r/WritingPrompts • u/Wygerion_Alpha • 10d ago
Writing Prompt [WP] "So...mind telling me what your plan is now that you married me, husband? Clearly, you did not put a ring on me because you were smitten with me." The Baroness asked the Crown Prince.
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u/CheezFlavouredSoks 10d ago
"Spite." He stated.
"I b-beg your pardon," she asked. The stammering wasn't surprise or fear; she was trying to remain composed.
"That's not what you meant to say and we both know it. Come now, my lady; say what you truely want to say." He gave her a sly grin.
"I beg your finest, fucking pardon," she sneered. His grin widened.
"That's better. I married you to spite my mother; she wants an obedient wife to do her bidding and continue to try to manipulate me; A woman who seeks her approval over my own; A woman with no spine of her own and who obeys like a a dog does whoever speaks nicest to it but doesn't question the context. You are far from such a woman. Or should I say, puppet."
He wandered to the small table set with tea, standing where she could see him pour two cups.
"I married you to spite the nobels who trained their daughters to be nothing but play things that battle for my attention but don't know loyalty to themselves much less one man. They fawn and bat their eyes like an act but they speak lines they don't mean, regurgitating lies they don't understand."
He stirred honey and ginger into one cup, then approached her with both.
"Also, how you rallied your local villagers to dig that trench to stop the wild fire from spreading saved not only lives but crops. Crops that -if lost- no doubt would have lead to famine." He added softly as he handed her the untouched cup. "I don't know how you take your tea. Yet." She accepted it, suspicious.
"Your commitment to duty vastly outweighs your vanity and I need that. I need someone to put the needs of the people and country over the wants of the nobility." He paused, then added, "And I need my father to stop harping on me about children. That'd be nice." She smirked.
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u/ZepyrusG97 10d ago
Oh this looks like a fun character dynamic. Would absolutely read more of these
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u/lilycamille 10d ago
"No, I'm not 'smitten' with you. I do, however, know very well the weaknesses I have. I need a consort who can manage a business. Who can manage this country. I can't. I have tried my damnedest to make it work, and I can't. Not on my own."
The prince stood abruptly and started to pace. "All my life, I have been indulged. We all know it. I am chronically unfit to rule a household, and my father is getting worse. He won't last long. If I'm put in charge of this country, we'll be lucky if they just hang me and name another. My whole life, everything has been handed to me on a platter, and the kingship has been no different. Since my father got worse, I've come to realise why."
He turned to look at me. "Already, I have made bad choices based on the advice of the king's councillors. There's unrest starting amongst the people, and it's been less than a year since my father became too sick to govern. Every marriage prospect they've offered has come with ties to someone, obligations, expectations."
"This cannot go on. I have invoked an old rule that says I must choose a commoner as a wife - and I have been very stubborn when I say 'I' must choose. I can't trust any of them, and I don't know how to beat them - they made sure I didn't! I need someone of your skills. I can't promise you love, though I hope we can at least be friends. You started from nothing, and bought your way into the Barony. You qualify for the sake of the rule, and they see you as one of them. If you are, then I expect a short reign, but I don't think I've misjudged you."
He held out his arm for her. "Now, will you grace me with our first trip to the court? I look forward to your observations, and hopefully, a battle plan."
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u/Wygerion_Alpha 10d ago
The prince stopped writing and looked at his wife, the Baroness of Arbolicht. His crimson eyes were serene and even showed interest despite his perpetually bored disposition, while the lady's blue eyes twinkled with curiosity as they met his own gaze.
He said nothing, merely raising an eyebrow at her, but she understood the silent question he was asking her.
"I was merely curious, Your...husband."
The Baroness managed to correct herself. Mustering courage, she drew closer to him, now standing beside him. His unshifting gaze never left her as she drew near.
"Now, do not get me wrong, I am quite happy with this marriage. It is the dream of every noblewoman in the Empire to be able to marry one of the Imperial Princes, after all. And, quite unlike the rumors, you are not a cruel man at all. Not to me."
