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“I-I don’t know if I want to dance yet.”
“We won’t. But I do need to introduce you formally to the king and queen.”
Caitlyn nodded and took his hand. “I’ve met your mother, though.”
“Nothing really counts until the king knows about it and approves.”
Now was the dangerous moment. He approached the two thrones slowly, and then gave a half-waisted bow. Caitlyn awkwardly did the same. Emrys suppressed a wince, since she ought to have curtsied. King Eldon raised a brow in near amusement at the gesture, while Eliana clicked her tongue. His mother was likely annoyed that she hadn’t had enough time to prepare Caitlyn for proper greetings. Emrys could imagine Elsa smirking to their side; she always bowed rather than curtsied out of sheer contrariness.
“Come forward, my son. Let me get a look at you.” King Eldon beckoned them with one gloved hand.
Emrys nodded to Caitlyn, drew closer, and waited patiently for his father to give them permission to speak. The man scanned his eyes over the two of them critically. Finally, he lay one finger by the side of his mouth and nodded resolutely.
“Speak, Prince Emrys."
“I would like to introduce you to Caitlyn Durst,” Emrys said with another bow. “I have known her for several years, and she has long been a good friend.”
“I see.” The King waited and stared at Caitlyn. “Well, speak, child.”
“I-I, um, it’s a pleasure to be in your kingdom, sir. I mean, Your Highness,” Caitlyn managed.
“But of course. What causes you to come visit us?” The King leaned forward. As though Queen Eliana wouldn’t have already briefed him on what Emrys was going to speak to him about.
“I’m here because Emrys asked me to come,” Caitlyn replied.
“Yes,” Emrys agreed. “I simply had to spend more time with her, and I needed for you to meet her.” He gestured to Caitlyn in an elegant motion. “Caitlyn Durst, of Pettysburg, Ohio, has been asked to be my wife.”
Caitlyn’s eyes were already wide from the excitement of standing in front of the king. They couldn’t get any rounder, so her surprise wasn’t immediately evident, even though her lips parted and she seemed like she might say something to ruin the whole plot, like, “You never asked me at all, and you had plenty of time to do it!”
But she remained silent, looking between the king and queen.
“Close your mouth, dear. You look like a codfish,” Eliana said mildly. She smiled at her husband. “Please do say something before the poor girl collapses from nerves.”
King Eldon narrowed his eyes and gestured toward her. “You have known my son for some time? For how long?”
Caitlyn’s opened her mouth again to speak, closed it, and then opened it again. “W-we met five, um, five years a-ago. In Nice.”
“An American girl in France,” the King said, as though amused.
“I was, um, studying abroad, and…” Caitlyn looked to Emrys, and he could tell that she could barely breathe from how fast her heart must’ve been beating. “W-we hit it off.”
“You hit it off with her five years ago, and you’re bringing me to her now?” the King asked.
Eliana was not so amused, however. Emrys could see that she’d put the timeline together.
“We met again at my latest premiere,” Emrys told them. “I simply couldn’t let her go again.”
Caitlyn flushed, looking up at him with a little smile. She creased her brow in confusion, but there was no resolving it for the moment. Emrys did feel guilty for springing this on her, but he would make it up to her later.
“Well, isn’t she adorable,” Eliana said dryly.
“She is indeed. I fail to see, however, what a prince of Cabeau sees in this stammering commoner,” Eldon drawled.
Emrys tensed. “Your highness,” he objected.
“It is my decision, ultimately, who my children wed. Does she have anything else to her credit besides being adorable? Someone you simply couldn’t live without?”
Emrys felt his face burning, but before his temper could get the better of him, Caitlyn picked up the sides of her dress and took a step forward.
