The wise man lowered his cup of tea, blinking slowly at the king kneeling in front of him. "Pray, do tell, what troubles your mind?"
"I am concerned about my son," the king replied in a bitter tone, laced with fretfulness.
A sigh escape the wise man. "Sons give us concerns constantly. What differs your concerns from those of ordinary folk?"
The king echoed the wise man's sigh. "My son, Jay, he's… different. I hate to say it, but his actions concern me. Other princes would be on adventures and battling foes. Jay cares too much for girls out of his league, and above all, he cares for new weaponry and machinery."
"There's nothing wrong about a young man with passion."
"But is he, well, having the right sorts of passion? I wish he would… go out and discover his destiny like ordinary princes. But all he does is frolic in fields and write love letters to girls who never reply. And please, address me as 'your Majesty'."
"Wise men living on the mountains do not bother to recognise the monarchy," the wise man laughed, stroking his beard. "And please, do not taint yourself with worry for your son. He will have his adventure and perhaps a sweetheart soon enough. A late-blooming prince is still a prince nonetheless."
The king nodded in acknowledgement of the man's words, but did not care to consider them. "Another concern of mine are trade routes. Since you mentioned Jay having a potential sweetheart, I believe it's about time for my heir to be married. Does it not make sense for him to be wed to a kingdom that provides an efficient way of enhancing our economy?"
"If you deem it necessary, so be it," the wise man nodded solemnly. "I may illuminate the path of your future, but I do not dictate it. Your destiny is completely in your control."
"If my destiny is in my control, then why do the bards still sing about the fates?" the king inquired, his smirk becoming increasingly arrogant. This old man speaks naught but riddles, he thought, but riddles always have a loophole.
A smile curled up on the lips of the wise man. "Because if I said that fate could be controlled in the same way destiny can be, I will be watering the seeds of a beautiful lie." This shows
"But anyway, my son, his fate, is it good? Does he end up financially stable? Is his wife beautiful and brave?" the king asked, the tone of his voice increasing to a panic.
The wise man rolled his eyes at the king, hitting him with a sharp glare. "I had advised you not to fret, and you're doing so now."
"I do apologise," the king bowed his head downwards. "Before I go, old man, is there anything I should be wary of?"
"King Ed Walker," the words hung in the air like mist. "You are not a king of people or society. You are a king of industry and the economy. Remember this, and do not let it become your misfortune."
It was a mild, spring day. Jay had been seated in one of the many benches in the royal gardens, sketching the wings of birds and humming the latest ballad composed by a celebrated town musician, when Lloyd ran up to the prince.
"Your Highness! I've heard her lady, Princess Charming, will be visiting this week! Isn't this exciting?" the gardener's boy said, his eyes lighting up.
Jay slammed his sketchbook shut. "When did you find that out, Lloyd? That's wonderful! She's so brilliant! I've got all these inventions I need to show her! I hardly know any other princes or princesses into this sort of stuff!"
"You hear a lot of things when you're unassuming and quiet. The maids were all gossiping about it, and didn't even notice me!"
The prince chuckled. "Ha! Classic Lloyd! Sometimes I don't even know what things you get up to. You're a shining example of palace servants, you know that?"
Lloyd cringed a little at Jay's comment, but Jay didn't notice. Instead, the prince stood up, tucked his book under his arm, and began to advance his way towards the castle.
"Do you understand how great this is? I've been working on so many projects lately, and none of them has been appreciated!" Jay continued to talk. "This is so awesome, Charming and I can have the greatest alliance of machinery and complex engineering!"
"A romantic alliance?"
The prince's response was quick and automatic. "Naaaaah."
Lloyd arched an eyebrow, and quickly did a run and skip to catch up with the prince. "But haven't you seen her portrait! She's absolutely stunning. They say she's the cleverest princess in this land, and rich too! What wouldn't you want from this alliance? Look, I've even prepared stuff for you to give her. That's saying something."
"She's a bit too pale for my liking, I guess?" Jay said, tilting his head. "And her eyes, they're too piercing. It's rather freaky."
Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Don't let that worry you, Your Highness. Pale skin is an image of beauty. I mean, what are you, a yellow chaser?"
Jay laughed. "Lloyd, there is nothing wrong with preferring girls who see the sun! After all, are you not a gardener? Shouldn't you be one of the people who, well, admire and live in the sun?"
"Oh, no, not one bit," Lloyd shook his head. "My skin's too pale, it burns. There's a reason why I wear a hat." And it was not just because of his pale skin. Lloyd thought about his hair. His benefactor, his guardian, always told Lloyd that there was no one with hair as gold as his – that his hair was shame, and should be covered. "My face should never resemble an over-ripe tomato!"
The prince laughed at if Lloyd had told a joke. "So, you said that you prepared something for her Lady Charming? What is it?"
Lloyd smiled, and waved a hand to a nearby greenhouse. "I've arranged a display of wildflowers for her. It's very colourful! I'm sure she'll like it as much as she likes you."
"Wildflowers?!" Jay almost dropped his book, his mouth falling open in shock. "Why wildflowers? Isn't Charming too, well, sophisticated? Too cultured? Too civilised for wildflowers?"
