The Unlikely Prince

The Wastelands

Prince Hunter stood gawking before the three fairies. This must be some trick...yes, the fairies did have a playful side. There was no way such an evil man could be the true love of such a kind and gentle princess. He laughed, deciding that it was indeed a joke.

But when the fairies did not join in his laughter, and only stared at him sadly, he stopped and his smile slowly faded.

"It is...not a prank?" he asked as it dawned on him that the fairies were being serious. "Janus is Princess Emerald's true love?"

The fairies all nodded at once, as if in sync with each other.

"I am afraid so, Your Highness," the blue fairy said. "It was revealed to us not long before you went after the witch."

"So you used me to dispose of the witch because you thought Janus could not?!" Hunter shouted, his hands curling into fists. The fairies back away.

"Well, yes...," said the red fairy. At least they were honest. Hunter held his beath for a few seconds, then let it out.

"Just, nevermind. I'm going to go find Janus and drag him to the tower to wake Princess Emerald, and then I will dispose him. Then I will bring Emerald back to the palace with me and everything will be as it should."

"Tsk, tsk," said the blue fairy. "You young folks are always in such a rush to find true love, but it doesn't work like that."

"I don't have the faintest idea what you are talking about," said Hunter, crossing his arms and glancing at each fairy. "I have known Princess Emerald ever since I was a boy and I knew then that I wanted to marry her. Do not tell me that fifteen years is rushed!"

"No, no, Prince Hunter, you must understand," said the blue fairy, coming forward to take his hands. "You must accept that Princess Emerald is not the one for you."

"She only sees you as her brother," said the green fairy. "Oh, she would always become so fretful when she would tell us how she thought you had feelings for her. You are family to her."

Hunter's heart sank. So...all this time his feelings were unrequited? He pulled his hands away from the blue fairy and dropped them at his sides. "Well...thank you for letting me know," he said dryly. He turned to start out the door.

"Oh, please don't be so upset, Your Highness!" the red fairy cried, going after him. "There is another for you!"

Hunter looked at the three of them over his shoulder. "What makes you think I want another?" And with that, he left their presence, wishing he never even came in the first place. What was he to do now? Travel to Janus' tower? He never wanted to be a within a mile of him, much less be in his presence. And letting him near Emerald? There wasn't a chance of that happening!

But...if he never went to go Janus, and didn't bring him to Emerald, then she would surely sleep for eternity, and longer than that quite possibly. Even if he could never have her as his wife, he would hate to live without his dearest friend. His only friend, at that. It would be a terribly selfish deed to leave her sleeping all because he refused to believe that Janus was her true love. As bizarre as the match would make, it would have to be done in order to wake up the sleeping princess.

He returned to his horse, stopping to pet it's long mane. "Well...," he said in a quiet voice. "I suppose it's off to find Janus with us." He mounted the horse and spurred it into action, wondering where he should look first. While he had seen Janus at the little tavern, that meant nothing. Janus could travel anywhere he pleased in a matter of seconds. With no other lead, the best possibility was his tower in the Wastelands. It would take days to get there, but it was worth a try. So he started off in that direction, thinking of how he would get Janus to kiss Emerald.