Chaos in the Castle

@ katahdin

Charles had slept soundly throughout the night and once morning came, he felt refreshed. As per usual, he followed his morning routine of showering, brushing his teeth and dressing for the day. Though, unlike usual, when Charles was ready to leave, he peaked outside his room into the hallway. This was for two reasons, firstly, he did not want to be seen with Maisie walking the halls. Both to protect their image of hating each other, but also because Charles did not wish to be there when the princess received an earful for her disappearing act. He also did so to ensure he didn't run into anyone who was still searching for the princess through the night.

Once the man was sure that the coast was clear, he made his way out of the room. As it was now breakfast, he needed to head to the dining room. Though he was quite sure that he would see both sets of parents today. Probably wishing to talk to both of them concerning their actions yesterday. Although he didn't disappear for hours on end like Maisie did, Charles was sure to still get a slap on the hand for 'yelling at Maisie' and talking about to his parents.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie felt much better when she woke up, and even better after she showered and brushed her teeth, but by the time she had finished getting dressed her parents were in her room demanding to know where she'd been hiding the previous afternoon, and what awful thing she must have said to make Charles storm off in the garden. She'd attempted to argue that the entire situation wasn't fair, and that neither of them wanted to get married, but her parents wouldn't have it, marching her to breakfast to ensure that she would be there when Charles arrived so they'd have to spend time together.

By the time he arrived in the dining room she was sitting at one end of the table that had only one additional setting across from her chair, her parents seated at the other end with his, her father smiling brightly when Charles walked in. "Good morning, Price Charles. I hope you had a pleasant afternoon. We've saved you a spot down at the other end of the table with Maisie, to give you a chance to make amends after yesterday, and hopefully get to know one another." Maisie clearly looked uncomfortable as she looked at him, trying her best to give him an apologetic look as subtly as she could.

@ katahdin

The man blinked a few times at the scene that appeared before him. For some reason, this was not what he had expected during breakfast. Though he supposed it made sense to the adults who were desperate to make this marriage work. He looked at the King for a moment before giving him a nod. It was one thing to fight with his parents but Charles was not a big enough fool or rude enough to do so with the other royals.

"Good morning," The prince said to the room, in general. He then made his way over to the chair across from Maisie and sat down. Charles proceeded to look at the parents again, which was quite the mistake as his own father was giving him a stern look. He could only assume it was because he wanted him to play nicely today. Charles let out a sigh before looking up at Maisie. "Good morning." Once those words had left his lips, he started to fill up his plate.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie's parent's seemed pleased as Charles made his way over to sit with their daughter, but also gave a stern look to her when she glanced over as Charles took his seat, the princess sinking a little lower in her seat to avoid their gaze as she set down the bagel she was munching on in order to take a sip from her orange juice. She glanced up at him as Charles wished her a good morning, giving a little nod to indicate that she heard him, but upon hearing her father clear his throat expectantly at the other end of the room she winced, setting down her cup of orange juice as she sat up a bit.

"Good morning, Charles." she echoed his greeting softly, glancing over at her parents as all four royals seemed rather pleased that they'd gotten their children to talk to each other, the royalty returning to their breakfasts and conversations. She let her shoulders relaxed a bit once they weren't watching her like a hawk, offering Charles a small apologetic smile as she took another bite of her bagel. "I'm sorry.. I'll make sure you get double the moose tracks." She murmured softly between bites, definitely not wanting her parents to hear that she'd promised to get him his favorite kind of ice cream.

@ katahdin

"It's fine," Charles mumbled back before he took a bite out of his omlette. He glanced over at the two sets of royals with the corner of his eyes. They seemed pleased and were talking about things that didn't matter. Though the set of them were getting along so well. It seemed that they were happy as long as they believed that him and Maisie were getting along fine. How odd they were. But if he could make them miserable due to his and Maisie's unhappiness, maybe they would give up.

After he went to take a sip of his drink, Charles set his cup down on the table a bit too hard. It caused the parents to glance up from their conversation for a moment, looking at Charles with some concern. It was his mother who decided to speak first. "How did you sleep last night, darling?"

Charles glanced at her for a long moment before deciding to push some buttons. "To be honest mother, it had been a rough night and I did not get much sleep. I heard people roaming the halls all last night. Did something happen in the palace?"