Lloyd blinked slowly, looking deeply insulted. "Wildflowers have a stronger smell," he said in a confused, yet stubborn tone. "She'll appreciate it."
"Lloyd, come on! I'm pretty sure royals don't stick their noses into flowers, especially flowers as plain as wildflowers!" Jay said to the gardener boy.
Lloyd arched a confused eyebrow. "But you do."
The other boy simply sighed. "Yes, but will Lady Charming? You know how the bards sing about her. I can't just offer her a bouquet of wildflowers and be all, 'hello Lady Charming: here's a bonquet of flowers. Why don't you smell them and get pollen on your nose?'" The prince mimed some actions, extending a hand to a nearby rosebush as if were a lady, and waved his other arm as if he carried a bouquet of flowers.
"But, Your Highnes–" Lloyd said.
"Lloyd, don't interrupt me. This is important. What if she's not impressed by my work?" Jay sighed. "I can't do anything but make stuff. I can't swing a sword to save my life, I can't write poetry. If it's not scientific or artistic, I just can't do it. If Charming isn't impressed by what I do, then no one will be!"
"Awesome flower arrangements are impressive." Lloyd said. "You know, your Highness, you should really stop worrying and focus on h–". But before he could finish the sentence, Jay had already left, sprinting in the most unprincely manner towards the palace.
King Ed Walker was, once again, concerned with the economy. The number of exports were decreasing and unemployment was increasing, and optimal trade routes were becoming more different to secure.
And then there was his son.
Ever since his conversation with the wise man, the King had thought about the future adventure that his son would partake. However, months had passed, and Jay expressed no interest in the big wide world. If his son was destined for adventure, wouldn't Jay have an intense yearning to explore? This world was full of dragons to fight, dwarves in forests to visit, and witches to be cursed by. Yet, Jay simply sat in gardens, sketched flowers and pined over girls. It was sickeningly pathetic, the king thought.
Ed wished that Jay would at least pine over the right kind of girls, who had financial stability and owned a kingdom with plenty of goods and services. Even when Jay did, they never replied.
That worried the King. He was severely concerned for his son's future.
He did recall one time when Jay received a reply. Once, returning from a trip to a rather well-off kingdom, Jay told his father that the princess there would refuse to kiss him when he arrived, dressed like a prince, but would give him a hundred kisses and more when disguised as a swineherd. And so, he refused any proposal from her after that.
Now, Ed knew that Jay was involving himself in an alliance with Princess Charming, who was quite possibly the cleverest girl in the land. However, it was obvious that any relationship between them was strictly platonic, no matter how a possible marriage would enhance the kingdom's trading routes. That was a disappointment. Charming was one of the few princesses that Jay had an amicable relationship with, and he wasn't the slightest bit interested in marrying her.
At that moment, Jay burst into the throne room, twittering with excitement about Charming's visit this week. The King rolled his eyes at his son. Jay didn't notice, continuing to sprint through the throne room and up the stairwell.
The King let out a sigh, thinking about his son, who had once spurned a rich princess who languished for him, and now refused to partner up with a clever one. What did he do to deserve such an idealistic, quixotic son? "Please excuse me," he said, rising from his throne to face his council. "How do I teach my son to act his part?"
The council all pulled their heads together, muttering and murmuring among themselves. Their quiet discussion continued for ten good minutes. The tension in the throne room grew, and several nobles fidgeted nervously.
When the council finally finished, the councilmen all leaned back in their seats with satisfied smiles. The head advisor, however, stood up from his seat, his smile slightly wider than the rest:
"Your Majesty, I've heard stories of a recent punishment suitable for rebellious royals. You simply lock up the troublesome little prince in an isolated tower for a few months or years, stock him with food, and await for a fair maiden or gallant princess to ride by and rescue him. It's the perfect plan."
"But would that not separate me from my son?" the King inquired.
"So would marriage, my lord, and I see that you have no qualms about that."
"Hmm…" the king frowned, stroking his beard with a gloved hand. "If this is what it takes to teach my son a lesson, I will see to it! We must purchase an available tower as soon as possible, and relocate my son."
The advisor grinned again. "Not only that, m'lord. Any young heroine willing to retrieve him would gain his gratitude, and the prince would have to marry her! After all, who was the girl who rescued him from his predicament, and shouldn't she win something in return?"
The frown of the king lessened. "You speak well. A lesson for my son, and a solution to a troubling problem! This is an offer that I cannot refuse."
"I am pleased to hear that, sire. Your Majesty, this must be carried out before the Queen returns. I do not wish to see her grief-stricken face." The advisor stood up, and bowed before the king, before leaving the throne room, his boots tapping the marble floors softly like a drum. The other councilmen also rose, trailing after the advisor like a percussion line in a marching band.
The King returned to his throne, and rubbed his stubble in slight frustration. He knew his wife wouldn't return to the kingdom for at least a month, and arranging a tower would take a week at the most. Pulling out a sheet of parchment, he began to order an isolated-tower-for-troubled-royals from the cheapest company available.
Dear Gothel Industries,
Please arrange a medium-sized tower containing supplies that would last nine months, and a convenient loudspeaker near the bottom.