Shame

Mint shifted in her seat. "That wasn't a very good story, Mr. Ruiz. Shouldn't the prince's effort have awarded him something? Like the hoof of a princess, or something?"

Sadie shook her head. "That's not what made it a bad story. Isn't there supposed to be some kind of lesson at the end of this? Some sort of moral?"

"Begging your pardon, señora," sighed Ruiz.

"What are you talking about?" replied Jed. "I heard a few different lessons in there: Sometimes your best isn't good enough. Complete the tasks assigned to you in a timely manner. Never let your final line of defense walk away. Don't abandon the whole kingdom for one grand duchess."

"I don't know about that last one," huffed Sadie. "If the prince had known for certain that the grand duchess was elsewhere, his kingdom would still be standing."

Ruiz seemed to wince at that. "How could he have known, señora?"

"It's a story of bravery," stated Maria matter-of-factly. "The prince was destined to lose from the beginning. He couldn't have possibly succeeded, but he stood up to do what was right, based solely on what information was available to him. Perhaps he was lucky, as the invaders may have very easily killed him, too."

"I still think it could use a happy ending," groused Mint.

"Not every story has a happy ending, Mint," sighed Maria. "Come on, it's past your bedtime."

With a dissatisfied sigh, Mint went up to her room, with Maria trailing behind her. Ruiz stood up and returned Maria's books to the shelf from whence they'd come. It was a sparse collection, but given the price of books, it was significantly larger than Ruiz' library. Then again, even a single book would make it infinitely larger than his.

After a few minutes more, Sadie dismissed Ruiz, telling him that he could go to bed if he so wished. She had achieved her goal of learning something about him. She would have been content just talking to him about nothing in particular, but this was better.

"Ruiz," called Maria as he reached the top of the stairs, "can you come in here for a moment? My dresser drawer is stuck."

Ruiz turned to look. Maria's head was poking out of her bedroom doorway. He'd never been on that side of the hallway. He'd seen Mint, Jed and Sadie all disappear into certain rooms at night, but he'd never entered any of them. He didn't have much need to. He wasn't going to sleep in their beds, nor was he going to stand around and watch them. Anything he had to say could wait until breakfast.

As he entered her room, he looked around. It was the same layout as his own, but with far more aesthetic pieces. While his tiny window that only let in light was bare, she had a sheer cloth in front of hers, which would presumably colour the light as it filtered in. She also had a more grand bed. Though it was the same size as Ruiz', it had four decorative posts with animal faces carved in them. Lastly, from the ceiling hung a large drape against the back wall to add a splash of colour, rather than just the plain wood paneling that Ruiz had.

"Which drawer, señorita?" he asked, moving in front of her dresser.

"The top one," she said. "Can you reach it?"

He could, and while he didn't mind helping, it struck him as odd that she needed his help. She was bigger and presumably stronger than he was, so what did she expect would happen?

He gave the handles a gentle pull, and for the first few centimetres, it worked just fine. Then he could feel on the right side that it was stuck as the slide immediately halted. Something had wedged itself in the track. There was just enough space for his hoof to reach around and pull it out, but her hoof was too big. That made sense, now. He reached in, under and over. The material inside was soft and plush, and he worried that he might dirty them with his elbow. He could feel the cloth wedged against the track. With a simple movement, he slipped it out. The drawer opened just fine now.

Panties. That's what was in the drawer. A pair had fallen out over the side, and that's what had ended up wedged. He was holding the pair that he'd pulled out, and it looked to have been torn. He glanced up at Maria, who just took them from him without a thought.

"Thanks for that. Before you go, I had something I wanted to ask you. Would you mind shutting the door?"

Ruiz swallowed hard. He'd just shoved his hoof into her underwear drawer, and now she wanted him to shut the door. Sure, he thought she was physically attractive, but he had not thought it his place to comment on her appearance. He was not a suitor, and he didn't think Jed would approve.

"It's just a question," added Maria, seeing his discomfort. "I just want to talk."

With a small nod, Ruiz closed the door, but kept his hoof on the handle. "Are you certain this needs to be in secret, señorita? I don't think your parents would approve."

"Do you want them to come in here?" Ruiz shook his head. "I just don't want Mint to overhear us, that's all."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm pretty sure she's the only one that thinks your story was nothing more than a story."

Ruiz reached up and scratched the back of his neck. His gaze fell to the floor.

"I'm right, aren't I? You were the prince."

Ruiz sighed deeply. "I thought I would kill three birds with one stone, señorita. Your mother wanted to know more about me, your sister wanted to be told a story I remembered well and you wanted me to have something to do."

"So, your mother was probably the queen, your brother, the duke, and the ponies of the kingdom your neighbors. Was the duchess a guest?"

"My sister."

Maria's jaw dropped. "Your sister brought the bandits that stole your home?"

"Well, half-sister," answered Ruiz. "We share a mother. The same for all of my known siblings. My parents' only union was me. I was such a mistake that my own father would never show up again."

Maria walked over to Ruiz and wrapped a leg around his shoulders. Immediately, he felt his whole body heating up around her touch as his heart began to beat faster. A wave of fear crashed over him, paralyzing him temporarily. "You're not a mistake, Ruiz."

He took a deep breath. "My very existence stems from a lack of consent, señorita." His voice had cracked as he spoke, and sounded a bit hoarse "I was not wanted, but forced onto my mother's shoulders. I saw the regret in her eyes every time she looked at me. How can I not be a mistake?"

Maria pulled back and looked into his eyes. He'd never felt so small. "Maybe you were an accident. But if you had never been born, we would be worse off. The Ravens would still be here, I might be carrying unwanted foals of my own, and your sister would have had an easier time destroying your family. Do you truly believe that you are the reason your parents did not stay together past your conception?"

Ruiz closed his eyes and lowered his head. He didn't want to say anything.

"Thank you for your help, Ruiz. I'll let you go to bed, now. If you ever want to talk again, though, let me know, okay?"

With a silent nod, Ruiz stepped out into the hallway. He dragged his hooves on the way back to his room, and when he arrived, he just sat down in front of the door. He could still feel her hoof on his shoulder. What had caused him to be so afraid in there?