The Prince Who Took His Time

Prince Aarav was good at many things. He was good at riding horses. He was good at remembering the names of stars. He was good at making the royal cook laugh which was considered by everyone in the palace deeply impossible.

There was one thing Prince Aarav was not fast at. Words. His words came out the way the old well bucket came up — slowly, with some difficulty, occasionally getting stuck halfway.

W-w-welcome. Th-th-thank you. I am p-p-pleased to—

He'd been practising since Tuesday. It was now Sunday. The speech was not getting faster.

The birthday celebration was for the whole kingdom. Every subject. Every farmer and baker and candle-maker. Every child who had stayed up past bedtime specifically to hear the prince speak.

Aarav stood behind the curtain. The curtain was red and gold and very royal and not helping.

His hands were cold. His mouth felt like it was already planning to embarrass him.

"Your Highness," said the old minister. "It is time."

Aarav walked out. The crowd was enormous. The crowd was so enormous it had its own weather.

He looked at all the faces. All the waiting faces. All the faces that were about to hear him get stuck halfway through a word in front of the entire kingdom.

He opened his mouth. "G-g-good —" He stopped.

Somewhere in the crowd a small girl was watching him. She had a gap where her front tooth used to be. She was missing the same tooth as Aarav had lost at exactly her age. She wasn't laughing. She was just — watching. The way you watch someone do something hard when you want them to make it.

Aarav looked at her. He took a breath. Not a fast breath. A slow one. The kind the old minister had taught him before the minister understood that slow was just how Aarav worked.

"G-good people," he said. The words came out the way they always came out. Slowly. With some stops. With some starts.

He didn't speed up. He didn't look at his feet. He just — kept going.

"You have w-waited all year for this celebration. You have w-worked your fields and b-baked your bread and made your candles in the d-dark. I see you. Every one of you. And I am —" He paused. Not because he was stuck. Because he meant it. "— I am p-proud to be your prince."

The crowd was quiet. For one long moment the whole kingdom held its breath.

Then the small girl with the missing tooth started clapping. Both hands. As hard as she could.

And then everyone. All at once. Like rain.

Aarav stood on the balcony. His words had come out slowly. His words had stopped and started. His words had been entirely, completely, exactly his.

He looked at the girl. She was still clapping.

He bowed. Just slightly. Just for her.