“Perhaps you would rather die instead!”

A fork slammed on the table as its guests fell into a tense silence. The sound of metal echoed against the thick walls of the dining hall and a tremor shook their water glasses. The only other sound heard was the soft slurping of Princess Xanya merely putting another spoonful of buttery soup into her mouth.

The inhabitants of the hall glanced at each other, growing more uncomfortable with the silence as the king eyed the young man in front of him with burning contempt. The young man himself seemed unconcerned with the growing tension, instead staring the king directly in the eye with a still trained face.

“Cat got your tongue, boy?” The king growled in irritation, awaiting the young man’s response as his guests anxiously watched from the side.

The young man smirked and, without so much as an answer, spooned some soup in his mouth. The king growled menacingly.

“Answer me!” He roared, face scrunched in anger. The young man looked up, face still void of emotion before a small smirk broke way on his lips, causing the princess to watch.

“Why, your majesty, must I spew indolence and discrimination from my mouth in order to appease you?” He started, eyes never once drifting to the side.

“Does your own egotism not gratify you enough? Why then must you require us to be of the same mind on matters of the kingdom? It’s, at best, ignorance and at its worst, foolishness. Perhaps that is why the revolution draws in the people, leaving you with only the richest and repugnant of loyalists, whom in truth are only loyal to themselves. When will you open your eyes to the truth that you are faced with?”

The young man stood, respectful and distinguished in all his likeness, and turned towards the princess. Her eyes widened slightly as she regarded him. Handsome, brave, and all together agreeable...she listened carefully.

“And you, princess...” The king stood now and glared fiercely at him, daring him with his eyes to rebuke his daughter. The young man ignored this and turned to fully face the princess.

“When will you finally stop living in the shadows?” The princess did nothing to stop her shock as the gears clicked in her head. The guests looked confused as the young man had said nothing more to her and instead watched her with an unknown expression, but the princess paid no heed to it for a puzzle had just been solved in her mind.

It was him. It had to be. Who else knew her as well and could speak as eloquently?

She watched the young man as he looked away from her and faced the king once more. He shook his head in disappointment before walking out of the dining hall, the doors shutting ever so softly yet sounding like thunder echoing across the sky.

Xanya sat in shock as the room around her exploded into accusations and insults, each more foul than the last. Although still gripping with the fact of whom she just spoken with, her mind had come to a conclusion and so she shakily picked up her spoon and dipped into her cold bowl of soup.

“Lovely Dinner, Father. Just lovely...”