A Royal Affair

You wake to the sounds of redtail hawks and chittering squirrels, as you often do, in the royal chambers of your family’s ancient castle. Far below your windows, your loyal attendants and citizens of your domain are already at work, the scent of fresh bread and a primed forge wafting in on a breeze that parts the emerald curtains. You stretch, groggy from a long, sleepless night, and swing your legs over the mattress to rest your feet on the cool wood floor.

Eleven moons ago, your parents passed, leaving you the sole heir and ruler of Knothole castle and its domain. You are an accomplished ruler already, skilled in your own way at diplomacy, and the denizens of your realm thank you daily for it. Your lands have seen consistent, productive peace in recent months that is projected to continue.

Though all is well, the larger Kingdom that you are a part of -- the Kingdom of Demys -- has certain rules for its landowners, especially vassal state territories like yours. No family with a sole, ruling heir can rule for long. You must select a partner to marry -- joining your families -- or surrender your ruling rights to another branch of your family with more ruling candidates. You’ve put the blasted arrangement off as long as possible, but time is running out. Your sleepless night was caused by one inconvenient truth: you must join your family with another’s by tomorrow night, or lose your territory to some distant, ill-prepared cousin.

With a sigh, you stand at last, shuffling tiredly to a gold-trimmed, full-size mirror beside the vanity.

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((Note: This is a customizable story! You can enter your name, royal address, and pronouns by going to the 'customize' tab on the right! Also, this game uses many 'scores' to track your choices and adapt to them, so I recommend clicking 'start game' before reading. If you don't start the game, the writing will be incomplete and...weird...in places. Please enjoy!))