Royal Jester

17. Anastasia

"We're sure that you've received some," the queen paused as she glanced at her husband, "offers from some men. So we decided that we need to set some ground rules regarding romantic relationships."

Ana laughed at her mother's clumsy wording. "There's no need to be so uncomfortable, mother. You forget that I'm an adult," she gave her a pointed look. 

"Yes," her mother laughed lightly. "I'm simply still getting used to you being so independent is all," she explained. 

The king suddenly cleared his throat and the princess glanced over at him with a calm expression. "We've come to realize that some of those offers may be tempting, but we thought we should disclose that you should not be giving in to them."

Ana's eyebrows furrowed. "So is that only sexual based offers, or romantic as well?" Both of her parents' eyes widened at her choice of words. "I understand that I shouldn't be having intimate relations with just anyone," she confirmed with a nod. Even if her parents hadn't been so insistent on teaching Ana how to 'save' herself, she still wanted her first time to be with someone she genuinely cared for. "But I don't see the issue with casual dating," she continued.

"You've never shown interest in dating before," her mother noted. "Is there someone you're hoping to be able to have a romantic relationship with," the queen grinned. 

Ana shook her head even as her heart skipped a beat when a pair of blue eyes flashed through her mind. "Not necessarily. But I thought it might be fun and it would give me more experience. Plus, dating is one of the most normal things a person can do."

Her father hummed lightly in acknowledgment, a hand adorned with jewelry reaching up to rub his chin. "Would you be dating college boys then?"

"Well who else would I date," she giggled. It wasn't as though she had many options.

The king suddenly looked away from Ana, eyes lingering on something to the side of her form. She turned slightly to glance at the spot before spotting nothing different than usual and turning back around. "Is there someone you would like me to date?" She was hesitant to ask, knowing that being royal entailed suitors and proposals.

She had been receiving proposals since she had turned eighteen but - after she hadn't accepted any even a year later - they had been few and far between as of recently. But her parents still believed she should marry for the benefit of the kingdom. 

"You have many possible suitors, Anastasia," her mother said in response. "You receive dozens of proposals a day and most of them are from neighboring countries, which could greatly help our people."

"What proposals? I haven't seen a single one since I turned nineteen," Ana disagreed. And it was highly unlikely that she had gotten so many proposals even after being away for so long. 

"We simply stopped showing them to you," her father answered. "After you denied every one we presented to you, we thought we might wait a while before discussing marriage again. We assumed you just weren't ready yet."

The princess resisted the urge to scoff, "Of course I'm not ready to get married; I'm only nineteen."

"But if you're considering dating, perhaps you'd like to date someone better than just a regular college student. We could contact one of your suitors from America, I'm sure they would be more than willing to court you regularly." 

"Status isn't everything, mother."

The queen smiled awkwardly at her daughter, "Of course it isn't, dear."

Ana absently wondered why she suddenly sounded so condescending. "I'd much rather experience a normal lifestyle and date a boy my own age." She glanced between her parents, noticing the uncomfortable expressions on both of their faces.