Sheesh, Who Woke The King Up on the Wrong Side of the Bed?

These days, Val is in a bit of a funk.

His birthday is closing in, just under a month away, and he’s just been going through the motions. He hasn’t been going to the study much, or even walking through the garden. All he does is wake up, eat, work, eat, sleep. I can tell everything is weighing on him and it’s driving me crazy!!

Luckily, Ms. June has finally lowered her guard and has stopped putting the locks on the doors and windows, or maybe she just keeps forgetting. This means it’s finally time to sneak out and tail Vallie around! It’s easy, as soon as lunch is finished, I nudge open the window and slip right out, climbing down and sneaking along the bushes that surround the place.

See, The palace has two floors. I like to describe it as personal on the top and business on the bottom! The second floor is primarily private rooms for bedrooms, servants, and other things that only family and close friends get the privilege of seeing. The first floor is used strictly for business! It’s got offices, waiting rooms, dining rooms for professional lunch meetings, parties… you get the gist. It’s how they meekly try to separate work and life.

Val’s office he usually works in is on the first floor. I’ve been in it before. It’s not exactly right under his room… but it’s pretty close. So I don’t have to go too far to spot it. The curtains are drawn back only a bit, making it difficult to see in. Though when I do, I see Val hunched over, writing something, then leaning back and sighing. His aide approaches and asks a question, and Val responds. I can’t hear what they’re saying, though! Ugh. I think I need to sneak inside. Before I wander off, someone else enters the room. Looks like another butler or aide? Either way, they say something to Val, and Val takes a moment before he rises and follows the person out of his office.

No! I can’t lose sight of him now!! I dart as fast as I can in the general direction where I know an entrance is. The back garden usually keeps the doors propped open so they can quickly move things in and out. Easy enough to slip right inside unnoticed and sneak my way back towards Val’s office. Now the issue is… where did he run off to?

Seems like my prayers were answered, though, as Val’s aide comes out of the room, holding the documents Val was just pouring over. He greets a maid as she passes.

”Hello, Lucy.”

”Oh! Victor! Hi!” The maid perks up. “Are you not meant to be with His Highness right now? Are you on break?”

”I have a bit of downtime. His Majesty summoned His Highness, so they will be together for a while yet.”

That’s all I needed to hear! I start moving as quickly as I can without blowing my cover, no longer paying attention as the aide and maid flirt with each other. The King’s room… He’s either in the throne room to play it up or in his own office doing… Kingly work that he’s been pushing onto Val. Considering the time of day, it’s likely his office. If he summoned Val, he’s probably not expecting any visitors. The King’s office is down the hall, and I manage to catch up in time to see Val enter the door. Sweet! Now… Uh… how do I get past the guards positioned in front of the door…?

My luck train seems to continue, though, because not long after stopping to ponder my next moves, a maid passes through with a cart with a teapot, teacups, and a cloth draping down to hide what’s underneath. She passes by, down the hall and towards the king’s office. I HAVE to get on that thing now! There’s not much cover down this hall, so I press myself up against the wall. The guards of the room seem more focused on the maid who’s approaching to spot me, so I speed up a bit before she can enter.

”His Majesty requested some tea.” The maid says, giving a short bow. The guards look between each other, and that’s when I dart out to slip under the cloth.

”All good. Enter.” One of them says, and the cart starts moving again with the sound of doors opening.

It’s quiet when we enter the room, aside from the maid’s soft “Your tea, Your Majesty.” As she clinks and clacks with the cups above.

Ok. Let’s be objective for a second. This maid will probably either leave this cart here, or she’ll take it away. It’s smarter to try and leave to find a new hiding place, just in case, however it’s impossible to tell where in this room I might be. I see the maid’s shadow as she walks back from where she came from and then returns. Ok, someone is over that way.

I’ve never been in the king’s office before. I’ve barely seen the guy since getting here. There are only a handful of times I can think of where I’ve seen him, mostly before Val’s mother passed. I don’t think I’ve seen him after that…

Wait, Princess! Stop and focus! The point is, I have no idea what his office looks like. Surely there’s at least one good hiding place for me to slip behind.

Okay, I’m gonna peek real quick! I think it would be safest to peek in the front, the direction we were originally moving. Then again, anywhere is a bit of a gamble at this point. Fine I’ll just go for it!! Slowly, I move close to the cloth, gently slipping a paw under. I duck as I raise the cloth from the bottom, hopefully not drawing any attention.

