Unannounced Ceremony

"The prince is getting a wife soon," Damien heard voices at the river bank, disrupting his most needed silence. He rested behind a tree and dipped his toes into the water, pleased by how cold and refreshing the water felt on his toes. He had chosen the river bank as it was the most unlikely place for noises or whispering words, but the maids had picked that day for their laundry and a royal as their favorite topic. It was surely the voices of the maids who had come out to perform their laundry duties, but they couldn't see him. He didn't plan to hide; he only came there to relax and clear his mind.

"Which prince? The crown prince?" He could hear the excitement in the voice. He snorted, wondering why people enjoy speaking about others behind their backs.

"No! If it was the crown prince, I might have been excited too." The voice was suddenly low as if the maid was trying to hide what she was gossiping about, yet it was loud enough for him to hear her words. "It's the prince who must not be mentioned."

They gasped, sudden silence, then a voice that sounded more like a whisper.

"I pity any lady who ended up as his wife. I can't bear to look him in the face. How would anyone look at him always, and proclaim him as her husband. Although he wasn't bad to look at; on the contrary, he is quiet handsome. It's just the personality that's off. I once saw his face and was swoon at how a man could look that handsome." the voice said. Damien smirked and brushed the hair on his cat, Zeus. The cat purred, smoothing his back on his leg and trying to chew his leg.

"He surely is going to make an innocent lady weep. I wondered what his voice sound like as he barely speaks. It would be nice if he acted a bit like the crown prince." She sighed. "The crown prince is the real definition of a gentleman; he sure will make a lady very lucky apart from getting the post of crown princess and future queen."

Damien had heard enough. He stood up, cradling Zeus gently on his chest, revealing himself to the maids. Suddenly, the maids were all quiet. He could pinpoint the ones who had gossiped about him as they tried to hide their faces from him. He wondered why some humans were dumb, making themselves obvious when they thought they were doing the opposite. Every one of them avoided looking directly at him. Zeus meowed in his hand, and he rubbed his hand lightly with his fingers. He took slow steps, deliberately letting his gaze linger on the ladies discussing him. He could detect how nervous they were from how their legs shook. That was punishment enough for them talking about him.

He wasn't interested in punishing them, as his mind was fixed on the new topic. It was quite an interesting way to find out he was getting married without his consent. He was going to have a bride. Whoever came up with such an idea to tie him to a lady? It was an interesting topic if only he was interested in the business of having a woman talk endlessly to his ears and demand things he wasn't interested in fulfilling.

He took long strides into the common room and was pleased every family member was present. It must have been a nice family meeting since he wasn't invited. Nevertheless, he was inviting himself to their midst.

"Heard I was going to have a bride?" He strode in, picking a cup of tea from the table, while his long dark lashes moved slowly as his gaze moved from one person to another.

The king, Herbert, cleared his throat and placed his cup of tea on the table, "That is not the best way to address others. And regarding the topic, you are four and twenty, and I believe it's high time you have a family of yours. You are a prince and a duke; you have responsibilities to fulfill and a lineage to continue. Finding you a bride is the first step to you achieving your duty to the country as s prince of this noble kingdom."

He petted Zeus again, looking down at the cat, "Do you agree, Zeus? Do we need another person to complete our family?" The cat meowed in response. He returned his gaze to the king, "Zeus disagrees, I think we are just doing well without any addition to the family." His gaze moved to his little brother. "If anyone needs to be responsible and continue a lineage, my dear brother here, Alex will be more fitting. He is the crown prince and needs a crown princess."

Dorothy, the queen, nodded; pleasure bloomed in her heart at Damien's rejection of the idea. She had never supported the king when he had brought the idea of the prince needing a bride to her presence. If anyone should have a pick of the noble's daughter first, it should be her son, Alex. "Your majesty, Prince Damien is right. I think it's high time we held the Crown Princess competition. The crown prince's responsibility is more important than that of a duke, and finding him a crown princess is the first step."

Herbert pulled his chair back, making a scratching noise, as he pulled himself to his full height. "I am the king; I believe my word is authority. Where the kingdom is concern, I know what's best." He turned his attention to Damien, who stood a few inches taller than him. "I am your father, Damien. I believe I know what's best for you. I already sent the invites to all nobles in the kingdom. In a matter of time you will have to pick one as your bride." And then directed his attention back to Dorothy. "I will hear no more on this matter." He stormed out of the common room, leaving behind a deafening silence. Even Zeus didn't make a sound in the palace.

Damien stood still, pondering what the king had said. It was funny that the king thought he knew what was best for him when he had no idea. He had no idea what he wanted or what he liked. He had no idea what gave him joy. He had no idea what he desired the most was to be free from the shackles of his stepmother, the queen.

Alex stood up and patted him on the back with a sad smile, "Congratulation, bro. I hope you will get a beautiful one." He walked out of the common room.

