Joel's Perspective-
During the dinner, the air was tense.
Maggie and Joel kept exchanging nervous glances, wondering which one was going to bring up the topic first.
Finally, Joel's mother sighed.
"Alright you two, spit it out. I noticed your nervous expressions, something's on your mind."
Maggie giggled nervously, "What do you mean?"
"Is it something with Pix?" Her mother asked and Maggie blushed.
"I- no, it's not. I actually haven't responded to his letter yet."
"Why not? I thought you said you were."
"Well, umm...Joel came into my room and..." Maggie trailed off and turned to Joel, expecting him to finish the sentence.
"And?" Joel's father looked up at his son with an intimidating glare.
Joel swallowed his food nervously before clearing his throat.
"And...I want to abdicate my power to Maggie."
Joel's father started to cough on his drink and Joel winced nervously.
When his father finally calmed down, he looked at Joel with a confused expression.
"You wish to what?"
"Come on, you can't say that you didn't expect this. I hate being a prince or king or ruler of any kind. I just want to be myself in my life, not to take over this empire! I want to go to someone that I truly love. So please, just stop fighting me and accept that I'm not going to be who you want."
Joel's father sighed.
"Your sister is too young to take over."
"Come on, I know you wanted me and Lizzie to be married soon, but I won't be able to take over the throne until I'm 20! And even then, most people won't hand off the throne. You can start training Maggie to take over when she's old enough, and then you can hand it to her. She is incredibly smart and more than just someone to play dress up with."
Maggie smiled and saw her parents' expressions.
"How do you know that this is what you really want?" Joel's mother asked.
"How do I know that I want to go with Etho? Well, I can feel it. I know that I want to be with him, and I know that I've never been fit to be a ruler."
Joel's father stood up and walked over to his son.
Joel felt his nerves spike and he held his breath.
His father sighed.
"I never really understood you. Ever since you were a kid, I felt that you were going to be something that I couldn't ever control. And I was right. I can't control you, and I don't know if anyone can. But I'm glad you know what you want."
Joel smiled nervously, "You're okay with me doing this?"
"You make a fair argument, but Maggie just has to be on board."
Maggie smiled and gave a thumbs up.
Her father chuckled.
"Now I'm not so sure about that Etho kid, but you seem to trust him."
Joel smiled and hugged his father.
"Thanks, dad."
One Week Later-
'Dear dad,
I know we never really got along, but I'm glad we figured things out now. I know you're probably not completely okay with me going out and being with Etho, and I'm sure me coming out to you was a surprise. I'm sorry I was such an annoying kid, but it always seemed like you hated me. But like you said, you were just trying to control me and my rebellious energy. In case you were wondering, my journey's going fine. Etho taught me some fighting skills so I can protect myself. I hope Maggie's doing well, and I wish you all the best.
-Joel'
Joel folded up the letter and handed it to his messenger bird before watching it fly off.
He smiled and got up, packing up his tent and continuing his way to The Mythlands.
YOU ARE READING
The Festival!
FanfictionI feel like when people look at the royals, they think that we have it good. We're rich, have a lot of power, and can do basically anything we want! Well...that's partly true. The one thing we don't have is freedom. Ever since I was born, my future...
