The Royal Family - Seventy Four

Daylight was approaching fast, and Amelia had a little bit more time before she had to go indoors. Annabell had already gone in, and James was on his way out to the stables.

"Take a quick ride with me. I want to break in my new horse." James asked Amelia. Amelia hoped on her horse and motioned for James to follow.

"I know we don't have much time with the sun almost up. Let's see how fast they can go," he told her as he looked over at her with a big grin on his face. "Ok then, let's just see who's is faster," she replied, then gave a kick at her horse.

Amelia speeds off in front, leaving James behind in her horse's dust. Amelia laughed so hard she could barely stay on her horse when she looked back at James with a shocked look on his face.

James nudged his horse hoping it would take off like Amelia's. But instead, the horse just trotted at a casual speed. James just turned red in the face while eating his words.

When they got back to the castle, the stable men put the horses up for them as they headed inside. "Ok, you are much faster than me. I admit it," he told her. "Oh yes, I'm really fast. she laughed. I can even run faster than my horse," she said, laughing a little. "Yes, yes. I know. You cheat." he snickered.

"Today we have the king of Spain coming to visit. Not sure why he would want to see me instead of my mother. She's the queen and handles all the kingdoms affairs." he explained to Amelia. "I will prepare the staff and kids for their arrival," she told him.

That evening, King  Louie and his wife, Queen Cassandra, arrived with their daughter Princess Willow.

Princess Willow grabbed onto her mother's dress, almost afraid to enter the castle. "It's alright! You will get to meet Prince Arthur and Princess Annabell. I'm sure they will be happy to meet you as well." she told Willow in a comforting tone. "They won't eat me, will they?" she asked her mom. "That's just tales. They don't do that. Just treat them as you would treat anyone else." she told her daughter.

Arthur was out back, playing with his puppy.

While Annabell was indoors playing with her dolls until it got dark enough to go outside and play.

Lady Molly told James that King Louie had arrived and was waiting to speak to him in the royal garden. "So you are the famous Prince James. I have heard so much about you and wanted to meet you in person." King Louie told him. "What makes me special?" James asked, now a little curious. "You are talked about throughout the kingdoms. Your story, I think, will be told way past your years. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about." he began. James looked a little bit confused but waited for him to finish. "I have a daughter, Willow, she's a child around your son's age. It's time that we set up an arranged marriage for her, and I thought it would be perfect if she could be betrothed to your son Arthur," he told James.

"Oh! I hadn't even thought about it. I'm not even a king and well..........he paused, I really don't believe in arranged marriages. I want him to marry for love, not for rank or allies. But if you want to influence it, you can have your daughter spend time with him, and maybe as time passes, he may grow to love her. If that is what you wish. We can arrange for her to stay here as long as you like." James told him. "I do see why now you are so wise beyond your years. I will discuss it with my wife, and we may come to an arrangement," he told James.

Meanwhile, Willow was meeting Arthur and Annabell. "Hi, I'm Willow. It's really nice to meet you," she told him. "I'm Arthur. I see you and your parents have come to visit my father and mother. Will you be staying for a bit?" he asked. "Yes, for a little bit, my father wants to get to know your family."

"I've got to admit, I was a little scared to come here," she told Arthur. "I bet I know why; I bet it's because you think we're going to drink your blood." James replied while jumping at her." Willow just started laughing at Arthur.

Arthur reached over and gave Willow a friendly hug. "Welcome to my little castle. I hope you enjoy being here," he told her.

"Hi, I'm Annabell, Arthur's twin sister. Yes, I know you don't even have to ask; I'm different. I took after my mother with this condition. You don't need to fear me. I promise I won't bite you," Annabell told Willow while laughing at her own humor.

Willow began to laugh, "I was a bit scared, but now that I have met you and Arthur, I can see what everyone was talking about. You're not that different than me. I think you're pretty neat," Willow told Annabell. 

As James was walking with Amelia, he stopped, "I want to discuss something with you. King Louie has proposed that we betroth Princess Willow with Arthur," he began. "No, I don't want him to..." she started but was interrupted. "No, I'm not going to make him marry someone that he doesn't love. I told him that he could let her stay here, and if Arthur likes her as he gets older, then he can choose for himself if he wants to marry her or not," he managed to get out while holding his breath.

