Francis

"For the last time, I not marrying her!"

Shatter!

"But Sire, you have to! You are thirty years old, and without an heir!"

"And I could honestly care less!" I answered, glaring at Pierre, my Advisor. "I hardly know the woman, so I will not go along with the marriage!"

I angrily threw another wine glass at the wall, seeing it break like the first one. Pierre cringed in fear, not wanting his head to be the next object to hit the wall.

"Of course, Your Highness," he bowed politely, taking his leave so that he did not provoke me any longer.

I sighed, sitting in the chair behind my desk in my study. Country after country had been showing off their princesses to me, forcing me to pick one as a bride so that I could have an heir after I die.

However, the task was still left undone. The women were beautiful, that much I could go along with, but other than that, they had no use except for keeping me company in bed.

I stood up, gripping another chalice in my hand to throw against the wall. The door to my study opened, then, preventing me from breaking it.

"Before you do that, a welcome would be nice," the unmistakable voice of one of my friends stopped me.

I looked at the door, seeing my beloved confidants standing before me.

"Gilbert, Antonio!" I smiled brightly as I carefully set the wine glass down on top of my desk, walking up to them and hugging them individually.

"We heard the argument," Gilbert grinned. "Another refusal, I take it?"

"How many is that this week?" Antonio joined in with the joking. "Four?"

"Six, actually," I admitted in guilt, seeing their surprised faces. "The only thing they were good for was adding another person in my bed."

Gilbert laughed, roughly placing his hand on my shoulder.

"If you have had more women in your bed than you can count," he began jokingly, "then you probably have more heirs than you realize!"

"This is not a game, Gilbert," I told him harshly. "This is a serious thing, not that I am actually taking it seriously."

"Why not?" Antonio wondered. "You are one of the oldest princes in Europe, and you still do not have a woman. No wonder why your Advisor was so upset."

"Oh, do not worry about Pierre," I told him dismissively. "If the Court wants to be angry, let them. In the end, their words mean nothing against mine."

"But what about the Church?" Gilbert asked. "If the Court does not make you marry a princess, the Church will."

"And do I care?" I replied. "No, I do not."

"But how will you marry a princess if you are not willing to do so?" Antonio questioned. "That is just foolish."

I went silent for a little bit, suddenly having an idea.

"Perhaps not," I stated as I walked over to my desk, grabbing a piece of paper along with a quill and ink.

"What are you doing?" Gilbert inquired, seeing me writing something on the paper.

"Oh, Gilbert," I chuckled as I looked at him after I had finished writing the invitation, holding it up to show it off. "Do you not know me? I am going to host a ball to find myself a bride."

I rang a silver bell, a young servant coming in and giving me a polite bow.

"I want you to write two hundred thousand more of these," I ordered the young girl. "After you are done, I want them mailed across all of Europe and Asia. I am talking about Russia, China, Norway, everywhere."

"I-including England, Your Highness?" she wondered timidly, gently taking the invitation into her hands.

"Yes, including England," I answered with a mischievous smile. "I want each princess to come, with their families if they have any."

The servant nodded, bowing again before leaving the room.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Antonio questioned. "England is your enemy. Why waste your time on such filth?"

"It would not be fair to exclude the lesser party, now would it?" I replied, a grin spreading across my face. "I have to be a good King, do I not, so where is the harm?"

"But they are your enemy, so what was the point of giving them an invitation?" Gilbert huffed.

"I want to be nice," I told him as I began to walk out of my study and down the hallway to get to my bedroom. "Is that so wrong?"

"It is just not normal for enemies to invite each other to social gatherings," Antonio explained, following me with Gilbert by his side. "Do you see the problem, now?"

"What I see," I began as I pulled out a silver and blue outfit with a matching mask out of my wardrobe to show them off, "is an opportunity for fun and peace."

"A masquerade ball?" Gilbert inquired. "How will you choose your bride if you will not even know who she is?"

"Well, that is all a part of the enjoyment, now, is it not?" I laughed, getting excited. "Although, silver and blue will not do. Perhaps gold and blue? Yes, magnificent!"

I quickly grabbed the other outfit and mask, going behind my curtain to put them on. After I had on my regalia, I showed myself off to my friends.

"Yes, I like this better," I nodded, looking in my mirror.

"Perhaps you should take this more seriously," Gilbert sighed, getting a bit irritated. "What purpose do we serve, here, if you are not going to listen to us?"

"Because I need your help finding me a beautiful bride!" I cheered, never ceasing to be excited. "You two are so foolish! Now, come! We need to get you some outfits of your own. You will not get brides yourselves if you do not look the part."

"And once again we are thrown into your tumults of fashion and trouble," Antonio shook his head with a smile. "Fine, I will wear anything as long as it is gold and red."

"Silver and red," Gilbert replied with a grin, "to match my hair and eyes."

"Perfect!" I answered, clapping my hands. "Follow me to the Royal Tailor, then! The Ball is in two day's time, and it takes a while to get your outfits custom made."

I led them down the hall, not even trying to contain myself. This was going to be so much fun, even if I was mainly doing it for a selfish reason.

Oh well. I hope my future bride will not mind. Perhaps she would be doing this for the same thing?

"This is a foolish thing," Gilbert spoke up, "but if you need help, then...we will help."

"Especially if it will get you to actually marry someone," Antonio playfully nudged me.

"Of course," I promised. "The last princess that I dance with at the Ball will be my bride. How is that?"

"It is a bet," Gilbert agreed. "Make sure she is pretty."

"And sweet."

"And witty!"

"But also compassionate."

"And pretty!"

I could not help but be amused by their list of traits that I needed to look out for in my future suitor at the Ball.

"Alright, alright," I calmed them down. "I will make sure that she is all of those things."

But I could not stop myself from wondering something: does such a woman even exist?