Chapter Text
"You can't be serious?" he asked his father, the king, with a look of disbelief on his face.
"You are 24 now, it is almost time that you marry. I have arranged for the princess of Star City to attend a special ball. It is my hope that you find her suitable for marriage," his father answered.
Barry again protested, "Father, I am not ready to get married, and certainly not with some princess that I have never met. There is so much I would like to do and see, I am not ready to settle down."
"My son, you do not have a choice. This is the last time that I will discuss it with you. Princess Thea will be here at the end of this week, you WILL meet her, you WILL get to know her, and god help me, you WILL marry her!"
Barry stood up as if to challenge his father, but the look on his mother's face said otherwise. He stormed out of the room in a huff and headed out to the garden to clear his head.
"You know Henry, the boy does have a point."
The King looked at his wife befuddled, "And what point would that be?"
"Well, he has spent his whole life in The Keystone. He does have a lot to experience in the world if you expect him to take over this kingdom one day."
Henry thought for a moment about what his wife said. He finally responded, "And what would you have me do? The boy must be married when he turns 25, it's the law."
"There are several months before that happens."
Before the king could respond, his advisor appeared and told him he had an important call. Henry brushed off the conversation for now.
Barry was in the garden sitting by his mother's favorite rose bush when his best friend and bodyguard Cisco appeared. "What's got you so down prince?" he asked him.
Barry looked up and answered, "My father has just informed me that I am to be married soon. Cisco, I really don't want to be married."
"Why are you so against it?"
Barry scoffed, "Would you want to be told who and when you had to marry. I mean I guess I knew it was coming, maybe I thought I could be different. I haven't even seen the world or experienced any woman outside of these borders."
"Barry, you are the heir to a prosperous kingdom, there is no way they would let you skirt the law."
"I guess you're right."
"I'm always right," Cisco smirked.
"There is a ball this weekend where I am supposed to meet my future wife."
"Well my friend, then I say, lets have the best damn time at this ball." Cisco patted Barry on the back as they both walked back towards the castle.
The night of the ball had arrived and it seemed as though the entire kingdom was in attendance. Everyone was aware that Barry would need to be married soon, and they were all a buzz about the arrival of Princess Thea. The higher class guests showed up in limos and their finest designer outfits. The king had spared no expense, passing out glasses of expensive champagne.
Barry was in his room, preparing to go into the grand hall where the party was being held. There was a knock on the door and he turned to see his mother enter. She walked over to him and started to adjust the tie on his tux.
"You look very handsome tonight son."
"Thanks mom."
"I know you are apprehensive about this whole thing, but promise me you will give it a chance. You never know, you may like this girl."
He looked at his mother with the same sad eyes that he had since his father told him he would be married soon and most likely to a stranger. Nora lightly rubbed his cheek and pulled him in for a motherly hug and they headed downstairs.
When they got to the bottom of the stairs, they were met by the king and announced to all of the guests. The King and Queen settled on their thrones while Barry stood next to them. Once they were in place. The arrival of the princess and her parents was announced.
"Now presenting The King and Queen of Star City and their daughter Princess Thea." The crowd split down the middle to give her room to approach the throne. She slowly walked forward, wearing a beautiful golden dress adorned with hundreds of jewels. Barry was actually impressed. He thought that Thea was very pretty. He was starting to think, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
When she got to the end of the long walk, she bowed to the king and queen. "Your Highness, it is a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for the invitation."
King Henry stood up and walked down a few steps to get closer to Thea. He took her hand and kissed it lightly. "The pleasure is all mine princess." He turned to Barry and motioned for him to come down as well. "This is my son, Prince Bartholomew."
Barry also took Thea's hand and kissed it. She blushed and smiled at him. "Princess, would you like to accompany me to the garden?"
"I would love that." She took Barry's hand again and was led out of the hall and towards the garden. The King announced that the party could now begin and the music started playing as the guests began to dance.
In the garden, Barry led Thea to a sitting area. He was eager to get to know her. If this was the woman that he would have to marry, he wanted to know everything he could about her. Before he was able to start asking her any questions, she blurted out, "I'm sorry, this is so weird."
He chuckled, "So it's weird for you too?"
"Very. My parents practically dragged me here kicking and screaming. I mean, you seem like a nice guy and all, but I did not think that I would be told who I have to marry."
"Hey, I feel the same way. I have never even left The Keystone before. I just want to see what all is out there in the world."
"Wow, you have been sheltered. Well, if you ever make it out of here, you have to check out Central City. I have never been to such an awesome kingdom. They have the best coffee I've ever had."
"I would love to see it someday." There was a bit of awkward silence. Finally Barry spoke, "Well, if we are destined to be married, I guess we should get to know each other." They sat and talked for several more hours. Barry was starting to like Thea, but he didn't feel any kind of romantic connection to her. He was getting more of a little sister vibe.
Once the ball was over, Barry was called into his father’s office, where he found both of his parents waiting for him.
"So son," the king asked him while pouring himself a drink, "What did you think?"
"The princess was nice and pretty, but I still feel the same way. Father, I am not ready to get married, especially to a woman that you have picked for me."
"Bartholomew, there are not very many royal women out there who are available. Princess Thea would make a great wife."
Barry rolled his eyes, "Maybe, but not for me." He huffed and plopped down on the sofa in the room. "I just wish that I could have one last chance to see the outside of The Keystone."
"So, you want to sow your royal oats huh?" Henry asked.
Nora looked over at her crestfallen son and then to her husband, "That may not be a bad idea. We could let Barry spend a few months in another kingdom before he would have to marry. He would get some worldly experiences and maybe scratch his itch a little."
The king thought about it for a few moments. "Okay, okay, I will give you three months in the kingdom of your choice. After that, you will come home and be married."
