Yoooooooooooo what up. I'm back. It's been like 5 months but I mean it's cool it's cool. Tbh I've been working on this since June, but I kept getting stuck and I literally could not figure out what I was doing. In all honesty I probably should've waited a few more chapters before I did this, but I already had a thousand words down with this situation and I just rolled with it. Grade A laziness amirite
Anywayyy sorry this took me about a thousand years. The ending is shit because I had no idea what I was doing but I hope it was worth the wait anywayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
She awoke the next morning to a cacophony of colossal proportions outside her bedroom window. Blinking her eyes open slowly, she rose from her laying position and stretched her arms out. When her eyes were finally all the way open, they burned at the immense amount of light. Why is it so bright…? she wondered. It can't be past seven... She grabbed the clock beside her bed, and was shocked at the discovery that it was already eleven in the morning.
She let out a curse at how late she had allowed it to get. Figuring she shouldn't waste any more time lazing around (lest she incur the wrath of her mother), she stood from her bed and made her way to her closet, dragging her feet across the carpet as she went.
She stood silently in the closet for a moment, attempting to overcome her grogginess enough to just pick out a dress. C'mon, Meredy… You can do it. Clothes. Clothes. Like that dress Princess Lucy wore last night… she was so pretty. Actually, she seems nice, too. Maybe I'll invite her over some time. Oh, and- She shook her head, clearing her wandering thoughts. Right. Clothes.
Just as she had finally cleared her head enough to select an outfit, there was a knocking that was all but frantic at the door. "Enter," She called, releasing a yawn as soon as the words were out of her mouth, all thoughts of her chosen dress flying out of her head and leaving her back at square one.
The visitor did as was told, shutting the door behind her. It was her favorite maid, Juvia.
"Meredy!" She gushed excitedly. A bit too excitedly for so early in the morning, the princess thought, before remembering that it was just an hour short of noon. That was Meredy's favorite thing about this maid, though; she didn't bother with formalities. She liked to think they were close, and the maid treated her as such. She wasn't 'Lady' Meredy to her. Just Meredy. She was the only person aside from her mother who called her that, much to Meredy's dismay.
"What is it?" She questioned, mirroring the smile on Juvia's face as she emerged from the closet. That girl's happiness was absolutely contagious.
"You have a visitor," Returned Juvia with the slightest giggle behind her hand. Cute, but exactly the kind of giggle someone giggled when they knew something that you didn't.
Now the princess was intrigued. "And who is it that's visiting so suddenly?"
Juvia strolled over to the window, opening the blinds (Meredy squinted as a result. It was even lighter than she knew). "Take a look for yourself."
Meredy followed the maid's instructions, peering down at the ground many stories below her bedroom. She had to squint to recognize faces due to the great distance. A mother with dark brown hair holding her child, a band of girls giggling and falling over themselves to see what was happening, a boy running around with spiked white hair… all she saw at first were the typical peasants of her kingdom. Amidst the crowd, however, she eventually spotted a carriage with two people walking in front of it. It took her a moment, but after a while, she recognized them as Erik and Sorano, two of the guards of the royal family in Oración.
Meredy whipped around and stared at Juvia, eyes wide as the realization hit her. "You don't think…?"
Juvia nodded eagerly, clapping her hands together. "That's exactly what Juvia thinks. It seems that Prince Macbeth has come to pay you a visit!"
Meredy's eyes just about popped out of her head at Juvia's confirmation of what she had already been suspecting. "What?!" She exclaimed, nonetheless surprised. "Why didn't anyone warn me of this? I-I would've woken up earlier, done my hair, chosen a nice dress…"
"It was a surprise to all of us," Juvia admitted, walking briskly over to the closet in front of Meredy. "Juvia just told Meredy's mother. She says she can delay him for an hour at most, but we can't waste any time. We need to get you ready to meet a prince."
Meredy agreed without any hesitation, quickly scurrying after the blue haired girl.
The two stood in the middle of the closet (which was easily the size of a peasant home), surveying their surroundings in an attempt to locate a suitable outfit.
"You really spare no expense on your clothes, do you, Meredy?" Juvia noted flatly.
Meredy shrugged sheepishly. "I'm a princess, what can I say? I might as well live it up since I can."
The maid laughed at this. "Yes, well, Juvia supposes that's true. But there is such a thing as going overboard."
The pink haired girl punched her lightly in the shoulder. "Ah, shut up and help me pick! We don't have all day!"
