Once Upon A Princess

19: Waiting for the Sun

"Wait until you see her on the horizon," Theo whispered to his little sister, Mia, who was being held securely in his arms.

Theo was waiting at the front doors of his home, watching for the arrival of a carriage beyond the gates with the rest of his family.

Princess Amelia was to be arriving today, and it was only proper to welcome a royal with every available courtesy, which included greeting her at the front door. It was easier said than done when you had to wait hours, hoping the next minute would be the minute they'd arrive. They'd been standing there since the sunrise, and now it was fully out and rising ever higher in the sky.

At least Mia was being mild-tempered, Theo thought as she played with his fingers. She'd even been sleeping in the beginning, drooling just a bit on his shoulder. He wanted to laugh at her complete disinterest in the special day; how little it would affect her. She didn't care that a new person would be staying with them, or politics of the royals or successions. She just was, and it was a freedom of mind Theo still enjoyed most of the time.

He himself felt anxious for Amelia's arrival, of course. Everyone else had a certain nervous energy, but they were more excited than anything. Theolon wasn't sure what to feel; seeing Princess Amelia again was sure to bring back that dreaded curse to the forefront, something he'd been shoving away into the recesses as much as possible.

Mia babbled something, tugging on his hair. "pwins mewa," she said.

"Yes, we're waiting for Princess Amelia," he confirmed. "Shouldn't be long now."

Morcia, standing next to her son, turned to him, a mischievous gleam in her eye. She whispered very softly, so as not to break the silence too much.

"You met her, Theo, and yet you won't tell me anything about her," her voice was not the least bit mad, just teasing. She poked him, lightly, on the arm and then straightened up again. "Just a hint of what she's like would be nice."

It was true he hadn't talked about her much. His mother had been the most insistent for information, but his father was just behind her in his inquiries. He wasn't sure what they were planning to do while she was staying, but it was quite a feat for her to be garnering so much attention without even being present.

Castiel was being oddly quiet about the whole thing, which was strange to Theo. Castiel always had something to say, especially in the vein of matters of royalty, which this certainly was one. Interests of personal feelings were a different matter, however, and Theo knew asking his older brother how he felt about the princess's visit would be a fruitless endeavor.

Mia yanked on his hair hard enough to shatter his inner thoughts.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, giving her a pout. "That hurt."

She shrunk back, her eyes shining. She was about to cry.

He switched to a smile to show he was teasing. "It's alright. Just don't pull so hard." Then he poked her right in the stomach, which made her laugh.

"Hush," their father said. He was staring out at the front gates. He hadn't wavered from his position all morning next to his wife and eldest son. Theo did not understand how he could stay still for so long. Even Castiel, the perfect child, had shuffled his feet about and wavered his gaze now and then.

With the sun growing ever higher in the sky, Theo was growing impatient. Mia would start to get fussy soon too, even if he was doing his best to distract her.

It would be just like Amelia to take forever to arrive, he thought. She'd certainly drawn out his sentence as a frog out longer than it needed to be. And for what? Just to annoy him, probably. She seemed to enjoy nettling him. Though, he couldn't argue that getting under her skin was sort of fun.