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// Chapter 2 - She Cannot be Owned 
// Story: For the Good of Your Kingdom 
// by RinieandCoby 
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	Thinking I could slip back into the castle unnoticed to concoct my plan against the Stygians was a clear mistake. Behind me was the sound of hooves scuffling as if the victim had been nudged a bit too roughly. Obvious, deliberate hoofsteps then followed.  Why was this oaf so drawn to me? I wished he would see me as unimportant as everypony else seemed to. Regardless of the disgust I felt rising in the pit of my being, I turned to greet my pursuer. 

"Good evening prince Sombra. Nice of your family to come visit us," I chimed, which was met by that empty, hundred yard stare of his. This was definitely going to be a trying visit. 

After staring into my eyes for what seemed to be an eternity, the flabbergasted goof finally managed to find his words. 

"G-Good evening my princess," he stammered as he gave a deep bow, "I'm honored to be in your presence once again dear Marina. I hope you are doing well."

Had I heard that right? My princess? Who did this stallion think he was referring to me in the possessive? If he thought this new behavior of his was acceptable he had another thing coming. 

"I have been well and I am more than happy to bless you with my presence. Yet, I feel that it would behoove you not to refer to me as if we were affiliated in any way," as I gently reprimanded him, I saw the childlike wonder leave his body. 

Perhaps he would see me as cruel, but he needed to be made aware of the indecency of his actions. He stood as tall as his pride would allow him, but the defeat he felt in every fiber of his being was quite apparent. 

"Of course your highness," he said, ducking his head a bit, "Anything you desire."

With a nod of approval, I left him to his own fiendish, perverted devices. Of course it was rude not to greet his parents, but they'd be joining us for dinner later. Considering that fact, I concluded that my manners were still princess perfect. Though dinner meant that this Stygian stint may last at least a day or two, they couldn't stay much longer than that without reason. They had their own kingdom to run, which meant they couldn't stay in ours forever. I could bear with them for two days if it meant an entire year of peace. 

On my way up to my room I scanned every nook and cranny looking for Jelessia and the foals. Unfortunately they were nowhere in sight. I could only hope that they made it to their carriage before those little angels became frightened. The very thought of the Stygians scaring those precious babies made my blood boil. Of course the smooch-y noises my ears picked up coming from Luna's room didn't help ease my agitation at all. 

For some reason she found it hilarious that Sombra was infatuated with me, and she insisted I had repressed emotional feelings for him, which made calling him my coltfriend that much more humorous to her. There was nothing more between us than annoyance on my part and lust on his. Yet the little deviant insisted that there was so much more to our relationship. She thought he was handsome enough. I don't understand why she couldn't take my place as the source of his affections... Well a 20 year old stallion dating a 13 year old filly is definitely illegal, and to be honest I don't think I’d be any happier about that situation. But why did he have to fawn over me? Luna must have seen the disdain on my face, and before I could delve any deeper into Stygian-based irritation, she was right by my side with a wide toothy grin.

“Are you going to get dressed for your coltfriend?” She asked, the freckles on her dark face scrunching with her snout as she gave me a mischievous smirk.

“I am going to get dressed for dinner and I suggest you do the same little one,” I replied with a hard stare in her direction. This time her whole face scrunched with her response.

“You’re only just now getting to be a grown up,” she said with a hint of malice, “You’re going to become a boring, grumpy old mare and he won’t want you anymore and I’ll be right there to laugh in your face.”

With that last, rather rude, remark Luna stormed off to get ready. In a way I understood the root of the anger she had been displaying lately. She was stuck doing foalish things while her two older sisters partook in what she saw as fun and exciting matured princess activities. If only she knew how little enjoyment was involved in the actual work of being a princess. She’d know soon enough. I only hoped it wouldn’t vacuum the joy from her eyes like it had to me.

Once I arrived back in my bedroom there was a box from mother sitting on my bed. Was this a gift? I walked over to it and read the note attached to the seal on the top:

My precious pearl,

I know how you tend to get when the Stygians come for visits. Your father and I promise that this visit will be a short one. That being 		said, I thought this small gesture might give you a bit of motivation to wear that gorgeous smile of yours for at least one evening? We love you so much Marina and I know things haven’t exactly been the same with our family life, but we appreciate every part you play in your role as princess. We just wanted to show you a bit of gratitude. I hope that this can be something you grow to treasure.

Love,

Mommy


Well that was sweet of her, I guess my efforts weren’t as wasted as I believed. Mother always gave the best gifts too, so there was no doubt in my mind that whatever she gave me would be exquisite while being more than enough motivation to muscle through a small dinner.

I used levitation to lift the lid off of the gift box and was amazed by the delightful surprise inside. There was a gorgeous periwinkle gown that fit my style perfectly. I slipped into the dress and it was nice and blousy around my upper body, but cinched itself around my waist before billowing out into elegant, flowing waves of fabric that fell like the train of a bridal gown. The dip in the back of the gown left most of my back exposed, there were rippling sleeves that fell into a delightful wrap around my knees, as well as special white gold chains in the bottom of the box that held the tops of the sleeves together on my shoulders whilst keeping them exposed. With the thick braided belt my mother also provided for me fastened around my waist, I looked like the aquatic goddess Equestria needed.

I pinned my thick flowing locks up into a regal, yet elegantly disheveled pompadour that fed into a waterfall of a romantic ponytail. After I adorned my most appropriate monarchial ornamentation, I moved toward the full length mirror at the opposite end of my quarters. The mare that stood before me was breathtaking. She looked like an otherworldly being, a mare that could rival Aurora Essência for her throne and take over with ease. Not that I would ever dream of doing that. Still, my appearance left even me wondering how one creature could look so lovely.

This was an ensemble that made me understand why Sombra stared at me with those doe eyes, I wanted to do the same. As terrible as it may sound, there were times when I found pleasure in watching him squirm in my presence with that self-reprimanding blush spreading across his face. There was some odd thrill in seeing stallions behave in any way that wasn’t stereotypically masculine around attractive females, it was definitely amusing. The obvious anger on King Bronsen’s face at the sight of his son’s uneasiness always elicited a small chuckle from me. It often felt like both of them wanted me to be part of their family. As long as I had any say over the matter that was never going to happen, and I'm sure they were aware. But, if they wanted a pretty mare to stare at then they were going to receive it in spades tonight. While leaving my room to return downstairs, I vowed to give them as little of my attention as possible during tonight’s dinner. That would be my entertainment this evening.