"I could never part with my children, but in this case, I can see why they would want to do this for Willow. I'm willing to let her stay with us. We can teach her many things, plus I do love many kids. I think it would be nice." she responded with a smile.

King Louie found his wife. "Cassandra, my love, I have something I want to propose to you. Remember we talked about getting Willow betrothed to Arthur? Well, they don't want to do it that way, But they will allow her to stay here, and if Arthur chooses, he can decide to marry her. This will be a big opportunity for her. I think it is possible for her to melt his heart like she does with so many. They will pay for her tutoring and her needs. I think it's a good idea to let her," he explained. "I know, but......I don't want to leave her. I will miss her dearly," she said with tears in her eyes. "We will get updates regularly, and we can visit as often as we want," he reassured her.

At dinner, they discussed more what King Louie had proposed earlier that week.

"Me and James have discussed what you have asked, and I'm willing to let her come and stay with us. We will treat her like she was our own. I will make sure she has high education and learn new things," she told them.

"Yes, I think that this will be a wonderful opportunity for our Willow. I'm pleased that you have accepted our offer," King Louie told James and Amelia.

King Louie meets with Lady Molly to discuss his daughter's lessons and her staying arrangements. "Your daughter will be well taken care of." Lady Molly told him. "Good, I'll see that her things are brought here," he replied. "I'll get her a room set up and prepare for her to stay," she said as she bowed and then excused herself to get started.

A few days later, Willow's stuff arrives at the castle. Lady Molly and Lady Carrie take her things up into the room that she will be sharing with Annabell. Louie and Cassandra waited in the bedroom for Willow.

"This is the last trunk. I have sent word to Willow to meet us here," she told Cassandra.

When Willow came up, she noticed that a lot of her stuff was on the bed along with her clothes trunk. "What's going on?" she asked, very curious. "I want to discuss something with you," Cassandra told Willow. She bent down and pulled her close. "I want the best for you. Someday I hope that you will marry a king and help him rule a strong kingdom. I think that this would be a wonderful time for you to stay here and learn new things as well as to spend time with Arthur and Annabell," she explained, holding back from showing her daughter how much this broke her heart.

Willow began to cry, "Don't cry, I will visit often, and you can write to me to tell me what you have learned. Look at it as an adventure," she told Willow. "I will." she sobbed. "Be a strong girl, and remember I will always love you beyond words," she told her. Willow began to calm down and managed to stop crying.

James was outside, showing Arthur the telescope. "If you look through it at night, you will see the stars in the sky up close and the moon with such detail," he told Arthur as he adjusted the settings. "What do you think about Willow staying with us for a while?" he asked Arthur. "She seems really nice. I would like that very much," he replied.

Willow joined Arthur outside. She played on a swing while Arthur was busy with his dad.

Annabell had to stay inside most of the day. She stared outside, hoping she could play with Arthur and his new friend, Willow.

James was surprised to see Annabell running up to him. "I'm so glad to see you, daddy." she squealed.

James picked up Annabell. "You shouldn't be out here. It's such a hot day. It might burn your pretty little skin." he told her. "I know, I promise I won't belong. I just missed you," she replied with a smile. "Ok, let's get you back inside," he told her as he carried her back in.

Arthur asked Willow if she would like to join him on a walk. "I want to show you around town a bit. We won't go far, but I know this pretty place that I think you will like," he told her.

Willow followed Arthur up the steps to a beautiful fountain surrounded by gorgeous flowers of many colors.  

"It's pretty just like you said," Willow told James. James told her many stories of the town.

"You are really nice," she told Arthur. I have much more to tell and show you. "You're the best," Willow said as she hugged him.

Willow was starting to adjust to being at the castle. She even got to play with the horses.

"This is my dad's horse. He's a very nice horse, and he even lets me pet and brushes him all the time. Dad said, when I get a little older than he will teach me to ride him," he told her. "Maybe he will teach me to ride, too?" she asked. "Yes, I think so," he replied.

The next day, Willow met with her parents to say goodbye to them before their departure. "Do you really have to go?" she asked, a little bit sadder.

Louie leaned over and gave Willow a hug. "Yes, I must head back to do the King thing, he laughed. I will see you soon. Be a good girl and listen to what they say," he told her.

Arthur meets up with Willow as she was waving goodbye. They both stood there as her parents left the courtyard. "Willow was a little sad, but with Arthur there to cheer her up, it didn't seem as bad.