III. The Impact of Her

His brows furrowed as he grew confused.

I cleared my throat as I moved closer to him. “Do not be too certain, too confident that she will give you the answer that you want to hear.”

His eyes widened, horrified. “Are you implying that I have no hope with her? That I will not win her heart?” he asked.

“I implore you not to twist my words to antagonise you, Benjamin. Like what I said before, you can have any woman that you want,” I replied quickly as I wanted to explain everything right away. I didn’t want for our relationships as brothers to be strained because of a woman.

I added, “I only ask that you do not be too complacent. We still don’t know what she will say.”

“Robert, she will be with me,” Benjamin said as he looked into my eyes. He was full of certainty, utterly determined. He didn’t blink as he continued, “There is no ounce of doubt within me. I know she will be mine.”

Never have I seen him act in this manner. I could only wish that I had the same confidence when it came to meeting ladies at court.

I asked, “How certain are you?”

“My friends at home agreed that giving her flowers is already a step forward to success,” he smirked as his confidence reached his head. “And second, to have you with me is already an advantage. You, being here to support me and my cause is a guaranteed win for us.”

My brows then furrowed as I blinked rapidly in utter disbelief. “Why do I sense that you brought me with you for a specific purpose? Other than to help you pick the perfect bouquet of flowers, there is something else, isn’t there?” I asked.

He chuckled. “Brother,” his hand landed on my shoulder, “I want you to help me convince her that we are destined for each other.”

I moved my head back, shocked. All he has ever told me was to accompany him. He said he wanted my opinion in choosing the best arrangement so he wouldn’t have the worst. I was to only watch him from afar and wait for things to unfold on their own.

I didn’t want to have a bigger part in this. But as his closest friend, I wanted to be physically present.

I groaned as I rolled my head. “Is that even necessary? You can easily do this without me. You don’t need my help regarding this matter.”

“Robert,” he put his arm on my shoulder and pulled me closer, “You need to add more fuel to my fiery passion. You have to prove to her that I am a perfect match for her,” he added.

I sighed in defeat. There was no other way out of this situation. I tried and I failed. I never liked to be involved in matters such as this. But it has to happen then it should happen.

“Oh, very well, then,” I said after a brief sigh. “However, I am only agreeing to this because you dragged me into it. And there is no escape in sight for me right now.”

Benjamin smiled before he messed with my hair.

A few minutes passed and the shop owner finally came out with Benjamin’s requested bouquet.

We were immediately surprised with the amount of flowers squeezed into the arrangement. The bouquet was huge, the owner struggled to his path as he walked towards us.

“Here she is,” he grunted as he came closer. As the bouquet appeared before us, we finally had a clear view of everything. In the middle, a red rose stood out. It was then surrounded by sunflowers, daisies and poppies. Small yet unfamiliar flowers were scattered all throughout the bouquet, which made it all the more exquisite.

With caution, the shop owner handed it over to Benjamin. “Here you are, young man.”

Benjamin smiled as he examined every bit of his order. I paid the shop owner as Benjamin remarked, “I am quite familiar with these flowers. However,” he looked at the shop owner, “I wish to know why you chose these flowers.”

“Pay no mind to what they stand for. They are sure to win your heart’s desires in no time,” the owner smiled.

Benjamin nodded as he looked back to the flowers. He couldn’t contain his grin as he stared at it even more. “Thank you very much, sir. You don’t know how much this means to me,” he said as he was in complete awe of the bouquet.

“I also made a simple arrangement for your friend,” the owner said as he turned to me.

My brows furrowed. Benjamin and I shared a confused look before we turned back to the owner.

“And how much will that be?” Benjamin enquired.

“Not to worry, sir,” the owner said as he reached for something behind him, “This one is free of charge.” He revealed a crown of white and pink flowers.

My eyes widened in horror. Benjamin snickered a bit as I asked, “What in the world is that?”

“It is the crown of friendship and gratitude,” the owner explained as he attempted to put it on me.

