"They all look better, Your Highness," Vincent's guard said gently, walking around the garden. Vincent watched him for a moment with pride before he looked down to one of the dozens of roses. It was curled up, nearly wilting. Vincent had saved almost every other rose but that one. He frowned, noticing how it wasn't like that yesterday. "How did you do all of this?" The guard turned and brought his attention away from the garden and onto the prince.
"It wasn't that hard. A lot of replanting and watering did most of the work. Did you know because of the amount of trees and how tall they are, the flowers don't get enough water when it rains?" Vincent grinned before he walked closer to the rose. He held it in his palms painfully as he tried to figure out what could have made it so dead looking.
The guard frowned and walked over to the prince and his rose. "You can't save every single on, Your Highness."
The prince shook his head and frowned deeper. "This rose wasn't like this earlier. Every flower was okay. I made sure of it." The prince stopped talking for a moment and sighed. "I made sure every flower was okay. If they weren't, I cut them away. This one was the biggest rose." Vincent stared at the flower before letting it droop out of his hands and stood up. "We should probably get some practice done before the king gets upset."
The guard nodded in agreement. "Your father does not like to be disobeyed," he gave a light chuckle before he looked toward the prince. "Did you pick your partner yet?"
Vincent dared a light hearted laugh before he glanced toward his guard. "I don't think I will be picking a partner." He looked down to his hands which spotted with mud before he rubbed them on his pant legs. "I read all about the girls and they all don't seem," Vincent thought for a moment, staring at his guard as he did before he continued, "real."
"Well, your father wouldn't be showing you fake women for a real ball. He may have his faults, but he wouldn't go that route." The guard sighed gently before beginning to lead the way back into the castle.
"It's not their appearances, Mace. It's what they're like and their personality. They are all too perfect, I guess." The prince stuffed his hands into his suit pockets. "Perfection isn't real."
The guard thought about a reply, but bit his tongue before he thought of another one. Bringing up his father in this kind of way wouldn't be smart. "All people have their flaws, Your Highness. Maybe one of the girls hate shaving her legs. Or maybe one of the girls don't know how to dance properly."
The prince scoffed as he walked side by side with his guard. "You call that imperfections?" Vincent shook his head slowly before coming up with a proper answer. "I'm an imperfect prince who doesn't sit on the little throne next to his father. I'm the imperfect prince who spends most of his time saving plants rather than spending time with his people in his castle." Vincent nearly laughed at his comment. "It's not even my castle. It's the king's and I want nothing of it." The guard glanced toward him with raised eyebrows before he looked straight ahead and turned, still leading the way back to the castle even though Vincent knew how to get back by heart.
"Sometimes you just can't focus on the cracks, Your Highness." The guard spoke gently, opening the back door to the main floor of the castle for Vincent to enter. "The marbled floors in the ballroom has scratches and cracks, but nobody sees it as less beautiful."
The prince rolled his eyes. "Why are we talking about this? I'm talking about too much perfection that it over rules the flaws. Sometimes flaws are a good thing. It gives people a character. They aren't just statues." Vincent glanced toward his guard, but his guard didn't meet his eye. "A woman named Talia, one of the people the king wants as a partner for me, has the perfect length hair. Her makeup is too natural but in a perfect sense. Her posture is to die for. And apparently she helps shelter homeless animals and feeds the homeless daily." The prince clenched his jaw. "That's too perfect for an imperfect prince, Mace."
"I'm just saying that there may be a winner somewhere in the pile. Just because they all look perfect doesn't mean they are perfect." The guard shut the door and walked along with Vincent. He didn't look toward the prince and avoided his gaze.
"The king only chose the perfect women because he doesn't want me to disappoint him or his people." The prince's face darkened and his eyes hardened. His voice grew harsh as he continued. "If I were to bring in an animal, or a girl who wears ratty clothes rather than elegant ones, what do you think he would do? How do you think he would react?" The guard turned his head toward him, but looked away when the prince didn't meet his gaze. The guard focused his attention in front of him, not sure what to say to the prince. "If I don't choose one of those girls on the papers, the king will ban me from the castle."
"Which is why you're going to be picking one of them. Or at least someone your father approves of." The guard spoke and offered a smile that didn't meet his eyes.
"If I don't do it, the king will choose one of them for me. He did that last year." The prince clenched his jaw, working through his ideas. "Maybe I should choose a citizen in the village. Do you think that would work?" The guard turned to look at him, and though he was thinking about shaking his head, he ended up saying something he couldn't believe in.
"Yes."
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Hey guys! So this story has been getting a chapter a day, but I think I will change it to every Wednesday!
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and as always...
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Peace out Secrets and God bless you all!
-S
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The Dying Rose
Fantasy**SLOW UPDATES** The Beast had always been just a made up story that villagers would share about for fun around fires. They didn't know what it even looked like, or who it really was. Corla had been taken away from her home when she was six years o...
