The 'Princess' (Grumbo)

Chapter 4; Confusion

 "..... I-I'm a male..."

Mumbo looked at Griana, confusion filled his features as his eyes scanned her face for any hints of a joke or sarcasm. The rumors around the castle flooded into his head, 'I feel bad for the Prince, forced to marry a male'.

'I heard the princess Prince Mumbo is marrying is a boy...'

'Does our Prince even know who he is marrying?'

'Hopefully the marriage will be cancelled, gay kings? The other royals would never allow it.'

All of the things that Mumbo had heard about the person he was supposed to marry flooded into his head, pushing away all reasoning and all senses. He was frozen in place, Griana's posture slowly declining as her face filled with sadness. Griana fidgeted with her hands slightly, eyebrows knitted in worry as Mumbo continued to stare at her.

"Y-You must give me a second, I-" He couldn't finish his sentence as Griana stood, her face turned away as Mumbo looked up to her. She turned back, eyes watering as a tear slipped down her cheek, before she turned away and ran.

Mumbo stood, about to call out for Griana, before realizing it would be useless now. He slunk back down onto the bench, pulling his feet from the cobblestone road up to the wooden bench, hiding his face in his knees.

Mumbo was disappointed in himself, he knew the rumors, and told himself that no matter if they were true or not, he would accept and love her. And now as he was faced with the truth, he froze and the stupid rumors the nobles had muttered when he walked by blocked out his common sense.

Mumbo felt someone sit down next to him, but stayed put. "Mumbo" he heard a small whisper, and a hand nudging him. Mumbo looked up, seeing Tango, one of his knights and a close friend of his.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Tango asked, pulling out a small rag to give to Mumbo. Mumbo then noticed the tears that were falling down his face, and the burning sensation in his throat that prevented him from speaking.

The mix of self-anger and sadness formed bile in his throat, and he struggled to provide an explanation. "I- I froze" he managed to stutter, taking the rag to wipe his burning face of tears.

"Froze when?" Tango continued to question, giving his prince a pat on the back as he continued to weep, though he was clearly trying to stop.

"W-When Griana confirmed the rumors" Mumbo whispered, red eyes filled with sadness and self-disappointment as he looked up to Tango.

"Well, what if you went to apologize?" Tango gave a smile, standing up just to force Mumbo from his seat.

"I guess that would help... what if she hates me though?" Mumbo barely spoke above a whisper, his tears slowly coming to a stop as Tango gave a reassuring smile.

"Would she tell you the truth if she hated you?" Tango pushed Mumbo forward, the spoon nearly falling over as he did.

"I-I guess not" Mumbo tried to smile, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as Mumbo slowly started walked the way Griana ran.

"That's my Mumbo, now go apologize to your girl!" Tango sat back down on the bench, watching as Mumbo sped up. "I'll be here if she ends up rejecting you!!" he jokefully yelled, chuckling when Mumbo scoffed.

Mumbo arrived back at the castle, seeing the one-eyed guard who he saw last time.

"Do you know where Griana is?" Mumbo asked, nervous about the guard's response to him showing up without her.

"You're lucky me and her are good friends, she's in her room" The guard informed Mumbo, not showing any hatred or distaste towards him.

"Okay, thank you" Mumbo gave a small, polite smile, before heading through the large door to the castle.

He headed to Griana's room quietly, the extravagant halls feeling much more dark and closed in. Mumbo held back a panic attack, his head banging from the worry he felt. He reached Griana's door, knocking before standing back. He silently hoped she wouldn't respond, so that he could fix himself up before he addressed the issue, but as the door opened, his heart sped up and his hands fidgeted behind his back as Griana appeared, clearly distraught.

"P-Please don't hate me... I froze up, I- I still love you, Griana"