The Frog

Stay for Dinner?

     The lulling rock of the carriage almost sent Ambrose into a dream, his eyelids becoming too heavy to keep open. It wasn't until the wheel skipped over a stray rock in the road that Ambrose jolted awake.

     "Apologies, highness! I didn't see it." The coachman called back to Ambrose.

     Ambrose just huffed and shifted in his seat, rubbing his eyes. "God, I hope we get there soon..." He mumbled to himself, looking out the window again. They had finally gotten out of the woods of Valorin and were now travelling through the rolling hills of Wortellemn. Ambrose always enjoyed the look of all these hills. He could actually see the sun out here, the light fluttering through the lavender.

     "Stop for a moment!" Ambrose asked, opening the door. The coachman slowed to a stop, letting Ambrose out of the carriage to pick some flowers for the family he was visiting.

     "If you don't mind me asking sire, what are you doing?" The coachman tilted his head, watching Ambrose.

     "There is a single daughter and definitely a mother in the family I am seeing so I want to bring them flowers." Ambrose bent down, picking a handful of lavender with a variety of other flowers. "Echinacea, aster, indigo, and baby's breath." Ambrose muttered to himself, walking through the field, picking the buds he described.

     "Alright this should be good." Ambrose tied the bouquet with a string and set it next to his seat, climbing into the vehicle.

     The two started their journey again, coming upon the Wortellemn castle within the next hour. By that time, the sun had started to set, a golden glow blanketing the tall grass. Ambrose couldn't pull his eyes away from the scene in front of him. He didn't get to leave his kingdom often, but when he did, he always loved the different environments he came across. Last summer, his mother allowed him to go on a trip on his own for the first time, and he came across the largest flower field he'd ever seen. An abundance of pinks and blues, some bursts of yellow. Ambrose was convinced he'd never see anything like it again, but here were the hills. Positively glowing, the grass turning a certain shade of green that made his heart swell.

     Ambrose pulled himself away, walking up to the large doors of the Wortellemn castle. A butler hurried to open the door for him, allowing him inside.

     "Good afternoon, I'm supposed to meet with King Alamon and Queen Lillian? I'm Prince Ambrose." Ambrose introduced himself.

     "And where are you from?" The butler asked, bowing politely.

    "Valorin," Ambrose tried speeding past the question, impatient. "Are they ready to see me?"

     The butler nodded, keeping himself silent as he led the way to the throne room. "Your majesties, Prince Ambrose of Valorin."

     Ambrose entered after his introduction, bowing to the king and queen until they allowed him to stand.

     "I wanted to apologize for my absence yesterday." Ambrose took a step forward, offering the bouquet of flowers to Lillian. "I brought this for you, I know it isn't much, but I thought it might be an interesting gift."

     Queen Lillian smiled softly, waving a hand for him to come forward and give her the flowers. "Thank you darling, they're charming, truly."

     Ambrose brought the flowers to her hand, quickly bowing as he backed away. So far, this meeting was going well, Queen Lillian seemed to like him already. However, Ambrose was nervous of the way King Alamon looked at him. He still seemed disappointed but how would Ambrose fix this?

     "Where is Deirdre?" King Alamon asked, seemingly ignoring Ambrose's presence.

     "She should be on her way down, I asked for her just a moment ago." Lillian responded.