Gunther, a Stromland palace guard, stood at attention in his ceremonial uniform. Serious and expressionless. Which was exceedingly difficult, as princess Audrey slunk around him trying to get a rise out of him. Crowds watched and paparazzi cameras were flashing. She crept low behind him, slowly, watching his face. "Boo!" she cried, leaping up and waving her hands. Gunther managed to keep a straight face.
The old King had died. Regal, aloof, military. The tabloids were rubbing their hands in glee waiting for Audrey to make a mockery of the funeral. But she was uncharacteristically quiet, wearing plain dark clothes. She would occasionally sniffle and dab her nose with her handkerchief. "He wasn't the perfect father," she said, when she was forced to speak. "And I was certainly not the perfect daughter. But he was my dad, you see. All around me I can feel the hole he left. I wish he were still here."
Later. "So let me get this straight," said Audrey to her advisers, her feet up on the table as she chewed bubblegum. "Gromland to the west is building up its military to invade. The Free States of Hogsworth to the South want our ports on the North Sea. And Fleebland to the east doesn't care and just wants to grow potatoes. Any one of them could stomp us flat. If Hogsworth takes over we lose our autonomy and our culture gets diluted. Meh. If Gromland takes over we get forcibly dispersed to their hinterland and they'll repopulate our lands with their elite. Way bad."
Within days, joint efforts between the Stromland and Hogsworth militaries were pursued with vigor. "We need to protect those poor Hogsworth landlubbers from impending doom!" declared Queen Audrey. Treaties of joint protection were signed. Stromland was still fiercely independent, but a Hogsworth naval base had been allowed in a Stromland port.
Gunther was now on a sailing ship, in a practical uniform, and carrying a gun that was not decorative. The Stromland flag was frequently seen now across the Hogsworth trading zone. The Stromland military hardly spent any time in Stromland anymore.
Easy borders made the Stromland capital a mecca to Hogsworth tourists. The hotels played it up, old Stromland style. Stromland's currency was certainly pegged to Hogsworth's, but Stromland kept its own coins. Imprinted with the serious old King on the front, and the young new Queen grinning slyly in a hat on the back. Merchants made a killing. Audrey liked riding in a limo through the streets, throwing bon bons at tourists.
Gromland did in fact invade. It was immediately invaded back by Hogsworth, not just from Stromland but along the whole Gromland coastline. The Stromland military took part too, of course, flying their flags. It was a joint effort. Gromland quickly declared their objectives met and returned to their old borders. The cleanup in Stromland took years, but it did give occasion for more historical sites. And pretzel shops for the tourists visiting them.
This was first posted to reddit/r/WritingPrompts in response to the prompt "You are the young queen who just ascended the throne of a small nation upon your father's death. A neighboring empire is invading your borders and your court scrambles to deal with the threat."
"Your majesty, why are you walking through the crowds on stilts?"
"You should address me as Your Highness!"