Royal Blue - How They Met A long time ago, on this very planet on which we live now, there was a love story. But it probably is not the love story you have been taught. This story isn't as grand as the legend that some have bandied around. It was more real, which is only proper because this story really happened. It is full of laughter and tears, happiness and anger, contentment and fear. This is the story of the royals of Earth during the time that some would call the Silver Millenium. Our story began on the night of a royal ball. Noble women from all around were in attendance to celebrate the prince's birthday. It was also hoped that one of these noble women would catch the eye of the young prince. As the young man was now five and twenty, many thought it was time he considered marriage. And the young heir, Prince Terrius, was definitely the stuff of dreams for many of the women present. He was amazingly handsome, with his pitch black hair and blue eyes. Added to this picture was his air of seriousness and shyness. He could make anyone he was talking to believe that they were the most important thing to him at that moment. He also had a deep and almost musical voice that radiated authority. It was rather easy to hang on his every word. Add to this the fact that he was rich and his wife would be queen someday and Terrius became practically irresistible. How much Terrius knew about how he was seen by the women around him was anyone's guess. The young man was raised to be polite and correct, so he was. Yet, in spite of his public persona of composure and self-assurance, in many ways he felt worried and afraid, especially on the issue of finding the woman who would be queen. Unbeknownst to many, he himself was also looking for a woman to marry, the woman with whom he could happily spend the rest of his life, but as of yet he hadn't found her. He needed someone who would understand him and want him for who he was as a person, not for his title. All the noble (and some not so noble) women around him that threw themselves, both subtly and blatantly at him were only interested in the crown they'd get to wear after they roped him in. No woman among his acquaintances had ever been able to see him as more than a prince, or see pass their possible future as a princess. He believed that the perfect woman, the woman for him would be able to see him as Terrius, not as the next king of the planet. She would be smart, graceful in spirit, loyal, and as in love with the people of this planet as he was. His perfect helpmate would care about the planet's people, not about her power as princess. She wouldn't be afraid to get her hands dirty. She'd have the ability to laugh and to help him to laugh. And, although beauty does catch a man's interest, in the end, he didn't care if she was beautiful or not. He just wanted her to be real. But in all the balls, in all the presentations, in all the conversations he had had with noble women all he saw were power-hungry, well-dressed vipers who only wanted the title, or, on a rare occasion, a nice person who just would never be able to understand him. As the years went by, Terrius began to believe that his perfect helpmate didn't exist. That night, Terrius looked around the ballroom filled with ladies he'd known for most of his life, part of him again searching for "her". As his eyes took in the sight of the packed ballroom, he noticed an open window that led to one of the palace's east balconies. And on that particular balcony stood a young woman. She wore an ice blue dress and her hair was piled on her head. She leaned against the balcony looking away from the ballroom. She didn't move at all, even when the wind blew strands of her hair or the bottom of her ball gown. Even from behind, leaning on the balcony, she looked every inch a lady. But more than a lady. There was something about her. If Terrius was more poetic, he may have compared her to a goddess, or a perfect snowflake floating on the wind. Curious as to why she was outside alone, he walked out onto the balcony. He crossed the balcony to lean against the railing next to the young woman. After a moment of standing next to her, she finally spoke, "It is beautiful, is it not?" "The view?" the young man asked as he gazed in the direction the woman was looking. "Yes. It is." After a few minutes of quiet, he wondered aloud, "What transfixes you most? The moon? The stars?" "None of the above," the woman laughed. Her voice, while not musical was compelling and strong. It also had traces of...happiness, "I am a little strange. I like looking at the horizon, not the heavens. I think so many people miss what is wonderful about this planet because they spend all of their time staring up at a sky that may not even be welcoming. The stories on the ground are so much more moving than anything over my head." Intrigued by her seemly sincere interest in the planet and its people, the young prince asked, "Stories? What do you mean by stories?" "Well, for example, see that window down there? The one with the candle," the woman said as she pointed, "I am sure in that window sits the daughter of a merchant, spinning dreams about this ball. And over there, in the military barracks," the woman pointed in the opposite direction, "a mother is reading to her son. And in the streets, the nightwatchmen are humming." She smiled. "I have always appreciated the world beyond titles." "And so that is why you are out here?" "In part," the lady acknowledged. "But more so because I do not fit in in