Rouge and the Rogue (Knuxouge)

The King's Tragic Backstory

CERULEAN'S POV

25 YEARS AGO

I had escaped the castle again! Those guards were idiots if they thought they could catch me. I had been trained by masters of combat since I was three, masters much better than that crusty old head of guard. He really should have retired by now, I thought.

I ran through the tall wheat fields just outside the castle walls. I would mess around, tip over some cows, and then go back to the castle just in time to miss all my classes and get dinner. It was mostly the thrill of escaping that I wanted. That I had already gotten. The satisfaction of having outsmarted the castle staff spread through me as I rushed through the wheat.

When I parted the next section, i was startled to see somebody there, I couldn't stop in time, I crashed right into the poor peasant.

I landed on my butt hard. "Hey! What's the big idea getting in my way?" I sputtered, then got a proper look at who I had crashed into.

She was a bat, slightly younger than me, with blonde tresses that fell over her shoulders gracefully. I sat stunned at her beauty. I had met many Princesses over the years, but none who looked like her.

"You ran into me! Who are you? Father didn't hire another useless farmhand, did he?" She shot back, picking herself up and dusting off. Then she extended her hand to help me up, which I accepted with a roll of my eyes.

"As if you don't know who I am," I scoffed, "I am the crown prince. I'm due to become the King in just a few years!"

She looked at me disbelievingly. "Sure," she turned away and picked up her farming tools again, "and I'm Queen of the Acorn kingdom."

Suddenly I was desperate for her to believe me. "I'll prove it to you! Come with me to the castle!"

She sighed. "I have to finish my chores, stupid. I don't have time to go on a wild Prince chase. Just get off my family's farm."

"I'll help you finish, then we can go," I insisted.

She looked at her field, probably thinking about how much work she had to do, then accepted my offer.

We worked together harvesting the grain far past the time I had intended to return to the castle. We finished around sunset.

She sat with me, observing our work approvingly as sunset cast the golden wheat into an orange glow. Sunset looked good on her.

"Are you sure you're not a farm hand? You did pretty well," she teased me.

"I'm sure." I held out my hand. "You promised to follow me to the castle when we were done."

She took my hand. "Let it never be said that I'm not a woman of my word."

When I returned far too late with a peasant girl in hand, I got the scolding of my life, but the look on her face was priceless.

We continued to meet after that, and I fell completely in love with her. She was comfortable in my presence, as if I was any other guy and not the Prince, which made me determined to impress her.

My parents were completely against our relationship. I was never one to listen to my parents. Being with Crystal was another way to rebel against them. She was attractive because my parents didn't want her to be, she was freedom in a figure. Still, my parents were the King and Queen at the time, and I had to tell them some nerve-wracking news...

I entered the throne room slowly. It seemed so much larger than it ever had before. My parents at the end of the long room beckoned me forward.

"What do you want now, son?" My mother rolled her eyes. "We've already given you plenty of time to spend with your little girlfriend."