Fairy Tale Treasure (Book Two: The Road to Ever After)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Princess Sarah was not the only young royal having trouble sleeping in Fairy Tale. Across the borders, Prince Daniel was living a similarly restless life. Two months of blank patience had tick-tocked by at an excruciating pace. Daniel felt powerless and it was not a feeling he was accustomed to. He was the Golden Boy, the best at fencing, at rowing, at cricket, at poetry, at history...well, the best at everything.

But Prince Daniel was not at his best in this perilous period of uncertainty. He waited so long to propose to Princess Sarah; now to endure another two months of limbo between being single and being affianced was agonizing. A young man lives for the day he will find that perfect girl and ask her to marry him. At least, that's what Daniel was taught. To only meet delay once that glorious moment was achieved was quite the downer. Sitting around and waiting for Sarah to give him her answer was proving too hard for him to bear.

So, Daniel made his excuses to his parents and countrymen and came back to the solitude of Monarch's Cove. He never really got his summer holiday here; there would be no place better to contemplate his uncertain future. Queen Eudora had to explain to her husband that no number of wrestling matches or fishing expeditions were sufficient to distract their son's thoughts from what Sarah might be thinking of him. The lad needed to be alone, to prepare himself for what could be his heart's impending doom.

Prince Daniel returned to the private paradise where it all started, "it" being his love for Princess Sarah. Amidst the sand and sunshine, a younger Daniel discovered a new, delicious feeling when he was with the blonde-headed spitfire. Perhaps it was the influence of his parents' wishes or their oft retold love story. Whatever the cause, Daniel knew for certain he worshiped Sarah. They were total opposites, yet his heart was completely gone upon her. She may never love him in return, Daniel seemed to understand even in his youth, still he would adore her resolute, feisty magnificence...forever.

Prince Daniel sat on the beach with his pants rolled up to his knees and his feet in the cool surf. How many nights had the four royal brats watched the stars from this same spot? Daniel remembered all their old games played out on this plot of sand. What simple fun they had then, chasing Sarah around the rocks on a never-ending game of tag where she insisted they always kept score. He smiled as he recalled the scraped knees and bite marks he got while wrestling Robert and his tomboy sister. And when they were older, Daniel took embarrassed pleasure in rowing Sarah out to Sea a very few miles, just the two of them, as he dreamt of sailing through life with her while she dreamed of pirates and plunder. Even then, Daniel knew she was not thinking of him. It was too late though; nothing could prevent him from falling madly in love with his princess friend.

"It is madness though," Daniel groaned, throwing his back down to the sand with his hands over his face, "Why would someone like Sarah settle for a guy like me?"

Almost beyond swallowable belief, Prince Daniel was humble to a fault. He was master of most everything he touched, somehow never allowing his ego to grow any sizes too large. He was nothing like his father, Darrick; he was a people pleaser that knew pride was the enemy of likability. He wasn't bashful about showing his talents. What was the use of being so meek you didn't admit your strengths? He would need those strengths to serve his people and maybe, just maybe, impress a certain princess.

If ever there was a lost cause, that last dream was probably it. Daniel desperately desired his beloved to esteem his gifts and take joy in his merits. The prince squirmed over the sand bed as he considered how little his rescue impressed Princess Sarah. Whenever he felt he was performing to his very best, it seemed Sarah viewed him at the very worst. He heard her thank-yous and apologies, and knew she only meant them on a superficial level. Any other girl would be moved by his willingness to sacrifice anything, even his life, for her sake and happiness.