Her Runaway Prince

“When it comes to nature, it’s impossible to pick a favorite. Everything is so beautiful in its own unique way. Everything has a special contribution to our lives even if we don’t notice it. But Roses… There’s just something about them. I know it’s probably not the quirky or surprising answer you expected, considering everybody loves roses, but there’s more to them than people realize. A closed up rose is still so beautiful. A rose in bloom, opening itself up to the world, is such a majestic sight. A rosebud, so precious as it prepares for its life journey of being either an apology or a compliment, is so uplifting. A rose that has been torn apart, its petals being distributed so thoughtlessly, is still one of the leading causes of falling in love. Even a withered and dying rose has this tragic beauty to it. So, yeah, I guess there’s your answer,” she had explained to him one day, shortly after they met, when he’d inquired about her favorite flower. He’d thought it to just be a simple, casual question to instigate some small talk. However, the answer he got, it allowed him to see right into Amanda’s soul. And just like a rose, no matter the state it was in, it was breathtakingly beautiful. That was the first moment he knew that he was hopelessly in love.

“Hi, I’d like to purchase this ring. The rose one,” Petro told Jeremiah, the owner.

“Oh-ho-ho, you gon’ make a honest woman out our little Mandy? Ya’ don’t got manners boy, she’s all our little girl, that one. Ya’ gotta ask all our permissions first,” Jeremiah laughed as he mockingly scolded Petro.

“Oh come on Jerry, you think I’m not good enough for her?” Petro smirked. Jeremiah stopped laughing, yet still kept his smile. Petro still had no idea how even with a few missing teeth and a massive beard, Jeremiah still looked so sophisticated. He could somehow easily pass as royalty, perhaps as Petro’s crazy uncle. Even when he spoke to normal customers, he had this sense of class to him. Except when he actually knew you, that’s when Petro realized just how far from high-class fancy he actually was.

“Now boy, don’t go putting words in this old man’s mouth. Bratwurst or a fine porterhouse, sure. Them’s you can put in my mouth any time. But words sonny boy? If ‘ol Jeremiah wanted to say something, he’d gone and say it. And what I’m gon’ say is this: that girl loves you. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. It’s the same look soldiers give to them guns when they in the middle of open fire. That girly believes you gon’ protect her. That girly believes you gon’ keep her safe and stop anything that tries to hurt her. She better not be wrong,” Jeremiah said sternly yet sincerely.

“I can promise you, nothing in this world is going to hurt her so long as I’m around. So stop stressing you old coot,” Petro reassured him. Jeremiah let out his trademark loud laugh once more.

“Hey now, I ain’t that old. Bet I can still kick yer ass any day of the week.” He continued to laugh as he grabbed the ring.

Petro was about to offer a witty retort when his phone suddenly rang. He felt a chill wash over him. Amanda rarely called him, and when he took it out and saw a number he didn’t know, his heart practically dropped through to the floor. Aside from Amanda, there was only person who had his number…

“Hello?” Petro asked softly, struggling to even sound the words.

“Petro, it’s Manro. I’m in town. Meet me at Old Brown’s. We need to talk. Urgently.” With that, Manro hung up.

Fear instantly took a stranglehold on Petro’s mind and emotions. His mind began running wild with thoughts of what could have happened, but they all agreed on one thing: his life was about to change yet again, and he doubted it would be for the better.

*****

Petro tapped at his glass nervously. It had been 25 minutes already and he hadn’t even touched his soda. His mind was too busy wandering through the nether regions of his worsening paranoia. He’d never heard that type of tone from Manro before. Manro had sounded so concerned. Petro instinctively knew that something awful had happened. Manro avoided negative emotions as if they were the plague. So, unless it was something incredibly tragic, Manro would never have let it get to him Nor would he have ever taken the risk of getting into contact with Petro without a very valid and extremely worrisome reason.

Goddammit Manny, where the Hell are you?

The constant tightening in Petro’s chest momentarily subsided once he saw Manro approaching. However, when he saw the stressed and morose expression that adorned his best friend’s face, the tightening returned with a vengeance. He forgot to even breathe until he felt himself start to get dizzy. The forceful exhale made his lungs burn with an anxiety fueled intensity.

“Manny, brother. I wish I could say it’s good to see you, but something tells me that that won’t end up being the case.” Petro stood up from his seat and embraced his old friend in a brotherly hug.

“Well it’s always good to see you pretty boy, no matter the circumstances.” Manro patted his friend on the back.

“Come, let’s sit and catch up a bit. No need to start this off with melodrama.” Manro pulled out a chair for himself and sat down, motioning for Petro to do the same. Petro sat down on took his first sip of water since arriving at the coffee shop. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he actually was until the water passed his lips.

“So, I see you’re still in uniform. Take it ‘ole momsy wasn’t too harsh on you.” Petro forced a chuckle, but Manro could barely muster his trademark smirk.

“At first she would have killed me, were it not for the Royal Guard holding her back. Poor blokes, she had them Danger Course twice,” Manro half-heartedly chuckled.

“Jeez, poor guys. That must have been beyond awful. Especially awful too, what with Jorgen’s face that he always makes.” Petro remembered how he always used to enjoy Danger Course days. It was a training course his father had created when he was still alive. Ruthless, painful, exhausting. It was also so much fun to watch Jorgen and Kristofer take the course. A course so brutal that even his father had made it only a yearly requirement. So to take it twice in one day… Petro definitely felt for the them.

“Oh, it was quite amusing. Of course, I got some punishment too. Had to deliver to Canada wearing the Queen’s royal clothing. You know, the thin shirt? In the middle of winter, in Canada. But ‘ol momsy knows there ain’t a better pilot in all the land, so of course she kept me around.” Petro sensed that, even if Manro was trying to keep an air of calmness to him, something was terribly wrong.

“Okay Manny, I can’t take it anymore. Let’s skip to the point. Why are you here? What happened?” Petro asked nervously.

Manro let out a soft sigh and stared Petro dead in the eyes.

“Okay, here it is then. About a month ago your mother got terribly sick. After a few days, she fell into a coma. She’s been in it ever since. We had the best doctors look at her, and Patty… They don’t think she’s gonna wake up. You need to come back, now, and say your goodbyes before it’s too late. And you need to take over in her stead,” Manro told Petro with a painful sadness in his voice.

Petro couldn’t speak. His world was suddenly turned upside down. He’d been expecting tragedy, but not that. Finally, he found the words, as few as they were.

“Okay. Take me to my new home first. There’s something I have to do,” Petro said as he stood up and tried to keep his cool. Manro simply nodded and lead him to the car. Petro realized that now came the moment that would change his life forever. He just still had to find out if it would be for better or for worse.