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Part 12
"Well? What did he say? What did *you* say? Tell me, girl. I need details," Buffy demanded as she cornered the young redhead in the garden.
The princess sat up from her weeding. "He welcomed me to his country and asked if I was enjoying my stay. We chatted for a while, and then I explored the gardens for a bit. Which, by the way, could you tell him that his roses are suffering from aphids? And then he sent a coach to escort me home."
"That's it? You spent the entire morning with the most eligible man in Sunnydale, and you just 'chatted for a while' and then left? He didn't even invite you back?"
"Well, actually, he did, but we didn't part on the best of terms, so I doubt that it matters. Besides, he's really not my type. I prefer my men single and uncrowned."
"Single…? But…? Didn't you…? You didn't meet Prince William?"
"Nope." Willow continued pulling the tiny shoots of green that were trying to grow between her carefully tended vegetables.
"Then who did you talk to all day? Ethan? I mean, he's nice and all, for one of the guards, but I thought - "
"You thought I was going there to meet and fall in love with your Prince, didn't you? Well, if you must know, I spent the morning with King Angelus, discussing the absent Prince and his desire to meet me."
"He doesn't want to meet you." Cordelia spoke up, having caught the end of the conversation as she came outside to work on designs for the Queen's newest dress.
"What?" Willow turned to the brunette in surprise.
"He doesn't want to meet you," she repeated, oblivious to Buffy's frantic gesturing to remain silent. "Doesn't anyone ever listen the first time you say something? I mean, I must have repeated myself at least five times today, just asking for a damp rag and some help. You see, I had spilled some wine on the front of my dress, and if you don't get it out fast, it stains, so I asked Devon to help me blot at it. And he just stood there staring at me like I'd just sprouted a second head or something while the wine was settling into the fibers."
"Cordy, that's really great, and I'm glad that you got the stain out - "
"But I didn't. Well, I got most of it, but there's still this little - "
"But the point was about Prince William not wanting to meet me."
"Oh, yeah, that. Well, that's the whole thing. He doesn't want to meet you. Or anyone else that might be considered a suitable bride for him. If he did, then his father wouldn't be trying to arrange everything for him. But he won't, so King Angelus picked you."
"But why me? Why not some other royal who wants to marry him? Surely the must be *someone* who is willing to - "
"To become the princess of Sunnydale and be married to the most handsome man in the kingdom? Of course, but you're the only noble blood nearby right now. And it's much easier to explain your presence here than to bring in someone else *and* explain why she's here. Besides, he's heartbroken, you're heartbroken… you have something in common."
"We have something else in common. Neither of us wants to meet the other." Willow muttered under her breath.
"What?"
"Nothing. So you're saying that the king wants to arrange a wedding between me and his son, simply because I was nearby and have a title?"
"Of course. You don't expect him to have his son marry a commoner, do you?"
"No, well, not unless he loves her. But he should be the one to choose."
"For a princess, you sure don't know much about royalty. You see, as a prince, William has a duty to - "
"Marry a princess and carry on the royal line. I know. But do you realize that had he not been the first-born son, he would have been free to marry anyone he chose? It seems rather unfair to me that a freedom such as that would be taken away due to a birth order."
"Some sacrifices must be made for the right to rule."
"But it's not a right. Don't you see? He has no choice in the matter. As the first-born son, he must ascend the throne after he marries. It does not matter if he wants it or not. He has to. Just like me. As a princess, I have to marry whomever my parents choose for me. I have escaped temporarily, but in the end, I have no choice either."
"Yes you do," Buffy comforted the girl. You're here now, and the queen can't find you."
"Yes she can. She has once already, and she'll look for me again, once she finds that I'm not dead. She won't stop until I'm married to Oz or dead. As long as I live contrary to her wishes, she lives in disgrace. Sometimes I wonder if it's even worth it."
"How can you say that?"
"Easily. I mean, I know she's going to win. My choices are to return home and marry Oz, whom I do not love, or stay in hiding until she finds and kills me."
"Or you can marry Prince William - "
"Whom I also do not love - "
"Yet."
"And hope that she considers the marriage acceptable, or else I am again awaiting my own death."
"You really have thought this through, haven't you?"
"Yeah, I have."
"Goodness, Willow. Morbid much?"
"Cordy, it's called tact. Use it." Buffy scolded.
"Tact is just not saying true stuff. No thank you."
"She's right, Buffy. It is morbid. But it's also realistic."
"Are your parents really so cruel?"
"My father isn't, but Queen Sheila will stop at nothing to get her way."
"Well, as long as she thinks you're dead, you're safe, right? So we just have to make sure she thinks that."
"And how do you propose we do that?"
"Simple. We just don't tell her that you're alive."
"And what if Angelus mentions something to her? It's only proper to arrange a courtship with the parents of the bride. Especially if she is the daughter of the king and queen of a neighboring kingdom."
"Don't worry. I'll talk with his Majesty tomorrow. Your step-mother need never know about this."
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