Chapter 3- The First Clash
~N~
Tiana was standing there, quaking and shaking, terrified as she always has been of large groups of people. Several guards snorted quietly. This was the specimen that was brought in to be the potential bride for Prince Ludwig. This weakling? Some guards began to snicker, believing that this was some kind of joke, and that Kat and Jitt would push her aside, and present the real potential bride, that they were doing this for a laugh. But as the seconds ticked by, they soon realized that this terrified little thing was the girl that was brought, and that this was in no way a joke. As the snickers stopped, Ludwig looked up from the sheet music he had been scribbling his newest composition on. Ludwig had not been paying attention, but realized the room went from being noisy like it usually was to being much too quiet. And the last time it was like this, it was when his father announced that Ludwig had to either find a girl he likes and bring her to the castle to become his future bride within the month, or Bowser would be forced to send some of his underlings to grab a random girl that Ludwig would be forced to marry- unless he finds some other girl in the course of three months from when the random girl is brought. And to his displeasure, there stood a girl. A terrified looking girl, but one none the less.
With a sigh, Ludwig opens the drawer that his section of the dining table has, to store his compositions while eating, and similar activities, especially since he wrote with a quill dipped in ink, and when arguments occur, and the ink is not closed, it splatters everywhere due to his family's bad habit of slamming their hands on the table or stomping their feet on the ground during said arguments. And Ludwig knew his own patience was becoming thinner by the second. With a light 'thunk' and a resounding 'click', Ludwig closed and locked the drawer. He then stood up and looked down on Tatiana, staring directly into her terrified eyes.
"Who are you." The sentence was spat viciously from Ludwig's mouth.
"M-m-m-m-my name i-is T-t-t-tiana…" Tatiana spluttered while staring into Ludwig's dark eyes that were glaring at her with a stare so piercing she was surprised she didn't have any stab marks on her body.
"Well, T-t-t-tiana, I doubt you're worthy enough to be my wife and bear my children." Ludwig snarled.
"Your majesty, her name is Tiana, not T-t-t-tiana!" Kat interjects, "She's just a little bit nervous, don't make fun of her for her sutter!"
"What gives you the right to speak to me like that?" Ludwig asked, eyes flashing. Kat flinched back, smile still plastered on her face like always, unsure of how to respond.
"Well, your Majesty, it is unbecoming of a prince such as yourself to make fun of the girl's stutter, unless you want to stoop to the level of your siblings." Jitt says, scowling all the while. Only stepping in to keep his beloved prince from making a fool of himself. Ludwig grimaces.
"True, stooping to the level of those simpletons would be terrible action for myself to engage in. But at the same time, shouldn't that mean the woman that I marry and create children with be above the levels of those simpletons, too?" Ludwig snidely remarked.
"Well, son, do you have some other girl you'd rather have? If not, this is who it's going to be. Introduce yourself, you need to at least be on speaking terms with the woman who will someday be the mother of your children, your heirs, correct, son?" Bowser replied, smoke billowing out of his nostrils.
"No, father." Ludwig replied, "My name is Ludwig, and I would prefer it if you never talk to me or interact with me at all, but it seems at this point we'll be forced to, you- you weak little girl- ahem- I mean Tiana." Tiana nodded, still trembling. But she was soon guided to the empty chair at the foot of the table. And at that moment the clock began ticking. Either Ludwig finds some other girl, or these two, even if Ludwig despises her, will be wed for the convenience of the kingdom.
There are only 3 months left.
AN:
Sorry for this chapter being shorter than the other story based chapters, I just thought that y'all might appreciate some more of the plot being posted, while I'm in the process of transferring files and editing what I do have. And I felt like this section was a good ending point. Originally, this was going to be a line break, and lead into the next section of one chapter, but now it's split into two chapters. I hope you enjoyed reading this! I love getting reviews!