A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Here's the new chapter; a couple years have passed since the last one. Now you can laugh at my attempts at being fluffy and romantic! I actually hate writing romance, so this should be interesting… On with the show!
A Strange Proposal
Crown Prince Dantalion was bored. How long did Council meetings have to go on, anyway? Was there a minimum time limit that he did not know about? And was this why they were having these circular conversations?
There had been the usual talks about how to spend Belisaere's wealth. Dantalion was frustrated with certain Councillors, like Sir Halban, who wanted to spend every penny fortifying the city and palace. Dantalion thought that it was incredible that people could be so paranoid. They were probably intent on saving their own skins, which was a shame because there were many needy people in the city. Dantalion had lost his composure, and told them exactly that. At least it had convinced his father, although now the Prince wasn't very popular among the Councillors. But then, when was he ever popular with them?
Next they had discussed the matter of the Clayr. Apparently, Tirelle had Seen a home in some northern glacier for herself and her daughters, and the Council had to agree on how many Wallmakers to pull off the Wall and send north. Tirelle was there now, and had left her second daughter at the palace as the Acting Clayr. Dantalion liked Penemue. She was a great friend of his, and she didn't scare him at all, unlike the truly frightening woman that was her mother.
And now the Council was talking about building the lesser stones. Now that the Great Stones had turned out to be such a success, locations had to be chosen for lesser stones all around the Kingdom. Prince Dantalion had tuned out half an hour ago.
"Do you agree, Lord Prince?"
Dantalion looked up, completely unaware of what had just been said. He glanced at his father, whose amused expression showed that he was aware of this fact, and wasn't going to help him out on this one. Dantalion decided to improvise. "I have no immediate objections," he said with as much poise as he could muster.
King Berillan nodded his grey head. "Very well," he said with an air of finality while Dantalion wondered what on earth he had just agreed to. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. You are dismissed."
The Prince was quick to get out of his chair and leave the room, unwilling to face his father's teasing. Contrary to popular belief, Prince Dantalion did have a sense of humour, although he did not always appreciate his father's. He allowed his feet to follow a familiar path through the halls, taking him to one of his favourite rooms in the palace.
Dantalion nodded at the various guards and servants who greeted him as he passed, intent on his destination. At long last, he reached the intricately-caved door of the Reading Room, a small library reserved for members of the Royal Family, their advisors, and their guests. It was smaller than the Palace Library, and most of the volumes were fictional tales to be read for pleasure, not reference. It was just the sort of place Dantalion liked to go to after particularly trying Council meetings.
The Prince was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the armchairs before the fireplace was already occupied. Penemue, the Acting Clayr, was curled up with a thick book open on her lap. Dantalion was jealous of the fact that for her, Council meetings were optional – he did not enjoy such luxury. Penemue grinned and waved at his entrance, and Dantalion executed an excessively formal bow. "My Lady Clayr," he greeted her deferentially.
The young woman giggled, and inclined her head graciously. "My Lord Prince," she replied solemnly, although her eyes were twinkling.
"May I enquire as to what you are reading?" Dantalion asked, keeping up the ridiculously formal pretence.
The young woman raised her chin, and answered, "You may." She held up the book so that he could see the embossed leather cover. "It is the famous tale of Kile and Aurina."
Dantalion took a seat opposite her, draping one long leg casually over the arm. "My mother liked to read that," he remarked frankly, deciding to drop the ceremonial charade.
"Most women do," smiled Penemue. "It is quite possibly the best romance ever written."
"Yes, I've heard." The young man rolled his eyes. "We have Lord Kile, who is so rich, handsome, and impossibly proud – but wronged. And poor Aurina, graced with wit, beauty, and rare intelligence. She first hates him, and then grows to love him, and finally marries him. Generations of women have swooned over Lord Kile."
"Are you jealous?" Penemue teased, raising an eyebrow.
"Not particularly," grinned Dantalion. He waggled his own eyebrows. "I have charms enough to commend myself to most ladies."
"Oho! Charms!" the young woman laughed, eyes wide with feigned shock. "Apart from your incredible modesty, of course, the charms of a person to inherit a Kingdom are great indeed!"
