Golden Wings

Breakfast with the Queen

Her mother was sipping from a delicate tea cup decorated with a blue and silver pattern. Every morning she liked to have her breakfast in the garden. Queen Iridesa had black hair with glittery strands of silver throughout, today it was flowing loosely down her back. Seeing Tegan approaching her face turned into a look of disapproval that Tegan was all too familiar with. "Tegan, would you care to explain why your latest suitor ran off this time?" Tegan winced at her mother's tone. 

She knew that she would end up disappointing her parents that she did not have a second date lined up immediately after the first. Goodness the way they had been pushing her lately was getting to be ridiculous. "Good morning mother, if you must know he was rather aggressive and rude," Tegan replied with attitude. "Tegan! You can lose the attitude when you're speaking with me!" Iridesa's eyes flashed with anger. Tegan bowed her head knowing she had crossed a line. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired of all the suitors. Tired of the constant pressure to find one. Why is it so important mother?"

The queen took a deep breath before replying. "Tegan, there are things that you don't know yet. Things that will be explained to you at the right time. You are our kingdom's princess and you have a duty to your people to find your mate before your birthday. As far as all the dating, you know since our kingdom oversees the others it is written that we must create opportunities for you to met someone to create a possible future alliance. Now what did Oliver do that was so horrible anyways?"

Tegan sat down at the table with her mother. "Well, he kept making these little fireballs in his hands during our walk and almost started a fire out in the woods when we went for a walk. Then he proceeded to tell me that once we were married I would give birth to sons just like him." Iridesa started laughing. "Goodness, that is a bit aggressive. I'm surprised he didn't behave better since I personally know his parents." 

Tegan continued her story, "before he left I thought he was going to kiss my cheek but instead he shoved his tongue down my throat! He asked if he could see me again tomorrow and I politely declined." Her mother's face warmed up with a smile. "Well, I probably would've done the same thing at your age dear. Never matter I'm sure we'll find someone way more suitable for you and with better manners." Tegan gave a small smile. She secretly wished that she could take a break from all the blind dating.

"Mother, how do you even know when you've found your mate? I've been on all these arranged dates and have never even felt anything on even one of them. What was it like for you and father?" Iridesa sat back in her seat searching for the right words that she wanted to say. "Your father was the heir to this kingdom, going through the same thing you did trying to find his mate. I was from the Silver Lake Kingdom and a commoner's daughter at that." 

"There was a festival of lights that was being hosted in our kingdom and everyone was invited to attend. When I saw him standing by the town fountain I felt a jolt go through my wings and my heartbeat sped up. Your father says for him when he saw me it was like time stopped moving and I was the only one he could see. Everyone has a different experience. The one thing we have in common however is once your hands touch for the first time you receive a matching tattoo on your wrist." 

She pulled up her sleeve and showed Tegan hers, it was mark that looked like a raindrop. "Your father has a matching one, and that's when I knew we were meant to be together. We were married within a week and it was a huge celebration since he was royalty" Tegan smiled at the story her parents were truly each others better half. They had the kind of love that inspired others.