I've chosen you -Lapidot

How to find love: the royal way

Once upon a time, there was a queen in search of a consort to share the burden of leading a country with.

Many suitors, hearing the possibility of becoming of higher social status, came as a flock of birds, trying to woo the queen.

But the queen wasn't interested in any of them, seeing right through their greedy desires.

The queen was sad, none of her suitors were... suitable for the role.

As she was wandering through her garden, her thoughts were disturbed by shouting, but not any shouting, the childish kind, followed by children's laughter.

So she approached the sounds, hiding behind an old tree, and saw the young children of her servants playing with somebody she didn't know, a new face perhaps, not here for her hand, for she didn't recognise their face in any of her potential suitors. She didn't remember any of them having a strange mark on their forehead or being shorter than herself.

They were playing with wooden swords and shields, boys and girls alike, and the person was pretending to be a bandit or a monster, she couldn't guess.

Suddenly, she felt her skirt being tugged, and when she looked down, she found one of the children looking up at her with stars in his eyes. She recognised him, Steven, one of her favourite for being as kind and selfless as nobody she ever knew before.

"Lapis!" he shouted, giving away her hiding place.

Hearing the shout of their friend, all the kids plus a grown up one (if she could call them grown up) stopped playing and directed their gazes to them.

They all came running up to her, but the blonde stranger stayed where they were, their back straight as that of a knight saluting his king. And maybe that was the case, with Lapis wearing a crown and being the queen of the land.

After greeting every single one of the young children and getting them to play again, she approached the young blonde.

"Greetings, I am Lapis Lazuli, Queen of the Crystal Lands. I don't think I've seen you before. May I know who you are?"

"I'm Peridot Pooremerald, Your Majesty, I'm a squire of Her Highness Jasper Diaspro" the blonde explained, and Lapis smirked: Jasper, she remembered her well, one of the most good mannered princess she had the pleasure of meeting, but she was sure the princess was far more interested in her servant Pearl than in the queen herself.

The squire didn't know what to think of that smirk, so Peridot simply bowed, waiting for the queen to continue the conversation or to allow her to go away.

But Lapis was quite interested in the short blonde, she knew she probably should be more interested in getting to know her suitors and choosing her future consort, but she couldn't bring herself to care enough in that moment.

"Would you like to walk with me, Peridot? It can get quite lonely walking on one's own, and I'd like some company, if you don't mind, that is..."

Peridot couldn't believe her ears, the queen herself was asking her to join her in her walk?? She had to keep her cool or she'd make a fool of herself.

So she simply nodded and accepted silently the queen's offer.

And so they walked, sharing simple talk between them, until they warmed up enough to talk freely of anything that crossed their minds.

Some of the queen's suitors came to try and whisk Lapis away with them, but she had none of that, and sent them away with a warning of not bothering her anymore.

When night came and the two split their ways to go to their own rooms, Lapis found herself on her bed, hugging her pillow tightly, feeling like a young schoolgirl with her first crush.