Hate at First Sight

A Royal Engagement

Photo by Shamim Nakhaei on Unsplash

Denalda hated him on sight. From his practiced every-man look to his gorgeous face to the flowers with which he assumed he could win her. Why did her parents insist on her marrying anyone? She was only twenty-three and not interested in the throne in any event. Let her brother inherit the crown. Denalda only wanted to travel and paint.

Sighing, she observed the prince standing in the courtyard, to all appearances, absorbed in the bouquet of roses he carried. How long had he, or his mother, more likely, spent deciding on light pink, rather than the darker shade, or, gods forbid, red? Color held meaning and, no doubt, they would not want to appear too eager. Denalda could have done without the flowers. Or the man.

She squared her shoulders and strode into the courtyard. Might as well get this over with. The prince, one in a long line of princes come to court her, looked up at the sound of her footsteps on the stone walkway. Denalda’s step faltered at his look—not fawning or even interested. He looked, what? Sad? Distressed? Perhaps as unhappy at this meeting as she was.

She reached his side, less sure of her own quick judgment of the man. “Prince Rynald.” She inclined her head in acknowledgment.

Rynald sketched a bow. “Your Highness.” He didn’t offer the flowers.

Denalda waited the length of a breath for him to do so, then, when it became obvious he would not, said, “Shall we walk?”

“Of course,” Rynald said, holding out an arm for her to take. He continued to clutch the flowers in his free hand.

“You are not like the others,” Denalda ventured.

“How so? Am I not to your liking?”

Denalda opened her mouth, then closed it, not knowing how to respond to Rynald’s forthright question. She settled on the truth. “How can I like someone I don’t know? This entire charade is ridiculous.”

For the first time, Rynald smiled, and it seemed genuine. “I couldn’t agree more. I have no desire to marry. I want to see the world.”

Denalda’s eyes narrowed. “Did your mother put you up to that?”

“My mother opposes this marriage. My father wishes it. I have been coached to not offend you. Nothing more.” Rynald’s crooked smile was accompanied by a raised eyebrow. “I tend to disappoint my father more often than not. Sorry, princess.”

Denalda laughed out loud. “And those ridiculous flowers.”

“Yes,” Rynald agreed, throwing them into the bushes, “Those ridiculous flowers. Who would ever think to win someone’s love with a bunch of roses?”

Despite herself, Denalda found herself warming slightly to the prince. “Where would you travel and why?”

“Ah,” Rynald answered, “that’s the wrong question.”

“Really?”

“Really. The right question would be where would I not go? I wish to explore other cultures and write about them. I want to travel to neighborhoods princes are not supposed to frequent. I want to live.”

“As do I,” Denalda whispered. “Well, not to write, but to paint.”

The prince’s eyes met Denalda’s, shining with the glimmer, perhaps, of the same idea that had occurred to her. “What if,” Denalda asked, “we agreed to an engagement? A long engagement, of course, that would require us to spend time together. And what better way to get to know one another than to travel together, learning about the kingdom we will one day rule? We would, of course, also have to visit neighboring kingdoms to acquaint ourselves with their ways.”

Rynald took Denalda’s hand, turning to face her. Going down on one knee, he said, “Will you, Your Highness, take me to be your fiancé, perhaps never to wed?”

“I will, Prince Rynald, take you to be my affianced traveling partner, perhaps never to wed.”

Denalda raised Rynald up and gladly took his arm as they continued their walk. She still wasn’t sure about marriage, but she thought that perhaps she had finally met her match.

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The prompt for this story was to write a hate-to-love story. I decided to upend that a little. What about a hate-to-alliance story? Neither one of these characters wants to marry. Their goals are closely enough aligned that they can make an alliance which will allow both to gain what they want.

I imagine Denalda and Rynald as royalty in some alternate universe where perhaps there is a mix of technology and magic, though neither is mentioned in this story. In this other-world, royalty reigns across the world and perhaps governments such as our world currently holds never came into being.

What might they discover and learn traveling incognito? Where will it lead them? Will they be content to rule? Will they maintain the status quo? Or will they set out to create a new world, governed in a different manner? I have no idea. What do you think they’ll do?