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie gave a little nod as he said it was fine, turning her attention back to her breakfast. He was clearly upset that their parent's had pushed them into this position, and she couldn't really blame him, but she'd actually not hated spending time with him yesterday, and thought that if they could get out of the marriage she wouldn't really mind just being his friend. Especially since she didn't have very many, and he'd understand what it was like to be royalty and have overbearing parents.

She looked up in surprise when Charles slammed his glass onto the table, tensing a little bit as it drew their parent's attention, giving him an odd look, although her stomach fell when he brought up all of the people that had been out looking for her, knowing he was likely about to pick a fight.

Maisie's mother cleared her throat a bit, offering Charles a smile. "I'm sorry to hear that, Prince Charles. After your.. interaction with Maisie in the gardens yesterday she ran off, and we weren't able to find her until we went to her room this morning and found her tucked in bed. We had been worried that she'd gotten lost or injured, and wanted to make sure there were people around to help her if needed. But she won't be running off again, and I'm sure she regrets keeping you up." Her mother explained, giving her daughter a hard look, the girl clearing her throat a bit before mumbling a soft apology.

"I'm sorry, Prince Charles.. It won't happen again."

@ katahdin

Some surprise moved through Charles as the Queen told him the truth of what had occurred the night before. He had expected some lie or cover up. Especially as it didn't look well on either the princess or him. Charles didn't really want to push on an issue that would only get Maisie in trouble and not leave an opening to really upset the idea of this marriage. "Perhaps I should have ran away myself. It had been quite an upsetting conversation."

"Now enough Charles." Charles' father said, his voice not loud but had an urgency to be listened to. "Neither of you will be running off anymore." With that said, the man took another bite of his food.

"Of course, father." Charles responded before looking at Maisie and giving her a simple nod as though he was accepting her apology.

Silence fell over the room for a moment but it was Charles' mother who spoke first. "What did you two talk about yesterday?"

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie was relieved when Charles didn't use the opportunity to throw her under the bus, giving a little nod as he silently accepted her apology. She tensed though when Charles' mother asked about what the two of them had been talking about yesterday, glancing worriedly over at Charles before she looked down at her plate, silent for a few minutes before she spoke. "Nothing interesting, really... Mostly about how we hate each other and don't want to be married."

"Maise." Maisie's mother scolded, glaring slightly at her daughter. "You should know better than to be so rude in front of our guests."

"Perhaps if you'd asked my opinion of the marriage before you invited them here, I wouldn't have to be rude in front of them." She murmured softly, earning another scolding, although it was from her father this time, who sounded much angrier.

@ katahdin

A bit of a smirk came over Charles' lips at Maisie's words. He had not thought to say it at all but it seemed that the princess was growing a bit bold in this moment. It was quite entertaining. "It is true though. I think Princess Maisie and I have very little that we like about each other... or perhaps none at all." His eyes shifted to the princess for a moment. "In fact, I think I would rather go to war than have to be married to you for even a day."

Charles!" Charles' mother gasped but before she could scold her son, Charles was already continuing on.

"I think Princess Maisie agrees with me." He looked at Maisie. "Do you? Or perhaps that is too easy of a question. Would you rather be dead or married to me?"

The King slammed his fist down on the table, causing some of the dishware to clink together. He stood up, his eyes narrowing at the two. "That is enough from the both of you. We understand that this idea will take some time to get used to but it does not mean you both are allowed to cause such trouble as this." Charles' father looked at the other adults. "They are clearly just trying to antagonize us and do not mean all that they say."

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie looked up from her plate to look at Charles as he spoke, noticing his smirk and subtly kicking his foot under the table before scoffing at his question. "Of course I'd rather be dead than married to an arrogant prick like you." She replied, although she jumped in her seat as his father slammed his fist down on the table, tensing nervously as he scolded them.

She shook her head though when his father said that they were just trying to antagonize them and didn't mean what they were saying, looking over at them. "No, that's not true. Maybe not that I'd rather die than marry Charles, but I do hate him and.. and would rather give up my title and claim to the throne than marry him, war or no war." She snapped, eyes a bit misty.

" Enough ," Her mother snapped, glaring at her daughter. "That's enough, Maisie. Go to your room. Once you've decided to apologize for your rudeness, you'll be able to enjoy meals again." Maisie took a few moments to stare down her parents before she turned away, clearing her throat as she stood and hurried from the dining room and back to hers, slamming the door for good measure.

