Without love no man is a king

1.

King Osris anxiously paced the castle over seeing the preparations for the months festivities. The kingdom was a buzz of excitement, excitement he knew would be short lived if he could not pull this off. An arranged marriage for his only son and heir. A marriage between his kingdom and one they had been at war with for many years. A fact he'd hidden from most, merely saying a match had been made for his son. The closer the time came for the marriage, the more he thought perhaps he'd made a terrible mistake in staking a peace treaty between the two kingdoms on a marriage between his only son and the only daughter of king Cedmond.

The king found his son looking over his new quarters that he was to move into after his marriage. His son looked gloomy as he nodded or shook his head at the staff setting the room up.
"I see you are making the queen mothers room your own." The king interrupted
"The green" the prince pointed at some curtains
"Are you ready to meet your bride?"
"No" the prince angrily arranged books on a shelf. The king demanding privacy, waiting until the staff all left.
"Speak your woes to me son."
"Where would you like me to start? The fact I do not even know her name! Or what she looks like! I have not even seen a portrait of her, no one has, not even you? Do you even know if I'm marrying a young beauty or an old hag?"
"I have been promised that her beauty shines bright. She turned eighteen years not two weeks ago. She will be a young bride. I've been promised she is pure. I had to fight for this pairing son, bare that in mind. There was much competition and negotiating."
"So you say. At least you saw a portrait of mother before she arrived."
"I did. She looked nothing like it though, as you full well know. It is a family jest that you are aware of. I have it hanging in my quarters still next to the one I commissioned to capture her real beauty. I was very pleasantly surprised when she turned up."

"I am worried father" the prince perched on the window seat "what if I do not like her. What if she does not like me! What if....what if I find her utterly repulsive and can not perform when the time comes, with you and her father outside the door listening in."
"He will not be" the king strode over to look out at the courtyard "they do not have the same traditions as us."
"Why will you not at least tell what kingdom she is from, or her name. I should know my betrothed's name before she arrives!"
"Inara" the king kept his gazed fixed straight ahead "princess Inara is her name."
"Inara!" The prince stood up to join his father "Inara" he sounded it out a few times "it is unusual, it is not a name I know of. Does she.....does she come from far away?"
"Indeed.....this marriage is important to this kingdom, Roland. It will not be an easy one and for that I am truly sorry."

"I knew my marriage would be for the benefit of the kingdom. As was yours.....did you grow to love her?"
"You know I did. Fairly quickly. Your mother was fair of face but it was her kind heart I fell for. I miss her still too. I know little of Inara. I was promised her beauty was a sight to behold, much sought after but never caught."
"Her wit? Her conversation? These are of more interest to me.....unless she looks like a toad." The prince and king laughed together, the king saying he did not know. "Well....I know my duty father. It is obviously an important alliance so I will do my best."
"It is all I can ask of you. I am sure she has the same worries. She will need time to adjust to our ways. Bare that in mind. Now stop fiddling with your books, go make sure the horses are well groomed. Make a good impression. We will ride out to meet them. We will spend two days here, then travel back to her kingdom to wed before returning for the ceremony here"

"We will marry twice father?"
"There customs differ. We agreed to meet here, finalise the agreements, sign the scrolls then return to marry in her kingdom. We will be there at least four days possibly more, it depends how it goes, then we will return with your bride...alone."
"Her father will not accompany her? Be part of the ceremony?"
"No. It is against his beliefs to set foot in a church. He will not partake in it."
"But she will? Our people will only accept a marriage in front of god as a witness father."
"It is part of the negotiations. It was a sticking point. She will marry in the church. Whether it is her wish to or not remains to be seen. Now let's finish preparations, they are due to arrive soon"

"Oh and Roland....their culture does not stand for relations outside of your marital bed. You will need to be faithful to her, or not get caught. If she catches you wandering and tells her father it is trouble for all of us."
"I intend to be faithful father. You have my word. Lady Stephanie Coleman has been finished with."
"Good keep it that way. She is more trouble than your future wife and not a suitable match."
"I know. I grew too attached over the summer months. You warned me not too and I did not listen. It was only a close  friendship father, but I see how it looked."
"Keep your friend away from your new wife. That goes for any maids that offer you some frivolous fun. This marriage will be on a cliff edge for some time son so be very careful. We can not afford for her to send word to her father that she is unhappy or has been mistreated."
"I give my word I will be faithful however this plays out. I hope to learn to love her as you did mother."
"I hope so too. If you don't then don't get caught doing anything stupid."