"….and that's when I knew.. I had to make her mine."
*Kyaaaaa!*
Gabriella squealed, hugging her arms around her chest.
"That's so romantic…"
Melissa's refined demeanor cracked a little as she blushed at her sister.
James turned to Violet who was studying the table with great interest. Her ears had gone a bright red.
Gabriella calmed herself slightly.
"Wooowwww. That's like a dream come true Violet… I'm so jealous."
James was quite pleased with his new and improved story of how he fell in love.
It left no room for doubt that he uhh… accidentally proposed..
Melissa finally spoke her thoughts on the matter.
"You're truly lucky Violet, I envy you."
James was still playing the head over heels character and cut in.
"You girls misunderstand.. it's me who's lucky. Everyone should be jealous of me, not her."
Another shriek from Violets sister sounded out.
James chuckled to himself silently as he sat thinking smugly.
'I'm on a roll today! First Veronica and now I'm teasing a cute girl. Soon everyone will be awestruck by my manly and cool persona. I don't think anything could go wrong today!'
Then James heard voices from behind, he turned and noticed two figures strolling along the gardens path.
When they got closer, the two seemed to notice the lunch in progress and headed in their direction.
Violet heard them as well and turned to see who it was.
"Aaaagggh… not them.."
"What's wrong Violet? Do you not get along with those girls?"
She looked at him despondently while answering.
"Not at all… that's Abagail and Lily Troth. The daughters of Lady Giselle, Duchess of Troth. Those girls aren't very nice to me at the academy.."
James took this in and made up his mind that he wasn't going to be very charming to the two new comers.
James was surprised by their appearances as they got closer.
The two girls were tall, very tall. Almost as tall as his mom. But their bodies are what truly surprised him.
These girls were definitely Ascendants and they had powerful limbs to match. But these black haired girls had pudgy stomachs in which he could make out from their thick gothic dresses.
Their chests were huge and had been pronounced even more so by the dresses design. He could make out the beginning of solid ab muscles below their boobs but then their waists had defied all logic as a thick layer of belly fat ballooned out.
Theirs dresses were tight and and he could see their asses jiggle as they walked. Huge hips swayed with each step.
James was even more astonished by the fact that their dresses seemed to direct attention at the crotch.
Huge lumps of meat seemed to jump up and down as they walked.
They had a goth vibe with pale skin and pure black dresses. He could make out their faces now and each was covered in emo looking make up. They had a slight double chin and their lips were huge.
The one on left started talking as she neared.
"Well well well. Look who it is, the man of the hour and the little girl who fooled him into marriage."
The one on the right added her two cents.
"Hey pretty boy, before you make a mistake, why don't you come over here and let us take care of you. Surely you'd prefer a woman with something to offer."
'Yikes… why are they so confident when they look like that…'
"Who the hell are these nasty bitches talking too? I know it's not me."
James looked around confused for a moment, letting his insult sink in.
Violet eyes widened in horror and he heard Gabriella choke back a laugh.
The one on the left spoke again, this time with venom.
"Little Prince. You should think more carefully about your words, most would find that very insulting."
James raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.
"That's good to know since I intended it to be insulting. I'm glad you picked up on it."
The one on the right narrowed her eyes.
"Do you really want to place us as enemies over some lighthearted barbs?"
James shook his head.
"You seem to dislike my fiancée very much, so I seem to not like you."
James made a shooing motion with his hand as he continued.
"You girls should leave, it's hard to eat when I look at you. Makes me want to watch my figure."
"Very well, Prince James. We'll remember this insult today."
As they turned to leave James called out once more.
"I hope you do, I'd be concerned for your health if your memory started failing you at such an age."
They stomped away as Gabriella howled with laughter.
Violet was terror stricken on the other hand.
'Did I just fuck up..'
"What's the matter Violet, did I do something wrong?"
Her voice trembled as she replied.
"I've been trying to stay on good terms with those insufferable sisters… their mother has quite a few of the duchies backing them. There wouldn't be a power struggle for the throne or anything, but house Troth can make our life harder if they wish."
Her shoulders slumped slightly.
"Sorry Violet, I should've watched my temper. I didn't mean to make things hard on you."
"James I'm not really worried about that honestly.. staying in their good graces was an impossible task from the start. But I am worried for you, house Troth is the only other ducal family that rivals your own. They tend to keep vendettas."
"Well if that's all your worried about then relax, I don't mind making a few enemies to stand up for you. If anything happens, I'll take care of it."
Gabriella chimed in after James.
"C'mon Violet, lighten up a little. Plus it's always good fun to laugh at those fatties."
Violet looked unconvinced and worried as they finished their meal in silence.
————
James started seeing more and more people flood into the palace grounds.
