Wrongly in Love

20- A Wedding in a Prince's Game

The King rose bright and early to the melodious sound of twittering birds fluttering by his window. Usually he enjoyed this, listening to such sweet songs in the morning, but today it was tad annoying. He had barely slept through the night, wondering what sort of trouble Prince Arthur had been causing in his own castle, and though he didn't want to admit it to himself, he had been rather worried about how he would execute his well-thought plan. After all, Guinevere wasn't aware that all of this was a plan, and he was pretty sure she was furious for arranging a sudden marriage to someone she barely knew.

But as soon as he put on his tunic and robe and stepped out of his chamber, he saw the most curious sight in front of him.

Flowers, ribbons, and banners were scattered around the hall. Leodegrance was furious. Perhaps the maids forgot to tidy up this area of the castle, he thought furiously. He was so not looking forward to giving these irresponsible maids a lecture. He had enough things on his plate, thank you very much.

But then as he walked farther down the hall leading to the grand staircase of the castle, more and more decorations were scattered, with him nearly tripping over a bouquet of flowers and sliding down headfirst on the staircase. Angry now, Leodegrance spotted Sir Desmond brushing off confetti from his shoulder. He approached Desmond, annoyed. "Desmond, can you explain to me why there's a bunch of litter scattered on the floor! Tell those maids to clean these up at once!"

Desmond stared at his old friend, utterly bewildered. "Oh, what, you didn't know? Your little friend Arthur Paxley was busy having tea with the one of the best wedding planners in the history of Dawn. His name's Pierre-Louis Dupont, as he called himself, and he told me he was requested a specific appointment with the Baroque Royals. I assumed he was invited by you, Your Majesty." Desmond grinned.

"What?! I have heard of no such thing. I never even heard of that Arthur asking permission to hire some fancy wedding planner! That stupid boy. Where are they right now?" Leodegrance demanded.

"Over there by the gardens, where you usually have tea with your guests. Expect an avalanche of wedding stuff and decorations there once you arrive, though." With that, Sir Desmond walked away.

King Leodegrance furiously stomped his way to the gardens. Sure enough, he found a man in a neat tuxedo with a toothbrush mustache, talking rapidly in English with a French accent. That must be Pierre-Louis Dupont, the wedding planner. And the younger man with him pouring tea and offering cookies to his guest, was none other than Arthur Paxley. The nerve of that boy to invite guests to his castle without his permission! He walked over to their table.

Pierre-Louis Dupont was now suggesting to Arthur which sort of flower arrangements would be suitable for such a royal wedding. "I was thinking of placing an arrangement of sunflowers and daisies, with a few gerberas lying around, for a brighter, and livelier setup. And we could add some few bushes here and there, to highlight the color of the sunflowers-"

"Guinevere loves violets. She wears them in her hair, and it's even her Super Magic. Can't you think of something that is more suitable to her taste?" Arthur asked impatiently.

"Yes, of course, Your Highness. But I think it would be easier if the bride herself was present. That way, I could ask her herself what she would prefer -"

King Leodegrance now stomped at their table, glaring at Arthur and making Pierre-Dupont stop midsentence." Can you explain to me why you left a trail of random litter around the halls and invited someone in the castle without my knowledge? How could you do such a thing?"

"Sir Dupont, may you please excuse us for a moment? We will just discuss something," Arthur said apologetically, grinning awkwardly at the wedding planner.

"Of course, of course, Monsieur Paxley. I shall get some fresh air," Pierre-Dupont replied, glancing nervously at Leodegrance.

"All right then," Arthur said, then led Leodegrance down a nearby corridor. "How dare you embarrass me in front of my guest like that? Don't you know who he is? He's one of the best wedding planners of Dawn and even planned the great Princess Alexandria's wedding 10 years ago," Arthur said furiously.

"And how dare you invite a guest without my consent? And since when I have allowed you to make silly decorations and put them around the castle? Yes, I know I allowed for you two to be wed, but we haven't discussed you and Guinevere's wedding arrangements yet, and you go making appointments with this man." Leodegrance said just as angrily.

" Well, that's exactly it! I wanted it to be a surprise. I thought you'd be pleased," Arthur spread his arms in surrender.

Leodegrance looked at Arthur, incredulous." Do you think I'd be pleased with all of the mess you made in this castle? Go send that Dupont man away at once! You are no longer allowed to make decisions in my castle. And especially without my consent!" With that, Leodegrance turned away, not noticing a group of men in formal suits walk over to Arthur.

" That silly old man. He can't learn to appreciate my efforts! " Arthur said angrily, gritting his teeth.

"Well, your Highness, perhaps we shall resort to our next plan?" one of the men asked tentatively, tugging at his tie.

Arthur's face darkened. "Yes. Go find Guinevere. And it has to be quick. After all, this wedding wouldn't work without her. Stupid me, I remember that it was always the princess's duty to take care of the wedding duties."

As the men went out of the castle, Arthur muttered to himself," And while the Princess plans the wedding, I plan my rise to power."

Sorry guys if you think it was a pretty lame chapter and you were expecting more of Gusion and Guinevere, but yeah I just wanted to give more on what was happening in the Baroque castle right now. Don't worry, I promise that there will be more emphasis on the other characters like Guinevere, Gusion, Lesley... And even more characters.