secret known, at least to their trusted friends. But just as he reached the doors, one opened, almost hitting him. The king halted suddenly, squawking in surprise.
His friend Theo also startled, doubling over in relief that it was only his friend, "Woah..." he grinned before his smile quickly vanished, "Dude... aren't you supposed to be somewhere?"
"...Theo..." Artie was breathless, "I've been... I've been looking everywhere. I've got something to tell you guys," despite catching his breath, he was jittery with excitement.
His friend's expression remained puzzled, looking over his wedding attire, "And it couldn't wait until you were done with, you know, your wedding?"
Artie laughed, "I'm not getting married," he blurted, "But that's only half of the surprise," he grinned.
"What?"
"Come on," Artie pulled the door open, out of his friend's hands, "Is Abbey in here?" he pushed past him, entering the ballroom. His face fell... the empty ballroom.
"Yeah, Abbey..." Theo closed the doors behind them, securing them into secrecy, "That's something we need to talk about," his tone grew serious, "What did you do to her? She was real mad at you and she left."
Artie stared mutely at the vast empty space before him for a moment before turning to his friend, mood dampened, "W-what?"
"She's gone," Theo shrugged, "Gone gone, outta here, crossed her name off the work schedule and everything."
Just as Artie caught his breath, he couldn't breathe again.
"We tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen. She was crying, dude. She wouldn't tell us what was going on, or where she was going, nothing," he folded his arms, "Just to talk to you. And that's putting it nicely."
The king gawped at him, eyes widening, "But... but... I changed the law for her," he spoke in a small voice. His friend gave him a puzzled expression. "I changed the law... I don't have to marry a princess... I'm an idiot. She saw me say 'I do'."
"Wait," Theo raised a suspecting brow, "For Abbey?"
Artie nodded glumly, "She saw me say it, when I promised I wouldn't... She ran away and then Elena ran away," he looked to the open space again.
"Wait," his tone was more urgent, "You and Abbey?" The king nodded wordlessly again. Theo's face alit with surprise, "Wow, how long was that a thing?"
"A little while," he mumbled. He could barely hear his friend laughing and accusing him of not telling them all. It made sense after all. Of course she'd leave. She told him that much already. He was just so sure he would be able to find a way. Or maybe he wasn't... Maybe it was just a reassurance he was telling himself so that he didn't have to lose her. Until he did. He couldn't have refused the marriage whilst standing at the altar. He'd already been pushed into therapy, removed from his duties and everyone knew it. Bailing on his own wedding day would have solidified that stupid law more than anything else. Still, it was his own fault. He told her that if it came to it, he'd refuse to say 'I do', it was the plan that he never truly thought through.
Artie's thoughts were brought back as Theo nudged him, a sly smirk on his face, "If I knew you were into your servants, I might have turned up the charm a little," he held back laughter. Artie shot him an unamused glare. "Ah, I'm sorry, dude," the condolences finally arrived, "News will spread quickly, she'll be back in no time!"
The king nodded slowly, Theo was right. King Arthur not getting married and changing a law would be big news. He didn't doubt that every single person in the kingdom would know by the end of the week. He'd just have to think up an apology, a good one. She'd understand.
"So... The princess ran off too?" Theo questioned. Artie nodded. "Ha, you're a king and yet women continue to evade you. That some kind of personal talent?"
AN: Poor Artie.
This is all.
