The Dreams of Princes

Part III

Sam almost fell from the chair he'd just sat down on, choking on air as he registered the question. Eventually, he got it together enough to look over at Cas with a grimace on his face. Cas could tell it wasn't aimed at him, but at the topic at hand.

   "Sorry, I just didn't expect that," Sam said politely. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and smiled sadly. "The Braedens are a royal family from a hostile kingdom. They have a daughter, Lisa. They said the only way they'd avoid attacking us would be if she could be betrothed to Dean. It's their way of trying to control our kingdom through her. Lisa is a sweet girl, and we love her, but her parents are nightmares, and we're worried about Dean. Dean insists that it's fine and because it's his duty, he doesn't care, but he does. I know he does."

   "That sounds awful," Cas said, an uncomfortable weight settling on his chest. He never would have guessed that such a horrible responsibility had been placed on Dean. The idea of your own free choice in something as personal as love being removed from you was not an idea that Cas appreciated. That rarely ever happened anymore in the kingdoms, but it seemed that Dean had been one of the unlucky few to experience that situation.

   "Yeah. We're hoping that Lisa can control her parents, because she's a decent person, unlike them. I want her to treat him well, but really, he's miserable," Sam said, a deep sadness in his voice. Cas has not expected to be immediately thrown into such an intense situation, but he could hardly imagine how Sam was doing. "Lisa is too, honestly. Dean wants freedom, and Lisa wishes she could give it to him without her parents attacking the kingdom. If she could let him go off and do what he wanted without her parents noticing, she would. She cries to Dean and me together when she's here about how she feels like we hate her because she's trapping him. But we don't care. We like her a lot. It's just those parents."

   Cas ran a hand through his hair, and at that moment, the waiter came out with drinks and a prepared meal for them. They thanked him and began eating, letting the conversation fade.

   When he did start talking again, Sam steered them away from the topic, but Cas could tell it weighed heavily on him and Dean alike. Cas wished he could help already, even though he'd known the two less than twenty four hours.

   After lunch, Sam seemed tired and wanted to go back to the castle. Castiel agreed, and they headed into the vehicle. Sam relaxed more once in the car, and they returned to more lighthearted talk. By the time they arrived, Sam was back to his usual, upbeat self.

   Dean and his parents weren't home, so Sam offered to take him out to ride the horses. Animals that large were very rare, and they were being used for repopulation of the species as much as possible, so having them was a rarity and only for those with heavy money. Cas agreed, never really having ridden one. His family had them, but he couldn't be bothered.

   They walked out, shoving each other and laughing. The stable was beautiful, with a similar design to the castle. Sam lead him around, showing him each of the horses.

   "This," Sam said, gesturing to a dark colored horse, "is Rain. I've had her since I was young, and she's a fantastic horse." Walking one stall over, he held his hand out and clicked his tongue. A light colored horse with spots came forward and set its head on Sam's hand.

   "And this is Lily, the horse you'll be riding," Sam explained. "She's calm, and great with beginners."

   "Perfect," Cas said, smiling. "So, how do we do this?"

   "We gotta get tack on them, and then I can help you learn. Follow me to the tack closet, let's get this set up," Sam said, walking away. Cas followed, helping him lug the tack back to the stalls and begin getting the horses ready.