The Prince hitched a pout onto his face. "I have more charms than my crown," he protested.
"Sword-fighting, riding, hunting, and archery are not charms, Lord Prince."
"I can dance too," Dantalion pointed out. "A man must be gentlemanly. Admit it, Lady Clayr. I can be charming… when I wish to be. The fact that I hardly ever wish to be is beside the point."
"But still that is not the same as Lord Kile," insisted Penemue, settling down into the familiar manner of earnest discussion. Debate was one of their favourite pastimes. "Yes, he is rich and handsome. But secretly he is generous of heart, always honest, and fond of his family. These are qualities that nobody knows about, except for those who love him best."
"I have such qualities," said the Prince, countering the argument. He swung his leg down from the arm of his chair. "Generous of heart? Just minutes ago I convinced my father to spend more funds on relieving the poor rather than on fortifying the palace, as his bone-headed Councillors so wished. Always honest? I never told a lie in my life, even when it got me into trouble – which has happened several times, I assure you. Fond of my family? The love I bore my dead mother, brother, and sisters only increased the love I now feel for my father and Merabel, so that they are dearer to me than the world."
"I know all of this about you," Penemue said patiently, leaning forward. The firelight glinted off her moonstone coronet. "The people do not, but I do. I was only teasing."
Dantalion made a face. "You know, usually we're quiet, reserved, level-headed people. But when we get together…"
"We act like idiots," Penemue nodded. "I have enough blackmail material on you to make my fortune."
"Likewise," smirked Dantalion. "But what are friends for?" The Prince noticed something strange flicker over the Acting Clayr's face. "What?" he asked. "You don't like being my friend?"
"What? Oh – oh, of course I like being your friend," said Penemue, blushing.
"No, your face changed when I said that," the Prince stated. "What is it?"
"It's nothing," replied the young woman, staring determinedly at the ground.
Dantalion rolled his eyes. "It's something," he insisted. "Go on, you can tell me." The Seer remained silent. "You don't want to be friends anymore?" the Prince pressed. "What – you'd rather be something else?" Penemue's blush deepened, and the young man's mouth dropped open in shock. "That's it, isn't it?" he said wonderingly. "You want to be… more than friends?"
His words hung in the air. The young woman closed the book with a snap and set it aside before leaping to her feet. "I really must go," she said hastily, turning to flee.
Dantalion jumped up and barely caught her arm as she passed. "Wait," he said breathlessly. His heart was pounding in his ears as he leaned in to kiss her. Penemue was frozen with shock for a few seconds, before her body relaxed and melded perfectly with his. Dantalion reached up and pulled the crystal pins from her hair so that it fell down her back, and gently stroked the long golden waves.
When they finally broke the kiss, both of them were blushing. Penemue looked up into his eyes and gave a small smile. "Whoa…"
They both burst into laughter. Dantalion regained his composure first, and looked down at the woman in his arms. "Marry me?" he asked softly.
Penemue's expression changed from merriment to surprise. "I – wha – pardon?" she stuttered.
"Penemue, you're my best friend," the Prince said reasonably. "You know me better than anyone else. I never get tired of talking with you. You're smart, you're fun, you're kind… I can't think of another person in the Kingdom I would rather spend the rest of my life with."
"Dan," the Seer said desperately, "I cannot marry you! You're the Crown Prince, for Charter's sake. And I – my mother was born a commoner, and my father is a minor lord whom I've never met."
"You are a daughter of the Clayr," Dantalion said sensibly, "And that makes you nobility."
"But I would be a terrible Queen!" she protested, shaking her head. "I don't know anything about it!"
"No, you would be wonderful," urged the Prince. At the doubt that remained on her face, he clasped her hands in his. "Pen," he said seriously, "Is the only reason for your refusal the fact that I am the Crown Prince?"
The Seer bit her lip and sighed. "Yes," she admitted miserably.
In contrast, Dantalion broke out into a huge smile. To everyone other than Penemue, such an expression on the face of a man who always looked so grim would be close to frightening. But to Penemue it only looked rather silly. "Well, that's easy to fix!" the Prince remarked merrily. "I will abdicate!"
