My Segregated Dragon Lover

Event 1

“Hello Princess,” greets one of the young men, they take turns to introduce themselves. “How are you feeling?” asks Harry. I shrug. “I was a little nervous at first but now I am excited. The atmosphere is ecstatic.  I like seeing others happy,” I admit. The guys all smile and exchange gleeful looks. “I agree. It is a good day out for everyone involved,” says Dillon. I chuckle. I am still nervous, but they all seem so nice. “How do you guys feel?” I ask, directing the conversation towards them instead. They all agree that they feel the same as I do which makes me feel a lot better. It feels good knowing that they are in the same boat as me. “It is strange, isn’t it?” I state. “Having to pick out your future partner based on a few events. It seems strange,” I add. They all chuckle. “It is unusual, but it is common these days. Marriage is an important stage in life, especially for royalty. We can’t just marry any commoner,” states Harry. I nod. He is right. It is so important for Royalty to marry into the right family. It is a duty we are born into. “Anyone excited for any specific events?” I ask. They take turns telling me their strengths and the events they are looking forward to. Some of them also mention the ones they are least looking forward to. At this stage of the conversation, I can already pick out which men are stuck up and which ones are friendly. Two or three men seem uninterested in the conversation. They are not interested in answering my questions. Or when they are stuck having to answer my question, they give short and brief answers. I don’t like that. I am looking for a husband who will have many talks with me about random, deep topics like the meaning of life or small talk about our favorite type of jam. It is so important to be able to have a free and comfortable conversation with your significant other. I am a talkative person and enjoy conversation, as you can tell by my chats with the young men.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may we begin the first event. Please make your way to the first obstacle course. The first event is a challenging one! A race but with physical barriers to slow the contestants down!” announces my father. All of us jump up in excitement. “I will talk to you all later. Good luck in the events and remember to have lots of fun,” I say and smile. “Bye princess, it was lovely talking to you!” calls Harry. I wave at them and speed walk back to the small podium to find my family awaiting my return. “Did you get to know any of them?” asks my father before I manage to step up to their level. “Give her a chance to catch her breath,” nags my mother. My father s very eager to find out any information possible. He is so excited for me to find a husband. I feel like he has high expectations for my future family. He wants what is best for me, but he also doesn’t want me to wait too long before starting my own family. In these times, it is normal for princesses to have their first children by the age of 21, I am at that age and am not even dating yet. “I got to have a little conversation with a few of them I suppose,” I answer and try shrugging it off as no big deal. “Anyone in particular that you like?” he asks and wiggles his eyebrows earning an eye roll from me. “Father, I need time to get to know them before I begin developing feelings,” I remind him. Just because my mother and father instantly clicked when they were paired, does not mean that the same thing will happen to me. “You’re right, you’re right. I am sorry,” he apologizes and lifts his hands up in defeat. I chuckle softly. Mother and father make their way towards the first event while Dahlia and I trail back, walking slower than them to put some distance between us. We do this so we can have a private conversation without my parents hearing us. This is a skill we picked up on many years ago. Walk slowly while they walk ahead and are out of hearing range. “Any updates?” asks Dahlia. I blush.

“A few of them seem very stuck up, but that Harry guy seems nice. A lot of them are very handsome. I don’t feel any special connection yet. But it is way too early for that,” I inform her. “Which one is Harry?” she asks. I point to the blonde tall male with bright blue eyes. He is the textbook prince charming. Handsome face, perfect smile and alluring eyes. I want to get to know him a little more, but I don’t want to eliminate all the other men just yet. I don’t know any of them well enough. We reach the course and take our seats close to the finish line. The race is not long but there are plenty of obstacles set up to slow each man down. Large hay bales, ladders to climb and some mud to run through. I guess we are looking for a man who is not afraid to get dirty. I would never be able to date a germaphobe. I love spending time with horses and always end up getting messy. I look around, seeking the men’s response to the first challenge. A lot of them think it is funny as they stretch and make jokes among each other. One guy seems particularly against this event. I don’t blame him. The clothes he is wearing seem very expensive and I wouldn’t want them to get dirty either. But he was informed about the nature of the events. He should have come better prepared. Money is not enough to win my heart. I cannot be bought. Money will not save a failing marriage. I can’t help but laugh. This man in particular seems very posh. He has not worked a day in his life. He definitely has maids and servants doing all the dirty work for him. Nothing wrong with that. It is just not the type of man I am looking for.

