“My Prince, are you ok?”

Cort snapped out of his daydream and focused his attention back on the front of the room. Maricle, one of his father’s most trusted advisors and head of the Council was looking at him with concern and perhaps a bit of irritation on his otherwise emotionless face.

Cort glanced around at the other members of the council who were also peering at him. They all seemed very annoyed due to the fact that this was the third time Maricle had stopped what he was saying to make sure Cort was paying attention.

He felt stupid and knew that this was not helping his cause as he tried to appeal to the rule of the new king being a married man before assuming the crown. So far it was not going well and he knew it was because his mind was so preoccupied.

Cort could not stop thinking about Teegan. Ever since she walked away last night she’d been in his every thought. He’d barely slept because he was thinking about her so heavily. She was the most perfect woman he’d ever known and he’d known a lot in his time. In his younger days he was something of a cad, galavanting around with a different woman in his bed almost nightly. But he’d grown out of that over the past few years and was longing for something so much more.

He thought he’d really found that with Teegan. Of course he couldn’t talk to anyone about it. The idea that he’d really fallen in love at first sight that way was totally absurd. If he told his father or the council then they would go through some crazy hoops to ensure that Teegan was brought to him to discuss marriage. That was the last thing in the world he wanted. If he and Teegan were going to be together it had to be done the right way, the normal way. That was the way he wanted it this time.

But he doubted that he would ever see her again. She had made it so clear that this was just a fling to her, something she could remember years in the future. She could tell her friends that she’d done something wild and crazy while on holiday.

“Yes,” Cort said. “I’m fine. I’m sorry. I was just thinking about something.”

“Oh, would you care to share?” Maricle asked a bit sarcastically.

Cort thought fast. “Well, I just don’t see why this rule still stands in the year 2015. I mean how archaic can we be living?”

“Prince, while this rule does seem archaic to you it is a big part of our society and the way our nation has always governed itself. We can’t break protocol for it all because you are not ready to settle down. And we certainly can’t have a king who is not ready to settle down. There is a certain level of maturity, a certain station in life that one must have accomplished before you can really obtain the status of King. Certainly you understand this.”

Cort gritted his teeth and held his breath a moment before answering.

“I certainly do. And I am far from immature as you would believe. Being married is not something that is obtained in my opinion. It isn’t a skill or something you train for at the University. It is two people who really love each other coming together to form a perfect union. It is not a political chess match. I just don’t get why no one can understand how wrong this is. I don’t need a wife by my side to rule, just because it looks good.”

“This is not what we are suggesting. You are approaching life as if you were a normal man. You are prince. And if you are to become king then you have certain duties that will be required of you. That means you will have to do things differently, things you don’t really want to do. Surely you can understand that.”

Cort glared at Maricle. He had known the man all his life and he’d always known him to be level-headed but right now he was being as thick as a bull.

“This rule must be changed,” Cort said. “I understand there is a tradition at stake here, but traditions get broken over time as people progress towards new ideals. That is what civilization does. It evolves. What worked hundreds of years ago no longer works today. I will be king with or without a wife. You will have to get used to the idea,” Cort said.

With that he stormed out of the room.

His hands were shaking he was so angry. The only thing keeping him anchored at the moment he realized was the thought of Teegan. Her sweet, beautiful face flashing repeatedly in his mind. He knew that he would never forget her and he realized that she would never be out of his thoughts. It was going to drive him mad eventually. He had to talk to her. He had to see her again.

Cort picked up his phone and gave Teegan a call. He could not go without hearing her voice another second.

“Hello, this is Teegan Norton. I’m not available right now. Please leave your name at the beep and I’ll call you back soon. Thanks.”

Teegan Norton. So that was her full name. He loved the sound of it. There was a nice ring to it.

“Hey, Teegan. This is Cort, from last night. Cort Monreau. I would love to talk to you and maybe get together again soon.”

He left his number and told her to call him anytime.

Ugh, he hated voicemail. Now he had to wait until she decided to call him back. If she decided to call him back. That was the torture of it all. He was so close to saying screw it and having his personal assistants track her down and bring her to the castle, but he would never do that. This girl meant too much to him. He had to know if she felt the same way about him.

Just hearing her sweet angelic voice was enough to calm him down and give him the sweetest satisfaction and just enough hope to go back into the chambers and apologize to the council for storming out.

“Guys, I know where you stand on this and you know where I stand. There has to be a way that we can reach some sort of a compromise that will work for everybody.”

Maricle and the others whispered amongst themselves a moment and then Maricle asked Cort what he had in mind.

But the truth was he didn’t know.

His mind was too focused on a girl.