My Prince Charming

Chapter 2

Louis POV

"J'espère que nous pourrons parvenir à un accord." (I hope that we can reach an agreement.) I said as I shook the man's hand.

"Si vous réduisez le montant des ressources, nous pourrions le faire." (If you reduce the amount of resources, we could do that.) He replied.

I laughed. "Cela n'arrivera pas. Bonne journée." (That will not happen. Have a nice day.)

The man grumbled as he was escorted out of the room. That meeting took much longer than necessary, but at last, it was done. I sighed as I raised myself out of my chair. My parents had me reorganising all of the alliances in preparation for me for King. I was excited to finally become King, but it included a large amount of work. Now I understood why my father was always complaining when I was younger.

I walked out of the conference room and down the hallways. In the palace, it was coloured in white and gold everywhere. Chandelier? Gold. Walls and ceilings? White. Floor? White with gold trimmings. Although for its repetitive colour scheme, it was designed very nicely. Every room had its own little...thing for lack of a better word. The library, for example, had various comfortable chairs and shelves.

I had free time, so I made my way to the courtyard to meet with my friend, Sam. Samuel and I have been friends for a very long time; ever since we were children. My parents also liked him very much as a child, and he was offered a position a few years later as the head guard. My parents were impressed with his potential and skill at such a young age and offered him training from some of the best guards at our palace. He accepted and spent the next four years preparing for the position.

That was seven years ago when we were 18. I finally made it to the courtyard where Sam was training the new guards-to-be.

"Keep focused at all times, otherwise you won't last long as a guard, understood?"

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers yelled in unison. Sam yelled at the soldiers to go do some sparing, to which they jogged around the yard in pairs. Sam turned around and saw me. A smile crept across his face as he walked up to me.

"Hey, dude! Long time no see!" He greeted me as he clapped my hand and pulled me into a man hug.

"I saw you just yesterday." I laughed, pulling away to look at him. His light brown hair was wet at the tips from sweat, and even though he tried to hide it, his blue eyes held how tired he actually was.

"Yeah, but it feels like so long ago." We walked along the courtyard side-by-side, observing the soldiers as we talked.

"So, are you ready for the ball on Sunday?" He asked after some time. I shrugged as we moved onto the next pair sparing.

"I'm not sure. I mean, I am excited about the ball, but I doubt that I will find anyone there who is any different from the others." I had met far too many people who only spoke to me because of my title. I had been set up with princesses from all over, but they all were fake. One time, I met with a princess from the east, and all she did was talk about herself and her riches. I've never cared for wealth, but I just don't understand why everybody else has to.

"Oh, come on! Not everybody is the same." Sam comforted. "If they were, you wouldn't have me." He gave me a cheeky grin, and we laughed.

"Yeah, that's true." I chuckled. I just hope that he wasn't the only one I was ever going to meet.

* * * * *

The sun had set by the time I had left Samuel to continue with his evening. I walked through the halls to my room, when I passed a particular area. The walls had paintings hung up of all of the past Queens and Kings. At the very end, my parent's painting hung, and after theirs, mine would hang too. Once I became King and found my Queen.

"Son." I heard my name come from a familiar voice further down the hall. I looked away from my parents' painting to see my mother and father walking gracefully towards me.

My father had a well-kept beard, wearing his crown on his head of brown hair. He always wore his royal garments around the palace, and today was no exception. His red, silky clothes with fluffy white trimmings dragged behind him as he walked. My mother walked beside him. Her blonde hair crept down her shoulders. She wore similar clothing as my father, just fit for her height. Her crown shined upon her head, the patterns shaded from the lighting.

I had always been told that I inherited more of my looks from my mother. I had her blonde hair, but my father's hazel eyes, as well as his strong facial features and height.

"Mother. Father." I greeted. They nodded in reply.

"Son, have you organised the rearrangement of the kingdom's alliances?" My father asked, his head held high.

"Yes, father."

"And have you had your measurements taken for your suit on Sunday?" My mother queried.

"Yes, mother." She nodded, pleased that I was keeping organised. She had always told me, as well as my father, that management and organisation are key in ruling a kingdom well.

"Very good. Well, we shall let you get some rest. Have a nice evening, son." She said.

"You, as well." The two of them gave me a curt nod before heading back in the direction they came. Once they turned the corner, I let out a sigh and continued on my path to my room.

I entered my room, tired from the busy day I had. I prepared myself for sleep but was distracted by my thoughts the whole time.

Could I really find somebody at the ball in two days' time? There have been too many people in my life who didn't care for me, but my title and wealth. It was just a habit at this point of my life to be doubtful after so many fake people.

I lay under the covers of my bed, still deep in thought.

I really hope I could, because if I couldn't, then I would have to be arranged with a princess of my parent's choice, and I didn't want that. I wanted to find somebody who understood me and wanted to be with me for myself, not my wealth.

I slowly drifted off to sleep, the thoughts running through my head the whole night.