Uncharted Expectations: Part 5 (Original Story-Romance/Fantasy)

In part four, Hyakinthos asked his sisters for wardrobes to dress Tanya and Alyssa as princesses. Read on to find out what happens next!

---

A soft knock rapped on Tanya’s door. “Princess Tanya, may we enter?” She groggily awoke to hear an unfamiliar female voice. It took a moment for Tanya to realize where she was. The plush bed jogged her memory. “It wasn’t a dream,” she sighed and mumbled to herself. “Yes, please come in.” Tanya figured she had no alternative. She saw a beautiful sunrise when she looked out the window.

Two maids bustled into the room pushing a cart of various supplies. They bowed to her. “We are the servants of Princess Chrysanthe. She sent us to prepare you for the day.” Tanya smiled. “Very well. Please prepare me.” The maids giggled. “We thank you for being so kind to us. You do not need to use such pleasant words for us.” Tanya smiled at them. “Your rank doesn't matter to me. I treat everyone equally.” The maids laughed and began to do their jobs.

“Princess Alyssa, are you awake?” Alyssa groaned. “Just five more minutes!” “I am afraid we do not have that long, princess. We are here to prepare you for the day.” Then, Alyssa woke up. She remembered where she was. “That’s right. I’m a princess.” She whispered to herself. “Come on in!” She said. “Princess Nerine sent us here. It seems you are ready for us.” Alyssa smiled proudly holding the hem of her sleeping garment. “Do I take this off, or do ya do it for me?” The maids giggled. “We will be happy to take care of things for you.” The maids began their work.

Tanya and Alyssa saw each other for the first time in their new clothes and hairstyles in the hallway. They both looked the part of princesses. Tanya wore a brass dress with her hair in ringlets. “Ya up here looking like a million dollars!” Alyssa said after whistling. She wore a green gown with silver details, her hair was pulled back into a bun with flowers. “You don’t look too bad yourself. The flowers are a nice touch,” Tanya said with a nod. “I asked for them,” Alyssa said while holding her head high. The maids ushered them into a large room with golden and bejeweled details. It made the younger royals’ bedrooms look dull in comparison. “We brought you here by order of His Royal Highness Hyakinthos.” The maids bowed and left closing the door behind them.

_{Image by Mariamichelle at Pixabay}

Hyakinthos strolled into the room. Laurus walked silently. He seemed to be checking for spies and quickly closed the doors behind him. He then let out a sigh of relief. “Ladies, you look delightful,” Hyakinthos said as he wrapped his arms around their waists. He kissed them both on the cheek. Tanya flinched. Alyssa grinned. “You two are so beautiful! I have to be serious now, unfortunately.” Hyakinthos sighed. His arms dropped. He stopped smiling. His head hung low. His brow furrowed. He stepped in front of them and leaned over slightly. Laurus stood at attention behind him. “In a moment, we shall be meeting with my parents. They reign as the king and queen of this kingdom.” He said with tension in his words. “Now, as I told you last night, you are foreign princesses who were searching for our kingdom.” He stood straight. “You must look like princesses. You must act like princesses.” He took a sharp breath. “You must be princesses.” His voice had a harsh breathy sound emphasizing “be.” “You both will be silent as I introduce you. I feel it may be better to say you are crown princesses from different kingdoms who are good friends. Do either of you have any questions?” “Nope! Let’s do this!” Alyssa jumped up and smiled. Tanya took a deep breath. She needed to calm down after seeing Hyakinthos become an entirely different person. “Yes,” she paused to take another breath. “I believe we can do it.”

Tanya and Alyssa walked behind Hyakinthos and Laurus to the grand dining room. The king, queen, and the princesses all sat at the table.

“Let me introduce you to Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Tanya and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Alyssa,” Hyakinthos said with a courteous bow. Tanya followed with a deep bow. Alyssa curtsied, successfully this time. The queen glanced at them. The king sat up straight. “We welcome you to our kingdom princesses. Hyakinthos has told us so little about you both.“ “I am sorry that you met with misfortune in your travels. May our kingdom be a safe haven for you.” The queen said. Tanya bowed and smiled. She was afraid to look at their faces because she didn’t know their customs. Alyssa, on the other hand, smiled at them and looked directly at them while nodding. “It’s good to have relations with human kingdoms. Please be seated,” the king said. Tanya bowed deeply, and Alyssa curtsied accurately once again.