Dorothy snorted, "I don't believe anyone will be willing to give their daughter to you despite your reputation. You don't deserve a beautiful bride, maybe someone as hideous as you. Let's see how the noble reacts to the invitation." She didn't wait for his response before hitting him with her shoulder and stalking out of the common room. 

Damien stood alone, petting Zeus while the cat curled in his hand. Soon, he walked out of the room towards the direction of his chamber. Every maid along his path avoided him like the plague; those who dared to move closer to him avoided looking directly at him. It was rumored that he was like Medusa, but instead of freezing his victim, they got sold into slavery. If a maid stared at him and he caught them while he was in the wrong mood, it could make him sell off a maid. It was simply a better option to avoid him than to be sold off to a lesser family or slavery.

When he got to his chamber, he stripped himself off his royal coat, trousers, and boot and put on his best disguise: a blonde wig to hide his black hair and a fake mustache. He adorned himself in an outfit worn by the commoners. He wasn't a man who cared about other opinions, but he was interested in knowing what the masses thought about his father's latest charade. And where is the best place to get untainted information than the gambling house?

The gambling house was located in the old market, and easily accessible by men of all kinds: nobles, commoners, and even slaves who got their hands on little cash and were looking for a way to double it. It was also the best place to know about things in the kingdom, where people speak their minds and put aside status, but going there as a royal or noble wouldn't give him exactly what he wanted.

The moment he stepped out of his chamber, the maids who had avoided his gaze stared at him boldly. He smirked, glad his disguise was perfect enough to convince people who lived with him. To complete his disguise, he forfeits, taking his horse, and strode out of the palace, confidently walking towards the east. Outside the palace was noisy, as marketers advertise their wares shouting unnecessarily into his ears; they were better ways to advertise than shoving their goods into the hands of people who had no interest in the wares.

He glanced around, feeling at peace, remembering every scene he saw. A little boy carrying a baby while holding a can to beg money from the nobles that passed by. He was pushed aside by most of them, almost losing his hold on the baby.

Damien moved towards him, dropping some coins into his can while he resumed his journey towards the gambling house. It wasn't easy to navigate the crowd, as people kept bumping into others, but he avoided getting hit by a passerby. The nobles on the horse ran with their horses with no care for who was on the road. Damien shook his head at the state of the kingdom; there was much the House of Lords didn't inform the king about during their weekly meeting about the discussion of the Kingdom. 

Damien groaned, annoyed, as he remembered hearing the queen advising the king to stop allowing him to attend the House of Lords meeting. It was a memory he didn't want to remember, so he shook his head slowly, focusing on his journey.

As he got closer to the gambling house, some ladies pushed themselves against him, trying to drag him into their little room located along the room. On a normal day, he might have followed them to fulfill his needs, but the urge for information surpasses fulfilling his needs.

He shrugged them off him and stopped right in front of the gambling house. A huge man stood in front, collecting coins before allowing anyone entrance into the house; he dropped a few coins in his hand and moved inside. As expected, the house was packed and noisy. There were different tables, and like everything in the kingdom, there was segregation among the players. The higher your risk, the better the table you sit in, and the higher your potential win. Damien wasn't looking into increasing his wealth, so he moved towards the best place for information, the local joint. Six men were already on the table dressed in attire he would consider rags; even as he was dressed as a commoner, he looked neat and more presentable. He could be easily referred to as the noble of commoners.

Damien sat beside a man who looked more presentable than others, placing some cash on the table for his bet. A man glared at him and the other five players before rolling the dice while covering it.

"Odd or even." He asked, his gaze moving among them all in a flash.

"Even," Tattered cloth said.

"Even," Gap-tooth also said. 

Everyone started picking 'even'. Damien glanced among them, anger radiating in him. These people must be dumb to pick the same thing, and he doubted he would get the information he needed here. If they couldn't think of a diversified method of winning, then nothing good would come from communicating with them.

"Odd"

They turned to glare at him like he had jinxed their plan to win.

"Are you sure?" the guy who rolled the dice asked. He nodded, fixing his gaze on the covered dice. It was common knowledge that gamblers were cheaters; they could easily turn the dice in the can if they weren't careful enough. He didn't need the money, but he would not be anyone's fool.

"What do you do?" Gap-tooth asked him. The stench of breath that oozed from his mouth made him pull his hand up to cover his nose. He hadn't replied, but Gap-tooth was already moving his gaze to check his outfit out. "Your outfit looks nice."

Just then, the man opened the dice cover, revealing an odd number. The players murmured, but one fixed his gaze on him, looking angry. "You cheated, right?"

Damien chuckled, "Cheated! It common knowledge not to pick what everyone did and luck."

The player, whom Damien had decided to call Big Mouth, shook his head. "I don't believe in luck. It's either you know it or cheated. Yours is cheating?"

Damien pulled the coins closer to him as the only winner in the segment, "I will leave you to believe whatever you want. Maybe you should try cheating too to see if you can win."