there." She sighed. This puzzled the young prince. The lady on the balcony seemed more like a lady than many of the ones he knew. She had a loyalty and appreciation of the planet's people. She had a way of standing, of being, like she belonged anywhere she decided that she wanted to be. Confused at why the proper beauty felt alienated, Terrius became bold enough to be impolite and not let the issue go, "What do you mean? You are an invited lady, just like everyone else inside." "Yes, I was invited. And technically I am a lady now; but I was not born a lady. My father was a colonel. For bravery and loyalty in service, he was awarded a title when I was three. This step up meant a lot to my parents. They set about to give me every advantage a lady should have. But, I was not a 'real' lady, and the real ladies would not let me forget that. Oh, there were exceptions, but for the most part I was not included. And I was easy to spot." "How were you easy to spot?" asked the prince, who, up to that moment had assumed that she was born into her title like all the other young women present. "I do not have many of the things real ladies have. I never really acquired the social graces. I am not especially graceful. I do not know who is who and nor do I care to learn. I have friends 'below' my standing. My title is not recognizable. I do not have noble family traditions. But, most importantly, I do not have the most visible symbol of being a lady; my house has no a flower. This means I have no flower to twine in my hair for special occasions, no flower to put in my floral arrangements or bouquets. No flower with which to associate myself. If I were male, this would not matter. Sure, their houses have flowers, but they never need to use them. But as a female...not having a flower screams 'bought title'. "Usually, I do not mind," the young woman insisted. "Only, I would rather not deal with the looks and whispers tonight." After a beat, she asked without turning to look, "Why are you out here?" Answering honestly, the young man replied, "Something just drew me." "To something or away from something?" "Both?" the young man said, holding his breath. He expected a reply along the lines of "That's not an answer", but the woman just nodded. She seemed to understand that he honestly meant the answer he gave; he wasn't just being diplomatic. And maybe it was that quiet understanding that caused him to expand on the statement. "Both," he breathed. "It was just as I looked around that room tonight I felt, I do not know, trapped. It was like I had a role to play and no one saw me as something other than that role, that no one ever would see me as something other that that role. And, I looked at others in the room, and for a moment, just a moment I wished I was him, or them, or someone else." He laughed humorlessly. "I guess the grass is always greener somewhere else." "So that was drew you away from the ball, what drew you out to this balcony? Besides the open window, I mean." was the soft question. "Curiosity," Terrius answered honestly. "Curiosity and the need for fresh air. Emotional fresh air, not physical fresh air." He smiled as he looked back at the horizon. "It was a good thing; I never realized the horizon was so healing. It is like the past and future meeting somehow in the present, hope and history." The woman smiled quietly. As the two looked out at the horizon, they kept their own council. Both were intrigued by their balcony partner, but they didn't know what to do at this point. Finally, the young woman said, without turning to look at the young man. "My name is Adaunde. What is your name?" That threw the young man. Although he had enjoyed the conversation, he had assumed that the young woman had known who he was the whole time. Sure, she didn't bow or use the customary address when he first approached, but he had chalked that up to the fact that he had interrupted her musing. "You do not know who I am?" he asked in his amazement. "No," the young woman laughed, still looking at the horizon. "Well, if you look at me, you would know." Thinking the young man felt trapped by his station, probably as a guard or servant, and thought that she would know "his role" and react according based on a uniform, Adaunde took a deep breath and resisted the urge to look at her balcony partner. Station was so important in this world, and, unfortunately so divisive. "I shall not look at you," she insisted. "So will you tell me your name instead?" "Seriously, if you just look at me," the young prince said as he tried to put himself in her line of vision. Yet the woman stubbornly refused to look at him. After several attempts to get the young woman to look at him, he gave up. "Fine. My name is Ter-" he began, but then he suddenly stopped. The woman laughed, "Your name is Ter- what? Are you not going to finish?" But the prince had paused for a moment. Here was a woman who didn't know him as the prince, who seemed to like conversing with him for who he was, not for what he was. He didn't want to ruin that...and ruin it he would if he gave her his real name. Everyone, "real lady" or not, knew the name of the next heir to the throne. After taking a deep breath, he said, "Terry. My name is Terry." "Well, Terry that was not so difficult," Adaunde laughed. She smiled to herself. Adaunde didn't believe for one minute that Terry was his real name. It was probably Terrance or Teriary or something. And he was probably a soldier charged with protecting the royal family or one of the palace workers trying to steal a moment with a "lady". 