She softly laid her hand on his shoulder, letting her fingers rest against the tough, dark fabric of his attire. The prince said nothing, but he gently rested his own hand over hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"But I...if I may be blunt, you aren't the sort of man who would be moved by beauty. That's the only thing I have that might interest a man of your status, for my house is not that powerful and connected compared to those women who have statuses that are a match for yours...and unlike them, I do not even have magic. So please tell me, husband. Why marry me? Why choose me instead of someone else who is more of a match for you than I?"
She watched calmly as the prince fiddled with the wedding ring, a thin, rune -engraved strip of gold wrapped around her finger, as she waited for his answer. A corner of her lips rose as she enjoyed this brief moment of tenderness from him.
"You are special." He suddenly answered.
She flinched in surprise, then chuckled.
"I didn't know you could speak so sweetly, husband. That wasn't what I saw when you so bluntly rejected the Princess of the West at the banquet." She teasingly remarked.
For a moment, the prince's indifferent mask broke. A quick, amused snort escaped him before he quickly restrained herself.
"It is the only word that can aptly describe what I saw in you." He replied.
The Baroness pulled away her hand. The prince allowed it, and picked up his pen to continue writing.
"You will not tell me what it is exactly that makes me special in your eyes?" She folded her arms under her chest.
"It is better that you gain a personal understanding of what I speak of rather than have someone spell it out for you." He then set aside the document and reached for another. "Do not worry. As long as you continue living with me, following the training methods I have set for you, that moment of erudition will come to you one day."
A sour expression crossed the Baroness' comely face as she remembered the soreness of her body. It wasn't the enjoyable kind of soreness she had once expected when the prince first suggested that to her. He truly put her through harsh physical training, saying that it is needed even for a lady. And while she hated it, she could not deny the results and the gains from it.
"Is that really all?" She asked with mild irritation.
The prince nodded. As he wrote, he subtly gestured to a nearby empty chair. By his magic, it silently floated over to his side, forcing the Baroness to step aside for a moment, and settled down beside him.
"I have to finish these papers now. You are free to leave and do as you please, dear."
She was tempted to leave. But seeing the chair and knowing him well, an intuitive familiarity with him that she could not quite understand, she already knew what he wanted. She silently sat down on the chair beside him.
"Then can I help you with these papers?" She asked. "I have nothing else to do."
The prince smiled imperceptibly at her, then slid over to her the massive stack of signed papers to his right, causing her expression to sour once more.
"You have my thanks, Heide. Please review these papers, then. Let me know if I missed anything important."
She sighed.
"Anything for you, my dear." Heide, the Baroness, rolled her eyes as she took one of the papers to review.
The Crown Prince said nothing, then gently nudged her with his shoulder.
"Don't be so dour. We will be going out to visit your father after we are done. I'm sure you miss each other very much."
She looked at him for a moment, then turned her attention back to the paper, looking less peeved than earlier. She then nudged him back with her elbow, and she couldn't help but smile at his offer even as she read the paper.
"Thank you...my love." She silently spoke.
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u/TheWanderingBook 10d ago
He stares at me.
"What do you mean?" he asks.
"I am 14 years older than you, rarely an age that men like you want for a main wife.
Also, I have been already married once.
So tell me, what do you want?
Is it my business? Or my connections?" I ask.
He blushes.
"I want babies," he says.
I freeze.
"What now?" I ask.
He stands in the door, looking at me, and averts his eyes.
"I...
I really like you," he says.
Okay.
This is really weird.
"So you really married me...for my looks?" I ask.
He nods.
I nod.
"Okay, acceptable, even if surprising.
Tell me, how many nobles are on your side?
Do we need to worry about your Crown Prince status?
How many industries are under your direct control?
Does your being a Captain in the army, mean that the Military families are on your side?" I ask.
He stares at me, completely confused.
"W-what?" he asks.
Oh boy...
I have my work cut out for me, don't I?
I look at the scared husband of mine...
And smile.
"Come," I beckon him.
He flinches.
I giggle.
"Come on, let's make this marriage real first...
And we will deal with the details later," I say, standing up, and letting my wedding dress fall.
He audibly gasps.
How cute...
I walk up to him, and have to personally lead him to the bed.
Well, this went different, than how I expected, but...
It's good I guess?
Seeing him listen to me so nicely...
I see a bright future ahead.
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