Furious, big mouth stood up and turned the table over, making others pay attention to them. They glanced at them once and ignored them. The other players glanced between them, trying to weigh who had the upper hand that they could support.

Big Mouth whipped his head around and pointed at Damien. "You see! Can everyone see that? He just confessed to cheating. There is no way I will allow a cheat cart away with all our money. It's just not done that way." 

Gap-tooth stood before Damien, "Can't you accept your loss like every other person here? How did you know he cheated? He was sitting beside me, and I didn't see him cheating in any way."

Big mouth glared at Gap-tooth, "I see you are in this game together. I saw you two talking earlier. You planned this together, right?

Damien shook his head. It was ridiculous, the situation he found himself in. "Okay. Since you believe that I cheated, and you have no faith in luck. Let's play. Just the two of us, and anyone that won, gets to do anything to the loser."

Big mouth was silent. Everyone stared at him until Gap-tooth broke the silence. "He doesn't have the courage. There is no way he is going to play with you. He knows you are right, and he is wrong, so he will avoid this."

"I will play," They turned to big mouth, who was already pulling the table back up. "I am no coward."

Damien smirked; things were getting interesting. Maybe they weren't as dumb as he had condemned them to be immediately. They deserve the benefit of the doubt. The other players pooled around them as the table was ready for their game. They bet on who was going to win and who was going to lose.

The game man rolled the dice again. Damien's gaze followed the movement of the dice until it stopped, and the man covered it again. "Odd," Big Mouth said, with a grin directed at Damien.

He deliberately stayed silent before saying, "I guess luck is on my side again today. Even."

The man opened the dice and revealed the dice with an even number.

"Mother Luck doesn't shine on those who don't believe in her. Guess who else is as lucky as I am today, the prince; I heard he is getting married." Damien narrowed his eyes, taking in everyone's reaction.

Gap-tooth snort, "He is not getting married. The invitation was sent, but I heard most of the nobles discarded it. Who is going to give their child to someone of that reputation."

Big Mouth, who had agreed to his loss, nodded while other players pooled around to start another game. "I heard he is very ugly. He has a big scar that can give people nightmare, that's why some maids that have seen his face commit suicide."

Tattered Cloth finally whispered, "The only luck he has is being a prince. If I was the king, I would have disowned him. The only prince we need in this kingdom is the crown prince."

Damien nodded. "So, you think the marriage thing is such a waste of time in the king part."

Gap-tooth replied, "I think the king should focus on other things regarding the kingdom and not his estranged prince. I once heard he sees strange things, and that's why he is not fit to rule the kingdom. It's no wonder the king made his second son the crown prince."

Damien nodded again, winning the third roll of the game. By now, gap-tooth had started picking what he did and had been winning with him. He was no expert in gambling, and he was just lucky.

Tattered cloth glanced around before speaking, "Even as a commoner I can't give my daughter to such prince. The best he can do is a slave or a maid."

Damien chuckled; his reputation outside the palace hadn't reduced a bit. People still saw him the way they wanted to. Glad he had heard enough, he stood up ready to return to the palace. Gap-tooth also stood up, following behind him. He turned back and glared at him. "Do I owe you anything?"

He shook his head, "How did you win all those game? You didn't lose once. I want to know your secret."

Ignoring him, he moved towards the exit of the gambling house, tipping the huge guy at the door again. He inhaled a deep breath of fresh air; things were surely getting exciting. He wondered how the next meeting of the House of Lords would hold when the entire noble informed the king that they had rejected his invitation to wed their daughter off to his son.

"Where are you going?"

He turned around to see Gap-tooth still following him. He sighed, "What do you want from me?"

"For you to teach me your ways; I can serve you to get the knowledge I need."

Damien chuckled; he already had numerous people serving him. He didn't need any other. "What do you think about this kingdom? Do you think the king is doing the right thing?"

Gap-tooth sighed and wore a sad smile, "The only ones enjoying the king tenure is the nobles. We the commoners are not enjoying anything at all. The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer, but when it's time for war, it's those same commoners that represent the kingdom in battle."

Damien had no idea about that. The information most of the nobles brought back was how the commoners were happy with the king's regime. To them, it was one of the best.

"If you were the king, what will you do to solve that problem?"

Gap-tooth laughed, clutching his stomach; "Don't you dare say that in the present of those nobles? They will castrate you. I really can't do anything, since I lack the proper knowledge the king has, but I believe the crown prince will do a lot better in his regime."

Damien moved his head around, seeing those whores who had tried pulling him before trying it again. "I think its better we go our different way now."

Gap-tooth stared at him, "You are one tough guy, right. My name is Eddie."

"Great, Eddie. See you next time."

Eddie smiled, "I hope you will try to tell me your secret formula then."

He turned around and walked in the opposite direction. Damien walked swiftly to the palace; he had spent more than his allocated time. The sun was already setting, giving rise to the moon. He walked briskly to the east palace, only to be stopped by a voice. "Why have you been? His highness have been asking after you?"