Of Ice And Poppies - An EmpiresSMP Flower Husbands Fanfic

Chapter One

Jimmy sighed, looking down at his hands.  What a day.  As he wasn't expected to be king, he was left to the princely duties of someone who could never be his sister, including writing the greeting cards for the Queenship Ball but never getting a Kingship.

Don't get him wrong, he loved his sister.  She was his favorite person, even.  He looked up to her.  She did more to raise him than both their parents combined, she was adventurous, beautiful, intelligent, powerful... Need he go on? She was his role model and idol.  But that didn't mean he didn't envy her.

Nonetheless, he thought, signing the final invitation, there was still a Ball for him to attend in a week's time.  A Ball which would, by courtesy, include every Empire's heirs as well as rulers, as well as all the people of the Empire of the Deep.

So naturally, he was a little excited.  Meeting the other rulers could mean great things.  He had the chance to make nice with a to-be-queen, even.  As expected of him.  Wizard GeminiTay, for example, the twin sister of Duke fWhip, elder sister of Prince MythicalSausage, and only daughter of the Count of the Grimlands and the Lady of Mythland.  Gem was working on building her own Empire- the Crystal Cliffs- but that was almost unheard of. 

Not that Jimmy hoped to do the same thing.

No, never.  GeminiTay was strong.  She had very powerful magic, which helped her gain favor with the people, and helped her to build and create.  Jimmy couldn't do all that.

Or maybe he could get to know Dutchess Katherine of House Blossom, Lizzie's friend.  She was soon to be Lady Katherine, and was quite put-together.  He respected her.  But she had shown no interest in marriage from what he had seen... Hm.

Princess Pearl of Gilded Helianthia, then, perhaps.  She was brave, and of a farming kingdom, she was very resourceful.  That would be good.

Or Shrub Berry of The Undergrove.  She was slowly creating her Empire.  At least knowing her could get him to respect.

He didn't care for any of the women.  He didn't know any of them.  But not everyone had the privilege of being moony-eyed over another ruler- ahem, Lizzie and Prince Joel- and he knew that he would never get to marry anybody he truly loved.  He frowned slightly at the thought.

Just don't fall in love with anybody, then, and he wouldn't be heartbroken.  Easy.

The fifteen year old boy prince rolled his eyes.  The chances of him falling for one of the to-be rulers were low anyways.  Certaintly not fWhip, he scoffed, not knowing the others personally.  Save for The Copper Prince Pixlriffs, but he was much older than he and Lizzie, and served as more of a mentor than anything.  He had only heard of the rest.  Prince Joey of the Lost Empire, Prince Joel of Mezalea- the Crown Prince who Lizzie had fallen in love with years prior and never forgotten, despite not seeing him for years, and not intending to until she became Queen- and.. Ah.  Of course.  Prince Scott of Rivendell.  The elven Crown Prince.

On the topic of Joel, it was unlikely he would be at the Ball, nor would his family. Fortunately for Lizzie, who didn't want them to find her until she was secure as queen, in case they turned against her.  Mezalea was far too reclusive for that.  It did bring him slight sadness that he wouldn't be able to thank them for rescuing her, but he supposed it could wait.

It would simply save him time to get to know the rest of the heirs, that was all.  It would spare him the pain of awkwardly introducing himself, explaining who Lizzie truly was, and then excusing himself to go talk to a bunch of Crown Princes and Princesses, all of whom were higher than him in rank.

What a pain that would have been.

He adjusted his crown and sighed, peering at himself in the mirror.  He really did need to dye his hair again, he noted, inspecting the strands that were slowly but surely fading to pink against his scaled skin.  He ought to bother Lizzie about it prior to the Ball, if he wanted to maintain his image.  Lizzie was suited to her hair and eyes.  She, the Blue Axoltl heir herself, was truly stunning- fair, unblemished skin, only her glimmering blue scales touching against it.  Flowing, pink hair that could rival the beauty of the elves, and all that pulled together by her sharp ocean eyes and her closet of gorgeous gowns, she was the image of regal elegance.

Jimmy knew it was silly to compare himself with his elder sister, but he couldn't help himself.  While she was graceful, he was clumsy and messy.  He had pink hair, much like hers, but unlike her, he was brown eyed with green and brown scales, and his hair was choppy instead of silky.  It looked more natural to dye it blonde, even if it upset his parents to see their son wreck his royal, gods-given appearance.  He knew it was crap.  With his short stature, awkward nature, and less-than-average ability to do anything for the kingdom with half as much poise as his sister, he was barely royalty, as far as he saw it.

His personality was barely better.  He was kind, sure, and fun to be around.  He knew he had a sense of humor, and he was able to make people smile.  But he was unorganized and average at best when it came to things that would come with being in charge of an empire.

All this to say, if he wanted to rule an empire of his own one day, he needed to look the part, considering he definitely couldn't act it.  And that started with making his hair a little bit more... Contained. 

Ding! Ding!

Oh.  He exhaled softly, tearing his gaze away from the mirror.  Lunchtime.

He shook his head.  He could be a ruler if he wanted to be.

Surely, not all of them were like his older sister.

Surely, some were more like him.

Surely.