Sterling, his kingdom of Altaira (spelling slightly changed to avoid confusion with Altaria, the Pokemon), and the rest of the characters featured are the creations of my author's anonymous co-writer, who has graciously helped me get this story completed. The first story with Sterling was written by FraggsterFly, who was gracious enough to route us to our co-writer in the first place! Both parts can be accessed here:
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Prince Sterling and Captain Sarissa in:
"Woodland Woes"
by Skaea and an anonymous co-writerContains: */M and */F hotbuns with some ballbusting. NSFW.
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It was a quiet day in the kingdom of Altaira. The castle town was bustling, the market was alive with shoppers, and overall there was nothing particularly interesting going on in Castle Town. In the lavish palace at the center of the kingdom, as per usual at this hour, all was peaceful. The servants were preparing lunch for the royals while others were cleaning. And the royal residents… well, they were supposed to be down in the dining room for lunch, but as usual they were late.
Princess Annabelle, a five-foot six-inch tall and slender twenty year old girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, was a typical spoiled princess. She preferred to be waited on hand and foot, as she was bossy and only cared about herself and her happiness. The servants were happy to serve her, however, especially the males. They always enjoyed going to Annabelle’s room, just to see their beautiful princess. They especially enjoyed the princess’s rather large assets. Annabelle loved the attention that everyone was constantly giving her.
Twenty-four year old Prince Sterling, on the other hand, was quite gentle and kind. He always put everyone before himself, even if that meant that he was going to be hurt. Sterling was also tall, about five-foot-eleven, and slender but he also had a well-toned body with short, silver hair and bright blue eyes. His face was a handsome one that all of the girls would fall in love with. Sterling was the Crown Prince of this kingdom, though most people wondered if he was up for the task. Sterling was quite clumsy and made a lot of mistakes, though he always meant well. The townspeople and the palace staff were sometimes afraid to be around him due to his clumsiness. Some thought that their prince had been cursed by an evil sorcerer when he was a young child. Sterling, though extremely clumsy, was also extremely brave, though he was not that strong, even though he tried to pass himself off as a strong man and usually ended up humiliating himself instead.
The day was mostly peaceful, except for the screaming coming from a room in the palace. It was late morning, and Annabelle was in the throne room with her brother. They were currently having an argument about whether unicorns were real or not… which was quite ridiculous if one were to ponder it, since Sterling had, a while back, encountered a real, live dragon, which was supposedly just as mythical.
“I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: I want a unicorn and I want one NOW!” Annabelle could be heard yelling. The wooden floor shook from how hard she was stomping her feet.
“Unicorns aren’t real, Annabelle.” Sterling replied, exasperated. “Not the kind you had in mind, anyway. I have been in those woods a million times and not once have I ever seen such a unicorn. Therefore, they are not real.”
“They are! They are real, you idiot! I’ve seen one! I want it captured so that I can have it as my royal steed!” Annabelle screamed and jumped up and down. “GET ME THAT UNICORN! GET IT! GET IT! GET IT!”
Sterling sighed and facepalmed. “If I send some troops out to find this ‘unicorn’, will you stop whining and throwing a temper tantrum about this?”
Annabelle’s eyes lit up. “Only if you come back with it! You have to go get it! Only you!”
Sterling groaned. “Fine! I’ll go after that stupid so-called unicorn. That way I can prove to you that unicorns don’t exist. Not here in Altaira, anyway.”
“THEY DO EXIST HERE IN ALTAIRA! THEY DO! THEY DO! THEY DO!” Annabelle yelled and jumped up and down, throwing yet another fit.
Sterling pinched the bridge of his nose and moaned in frustration. It was no secret that Annabelle was obsessed with unicorns, such wondrous and beautiful things. She was so adamant about wanting to keep one to ride on every day that she bought it up in almost every conversation these days. The locals dismissed her desires as nonsense, and wondered if she would ever consider a different choice of exotic pet, for no one had seen any unicorns around Altaira for decades. Not the variety she was describing, anyway.
Lord Rollington had at least tried to console the petulant princess, promising to find the money to charter a trip to India someday. There was a species of unicorn there, though not the kind she would have desired: a donkey-sized animal like a goat or antelope, with a white, black, and rust-colored coat and a straight conical horn that was colored similarly. This so-called ‘Indian Ass’ was fabulous enough, he had hoped, but her preference was clear: the unicorn she wanted would be like those from the manuscripts and tapestries of old, pure white in color with the body and cloven hooves of a deer, the tail of a lion, the head and mane of a horse, the beard of a goat, and a spiral horn on the forehead like a narwhal tusk that could purify water and heal even mortal wounds. The catch was that nobody had seen any such unicorn anywhere in the world, at least not that anyone knew in the kingdom. Plus, it was said that they were far too difficult to catch, never mind that she had no idea how to actually keep one. If they existed at all.
Why, Sterling thought bitterly, couldn’t Annabelle just stick to loving ponies?
