As the princess and heir apparent of the kingdom you are the most sought after woman in the whole kingdom, with suitors lining up every day to ask for your hand in marriage. Today you finally accept the proposal of a suitor, causing a massive scandal.
"Ma'am, this is the line for the suitors."
"shitshitshitshitshit-" she can only hear one word bouncing around in her head as she's expected to speak before the princess. Honestly, she's more humiliated from being associated with the suitors at all than waiting in the wrong line for an hour and not noticing. The whole kingdom knew Princess Eros wasn't interested by the thought of romance or marriage, and only the most pompous assholes got in line to try changing her mind.
She remembered how awkward it had been for her, back when people would still come up and ask her to return feelings she didn't have. Before she started living with Grandma, who told her stories of others like her and gave her the rings she was now nervously twisting around her middle fingers.
She should probably be talking now and at least try to clear things up, or everyone would misinterpret how her face was red with embarrassment and how she was fidgeting uncomfortably from all these people staring at her - or on second thought, that might just make it look like she did like the princess and she was just another greasy suitor trying to make herself look better than all of them, but it would be creepy to stand here and stare.
Before she can overthink too much, the princess herself speaks up:
"Your rings are beautiful. I wish I had a pair of my own."
Her eyes widen. Was that deliberate? Does the princess know what they symbolize, or was it just a genuine compliment? She knows the whole point of wearing them is to let others know subtly, but she still second guesses whether they're aware of what that means to her every time someone comments on them.
"Thanks," the commoner manages to stutter out.
Then she notices something that brings a smile to her face.
Flowers are woven into Princess Eros's braid, orange, gold, white, and two tones of blue, like a sunset scene in the paintings she admires.
"I- ah, I like your- I like the flowers."
At those words, the princess' face lights up brighter than any sunset.
"Thank you." And the commoner sees herself in that face. She remembers how happy she was when Grandma told her there was a word, how safe she felt that day at the parade when she could wave her flag without fear, how seen she felt when people noticed her rings and refrained from asking if there was anyone she liked.
She realized a few things then.
Princess Eros sits in that chair for hours each day, listening to suitor after suitor claiming he is hers but meaning it the other way around. She knows what the rings mean, but doesn't have a pair herself. She can't wear her colors beyond a few hidden flowers. It wouldn't take a genius to tell it's the first time she has received a compliment like this.
Her thoughts must have shown on her face, because the princess explains, "My parents are very excited for me to fall in love. They say it's the most wonderful thing in this world, the thing that makes us human, and it would be... disappointing for me to miss out on it."
The commoner bites back a scowl. She recognizes those words. Love is what makes everyone human, but neither of their parents loved them enough to accept that 'love' didn't always mean romance.
She knows what to do.
She gets down on one knee and slides a ring off each middle finger, one white, one black.
The rings that, even with all the riches in the world, the King and Queen couldn't find it in themselves to buy for their daughter.
She holds them both out to Princess Eros.
She doesn't know how to propose at all, much less to a royal, so she says,
"Would you, Princess Eros of The Spade Kingdom, accept my hand in marriage?"
What she's really asking is, "Would you like to finally be free of this prison?"
Both princess and peasant understand.
No one else does.
The hall erupts in laughter, but it goes silent as she responds,
"Yes."
A few months pass, and everything is amazing. The two love each other, just not in the way the rest of the world thinks. In truth, they are closer to best friends than to lovers, but neither would have it any other way. They simply feel how they feel and try not to care what anyone else thinks.
There are a few protests, of course, mainly from noble families whose sons had been sent after Princess Eros. It seemed that a certain type of men could not comprehend a living soul who didn't want them, even though they were surrounded by such people.
By some miracle, the King and Queen are happy enough that their daughter found love that they don't care about whose hand she is taking in marriage. However, she can tell they also don't care for anything she has to say regarding how she views love and romance, or how much of each she feels, so she doesn't waste her time trying to explain her emotions to them. It is hard to tolerate them as they stand by and congratulate the couple on finding romance and 'fixing' the princess. Most days, the commoner just wants to scream at them, "What do you think is so wrong with her?!" But she knows her cries will fall on deaf ears. So they avoid them.
Maybe when the drama has died down and the kingdom can accept its new queens-to-be, then perhaps the old King and Queen can disappear under mysterious circumstances. Sometimes the princess has fun imagining all the outlandish fairlytale ways they could make it happen. Until then, most of the couple's time is spent with an old woman who tells stories about love, the kind that she has shown her granddaughter and her granddaughter has shown the princess. The kind that means you are seen. The kind that means you are heard. The kind that means you are respected. The kind that means you belong. You are worth the world. You are not alone. You are cherished. You are understood. You are human.