'And doing a good job of stealing her heart,' she added to herself. Of course she was curious; she wanted to look at him. But at the same time, she knew that as soon as she did, the magic would be over. The station barriers would rear their ugly head. He'd bow and start using the "my lady"...and the intriguing young man with the beautiful deep voice who asked her about the horizon would be gone. Selfishly, she wanted a few more moments with this young man, she wanted him to be a part of her memory. And she wanted to be someone he remembered. She smiled sadly. If she was just a colonel's daughter, she wouldn't be so scary or so unreachable. But as Lady Adaunde...she might as well be in another region, she appeared so unreachable to soldier, merchant, and worker alike. Thank the creator that her few friends didn't feel that way, but unfortunately, the rest of creation seemed to. For this moment where she could just be Adaunde and share the horizon with someone who appreciated it, she'd trade ever being able to see him. Next to Adaunde, Terrius sighed. In many ways, stepping onto the balcony had changed his life. For the first time he felt like maybe, just maybe, he found a lady that he'd want by his side forever. And she refused to look at him! He found that annoying... and intriguing. It also gave him a small window of opportunity to be with someone as himself, separate from his legacy. It had only taken him a few moments to decide to make the best of this. How long he had before she realized who he was or someone came looking for him and ruined the moment, he didn't know but he hoped it was a while. Because as soon as they were interrupted, as soon as his title was used, she'd curtsey and apologize profusely, and refer to him as "Your Royal Highness"...and the intriguing, beautiful young woman at his side who seemed, for even a brief moment to be able to understand him would disappear. If he could have nothing else, he'd have this moment. Maybe this was all a dream and he'd wake up soon, maybe this surreal moment was only in his imagination and he was really on the balcony alone. Whatever was going on he wanted to selfishly hold onto it for a while longer. "Do you believe what the Seerer say? About soul mates I mean?" Adaunde interrupted his thoughts. "Are you a Seerer?" he asked, ranking his brain for information about that particular faith. "No, I am a Creationist. I just was thinking that the Seerer view of soul mates, of some ultimate partner out there waiting for us, is interesting." Terrius nodded as he reflected on the little more he knew about Creationist faith. As a group they believed in this higher power that they praised, thanked, sought for help, and asked for self-transformation. He vaguely remembered there being a debate about whether this power was a he, she, or it...and the accusation of some that creationists were pushy and stressed people. Adaunde, however, seemed calm and at peace. It was something for him to ponder. But, instead of reflecting more on her espoused faith, he returned to her statement. "I never really thought about it. It seems like a romantic idea," he offered. Adaunde nodded, "Yes, romantic. But not very practical." 'Practical, like the fact that if he has a post to report to me keeping him here could get him into trouble. Practical as in I should walk away... because then I can be in control of the memory, of my memory.' She closed her eyes briefly as she pushed away from the balcony and turned around. "It was nice to meet you, Terry" she said as she walked back toward the ballroom. She paused for a moment as she stood, with her back to him, facing the ballroom, bracing herself to go back in. "Looking out at the horizon really does need two people, no one person could do it justice alone. I guess that makes it like many things," She observed. "Thank you for listening to me," she said quietly and sincerely. Then she slipped inside through the open window, leaving the puzzled young man on the balcony. As soon as she was out of eyeshot from the balcony, Adaunde walked behind a pillar and sagged against it. "Wow." she whispered to herself. It was true that she wasn't a seerer, but if she was she'd believe that she had met her partner...who she had refused to look at! All because of how he may have reacted to a possible station difference. "It is true, I am crazy," she laughed to herself. But for a few minutes she hugged those moments on the balcony to her heart. Then she resumed her walk to the door. As she left, she realized that she hadn't presented herself to the royal family, but, acknowledging that she wasn't important enough to be missed, she just continued home. And as she walked part of her hoped that, the creator willing, a young man named Terry would be looking for her someday. Back on the balcony, the young prince slowly turned back to the horizon. He had watched Adaunde walk away. And he had thought of ways to stop her, including ordering her to stop, but...he didn't. In fact, in many ways, he wasn't sure she was real. "Adaunde" he said quietly as he looked out over his kingdom to be, seeing more clearly, the houses and the people of the ranks below him. And he saw the beauty that Adaunde saw in the horizon; and it was more than enough to tear his gaze away from the heavens for the more than a moment. All this was a gift given to him, along with a greater gift, hope. Hope that his helpmate was out there...and a wish that her name was Adaunde. - to be continued -