It was eventually decided that she should wear a short red dress with a yellow ribbon across the middle – Meredy said it was "fancy enough to please a prince while still retaining the casualty of not caring that he's visiting" (Juvia wasted no time in questioning the logic of this).
The instant the dress was on, Meredy was being rushed over to sit down in front of her vanity, Juvia picking up the brush and began working out the night's knots.
"So, do you have a preference for a certain prince currently?" Juvia made small talk as she brushed through Meredy's unruly hair, preparing to tie it up into the princess' favorite ponytail.
Meredy offered a heavy sigh in response. "…Not really. I guess I don't know any of them well enough, y'know? I mean, this is a husband we're talking about. Someone I'm stuck with for the rest of my life. This isn't a decision I can just rush into."
"Juvia thinks Prince Gray is very handsome," offered the maid, "and fair, and-"
"-Kind, and smart, and really handsome," Meredy finished the sentence with her. "Yes, I know. That's what you've been saying for years," The smile dropped from her face and she took on a rather serious disposition. "It's just… I know that I don't want Zancrow. He's such a creep, and something about him just rubs me the wrong way. Like, the wrongest of ways. Gray and I have never really gotten along particularly well, so I'm hesitant to say that he's the one. I don't think I'd be able to look past our rather… awkward history. Sting and Rogue are attached at the hip, so I'd feel awful if I picked one of them over the other. Even worse than separating them, I'm honestly a bit afraid that they'd both come move into the castle, regardless of who I picked."
"So… Meredy wants to marry Prince Macbeth?" Juvia questioned, gathering Meredy's hair on top of her head. "To be honest, Juvia wasn't expecting that. I would've thought you would say Prince Zancrow."
Meredy nearly shook her head before remembering that her hair was being styled. "…No, I don't think so. I don't really know anything about him, much like the other princes. So while I don't think he's the one, I suppose I shouldn't be so quick to rule him out. To be honest, I don't see much potential there. He's a little too… pretty for me, if you know what I mean."
Juvia nodded, saying nothing back as she added the finishing touch – a black headband – before stepping back to admire her handiwork. "Okay. Juvia thinks you're ready. Good luck, and be sure to tell me everything when you're finished."
Meredy stood, tightly embracing the blue haired girl. "Thank you so much, Juvia. I don't know where I'd be without you."
The princess was out the door in an instant. Once she was gone, Juvia set to work cleaning up her room - a daunting task, considering how eccentric Meredy was. Upon straightening up her desk, she came across an envelope, addressed to 'nobody'. The maid let out a curious, "Hm,", but tucked it away to take to the mailbox regardless.
Meredy descended the stairs to find her mother seated on the couch across from Macbeth, sipping tea and holding light conversation. To an onlooker, it would've seemed like a pleasant conversation, a courteous exchange between queen and visiting prince. But Meredy knew. She could see the irritation behind her mother's eyes. She knew that the instant the prince was out the door, she'd be getting an earful.
Meredy took a good look at Macbeth, taking advantage of the frame of time before the pair spotted her. She hadn't seen him often. It was rare for him to leave the castle; rumor had it that he was working non stop with the war between the kingdoms of Oración and Dreyar, so if he wasn't making battle strategies, he was fast asleep. Even before the war, though, Meredy couldn't recall seeing his his face particularly frequently.
She examined his appearance closely. She had to admit, he was pretty attractive. He had piercing red eyes with eyelashes so long for a boy (though, she questioned whether that was the work of nature or of mascara. She leaned strongly towards mascara), and his full lips were a dark shade of plum. She doubted how natural his two-tone hair was, though she opted to keep the question to herself. He wasn't a bad looking guy. If his personality was decent, she thought she might've reached her decision.
She cleared her throat to alert the pair to her presence, and both Macbeth and her mother looked up at her, Ultear smiling warmly at the sight of her daughter. At least, once again, that's what it would've looked like to someone who didn't know Ultear. To someone who did, however, the threat of 'if-you're-ever-late-again-I-swear-you'll-be-dead' was evident in her eyes.
"Ah, good morning, Meredy," she greeted. "I was afraid you would sleep straight through our guest's visit." The passive aggression in her comment wasn't hidden to anyone.
Meredy took a seat beside her mother, grabbing the cup of tea she assumed was reserved for her from the coffee table.
