The Choice: The Heir fanfiction

14~ memory lane

Kile and I walk to the parlor with our arms linked. The reporters all stand up when we enter and start bombarding us with questions.
I hold up a hand. "Please... One at a time...." I sit down beside Kile and he holds my hand and rests them both on my leg.
One reporter starts speaking. "Princess... The whole country knows your style... You're an icon... Are you planning on designing every aspect of this wedding yourself to reflect who you are?"
"Well, I'm certainly planning on having a hand in this... I'd like for Kile and I to make all of the final decisions... However, I'm terrible at deciding where to start. I have the greatest team in the country here who knows exactly what I like, and I want to put them to use. Besides, it's exhausting planning a party, much less a wedding. I'll need all the help I can get." I smile then call on the next person.
"Sir Kile... Because princess Eadlyn is the heir to the throne, you will never be able to hold a title higher than hers, thus you will never be king. Does it bother you that you will only ever be a little higher ranking than a prince?"
Kile smiles and shakes his head. "Today, I am not even a prince. I never have been. Seeing the way the princess and all of her brothers run around, I don't think I've ever wanted to be. I most definitely would not want to be king. I think Eady can handle the country on her own. I'll help if needed, but mostly I'll just be here for everything else. I want to be husband, not King. Confidante, not co-worker. I want to be the person to make her laugh and smile after an especially hard day of work. I want to make her take a break from all the paperwork and take her on a spontaneous date. The selection, surprisingly, doesn't leave much room for true dating. I'm going to make up for that every day that we are married."
  I smile up at him and kiss his cheek softly.
  Another one raises their hand.  I point to her.
  "This question is for both of you.  What is your favorite thing about the other? Physical or mental."
  Kile looks like he's studying me.  "Something I can say out loud?"
  I go red and playfully slap him.  Everyone laughs.
  "Kidding! I promise I'm kidding! Okay, my favorite thing about Eadlyn...." He lets out a long breath.  "That's a hard one because I love a lot about her.  But I like her smile... A lot.  When she truly smiles at you, it's like nothing could ever be wrong in the world.  I also love how she has this presence.  You always know when she enters a room."
  I smile and look down.  "I love everything about Kile... But one of my favorite things is how unique he is.  He's brilliant without being a snob.  He has so, so much talent, but he doesn't show off.  He genuinely cares for others.  He's not afraid of embarrassing himself if it's for someone or something he cares deeply about. And, at least to me, he always tells the truth even when he knows you may not want to hear it.  I've become a better person because of him."  Everyone sighs happily.  He pulls me close.
  The same person adds, "alright now what's your least favorite thing?" We both laugh.
  This time I start.  "Um... Oh god... He's incredibly artistic but he cannot look put-together to save his life.  Also, I seriously wonder who he likes better; me or his books."
  "Hey! That's no contest! The books don't talk back," he teases.  I roll my eyes. 
  He smirks then looks over at me.  "And my least favorite thing about Eadlyn... Hmm... That's an easy one.  She's so bossy! She's been bossing me around since we were born! But it's also incredibly adorable now, so I don't know if that counts.  Umm... Sometimes she could stand to let loose.  She was never a teenage girl... She's always so serious." He pinched my cheek jokingly and I smack him away.  "I guess what I'm saying is... My favorite thing is her smile, but she doesn't smile nearly as much as I wish she would."
  I bite my lip then call on the next person.
  "What were your favorite childhood memories together?"
  That makes us both grin.
  "WELL..." Kile starts, smirking.  "Eadlyn was seven and I was nine.... Her brother and I were having a water fight but the oh-so-serious little princess that she was would never partake in such an event.  I wasn't particularly fond of her at the time because, you know, cooties.  So I set up this water explosion for when she went on her balcony.  Let's just say she was one very wet, very unhappy little girl. One very wet, very unhappy little girl with a hell of a temper.  So she stomped out in her soaking wet little dress and man, she hunted me down before I knew what was happening.  She took her brothers water gun and tackled me to the ground and sat on me while shooting me in the face over and over.  And I wasn't even mad... Because she was laughing.  It was the first time in years that the little princess had played with me.  And she looked so pleased with herself. I think I had an ear infection for a month from where she squirted in my ear, but it was great."
  I smile wide.  "I forgot about that! That was fun!  Alright, my turn... My favorite memory of Kile... Hmm..." I think for a minute.  "Okay... We were twelve and fourteen.  We had already grown apart because of hormones and him being a stupid boy and all of that... And one day my mom was so busy taking care of my brothers and my dad was so busy running the country and my maid had just quit...  It was a time when I felt so, so alone.  The Swendish royal family was visiting and the boy was about my age...  I thought he was so interesting...  I followed him and Ahren around all day and tried my hardest to be included, so naturally they excluded me best they could.  The one time the boy talked to me he told me to go away and then he kicked dirt all over my special dress.  Little did he know that that was the first dress I ever designed myself.  I was crushed. I ran and hid in my favorite in the library and I was crying and covered in dirt and my tiara had fallen off.  I just remember Kile, bookworm that he is, peeking his head around the corner to tell me to shush but then he stopped when he saw me... And instead of teasing me or telling me to get out, he put down his book and came down in front of me.  He asked me what happened and I told him and I cried about everything I had been feeling from being alone to hating my brothers and the country for taking my parents away from me to the maid that quit to the rotten little boy who ruined the dress I made.  And he held me tight and listened.  I think he even got a little upset about all of these things himself.  When I finished, he took my hand and took me to his room.  He told me he would try to fix my dress.  So he sent me into his bathroom and had me put on his robe and then he very carefully washed out my dress in the bathtub.  And then we just sat on his floor drinking cocoa, me in his robe and him with his stupid button up shirts and messy hair that had already started then.  We didn't talk, we just sat there until I fell asleep on his floor and he carried me to my room.  I don't know if I've ever properly thanked him for that... But it's my fondest memory of him.  I still have that dress... And his robe..." I smile softly and look down.  A few of the reporters have tears.
  Kile pulls me close.  "I didn't know you remembered that... But it was the first time that I got a glimpse at any of your feelings towards anything.  It terrified me."
  "Me too." I whisper.
  The reporters soon pack up and leave, thanking us over and over, but we just stay there feeling nostalgic.
  "That's it." I whisper.
  "What's what?"
  "That's the day I fell in love with you... Even if it was just the beginning."