The maid rolled us right up next to the king’s desk. Where I am now, the king is basically right next to me. If he were to look down, he’d see me, but he’s focused on the maid fixing his tea. Quickly, I scan the surrounding area. There’s a large, elegant plant in the corner by the window, with fancy curtains. It’s not quite a corner, but I think I can use that to hide! Slowly, I slip out from under the cart so as not to rattle anything and as soon as I’m free, I run to the plant and hide behind it, nudging the curtain over a bit so I can view the room.

Seems like I made my escape just in time, as the maid bows, returns to her cart, cleans up and leaves. From here, I can see the king’s back as he sits at his desk, and just beyond, I can see Val sitting across from him looking a bit awkward. They sit in silence together for a bit, sipping tea, before the king sits aside his cup.

”Well, enough of that. Have you made any progress?” He asks, voice gruff and scratchy. He clears his throat after he finishes talking.

”Um… I’ve made progress on the negation with that Duke from the north and I think—“

”No, no, son. Not on that!” The king waves off the subject with his hand, shaking his head as he does. “I mean with your marriage. Are you making any solid progress? I’ve waited a week, so I’d like to know.”

Val stiffens, a conflicted look immediately overtaking his face with his eyebrows tightening and frown deepening.

”Oh, that? I… Well…”

As Val hesitates, the king sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

”Son… You realize how close your birthday is, do you not? The people are waiting, and you haven’t even mentioned a single name! What are we to do if we reach your birthday celebration, where you are meant to announce your new fiancée, and we don’t have anyone to introduce? It’ll be a mess!”

I barely hear Val grumble something under his breath. He’s too far for me to hear what he said, but the king doesn’t seem to have heard it. Or if he did, he’s got one heck of a poker face. Finally, the king sighs.

”Listen… I know it’s been difficult lately.” He says, clearly making an effort to keep annoyance out of his voice in a bland attempt at empathy. “I’ve been busy, you’ve been busy, I understand. I do. Even with the attempts of getting you to meet new people, there’s barely been time to make a meaningful connection. At some point, though, you’ll have to pick someone. What’s the point in putting it off?”

”I’m just… not sure I know how to be a good partner or spouse…” Val responds. “Isn’t it more meaningful for me to learn to do that first before jumping into a marriage?”

”And how are you going to learn that without trying it first?” When Val doesn’t respond right away, the king continues as if he won the argument. “Son, there is no one, single way to be a good husband. It can be a bit scary when you’re first married. Trust me, I was terrified I would do something to scare off your mother when we first married. That never ended up happening. Have a bit of faith in yourself.”

I can tell, even from this distance, that Val is grasping at something to say in response. I don’t like this, if only I could interrupt and say something!

”I… I’m just not ready…” He eeks out, voice small as he avoids eye contact with his father.

”…I know. I wasn’t ready, either.” The king responds, voice softening and sounding genuine. “But it was still the best thing to ever happen to me, marrying your mother. If she were here, she would say the same thing, you know.” Val flinches at the mention of his mother, I can see his shoulders tense up. The king sighs, reaching for something on the table.

”Duke Lias has reached out.” The king began, Val freezing and slowly lifting his head to look at his father. “His daughter is very interested in marrying you, he said. You used to be friends with that girl’s brother, did you not?”

Something’s shifted in Val’s posture as he shifts back in his seat, eyes narrowing ever so slightly in displeasure.

”Yes… I am still friends with him.” Val slowly nods, and the king grunts.

”You asked her to dance that one time. Would you say she’s a good candidate?”

”I- Janice?? Well, I did ask her to dance, but-“

”She’s a pretty girl.”

”She is, however she’s also-“

”Then you should have no problem with marrying her, correct?”

Val stares wide eyed at the king, face twisting with annoyance at being interrupted.

”I do, actually!” Val almost shouts. “I don’t want to marry someone who stole my cat!”

”Ah, her father did say there was a misunderstanding between you two.” The king leans back, hand cupping his chin. “He asks you to give her a chance to clear it.”

”That’s not- There’s no way I-“ Val stutters. Utterly baffled at the audacity.