"Ah, I couldn't deprive such an important visitor my presence," She joked lightly as she took a sip, attempting to keep her face straight despite the rather bitter taste of it. "So, Prince Macbeth, may I ask what brings you here so suddenly?"
"I simply wanted to meet you, Lady Meredy," He spoke in a smooth voice. A bit uncomfortably smooth, actually.
"Not that I'm upset by your visit, but… is there a reason that you couldn't have requested to visit, rather that just appearing out of the blue? You can't deny that it is rather sudden."
That comment was apparently grounds for an elbow to the ribs from Ultear. Man, she was violent lately.
"I don't have much time lately, what, with the fact that my kingdom is at war, so I didn't know whether I'd be able to come until the very last second," He said, placing down his cup. "It's a miracle I even had the time to stop by today."
He was a bit too arrogant for Meredy's liking. The way he worded it made it sound as though she should feel blessed that she was even breathing the same air as him.
"Yes, I'm so honored," she spoke flatly. She had already had more than enough of his attitude, and he hadn't spoken more than two sentences to her. "I don't know what I would've done today had you not come to visit me."
"Yes, well," He replied, pausing to take a sip of his tea. "I'm here now. So, tell me, Lady Meredy. What is there to do here in Maguilty?"
She shrugged, giving in to her temper like a child. "I don't know. Things. I don't find that Maguilty is particularly different from other kingdoms in that sense. We have the same attractions and activities as anyone else."
"Ah, surely there's something that sets your kingdom apart from the others?"
"Well… there's the festival," Meredy grumbled. She couldn't fight off the excitement that bubbled up inside of her when she said that, and she hated it. She didn't want to appease this self centered boy.
"Festival?" He prodded. "Please, tell me more."
She gave up on her angry facade as she spoke. "Our New Year's festival. Not to brag, but we were the founders of the festival. Everyone else is always so caught up with war, with money… But Maguilty… Our concern is just the happiness of the citizens. It's gorgeous, really. We team up with King Makarov of the Dreyar kingdom and Princess Lucy of the celestial kingdom, and all of our people partake in it. There are floats, fireworks, dances… It's absolutely amazing. Come to think of it, I've seen citizens of most of the kingdoms there, but I have yet to recognize anyone from Oración. Why is that, Sir Macbeth?"
"We're not on good terms with either of those kingdoms," He replied curtly, seemingly through clenched teeth. "Our people are better off celebrating the new year in their homes with their comrades."
"I really don't like people like you."
The words slipped past Meredy's lips without her even realizing, causing Macbeth to look at her with wide eyes and her mother to let out a horrified gasp. "Meredy!" Ultear exclaimed, then quickly turned to Macbeth. "I-I'm so sorry, prince, Meredy is just joking around. Sh-she just doesn't know who it's appropriate to say-"
"No, I mean it," Meredy stated, deciding to go along with what she had started. "You think you know your people, but really, you don't. You say they're 'better off'- but are they really? Have you gone to every single resident in your kingdom and asked if they would rather spend New Years together or at a festival? I highly doubt that you did. Don't decide things for people without consulting them."
"Meredy," Ultear snapped. "That's quite enough."
"No, I'm not done," Stated the princess, fire burning in her eyes now. "Why not make all of their life choices for them, hmm? Pick out their meals. Name their children. Give them only a few options for who they'll marry, and give them no more than a year to decide who they're going to spend their entire damn life with!"
Ultear and Macbeth just stared at her, eyes wide and jaws dropped. Who would've thought that the calm, if sarcastic, princess would lose her temper in such a way?
Finally realizing the gravity of all she'd said, Meredy clasped a hand over her mouth, cheeks burning pink. But she didn't apologize. She didn't take back a single word. She just turned around and sprinted back up the stairs, slamming the door behind her and sliding to the floor.
"What. did. I. just. do."
Okeeeeey y'all should review and whatnot because nothing makes me happier than seeing what you guys have to say about my stories. Also you should read Thunderclap which is by my bestiee and me bc idk man I think it's pretty decent but no one reads it bc it's an OC story sigh. But yeah. Also tell me if there's anything specific you'd like to see happen. I have the general outline of what I'm planning on doing and I know like a few specific things that I'd like to do in some chapters, butttttttt other than that I'm just kinda wingin it.
OH YEAH and did you catch my Lyon reference? Teehee I felt so clever even though it's like kindergarten level obvious. Anyway tho I'm rambling okay byeeeeeeee maybe I'll update sometime eventuallyyyyyyyyy