The marriage proposal

Chapter One 🤍

Aspen~

As I walked along the sandy beach and back towards my childhood home, I noticed a tall boy watching me. His porcelain coloured skin stood out with the rest of the beach, his eyes pierced straight into mine as I looked away. He couldn't be possibly watching me as his eyes were glossed over and he was slightly zoned out. I had always loved this time of day. It was calm and peaceful, unlike my everyday life. Greece was full of bright colours and colourful seas. The town were bustling and full of people carrying things and selling things. I was lucky to be one of the small amounts of people who were allowed to live in the castle with their family.

The Castle was a bright blue that glittered in the sunlight. Not like a sparkle, but more of a healthy gloss. It was surrounded by olive trees and really plants and flowers of all kinds. The inside was shiny and I was afraid to touch most of it, as it seemed to fragile to touch. The people in the kingdom were just extraordinary and the amount of money they would have just spent on one singular pearl or gem on their long, glistening dresses or suits must have cost a fortune. Our family had a close connection to the new Emperor and Empress that were voted in about a year ago. I hadn't been born when they first got to know each other and I hadn't met any of their children; so it became a moment of shock and embarrassment when I suddenly bashed into one carelessly in the street.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, are you all, right?" I asked, I could feel myself going red as the tall boy most commonly known as Cassius looked up at me. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he smiled at me.

"Of course, Aspen, right?" he replied. My eyes widened. He knew my name?

"Um, um, yeah," I replied. I offered him my hand and he took it, hauling himself up.

"My father mentioned you and your family the other say, that's how I knew," he added, almost like he was reading my mind. Which wasn't possible because there was no such thing as magic. Right? "Your name, I mean," he hastily added on the end.

"Are you sure you're alright, it was so rude, me bashing into you like that. I need to watch where I'm going, I'm sor- "

"Hey, it's okay. You don't need to apologise to me, it was only a mistake," he interrupted," do you want to walk back to the castle with me?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure!"

We walked back to the castle, silently looking at each other and then hastily looking away. We had never met each other even though our families where really close. I had always envied their sharp wits and their strong characters. They had always held themselves up high with the utmost confidence, not letting their shoulders sag in defeat when they were critised by the public. I had never had an ounce of confidence in me, it was something I had been trying to learn since I was seven.

"So," Cassius started, interrupting my flow of thoughts," I hear that both of our parents are talking of marriage!"

"Oh! Really?" I asked him shocked; my parents had never mentioned it.

"Yeah, to my idiot brother," he replied," I'm surprised that your parents haven't spoken to you about it yet."

"Yeah, me too," I mumbled.

We finally made it back to the drawbridge of the castle. I could hear some of the village talking about the new ball that was coming up later this year. I was fuming inside. Why hadn't my parents told me about my potential marriage to Mattheo? Like he was a jerk and I had expressed that view to them multiple times. I waved goodbye to Cassius and ran to my families wing in he castle. I entered the door that lead into the family sitting room and threw my bag down. My parents were sitting side by side, both reading incredibly dusty books. They looked at me in confusion.