@ katahdin

Once Maise left the room, Charles' father looked at him. The frown on his face was deep but there was a strong anger in his eyes as well. "That applies to you as well. Stay in your room until you are ready to behave like a proper man. Your mother and I will discuss your punishment later."

"Fine," Charles responded with a scoff as he stood up. Though he grabbed a biscuit from his plate before heading out of the dining room and towards his own room. He was only a hallway behind Maisie when the door was slammed. Rough. Though he couldn't say he didn't feel the same way as her.

However when he entered his room, he was as quiet as possible. This wasn't his home and there were certain scenes he wasn't willing to cause. Nor did he want to upset Maisie more but having her notice other doors slamming.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie was running her hands over her face in frustration when she heard Charles' door open and shut across the hall, frowning a bit as she realized he'd been sent to his room too. God, their parents were treating them like children and playing matchmaker as if they didn't care about their feelings on the matter. After pacing around the room in frustration she sighed, sitting at her desk to stare out the windows. Her thoughts turned to what had happened in the dining room over breakfast, and after a few minute of thought she grabbed a scrap of paper and scribbled a quick note, hurrying to the door. After cracking it open a bit to make sure no one was coming she hurried across the hall and slid the paper under, not wanting to bother Charles or get him into anymore trouble than she already had.

She retreated back to her room with a sigh, hoping he'd see her note before long, the paper reading:

Charles, I'm sorry that I got you into trouble again. I asked for the kitchen to prepare your ice cream for you this morning, so it should be ready by tomorrow. I'm sorry again, for everything.
- Maisie. P.S.: I don't hate you.

@ katahdin

Charles was laying in bed, trying to unwind after the scene in the dining room. Though he was finding it difficult to the more he thought about how hard it was going to be to get out of this engagement. Why the parents wanted to marry their kids off so bad was beyond him in the first place but it was hard to ignore the fact that they were refusing to see how miserable this was making him and Maisie. Unbelievable. Charles couldn't say that marriage wasn't a good way to avoid a war because he knew that it could be very effective if done right. But he did not understand why that had to be the only way when it was clear neither heir wanted it.

Although he was getting lost in his thoughts, Charles did notice the rustling that was occurring outside his door. But before he really had to think about what it could be, a note was slid under and into his room. Charles stood up and read the note, smiling a bit as he did so before grabbing a pen. He wrote back before sneaking over to Maisie's room and sliding it under her door before sneaking back into his.

It read:
Maisie, it is hardly your fault that we got into trouble today as I was the one who had started it. Though I am pleased to hear that the ice cream will be ready by tonight as I think it will numb me from the ridiculousness that are our parents.
- Charles. P.S.: I don't hate you either... And I suppose marrying you is a better option than being dead ;)

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie had stepped into her bathroom to get herself a glass of water and pull her hair out of the nice bun she'd put it in, figuring that there was no use trying to look presentable when she was just stuck in her room for the rest of the day. She smiled though as she stepped back into her room just in time to see a note slide under her door, setting down her glass of water down to pick up the note, unable to help the smile on her face as she read it over. She moved over to her desk again to write him another note, before sneaking across the hall once more to slide it under his door before sneaking back into her room, grabbing her glass of water again before moving to settle down into bed with a book.

Her note read:
Charles, I played along, so I feel as though it was as much my fault as it was your fault. But I'm glad that you are looking forward to your ice cream, I'm glad that at least one good thing could come from my being an pain in your ass. I hope our parents start to be more reasonable, or at least listen to us. It's the least they could do. - Maisie. P.S.: I'm glad to hear that :) also, if you'd like to keep talking without running the risk of getting caught passing notes, my phone number is xxx-xxxx, if you'd rather speak that way. If not, I'd advise we wait until we don't run the risk of getting caught by a maid or our parents passing notes, as that's the last thing we need.

@ katahdin

A light chuckle left Charles as he saw the note slide under his door again. Like last time, the man got up from his bed and headed over to the note that was laying on the floor. But this time, after reading it, he headed back to his bed and pulled out his cell phone. Charles let out a small hum as he typed in her number and under name decided to do something not so obvious. So he typed in 'Peach' after Princess Peach.

