Inbu’s Heart 5/10

Prince Inbu smirked. His friends would be laughing with him so much if they were here to see him. No woman in their right mind would want to dance with smelly pigs: not even for his hand in marriage. He heard that two of the women drowned in the milk, succumbing to severe dairy allergies. It was sad how far people would go for a bit of power. Sad as it was for the two women, at least their deaths would go down in the history books. He rubbed his hands together, he had to think of some more tasks. He couldn't wait to see the maidens flee because they were unable to let his dragon sleep.

None of the women appealed to him, there was the farmer's daughter, but she was mad. They all looked the same to him. Tonight would be another royal evening that would drag. Prince Inbu wished he didn't have to sit next to his father. He hoped that the tournament would be a disaster and that his father would banish him. He'd be a free man, free to do what he'd like and see who he liked. Selling his jewellery would give him a healthy profit, enough to live on. Friends in neighbouring kingdoms would gladly take him in. "Cardiff sounds exciting," he said to himself. His taste buds battled against the bitter tea leaves. He stood up and slammed his cup down. "I don't need any more tea after this."

The King pushed his son back into his seat. The click of his fingers captured the attention of five maids. "Please bring me more tea."

The maids bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty!"

King Baboon restrained his son until the tea arrived. As if the prince was a baby, he rammed a cup of tea to his lips. "You must drink green tea to purify your soul and mind!"

"Father, you've gone mad." Most of what the King feed him drooled off his chin. "It's just tea. This royal tea is no different to the stuff you get from the farmer's market. They're all grown on the same farm."

"Just tea!" His cheeks turned red, as he smacked Inbu's shoulders. Inbu was so used to his father's abuse, that it didn't hurt him anymore. "Tea is is a gift from the Gods."

"Gods don't exist and tea is made from leaves." Prince Inbu hah said a lot worse to his father. He didn't see himself as being disrespectful. Just because his father was king, doesn't mean that he wouldn't defend himself. Everything hurtful he said about his dad was either in self-defence or in retaliation.

For once, King Baboon was speechless. The old man was famous for his use of words. The tears in the King's eyes dripped down his cheeks. "This is why you need a wife. You need a feminine touch to be in the right direction."

"Shut up!" Prince Inbu wiped the spilt tea off his face. Everyone must have been so glad that there were no cameras on.

The elders around the unstable king gasped. "Please forgive the Prince," they requested with quivering lips.

One of the lords threw himself at King Baboon's diamond slippers and wept. "My He's stressed out. He doesn't mean what he says. Please don't execute him, he is our only true heir and we love him so much."

"You fools," the King said. "I would never sentence my own son to death." He looked up at his son. Prince Inbu felt his stomach churn. "You must drink more tea and eat spinach."

Prince Inbu bit his lip. "I hate spinach!"

He knew he was in for more lashes of his father's stick. "If I can get out of bed, you can eat spinach. Ladies! Get some spinach and add it to the dog pie."

"How can you eat a dog?" Prince Inbu mumbled. "How do you live with yourself?"

"Dogs are tasty! And where do you think you're going, son?"

"To the fields, the next trial is about to start?"

"Oh!" The King wrinkled his nose. "And what sort of rubbish are you going to make the ladies do this time."

"Dance with pigs."

"How can you, an honourable member of the royal family say that such a straight face?"

Prince Inbu lowered his tone. "Same reason you eat innocent creatures."

"Ah, here we go again with all this vegan nonsense!" King Abu mumbled as he dismissed himself from the table. "Humans are omnivores, we get our food where we can and that's that!"

"But fried slugs and dog pies?" The Kingdom of Pantalon had an array of delicious foods that were way more appetising and nutritious like cauliflower rice pudding. The Royal chefs used to make the most delicious avocado lattes when his mother was alive, but since she's gone, they didn't make them anymore. King Baboon despised avocados, but never went as far as banning them.

"They're traditional meals of this country we must honour them." Prince Inbu sighed in relief that there were several nobles in the room. Had the two of them had been alone, his stomach shuddered to think about what kind of abuse his father would put him through. He considered himself lucky that he had both his legs. Perhaps his arms would drop off from all the times his father whacked him.

"If I was king, I'd ban both: eating slugs is unhygienic and all living creatures are sacred creatures."

"That is foolish," King Baboon squinted his eyes. His tight fist broke his cup. "If you make the whole kingdom go vegan you'll kill everyone. Our farming economy is the kingdom's main source of income!"

"Good day, Your Majesty." Prince Inbu bowed, leaving his supper behind.

The King and Prince Inbu left through opposite doors, leaving the nobles to gossip amongst themselves. At the end of the corridor, Prince Inbu could hear his father's voice echo through the halls.

"HELLEN! BRING ME A BIG VASE AND FILL IT WITH WINE!"

Prince Inbu shrugged his shoulders. So much for a pure spirit.