I immediately stepped back and put my hand in front of me. “I am not wearing that. And I don’t believe that it is truly called that,” I protested. I continued, “I think the real name of it is the crown of shame and embarrassment.”

Benjamin cleared his throat before he called my attention. His eyes begged for me to close my mouth and to simply go along with it.

‘Ugh! The things I do for Benjamin!’ I thought to myself.

I snatched the crown from the man and slammed it onto my head. I headed for the door with a huff.

Behind me, Benjamin once said, “Again, thank you, good sir.”

“You are welcome, young man,” the owner said. “I wish you all the best of luck with your conquest.”

As the shop closed, we headed directly to our horses.

Still in a huff, I didn’t bother to say my goodbyes to the owner. I didn’t want to speak to him nor see him. This flower crown that he made for me was nothing to be proud of. As I kept my head down, I couldn’t help but feel people staring at me. Some of them laughed as they passed by us.

I just knew it.

“Robert,” Benjamin called out to me but I refused to turn around. “Robert, please, speak to me,” he persisted as he walked behind me.

“What is there to say, Benjamin?” I sulked as I grabbed onto Wonder’s saddle.

After a brief chuckle, Benjamin turned me around to face him. My brows furrowed even more. Benjamin laughed instantly as soon as he saw my face. “Why are you carrying such a scowl on your face, brother? You shouldn’t be looking like this,” he remarked as he tried to speak.

“Laugh all you want, Benjamin. But this,” I pointed at the flower crown on my head, “This is not something I can make a joke about.”

“But why not? Is it not a good source of entertainment for the two of us?” he asked as he snickered.

I crossed my arms. “I am pleased to see that you are enjoying my embarrassment, brother,” I replied sarcastically. I turned around and grabbed onto the saddle once again. But before I could hop onto Lady, Benjamin turned me to him again.

“What now?” I asked, agitated.

“Why are you so infuriated, Robert?” Benjamin asked with a smile, not even bothered in the slightest. “This is supposed to be a good and happy day. You shouldn’t let something change your mood that easily,” he continued. I could tell that he was trying to lift my spirits up but it wasn’t working.

I returned a question, “What am I supposed to react when I am wearing something that is embarrassing me? If you are the one who is wearing this stupid flower crown, you will understand how I’m feeling right now.”

“All right, all right, I am sorry for laughing at you, Robert,” Benjamin replied as he rubbed my arm with one hand. He continued, “I was only trying to make you feel better. I know that the crown looks foolish. And I am sorry that you are given something that stupid.”

I grabbed the flower crown off of my head, which shocked Benjamin. “What? Did you really expect me to wear this?” I asked.

“Well, I have to admit: somehow, it looks good on you,” Benjamin said with a teasing smile.

My eyes widened in horror. “You cannot be serious with that, Benjamin.”

He squinted as he took a good look at me before he said, “Unfortunately, I am, dear brother. And you must not forget what the shop owner told you about that flower crown. It is the crown of friendship and gratitude.”

I glared at him even more as he agreed to the idiocy that the shop owner said. If Benjamin found this to be entertaining, it was not the same for me. I wanted to rip apart this crown so badly. However, in respect of the maker, I kept my silence and just wanted to go where Benjamin had to be.

But, for some unexplainable and irritating reason, it would seem as if Benjamin wanted to prolong my agony even more.

“Do you still want to win the heart of your woman? Or are we going to waste our time debating about this monstrosity?” I asked as I raised the flower crown towards him.

“We will proceed as planned, only if you wear the flower crown,” he replied calmly. He continued, “We have to respect what it was made for. At the same time, it was given to us free of charge. Shouldn’t we take advantage of that fact?”

I huffed as I slammed the flower crown back onto my head. A few petals fell to the ground as I did so. Without saying another word, I hopped onto my horse and Benjamin followed suit.

“I promise you, dear brother, your humiliation will not be in vain,” he added. “I will make you one of your special dishes once we return to the castle.”

I rolled my eyes. ‘As if that will fix my broken pride,’ I thought to myself.