With the note, he crumbled it up and slid it into his pocket before texting her.
'Hey, it's me'.

Charles figured that would be enough for Maisie to figure out who was texting her.

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie tried her best not to feel excited when she heard her phone buzz on the nightstand next to her, forcing herself to wait until she read to the end of the page before she set her book down and looked at his text, rolling her eyes a little at the message.

'Hi Me, it's Maisie. How are you enjoying imprisonment?' She replied, knowing that it was an awful joke, but she felt a bit nervous for some weird reason (even though she definitely should not feel nervous texting Charles), and figured a dumb joke might be the best way to make herself feel less nervous. She settled further in bed as she added him to her contacts, humming a little in thought as she mulled over possible names for him, before settling on 'Moose Tracks', figuring she wouldn't soon forget his love of the ice cream.

@ katahdin

A light roll of his eyes was what Charles did when he saw her text.

'Wow way to go with the dad joke' He responded. His finger tapped against the side of the phone before sending another text. 'Imprisonment is going fine...I suppose. It could get worse'.

As he sent that text, there was a knock on the door and soon both of his parents were walking in. A deep frown went over his face. It was time to discuss his true punishment it seemed. 'And it just got worse...' Charles sent to her before putting his phone away and giving his attention to his parents.

They closed the door behind them and sat down on the couch, waiting for their son to sit in the chair across from them. Once they were settled, the conversation began and easily an hour passed before the two of them left.

@ Sweet.Persephone

'I'm good at math, not humor. Give me a break.' Maisie replied with a little snicker, letting out a sigh as he said his imprisonment was going alright. 'I'm still sorry about all this. If you need anything let me know, I'm sure I can smuggle you board games or books or whatever it is that you like'.

She frowned as she saw he last text, sitting up a bit in bed as she heard his door open and close across the hall, starting to type up a reply to his text, although she realized that if she texted him with his parents in there they might ask who he was talking to, and that would give them away. She settled back into bed for the next few hours, sure that her parents would be in at some point, although the surprised her by not showing up, and when she once again heard the door open and close across the hall she set her book down and grabbed her phone to text him again.

'Still alive?'

@ katahdin

Charles wanted to break something by the time that his parents left his room. It was infuriating how stubborn they were being about this marriage thing. Neither of them wanted to do it. They didn't know each other. And surely two unhappy monarchs is a bad thing for both countries but it was like no one even fucking cared! He tried to push down his feelings though as he walked past the lamp next to his bed, the impulse was too strong. Charles grabbed it and chucked it across the room, letting it shatter against the wall and land on the floor.

A growl left his lips before he fell back into his bed and rubbed his face. This was going to be a very long couple of weeks. His parents essentially gave him an ultimatum. Either he had to start being nice to Maisie, which essentially meant being nice to her in front of them, or certain 'privileges' of his were going to be taken away. Like his phone, seeing his friends over the next half-year, and various other things. This was insanity. They had never been so extreme in their punishments before. Charles rubbed his face hard as a buzz came from his phone. He couldn't get himself to even look at it for a half hour, having tried to calm himself down but it didn't quite work. So instead he just looked at it and messaged back.

'Wanna run away and hide in the woods for the next few months until they change their minds on this?'

@ Sweet.Persephone

Maisie had jumped at the sound of the lamp smashing across the hall, out of bed and halfway toward the door before she realized what she was doing, frowning worriedly at the handle. She couldn't leave or her parents would kill her, and she was probably the last person Charles wanted to see. Unfortunately for her, as she turned to head back to her bed to send him another text and make sure he was alright her parents came in, sitting her down for a long, brutal conversation that lasted well into the afternoon.

When the left she'd curled up in bed, hugging her pillow to her chest as she tried to suppress her tears. Her parents were the worst. If she didn't start behaving and didn't agree to the marriage they'd make sure no university would accept her into a PhD program, and had even threatened to have her Master's degree rescinded, in addition to the usual punishments of no phone or computer and basically being put on house arrest. She reached over to grab her phone a few minutes after it buzzed, wiping her tears away from her eyes with one hand as she read his message before responding.

'I've got a tent and a sleeping bag in my room, and a few bottles of wine hidden in the woods if you're really interested.'

Maybe at the end of the day Charles wasn't the worst, but that didn't mean that they should be forced to marry one another.