Barry's eyes lit up, he couldn't believe that he would get a chance to get out of the Kingdom. "Really?!? Thank you so much father." He ran to the king and gave him a large hug that he was clearly unprepared for.
"You will take Cisco with you, and you will check in with your mother once a week."
"Yes father!" He ran over to his mother and gave her a big hug too. He turned back to his father who gave him a nod as permission to leave. He ran out of the room as fast as he could to find his best friend and give him the good news.
Barry had decided on Central City as the kingdom he wanted to spend his three months in. Cisco was excited too because he had heard so many things about that place. They said goodbye to the king and queen and boarded a private jet, ready to take in a new scene. Barry sat next to the window, looking out of it the whole time, admiring the view. He couldn't believe that his father was allowing him to travel. He hadn't made it known to anyone yet, but he was on a quest to find a wife. He thought maybe if he found someone, his father wouldn't make him marry Princess Thea.
He knew he had to tell Cisco of his plans. "When we get to Central City, I don't want anyone to know that I am a royal. We are just two regular guys who are travelling. Got it?"
"Regular guys huh? Does that mean that we can't stay at the 4 star hotel that I booked for us?"
"That's exactly what it means." Cisco looked extremely disappointed. Barry followed up with, "Perk up man, it's not that bad. Truth be told, I'm looking for a woman, and I want her to like me for me, not for who my family is or how much money I have."
"She probably wouldn't know who you are anyways."
Barry feigned offense, but in all honesty, Cisco was probably right. Barry had never left The Keystone. He wasn't the type to be plastered over all the gossip mags or online blogs. He was certain the only information and pictures that were around of him were the ones the royal council had released. He turned his attention back to the window for the remainder of the trip.
All in all, it took 12 hours and a trip across the pond to get to Central City. Cisco was exhausted from the plane ride, but Barry was excited to see the town. It was still fairly early in the evening and after the checked into an extended stay cheap motel, they headed out.
Their first stop was a club called 'Frost' that was recommended by the front desk lady at the motel. Barry was in awe when they stepped in the place. The music was playing so loud, you could feel the bass in your chest. There was a the smell of sweat and alcohol in the air. He loved it already. It was so different then what he had experienced in The Keystone.
Cisco pulled his attention, "I got us a table over here," he pointed to the empty table. Once they were comfortable, they called over the waitress and ordered a few drinks. Throughout the night, plenty of woman were coming up to them at the table, flirting and in some cases, throwing themselves at them. Cisco seemed to love it, but Barry was a bit turned off.
After a few hours, Barry, disappointed in the evening, was ready to call it a night. They left the club and headed towards the motel. Remembering what Thea said about the great coffee, he decided to head into a coffee shop that they passed. He was surprised to see the place packed at this time of night. He and Cisco maneuvered their way through the crowd of people until they reached the counter where they ordered drinks.
"What's going on here? It seems really busy for almost midnight." Barry asked the barista.
"Oh, we are having a fundraiser for the children's shelter," she answered as she began making their lattes. Once they had their drinks, they looked for a place to sit down. Barry took a sip of his latte and closed his eyes, relishing in the amazing taste. Thea was right about the coffee.
"So, I think tonight was a success, we met a lot of hot girls," Cisco started as he took a sip of his drink.
"Yeah, but they weren't my type, they were all too...aggressive."
"I love aggressive. As a matter of fact, I think that..."
Cisco was talking, but Barry couldn't hear him anymore. His eyes were drawn to the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had chocolate skin and long dark hair. Her almond shaped eyes fit perfectly on her face with the flawless skin. He watched her walk with a purpose, very confident, yet extremely feminine and sexy. She stopped and greeted a few people with hugs before making her way up to a makeshift stage. She grabbed the mic and looked out into the crowd.
"Thank you all for coming to Jitters tonight for the first annual children's shelter fundraiser. Boy that was a mouthful." They crowd laughed. When Barry began smiling, Cisco realized that he hadn't been paying attention.
Iris continued, "Central City has hundreds of children who need homes. Until we are able to find loving families for all of them, we still need to house them and feed them, and keep clothes on their backs. The King and Queen have agreed to match all donations made tonight, so please, give as much as you can. Thank You."
Barry was mesmerized by her. She was the woman he spent all evening looking for. She wanted a donation and he was going to give her a hell of one. He looked over at Cisco who knew exactly what that look meant. He reluctantly pulled a wad of cash out of his jacket and put it in one of the baskets that were being passed around the room.
"That was about $50,000 you know," Cisco complained to Barry.
"Don't worry my friend, we won't need it, I told you, we are going to be a couple of normal guys."
Cisco scoffed, "Whatever you say your highness. But I can't help but think you wanted to make this large donation because of her," Cisco nodded his head towards the woman.
Barry smiled and took a sip of his latte. He spent the rest of the night stealing glances at the beautiful stranger. He was far too nervous to approach her. He was a wreck when he saw her making her way over to the table. He watched her greet almost every guest, he must have known she was bound to make her way over to him.
"Hey guys, I'm Iris," she held her hand out for them to shake. When Barry took her hand in his he was surprised how firm, yet how soft hers were. When they pulled apart, there was a small shock between them. Barry had never felt anything like it before. He was lured in by the sound of her voice, like a siren. Now he was able to get a good look at her brown almond eyes and was lost in the light in them, even though they were dark. He still hadn't responded to her introduction. Cisco finally decided to speak for Barry since he clearly had lost his voice.
"I'm Cisco, and this is my friend Barry."
"Thanks for your donations, it means a lot to the kids." She looked right into Barry's eyes and smiled her pearly whites at him. All he could do was smile back. "Well it was nice meeting you guys, enjoy the rest of your night."
She walked away and all Barry could do was stare. Cisco looked at his friend and smirked. This trip just got a whole lot more interesting.