The men line up at the start line, ready to take on the challenges of the racecourse. “Do you want to start it?” asks my father. I shake my head. Absolutely not, I shall enjoy any moment in which the focus is not on me. “Ready, steady go!” calls my father making the men jump into motion. They all run as fast as they can towards the first obstacle, the mud. The man running first place is Victor. He is eager to win this race. The first winner will stand out the most among all the men. I watch him long jump into to mud, resulting in a large brown splash erupting from the ground. The mud covers Victors clothes, face and hair but that does not stop him. He stumbles a little but picks himself up quickly, continuing his dash. He seems unphased by the mud on his clothes. I look behind him and find the other men trying their best to keep up with him. I laugh as some of them trip over their own legs and fall face first into the mud. To nobody’s surprise, the man with the expensive clothes has opted out of running through the mud, instead he took the long route around the messy ground. I roll my eyes and chuckle. Not for me. The next obstacle is the hay bales. The men must jump or climb over the first one which is significantly smaller than the second one. It is at this point that Victor is surpassed by Harry. Victor miscalculated the height of the hay bale and jumped too soon, barely making it to the top of the hay bale. He uses his upper body strength to pull himself up while Harry clears the obstacle with ease. The second hay bale is more challenging and requires them to climb the fragile hay. Harry and Victor do their best to complete the task as quick as possible, but they are slowed down enough for the other men to catch up. All of them except mr expensive clothes who has now decided to walk the obstacle course instead of running, giving no attention to the fact that he is coming dead last.

Victor is the first one over the hay bale as he faces the ladders next. He must climb to the top of the ladder, walk across the plank to the other side where they jump down into another lake of mud. They both complete this with ease while the other men are still climbing the hay bale. I watch as some men help each other by lifting each other up. I like that. I like it a lot. Being able to help others even if it disadvantages you is a very attractive trait in a man for me. They put others before them and tend tp be caring. Something I value as I have been raised this way by my own mother and father. A big gold star for those men. I make sure to pay more attention to them in the upcoming events. The final stretch is a sprint and Victor and Harry are going head to head. It will be a close one. They are so close to the finish line and Harry has a clear advantage over Victor now. Except Harry trips over a hole in the grass, landing on his stomach within a few seconds, allowing Victor to surpass him and claim his victory. Everyone cheers as Harry’s parents run over to him to check if he is okay. I make my way over too, concerned about his wellbeing. The hole he fell over was quite deep and it could have easily hurt his ankle. The fall looked pretty nasty too. When I walk over, I see him sitting on the grass, his knee in his hand. A small trickle of blood runs down his leg, but he wipes it off quickly.

“I am okay. It’s only a small cut,” he assures me and laughs. He is out of breath, muddy and very sweaty. “That was so much fun! Let’s do it again!” he chirps and jumps up on his feet. I help him up and laugh. “There is so much more to do. I am sure you will score a win later on,” I assure him. I do not want his spirit to go down. He seemed to be having so much fun while completing the run. “Maybe I can win your heart,” he jokes and winks at me. I blush but enjoy the playful flirtation. There seems to be some connection between Harry and I. Who knows, maybe this will develop into something bigger soon? Only time will tell. “We shall take a few minutes for rest and then we shall return to the second event, horseracing,” announces my father. I clap my hands together. I love this event. It is the one I have been looking forward to the most. Any man who is good with animals, especially horses will win my trust and respect. Caring for creatures who need our help is vital. It brings us closer to nature and teaches us responsibility. Horse riding is a very common skill and is taught to children at an early age. It is how we commute to various places in the world. Our main source of travel. I walk towards the stables, accompanied by Victor, Harry and a few other men who are eager to talk to me. I have let go of all my anxieties, stress and worry and am fully enjoying myself now. Everyone around me seems to be having a good time too. Even if I do not end up marrying any of these men, I would love to remain good friends with them. Perhaps we can arrange a pact among our kingdoms to bring allies and peace to the land. There is so much potential for great relationships here. I can completely understand why my father has decided to do this. He is very smart. A very wise move indeed. I am looking forward to the next few events which will hopefully allow me to get to know all the men a little more. Harry in particular.