Inktober 2025 - 20 - Rivals

Two men were facing each other in a great palace hall, evidently very cross with one another. They were staring each other down like a tiger and a lion might when suddenly put together in close quarters.

"I am taller than you, which means she will be safer with me," claimed the much taller man of the two.

"I can protect her just as well as you could. Being too tall seems like more of an inconvenience than an advantage. Also, she will have an easier time embracing me than she would you; needing a stepladder to reach you sounds like a hassle she would not enjoy bothering herself with."

"I can simply pick her up in my arms."

That remark made the shorter man gasp in outrage.

"How dare you speak of her this way? Such a brute as yourself surely is not very well educated!"

"Whatever erudition you may have acquired on the benches of university certainly pales in comparison to my skills in the various crafts I have been taught by grand masters. If you are so knowledgeable, maybe you should be aware that she holds such pedantry as yours in very low regard."

"What I do know about her for a fact is that she prefers cold weather, to which I am evidently more adapted to."

The shorter fairer man, who had just spoken, indeed had furs on his clothing, whereas his opponent was lightly dressed.

"Nonsense! She adores the tropics, which I am not only accustomed to but naturally well equipped to handle."

He proudly gestured to his darker skin tone.

"Please, stop!" suddenly intervened a female voice.

A young lady wearing a tiara atop her head came rushing through large doors and then down the stairs that lead to them, pulling her skirt ever so slightly up, so as not to trip on it.

"Princess! Please, tell this ruffian that he has no hold on your heart, as he claims!"

"Gentlemen: neither of you lies," answered the princess.

"Impossible! How could all your promises be duplicitous?"

"I refuse to believe it as well. You must be under a spell, my love."

"I told you not telling them was a mistake."

A second female voice, oddly similar to that of the young woman who was already part of the conversation, made both men turn on their heel… only to face the princess again.

"Gentlemen, neither of you lies, because neither of you speaks of the same princess; my sister and I are identical twins."

Both sisters were indeed absolutely indistinguishable, in their features, their mannerisms, their voices, and even their gowns and jewellery.

"I enjoy sandy beaches, whereas my sister prefers snowy peaks," explained one, taking a step towards the taller darker man.

"My sister has never minded getting her hands dirty, whereas I had much rather spend my time within the confines of a library," continued the other princess, turning towards the blond man.

"Each of you does have the heart of a princess. You need not be rivals."