Total Eclipse of the Heart (Royal AU Wally x reader)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Will you marry me?"
After such an arduous battle, our group of heroes patched up their wounds and caught up on their hours of sleep. After all, (Y/n) and Wally barely slept ever since they left the Kingdom of Spades.
"Will you do me the honor of staying by my side forever?"
The guests that ran away were all given a message that the royal estate was safe now. As the debris was getting thrown out, any items that could be salvaged were given back to its owner. The last few days of the Shuffling were spent like this, while everyone resided in the other buildings in the estate, or the fanciest inns and hotels in the capital.
"May I have your hand in marriage?"
Arnold has been sent to a hospital, he hasn't woken up yet. (Y/n) would reside in the room with him, but she would go back to the castle during the day to get her and her friends' things back.
"Will you make me the happiest man on Earth and become my wife?"

"I can't take it anymore!" Lady (Y/n) exclaimed, her face red. "This is the tenth time he asks me now!"
"You never gave him an actual answer," Frank said nonchalantly. "of course he's going to be persistent."
The two of them were scavenging for books, since part of the library collapsed. They would pick them up and put them in the cart, to be put aside while the castle was rebuilt.
"Did you react just like you did the first time?" he glanced at her with a smile.
She groaned and covered her face. The first time Wally asked for her hand, she said, quote, 'haha! Good one your Highness! Let's go everyone!' before literally running away.
"At first I thought he only asked that in the heat of the moment!" she harshly whispered. "You know, after you save the world, anything feels possible! But it's been two days now and he keeps asking, he's very serious about this and I-" she moved her hands all around and made noises, overwhelmed.
Frank just hummed and carefully placed a couple of books in the cart, all neatly placed in stacks. Finally, (Y/n) sighed.
"I mean-" she looked around to make sure no one was looking before leaning towards him. "We only just kissed. Suddenly he wants us to be married right after?! That is madness!"
"There is actually an explanation for that."
"Really?" she tilted her head.

"Royalty has a different approach to marriage than the rest of the nobility does. There is never any courting involved, for there is no love involved. When there is a royal wedding, it's for the sake of their kingdom, their assets and their alliances. You are either engaged from the moment the two parties are born, or you select a match that is most beneficial. Me and Wally were lucky enough to have mothers who let us choose our match, and Julie had multiple fiancés but she scared them all away."
"Oh? How?"
"To put it simply, by being herself."
"Well then." she huffed. "They must not have been worth it."
"Trust me, they were not."
"But...That doesn't explain why he wants to marry me this quickly." she looked down. "Doing so wouldn't be beneficial at all, the only asset I have is my small town."
"To be fair, you did help save the world. That's pretty prestigious if you ask me."

"You know what I mean, Frank." she lightly hit his shoulder. "If our union is of no benefit, why would he marry me? If he wants to marry me for love, why go through this traditional process?"
He gave her a blank look, as if the answer was obvious.
"...Because the whole world is watching."
Her eyes widened.
"Julie has her siblings helping her, I have my mother, Wally is an orphan. He's been ruling alone ever since his mother's passing and he has rejected suitors before. What do you think people will say if he starts courting you?"
"...It could be a secret."
"I don't believe either of you could handle a secret relationship, you already have too much on your shoulders. Plus," he leaned closer. "you know that, when it comes to royalty, nothing stays secret forever."
She took a deep breath in.
"Well then." she exhaled. "That doesn't help at all."
"Oh don't take my words too seriously. Who knows," he went back to scavenging. "Wally's never been in love before, maybe he really just loves you so much that he's willing to get married right away."
She blushed. With all of this new information, she felt a headache coming.