Chapter 57 - Why Won't You Listen?!

"Daughter, if that is your desire you have our blessing." The king said.

"Thank you, father!" Samantha said. "I am so happy you trust my judgment on this!"

"Wait!" Zell yelled. "What are you talking about?! I just met you, we can't just get married!"

"I am sorry." Samantha apologized. "I did not know this would offend you so. Do the royalty in Neuval not have marriages arranged by the king?"

"I guess, but this is different." Zell said. "I am no longer royalty nor am I with my kingdom. I am just me, a hero out to save the world. I do not have time to get married!"

"That is fine we can wait until after you bring peace to the world." Samantha smiled.

"I never agreed to this!" Zell protested.

"Do you not find me attractive at all?" Samantha asked, putting on a sad face. "I am half elf so I will stay young and beautiful for far longer than a normal human. Just think of the benefits. As you are old and gray, I will still look like I am in my thirties."

"It has nothing to do if I find you attractive or not." Zell said. "I cannot marry someone I just met. End of discussion."

"How about this then, young man." The king said. "Take my daughter with you on your quest. She is a fine warrior and is bound to be of service to you. If by the time you bring peace to our lands you still wish to refuse my daughter's hand in marriage and break her poor heart, then that will be that. But know that if you accept you will be the future king of our kingdom and the hope of human and nonhuman coexistence in the world."

"That sounds fair doesn't it Zell?" Samantha said.

"Fine." Zell said. "I doubt I will change my mind, but I accept your offer. Samantha may accompany me on my quest."

"Yay!" Samantha jumped up into the hair moving her hair from her ears revealing that she too had pointed ears, although not as pronounced as her mother's. "Now I only need to convince you of the benefits of our union, and we can live happily ever after."

"You know most girls would have said: I have until then to make you fall in love with me." Zell said.

"Love is important, yes." Samantha said. "That is one of the benefits for sure, but I am more or less thinking of the factual advantages of our union."

"It is an elf thing dear." The queen said with a laugh. "We elves value logic over all else, so she will try to convince you with an argument of the mind and not the heart."

"You should probably just give up honestly." The king laughed. "In all my years of marriage I have not bested my wife once in a debate."

"I have one last question before I go." Zell said. "What kingdom should I go to next?"

"That would be our old enemy of Tarm." The king said. "They have already entered into an alliance with your kingdom of Neuval and honestly it scares me a bit. If all the powers that have amassed come together against us, we will have little chance of survival. So going there next will really help us out and by proxy your future kingdom."

"I never agreed to marry her!" Zell protested again.

"You will though." The king laughed. "It is only a matter of time."

"I will go to Tarm." Zell said. "Not for any of this future kingdom stuff, but because I like this kingdom and think it should be protected. Its ideals should be the way the world is, not the oddball."

"See, I told you he was the one for me, father." Samantha said.

"I see." The king laughed. "Well go then. Take whatever provisions you need from town and the royal armory. Make sure you keep my daughter and your future wife safe from harm."

[Why can I not get through to these people?!] Zell thought to himself. [If my daughter wanted to marry some strange man she just met from out of town I would have told her she was crazy and grounded her. The hell is wrong with these people.]

"Let's go back to town and gather everyone." Zell said.

"Okay but can we stop by my chambers first?" Samantha said. "I would like to pick up some supplies for our trip. New clothes and such."

"I will head to town." Zell said. "You can catch up later."

"You sure you don't want to come with me?" Samantha asked. "I can try the outfits on, and you can tell me which ones are your favorites. It could be a lot of fun."

"Just pick whatever you want." Zell said as he started to leave. "I am going to find Kaitlyn and Obsi, maybe even Kilgon if he is gone with his new friend."

With that Zell left the castle and headed back to the streets of town. He exited out of the main entrance this time which was a straight shot down some stairs to get to town. He decided to run at top speed through the streets and search in a grid pattern to find Kaitlyn. With his tactical efficiency he found her in a matter of seconds.

Kaitlyn was sitting on the ground next to a building rubbing her swollen belly. Several kabob sticks surrounded her. Zell bent down next to her. "You alright Kaitlyn?" He asked. "Did you get your fill of the local cuisine?"

"I couldn't eat another bite if I tried." Kaitlyn complained. "Of course, I did try. I could not."

"I understand." Zell laughed. He put his hand out for her to grab. "Come on, let's get you up. We have our next kingdom we are going to."

"Oh, did you meet the royals without me?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Yes, I thought it would be best to let you rest." Zell said.

"That's fine." Kaitlyn said. "I don't like fancy events like that anyway. How did it go?"

"Well, the princess told her father she wanted to marry me." Zell laughed.

"What?!" Kaitlyn yelled. "I leave you alone for a couple hours and you get engaged?!" She started to tear up. "You know I like you, that is just so cruel."

"I did not agree to it." Zell said.

"Oh, that's fine then." Kaitlyn said.

"On a side note, though, I agreed to let her accompany us." Zell explained. "It seemed like the best diplomatic solution. This way after I reject her when our quest is complete, they will accept it with no hard feelings."

"So, I have another competitor." Kaitlyn sighed. "Alright game on!"

"Were you even listening to me?" Zell sighed.

"Of course, I was." Kaitlyn said. "Let's go find our little dwarf buddy!"

"We better save him for last." Zell laughed. "He is busy at the moment."

"Really?!" Kaitlyn said. "Let's go find our dragon then!"

"Okay lets!" Zell replied, picking Kaitlyn up off the ground.