After lunch was finished he and his cousins met up with his sisters. They passed a few slow hours with idle chatter.
'Is this what a family is? Kinda feels like I'm with my old squad mates from the army.'
James watched with a warm feeling in his chest as his relatives bickered and joked around.
He had his head in Violets lap as she played with his hair.
After a while he heard his aunts voice near him.
"Alright you two lovebirds, it's time to get ready. The banquet officially begins in 15 minutes and I need you two to make an entrance together."
James reluctantly got up.
"All right do we need to do anything or just stand there and look pretty?"
His aunt had a slight smile as she replied.
"Hmm well I might ask you to say a few words about your engagement.. wouldn't want anyone to think we forced you to marry Violet."
James just sighed.
'It can never be easy can it…'
————
James was currently on the second floor of a ball room standing just out of view of the gathered guests. He turned to Violet and sighed as he heard his aunt officially start the banquet.
"Thank you noblewomen and men of Minthra for making time in your busy schedules. While most of you have probably heard the great news, allow me to introduce and welcome back my nephew Prince James Cromwell. Please give him your warm regards."
His aunt then motioned for him to step forward.
James came into the spotlight and was startled at the amount of people below. He stiffly raised his hand and waived.
To his surprise, a loud applause followed after his gesture. When it died down a little, his aunt continued.
"To make this wonderful occasion even better, please let me announce more good news."
His aunt motioned for Violet to step forward next to James.
"Prince James has asked for my daughter's hand in marriage!"
A thunderous applause echoed through the crowd now.
"I have to admit, even I'm astonished that my daughter is so capable."
A good natured chuckle came from below.
"As I give my blessing to this pair, I hope everyone here will do the same. But before we celebrate in earnest, Prince James would like to say a few words."
The crowd quieted down, waiting for the mysterious Prince to speak.
'I'd really like to smack you upside the head, stupid queen…'
*A-hem*
James cleared his throat as he thought of some bullshit to spout.
"I… uh… am so happy that everyone made time for me today… thank you…?"
His voice trailed off into a question and James felt pretty dumb standing there.
'Oh my god that was so lame…'
James kept talking, trying to recover his image.
"….and umm yeah… I love Violet a lot and stuff… so.. I'm happy that I can marry someone so beautiful."
His last sentence just barely sounded normal.
Much to his astonishment, the gathered nobles went crazy with cheers at his awful speech.
'Maybe they're trying to make me feel better? I need to recover my image quick… time for my killer move.'
James stepped a little closer to the railing to let everyone get a good look at him.
Expertly placing his palm on his mouth, he blew his most powerful kiss yet.
There was utter silence.
Only a few thumps of falling bodies sounded after a long moment.
'Wow. That was super embarrassing. I guess nobles are more resistant to stuff like-'
Cries of noble women started to assault his ears all at once.
"Now that's a man!"
"Long live Prince James!"
"I need to go to the ladies room and use this memory while it's fresh…"
"This Countess's pussy is all yours!"
James blocked out the sound as he backed away from railing. His mouth had opened in flattered disgust.
'At least I know I still got it…'
James turned to Violet who's nose was bleeding heavily.
'You too.. I thought you were better than this..'
He then turned to his aunt. She was passed out on the floor.
'You have three kids! Have some decorum! You're the queen for gods sake!'
James walked over and slapped his aunt on the face a few times.
After waking up his aunt and helping Violet wipe her nose, James walked down the stairs.
His arm was linked with through Violets as they reached the ground floor.
He saw his family and made his way over. They were sitting at a raised table and picking at some finger foods.
Looking around as he walked, he saw eleven other tables raised with a few people sitting at each. They made a ring around the room as a larger, more grand table sat next to his. At this larger table he saw Melissa and Gabriella, soon joined by the Queen.
He saw opposite of his family on the other side of the room, two girls were eyeing him dangerously.
'I guess these seats are reserved for ducal houses and royalty.'
People parted around James and Violet as they walked. Their whispered voices reached him and he felt his ego getting bigger by the second.
'I'm such a genius hehehe… I've never had so many women praise my good looks and manliness before.'
When he finally approached his family, his mother's exasperated voice came.
"James dear.. I told you to turn the charm down a notch. Not turn it up! You'll be getting quota requests for years now!"
His sister Clara seemed equally upset.
"Brother is such an idiot! What if someone kidnaps you again because of this!"
James tried to dismiss their worries.
"You're overreacting a little, don't you think.." he turned to his other sisters and continued, "C'mon, help me out here."
Madeline wiped her mouth before responding.
"They're right James.. that was… a bit much.."
Blood started dripping from her nose as she recalled the scene.
He looked at Gwen for help, but she just shrugged her shoulders in indifference.
'These perverts are too unreliable.. I'm sure it'll all work out…'