”She is the only candidate you have shown an interest in.” The king says, finality seeping into his tone. “I’ve given you plenty of time to find one yourself, and now time is up. I believe Lady Janice is the best candidate, and likely the one you will marry. We will start preparing the proper arrangements to-“

”I have someone else I like!” Val blurts out, causing the king to stop mid sentence. I can’t see the look on his face. Suddenly, he starts laughing.

”Hoho! Is that why you’ve been so reluctant recently?” His voice carries a sense of whimsy in it now. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? It would certainly have made things a lot easier! So, who is it? Who’s the lucky one to have won over the great Prince Valentine’s heart?”

The king’s mood lifted so suddenly that I can tell it’s making Val’s head spin… mostly because it’s making my own spin. However, despite being faced with a friendlier version of his father, Val falters, unable to answer properly. A chill seeps into the room.

”…This person does exist, do they not? Valentine?”

”Th-they do.” Val manages to reply. “I… I don’t want to reveal them yet, because I don’t know if they would be willing to marry me so suddenly… That’s… That’s…”

”Is that right?” The king muses. “Son, you’re the next king of this country. You can practically make them marry you regardless.”

”I don’t want that! I don’t want to hurt them!”

”Enough excuses!” The king raises his voice, rising from his chair and making Val flinch back and shrink in his seat. “These past couple of months you’ve given nothing but excuses! I don’t see a reason why you can’t even give me a simple name! Is even that too much to ask for from you if you are telling me the truth?!”

On instinct, I dart out from my hiding place and leap onto the table. I might have knocked a couple of things over, I don’t care. Both men startle, blinking at me with wide eyes as I turn on the king and hiss. My back arches and I can feel every single hair stand on end. Val sputters and stutters to process what’s happening, until finally he lurches from his chair to scoop me off of the king’s desk.

”Princess?! What on earth- where did you- how did you even get in here?!”

He fumbles a bit, trying to balance me in his arms as I wriggle around and continue to glare daggers at the king. To his credit, he looks appropriately shocked and afraid because of me. As he should!

”That’s… your cat, yes?”

”I- er- y-yes, but I did not bring her here!” Val’s voice cracks a bit as he finally gets a hold on me. “I don’t know how she got here, please don’t mind her, father!”

”Hmm… I’ve heard cats can be quite mischievous creatures.”

”She’s not usually like this.” Val rushes in to defend me from nothing. “I’ve been so busy lately, sometimes she sneaks out to come find me when that happens… So she just got lonely since she hasn’t had one on one time with me for a little bit. That’s all. You might have startled her when you stood up-!”

”It’s alright, son.” His father waves a hand around as he takes his seat back. “I was getting a bit too heated there, my apologies.”

The king takes in the sight of Val holding me protectively. Val shifts a bit, shuffling slowly towards the door.

”I… I suppose I should go return her to my room for now.”

”…Wait one second, son.”

Val pauses, anticipation thick in the air. The king sighs.

”I don’t mean to accuse you of lying. Regardless of if you think they would marry you or not… I would like to meet them. Can you please schedule a day that we can have dinner together? Just the three of us. This can be casual, so don’t put too much pressure on them to act up to standards. Since your birthday is just around the corner, the sooner the better, don’t you think? Maybe this weekend?”

”I… I will see what I can do… They can be rather busy, s-so please be patient.”

The king nods and flashes Val a smile. “Then, off you go! Spend some time with that cat so it doesn’t get so antsy. It would be a bother if it lashed out.”

Val frowns, but doesn’t respond, he just turns and quickly leaves the room. Once he’s further down the hall and can no longer see the door to that office, he stops. Val lets out a deep sigh, slumping against a wall and sliding down. His eyes close for a minute before they reopen and look down at me.

”…Seriously, how did you even get in there?” He mutters, scratching behind my ear. I deliberately purr, trying to play up the cute kitten role in case he’s unhappy with me. Another sigh escapes, or maybe he just took a deep breath to steady himself. “Hahh… I don’t know how you show up right when I need someone to. I was about to get chewed out.”

I blink up at him. Wasn’t expecting him to say that… He pulls me closer, resting his forehead against the top of my head, closing his eyes as he focuses on breathing.

”I bought myself some time… but what do I do now? It wasn’t… totally a lie… but whoever shows up to that dinner is going to be pressured into marriage. I know they will. Now more than ever…”