A Tangled Web of Truth | Complete (ONC 2021 Shortlister)

2. A Fearful Reality

The preparations for the coming of age ball that year were thrice what they had been when Prince Alejandro's mother had hers. Alejandro stood on the second floor, watching as row upon row of tables were set with the china his mother had chosen. The staff moved swiftly through the motions as though they had rehearsed this ballet hundreds of times before, though he knew they had never done something this elaborate since his parents' wedding.

Though his mother had chosen the china, she was insisting he be involved in many aspects of the ball. In her words, these were his last moments as a child and he would soon be expected to make decisions for himself. Therefore, after much deliberation, he had kept the decorations a neutral cream and gold, rather than cordoning them off in the same way the queen had done for the girls.

He didn't want colour coded girls, and he certainly didn't want them to feel like they couldn't talk to one another by colour coding their seating arrangements, too. The flowers along the edge of the hall were jasmine, a nod to his mother's wedding bouquet.

"How is it coming along?" Queen Sofia put her hand on her son's shoulder and looked out over the balcony with him to watch the preparations.

Perhaps it was his distraction, or his imagination, but not hearing his mother's high heels click across the polished marble made him jump at the hand on his shoulder. He quickly composed himself and answered her. "It seems to be going smoothly. You know I don't have an eye for centrepieces or whatever it is they're doing."

"None of us do, dear." His mother waved her hand dismissively. "That is what we have our decorators for. We just trust their skills and enjoy the festivities."

Prince Alejandro let out a sigh and leaned onto the bannister. "If only I could."

"Oh, but you must!" She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and pulled him toward her into a sideways hug. "You only ever get one coming of age ball. There are no do overs."

"How'd you do it?" he asked, casting his eyes downward to meet hers.

"Do what? Enjoy my ball?" She waited for him to nod his assent before continuing. "Well, there was less going on. As I'm sure you know because you have been paying attention to your history lessons."

He let out a low chuckle in spite of himself. "Yes, I know. Even so, there had to be some stress picking someone who could run a country with you. It feels like picking a business partner instead of a spouse."

"In our position it is both," she replied simply. "But the ball is not where you decide if they can run a country. That is for later. First you must find someone you can converse with. Look for someone you like, dear. You'll be spending a lot of time together. And you will be a wonderful ruler, so anyone you want to spend time with is bound to be intelligent enough to figure out the rest of it. Look at your father!"

"You mean still taking history lessons when I was six?" He laughed out loud, drawing the attention of a few nearby guards who snickered to themselves before returning to their duties.

"Yes, well, we all have things that are harder for us, dear. That is natural."

"I feel like I don't have the luxury. I feel like she doesn't have that luxury. There's a lot riding on this. And if I meet someone I do like, I don't want to put the safety of an entire country on her back from day one. I want to find someone I can love and who can love me! How do I do it?"

The Queen let her elbows rest on the ornate gold railing in front of them, her dress draping over the edge of the floor slightly as she turned to face him. "There is always a lot riding on the ball. Just because you have more knowledge of what's going on out there than we ever have before doesn't mean there isn't always a difficult choice to be made. That is the burden of this role. If you do it right, you must give up some of yourself. And so must she."

"How can you ask someone you care about to do that for you?"

"That's marriage, Alejandro. We all ask of ourselves so much for the chance to spend our lives with people whose company we enjoy. Do yourself a favour and let her make that decision. She may surprise you."

The silence stretched between them, growing louder and louder in Prince Alejandro's ears until finally, the arrival of the King broke it. "Did you know they are colour coding entrances now, dear?" he called across the foyer. "When did we decide on colour coded entrances?"

Queen Sofia's eyes almost rolled out of her head and she walked over to meet him in the middle of the large room. "We are not colour-coding the entrances. All the girls will come through the main gate. We are including all the colours on the pillars of the secondary doors to make sure all the young women feel welcome."

"It will not feel welcoming to any of them, I promise you that! It's more terrifying than anything you can imagine."

"You cannot still be on about that!" the queen's stage whisper was loud enough for Alejandro and several of the staff to hear. "I will not apologize for my father's poor taste in ball decorations or my demanding that you bow to your future queen."

"And I will not apologize for sweeping you off your feet."

"You caught me when I tripped," she retorted, sliding her arm into his as they walked down the hallway together, leaving Alejandro alone to watch the preparations and think about his predicament. No matter how cheesy and embarrassing his parents were, he had to admit he wanted that: someone who would be his friend through all the chaos that is ruling a nation. If his father was any indication, a silly person could learn to stand properly behind his wife at functions, so maybe his mother was right.

But with everything going on outside the castle walls, Alejandro couldn't shake the fear that if it took his chosen fiancée too long to adapt, there may not be anything to adapt to. No matter how many advisors assured him the monarchy was safe, he had been too well-educated not to see the dangers approaching. The unrest bubbled just beneath the surface. 

* ~ * Author's Note * ~ * 

This is my first time doing a dual POV story all by myself and I'm really liking it so far. For some reason both of these characters decided they had important things to say so I hope it continues to go well! Please feel free to leave comments -- constructive criticism or just your reactions -- it is so helpful to hear from readers :) 

Thanks for taking the time to read and I hope you enjoyed meeting Alejandro. With this, we have reached the 2000 words for round one, but I'll be back with another chapter from Alicia next week Wednesday!