Her Runaway Prince

“Oh come here you big idiot.” Amanda was crying too by then, her arms wide open, welcoming her Prince Charming back into her life. Petro ran towards her and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

“God I’ve missed you,” he whispered as he held her tightly.

“I missed you too… More than I’d like to admit,” she smirked at him.

Petro swiped the hair from her eyes, using his thumb to rub away the tears. Then he leaned in to kiss her, and she gladly welcomed it.

“I just need to know… You say you wanted to tell me the truth that day, what made you change your mind so suddenly? Why that day?” she asked him, mostly out of curiosity more than anything.

“I had a visit from an old friend. He came and gave me some uh, very bad news. My mother was in a coma. And she wasn’t expected to make it. I had to go and rule in her place. That’s when I decided to come see you, to tell you the truth. Because you needed to know. And I needed you to know before I asked—” Petro cut himself off at the last second.

“Asked what?” she pressed. She wasn’t going to let him keep any secrets this time.

“Guess I might as well show you…” Petro said and dropped to one knee in front of her. Amanda felt butterflies. And then the baby started kicking the butterflies, as if her womb were some action movie. She had to pinch her side to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Amanda Douglas, will you do me the honor of being my wife?” Petro asked, producing the ring.

“I thought—I mean, I saw you throw that away.”

“Yeah well, I tried to. I just couldn’t let go of it. Kind of how I just can’t let go of you,” Petro smiled warmly at her.

“Oh dear God, yes Petro, yes, yes, a thousand times yes,” she exclaimed tearfully. Petro stood up and gently slid the ring onto her finger. They embraced and shared a long, passionate kiss.

“God… I can’t believe this,” Amanda beamed, staring at the beautiful ring.

“Well, believe it. It’s happening,” Petro replied happily. Suddenly Amanda remembered something..

“Wait, I need to ask this. 11 languages, really?”

“Si.” Petro laughed and proceeded to tell her how much he loved her in every language he knew.

*****

The next few months were beyond trying. Amanda and Petro both agreed to go to Skatchvana and let the child be born there. However, if Petro thought his mother was intense before, then he was in for a rude awakening.

The idea of finally becoming a grandmother, of her little boy finding a wife and having a child, had her over the moon. She didn’t have the words to describe how excited she was. She certainly had the actions, though.

Everything had to be perfect. Amanda was only allowed to lay down a certain way. She was only allowed to eat certain food. She was only allowed a certain amount of exercise. Nothing that could jeopardize the unborn child.

At first Petro would get annoyed, but Amanda quickly reassured him of just how sweet and endearing it actually was.

“It’s nice to know she cares this much, sweetie. She kind of reminds me of Nana. Overprotective and always going above and beyond to help, even if it is a hinderance. So don’t worry, I quite enjoy being cared for.”

Then came the massive shock when Petro disclosed that they would only be married once their child had been born outside of wedlock. His mother had gotten so deathly silent that Petro feared she’d slipped into another coma. Finally, she broke her silence.

“Out of wedlock? But boy, that means… Your heir. He won’t be royalty,” she reminded him, panic in her voice.

“He can be. According to the laws of the country, if a prince is born outside of wedlock then he can still have the title bestowed upon him by the current king or queen. Then, if he so chooses, he can accept the title when he’s of age,” Petro told her.

“What law is that? I know every single law of this country and I’ve never heard of that one,” His mother asked, suspicion plastered across her face.

“Of course you haven’t, I just made it up. And you can sign it into immediate effect. That way, he won’t have to carry the weight that I had to for years. No child deserves to go through life with a responsibility and future they never asked for looming overhead,” Petro calmly explained to his mother.

His mother had tried to argue, but eventually she’d relented. Within a week, the new law was passed and made official.

Most of the time was spent preparing. Running emergency drills in the middle of the night or random pop quiz-style questions about pregnancy and childbirth. His mother was relentless. In fact, the only break they got was the day his mother had to be in the capital. On that day, Petro took Amanda into the garden just like he’d promised to do so long ago.

“It’s so beautiful…” she said in a hushed tone, almost like a whisper. She was awestruck by the beauty she was witnessing. The large, green hedges. The blossoming roses, in an array of colors. Red, white, pink, yellow, orange, purple, every color she could think of. An assortment of different types of flowers guided them along the walkway as they explored the massive garden.

“Oh. My. God. Is that actually a maze?” Amanda enthusiastically asked, pointing towards the bushy structure.

“Why yes, yes it is. Don’t go in there though. You’ll get lost and then I’ll have to come help you and then I’ll get lost and we’ll both just be lost. It’s not worth it. Trust me,” he laughed.

Unfortunately, the peace didn’t last.

*****

Less than a week later, they were taking their daily walk. Queen Mia absolutely loathed the idea and tried her best to dissuade them, but Amanda was adamant that she at least get some form of exercise. It was a beautiful day outside. An orchestra of chirping birds played in the background whilst the wind’s soft push lead them forward. Suddenly, Amanda let out a loud gasp. Petro didn’t even ask, he just instinctively knew. Her water had broken. Petro felt a sudden wave of panicked anxiety wash over him, but he buried it as quickly as it came. A steely determination took over. Only two words were uttered, by both of them simultaneously.

“It’s time.”

The hospital room was quickly filled by the sounds of panicked rantings and loud sobbing; both of which came only from Queen Mia. Petro and Amanda, on the other hand, were as calm as they could be, given the circumstances. They’d planned everything out to a t. They even had the best doctor in all the country.