"What? No!" Penemue cried, absolutely shocked.
"It's simple," the man shrugged. "Merabel can be called back from Ancelstierre to begin her training to become the Queen. And I will marry you."
"That is ridiculous," the young woman protested. "You would be a great King, Dantalion. If you gave up the throne, it would be such a loss to the people. I couldn't let you do that, just for me."
"Then say yes," said Dantalion.
The Seer shook her fair head. "I – well – it's just – Oh, 'Princess Penemue' sounds so ridiculous!"
"So now you're refusing because of your name?" Dantalion laughed.
Penemue smiled, and fidgeted. "Yes… no… I mean, I'll think about it?"
That was enough for the Prince. He wrapped his arms around her, and spun so that her feet lifted off the ground. When he put her down, they kissed happily.
A sudden bang ended the moment, and they turned to see Sir Halban standing in the library doorway, a pile of books his feet. His eyes were as wide as saucers, and there was a very long, very awkward silence. When the moustached man finally regained his composure, he executed a swift bow, mumbled an apology, gathered up his fallen books, and fled the scene at a near-run.
Dantalion smiled down at Penemue. "You'll just have to marry me, now that this is going to spread around the palace."
The young woman rolled her eyes eloquently. "Oh all right, I'll marry you!" she nearly snapped, then put her hands to her mouth in horror. "That sounded, terrible, didn't it?" she said wryly, her ears going red.
The Prince gave a lopsided smile. "Yeah, it did," he agreed. "Let's try this again, shall we?" he slowly took one of her hands in his, and got down on one knee. "Penemue," he said gravely, looking up into her eyes, "Will you marry me?"
He could feel her hand trembling, but the Acting Clayr managed to give a trembling smiled. "Yes, I will," she sniffed, tears pooling in her large blue eyes.
Dantalion got to his feet and took Penemue's hand. "Wonderful! Now let's inform my father, before Sir Halban tells him about us secretly kissing in the library."
Their laughter was cut off by an almighty crash, and from somewhere down the hall they heard the King bellowing, "WHAT!"
Penemue winced. "Too late."
Rapid footsteps came in their direction, and the young couple waited in wretched anticipation. All too soon, the King stormed in followed by a frightened-looking Sir Halban, two visiting lords, and what looked like the entire Council. The small library was becoming quite crowded.
"Son," King Berillan demanded, walking right up to Dantalion. "Is it true? Well? Is it?"
His eyes were burning with intensity, and the Prince gulped. "I can explain, father," he said in a rush. "I know what this must have looked like to Sir Halban, but the fact is that Lady Penemue has just agreed to be my wife."
The short silence that followed his words was awful, but Dantalion was completely astonished when his father seized him and enveloped him in a bear-like hug. He was even more astonished when the Council broke out into loud cheers and applause. Sir Halban was saying to a fellow advisor, "…about time!" and Countess Shera was wiping her eyes on her sleeve.
Berillan turned next to Penemue, and kissed her hand. "My congratulation, Lady," he smiled. "You are most welcome to our family."
The Acting Clayr smiled bashfully and curtseyed. "Mother will be pleased," she noted.
Berillan grinned. "I believe she will be."
"When do you plan on having the wedding?" Countess Shera asked, no doubt already picturing a massive celebration.
Dantalion placed his arm around Penemue's waist. "As soon as possible," he announced to the shocked and delighted Council.
But King Berillan shook his head. "The wedding of the Crown Prince must be a splendid affair. You don't want to disappoint the good people of Belisaere, do you?"
The two young people exchanged dubious glances. Finally, Penemue shrugged. "A Royal wedding? Might be fun."
Dantalion nodded thoughtfully. "You know, it just might be."
A/N: The tale of "Kile and Aurina" is based on Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". I have to admit that I fell in love with Mr. Darcy when I first read it!
Now I think it's pretty obvious what the next chapter's going to be about – just look at the last couple of lines! We'll be seeing lots of familiar faces, don't you worry. Until then, review please?