Meant To Be

Morning unfolded gently over Velmoria, spilling gold across its silver-bricked towers and casting long, regal shadows over the sleeping city below. From a distance, the capital looked like a serene painting, untouchable. The kind of place where every stone seemed placed by the gods themselves. But within its gleaming palace walls, life stirred with a sense of quiet urgency. Servants swept through corridors lined with velvet drapes and polished obsidian floors, their movements practiced and nearly soundless. Beyond the third courtyard, the garden bloomed early this year; jasmine crept up trellises, and lilacs swayed in the breeze like dancers waiting to be seen. And in a high chamber overlooking it all, Prince Aries of Velmoria sat at the edge of his bed, already dressed, already tired, the stress of "prince-ship" heavy on his shoulders, though the day had barely begun. He was the first son of three and therefore, the heir to the throne. His sister, Alice, was the second. She was already seventeen, a very beautiful girl with perfect skin and long, blonde hair. She and their little brother were always at odds. Jake just loved disturbing her peace, whether it was with random questions or by simply being annoying. So, whenever she found a way to get back at him, she never hesitated to take it. That morning, Alice was in her room, seated at her vanity as her handmaiden brushed through her long curls. Her fingers absentmindedly toyed with the edge of her mirror as she heard the faint sound of hooves echoing from the courtyard below. She knew exactly what day it was. It was Jake’s big hunting mission. A mischievous smile tugged at her lips. “If he doesn’t break that record,” she said aloud, mostly to herself, “I’ll remind him of it every single day until he’s eighteen.” She wasn’t joking either. Alice lived for moments like that. She planned to remind him at every meal, every hallway encounter, and every royal event from now till his next birthday. And knowing Jake, he’d either break the record just to spite her or come back with a dramatic story to make up for it. Meanwhile, Jake had just turned fifteen and hadn’t stopped talking about how much he wanted to go on his first hunting mission - a royal tradition for all sons once they turned fifteen. Aries had done it too. He still held the record: two deer and a stag in twenty-five minutes. And Jake? He’d been practicing with every chance he got to break it. He was overjoyed the moment Aries finally came out of his room. “Ariesssssss, finally. I thought you’d never come out,” he said, with a smile on his face. “I know today’s your hunting day, and you’ve been aiming for my record. I hope you’re up to the task,” Aries said, nudging Jake on the head. “Yes, I am, of course, I’d love to see the look on your face if I beat that record” “I’d just lock you outside with that smirk because I won’t even hear the end of it”, he said, smiling before picking up the hunting gun. “I’d tell Dad then”, Jake said with a look of confidence on his face. Aries laughed. “You won’t even be able to get to him” “Let’s go” Aries stepped toward the courtyard, where his horse was already prepared by his aide, Daniel. The stallion, with a deep grey, shining coat, snorted as Aries approached, its reins polished and ready. Daniel bowed slightly, then helped Jake mount his horse before climbing onto his. He would accompany them into the forest, not just as a guard, but as a quiet witness to a royal tradition. They rode into the forest and got to their first hunting spot, where they dismounted their horses, and Aries handed the gun to Jake. ‘There you go, hunter” “Show me what you’ve got”, Aries said with a little smirk forming at the edge of his lips. Jake collected the gun, looking nervous. The confidence that was there before the trip to the forest was gone. Now he was worried about disappointing everyone, and most of all, his sister, Alice, laughing at him if he messed this up. She was the only daughter in the royal family. She and Jake always got into squabbles about different things and made fun of each other. There was no way he was going to let her have one over him. He steadied his hand and the gun and took the first shot at the deer in his crosshairs. Clean hit. Smooth kill. But how long did that take? He checked. 15 minutes. One more animal in 10 minutes, and he had the record. But the second one had gone away. He chased it to a river embankment, where it stopped to drink water. This was the perfect time to have his second kill, he thought to himself. He looked around to see that his brother was catching up to where he was. Perfect. He would see the next shot. He steadied his hand again with 2 minutes now to make history, and he missed the first shot. He c****d the gun, tried again and missed the second one too. The deer had moved again. So they had to move too, before they saw the deer munching on some grass ahead of them. He was panicking, and that wasn’t good. Not if he wanted to be breaking any records today. Aries saw it and came to him. “Focus” “You mustn’t break the record before you feel worthy of being in the family. Just focus and take a proper shot.” “Okay, okay”, Jake said. He breathed once, focused on the deer and took another shot. This time, bingo. It dropped. He was done with his royal hunt, and the gun would be given to him as a regalia to remember the event. He wasn’t as happy as he thought he would be, though. He hadn’t beaten his brother’s record, and his hunt was over. Aries came over to where he was “It’s fine, Jake” “Cheer up. It’s not the end of the world. You’re just behind my record by 4 minutes,” Aries said with a little relief and a smirk. ‘Leave me” “I know you’re happy. You can’t even hide your smirk well,” Jake said as he started to smile a little “Wellllll…...” “You still did well. But you should respect that record,” Aries said with his smile coming out better now. “Let’s go home, Dad and Mum will be waiting for us” They climbed onto their horses and rode out of the forest with Daniel following closely behind them. They arrived at the main royal courtyard, where King Ronald and his wife, Queen Emma, were waiting with smiles on their faces. “How did it go?” King Ronald asked first “It went well, Dad. It’s just that Jake undermined my record and couldn’t end up beating it at the end,” Aries said, coming down from his horse with a smile on his face. “I was just behind by 4 minutes!!!, Don’t act like it was an hour,” Jake replied, a little smile forming on his face, too. “Come in and eat something. You must be exhausted” Inside the royal dining room, a little banquet was formed in honour of Jake’s royal hunt. A toast was made, and the eating and drinking started. There were happy and merry faces everywhere. The long dining table was lined with all sorts of delicacies: roasted duck, honey-glazed potatoes, fruit pies, and golden wine that shimmered in the light. The musicians played softly in the background, filling the air with calm string melodies that made everything feel even more special. Jake was seated proudly between his parents, talking nonstop about every part of the hunt, how fast his horse was, how sharp his aim had gotten, and how close he came to breaking Aries's record. Alice rolled her eyes at least five times, but no one could blame him for being excited. She wasn’t going to go back on what she said she’d do to him earlier, though, so he could enjoy the meal for now before she faces him. It was a big day. Even Aries, who usually stayed quiet during meals, had a small smile tugging at his lips as he listened. It wasn’t the grandest banquet the palace had ever held, but it was one of the most heartfelt. And somehow, that made it better. Jake was happy with the banquet and the way it was going, a fitting way to celebrate his royal hunting, he thought. It was almost coming to an end as guests began to leave for their respective destinations. “The next time I’d like to eat something like this would be during Aries’s wedding”, he said to his father after he had finished his meal. “Then tell your brother to tell us when he’s finally getting married” “We’ve been expecting him to say something about it by now, but it seems like it has not been coming into his thoughts at all”, he said as he glanced over the table over to where Aries was seated and stared at him for a little while before looking away. Aries heard what he said and had his hand on his forehead in seconds. What had Jake gone on to say now, he thought to himself. This was the topic he had been avoiding for a long time because he felt he wasn’t ready yet. And he didn’t think there were any worthy ladies to get married to in the town either. At least not yet. Now he had to face his father on this matter that they’d both talked about before And he knew it was going to be a difficult conversation. One he was not ready for at all.