The servants seated them. Alyssa smiled at the servants wide-eyed. They bowed to her. Tanya smiled at them. “Thank you,” she whispered to the one closest to her. He placed his hand to his mouth and quickly bowed. Hyakinthos sat near his parents at the head of the table. Laurus sat next to Hyakinthos. “Laurus!“ the king snarled. “Why were you outside of the barrier with the crown prince?” Laurus bowed his head. “Majesty, we saw them outside and decided that it would be an advantage to have a diplomatic discussion. I accept the responsibility for the prince’s behavior.” The king narrowed his eyes. “I expect you not to leave the barrier. How many times have I told you to stop his antics!” Laurus was silent. “It is good these ladies were princesses,” he said calming down slightly. “However, the prince could have been assassinated. It has happened before in our history.” Laurus clenched his jaw. Tanya and Alyssa watched this scene quietly. Alyssa spoke up. “Excuse me king, why ya gotta be so hard on him? He was just trying to take your son where he wanted to go. How come ya gotta be so mean to him?” Tanya sighed. “I apologize for my friend’s outburst, your majesty. She is not used to interacting with other kingdoms besides mine. Her kingdom is more…” Tanya paused as she looked at her friend. “Relaxed then your kingdom. “ The king took a sharp breath. “Laurus is the bodyguard, valet, and protector of the crown prince, my only son. He should be able to rein him in. If he cannot do that, then he should be relieved of his duties. However, in this kingdom, you will restrain yourself and act with dignity. Our kingdom is not some small out of the way country you must have come from.” He said with a groan. Alyssa clicked her tongue.

Tanya tried to calm the situation. “Princess Alyssa works her best, to be honest, and she tends to speak her mind. Please forgive her for her unexpected outburst.” The king and queen smiled. “Princess Alyssa, you should thank Princess Tanya,” the queen smirked. Alyssa looked to Tanya. Tanya winked back to her. “Ah, here comes the servers with our breakfast feast.” One by one the servers brought delicious plates of food, including an assortment of jams, jellies, and syrups.

Alyssa attempted to reach for the food, and Tanya quickly knocked her hand back. She quickly shook her head. Alyssa withdrew her hand and whispered to Tanya, “Why’d ya stop me? I’m as hungry as a bear!” Tanya whispered back, “Because it’s terrible manners and we don’t want to offend our hosts.” “Fine. When do we eat?’ Alyssa emphasized. “When they tell us to do it.” “Fine," Alyssa sighed.

The king stood, and everyone clasped their hands in front of them. Tanya poked Alyssa to do the same. “Spirits,” the king began. “Protect our dominion over this place for years to come. Bless our lineage to continue forever. Bless our foreign guests. Comfort our people. Bless our kingdom to continue to be prosperous. All of the means are yours. Blessings to the heavens!” Everyone in the room echoed blessing to the heavens. So, Tanya did the same and looked to Alyssa to follow. The king smiled to himself, “I have not said that in the English human tongue in many years! I quite enjoyed it.” The king motioned for everyone to be seated. “Let us all enjoy the feast.”

“Thank you for the gracious feast, your majesties.” Tanya smiled. “You may raise your eyes to me, Princess Tanya.” She looked the king’s directly for the first time. Hyakinthos certainly had his father’s eyes. “I thank you for your kindness.” “Tell us more about your kingdoms, princesses. I would love to learn more about them.” The queen smiled. “Father, mother, today I shall visit the marketplace. May I take the princesses with me to show them our beautiful kingdom?” Hyakinthos interrupted. His smug, stuck up attitude disappeared in front of his parents. “You may,” the king said.

The marketplace was buzzing with people selling their wares. Some sold trinkets and jewelry. Other sold all sorts of food and fish. There was a wide variety of everything. Food from all over the world and more spices than you could count. Tanya and Alyssa were in awe of everything they saw.

Then they saw the real reason for the trip. The townspeople slowly gathered around the prince and their little group. “Why are your ears so short?” A little boy asked. Tanya held her dress and leaned down. “It’s because we’re humans.” The boy’s mother quickly dragged him away speaking in their language. Hyakinthos nodded. He and Laurus quickly led them away to an empty meeting hall.

“Well, it is that day again,” Hyakinthos sighed with downcast eyes. “What’s wrong?” Tanya asked. “Yeah, what’s the matter?” Alyssa asked intrigued. Hyakinthos instantly smiled. “It’s the day I meet with the townspeople as their future king!” Then he sunk back down into his chair. “I look forward to this almost as much as it is exhausting. Princesses, we shall be here for quite some time.” Laurus looked down at Hyakinthos with pity. “It’s not so bad. Ya just talking to some folks is all.” Alyssa shrugged. “Oh?” Hyakinthos walked up to her. “If you think it’s so easy,” He ran a finger under her chin. “Then, you do it.”

Read the next part here!

Written with StackEdit.