Forced Heir

Prologue

Prologue

The warm sun rays seep into my skin as I lay in the circular window in the Sitting Room. I gently shut my eyes as the satisfying heat calms me. Finally, for a moment, it's complete silence. There's no sound of footsteps from servants racing back and forth. There's no sound of Queen Chelsea's evil and squeaky voice or King Randolph's deep and demanding voice. I let out a satisfied sigh, but the silence is quickly broken when I suddenly hear Charlie start snoring super loud.

I silently get up from the window and peak over at Charlie asleep on an antique couch. Rolling my eyes, I say his name to try and wake him, "Charlie..." He remains asleep.

"Charlie."

He lets out a loud snore, so I poke the tip of his nose, "Charlie!"

Slowly, he reveals those pretty green eyes of his and looks up at me. A tired smile creeps up on his lips and he teasingly tells me, "Leave me alone."

"Nope, this isn't nap time," I laugh

"Every time is nap time."

Suddenly, I look up to see a goofy redhead in the doorway, "Heh, I wish every time was nap time! It would make my job a whole lot easier."

"Hey, Robin," I say as I give him a smile.

"Good afternoon, Princess! Oh and good afternoon, Prince Charles," Robin says in an overly fancy voice.

"More like goodnight for me," Charlie laughs.

"Well you may want to wake up, because I was sent here to let you guys know that Queen Chelsea wants to see you both in a private meeting in the library immediately," Robin informs us.

"What is it now?" I groan as Charlie sits up on the couch. A strand of brown hair stands up on the top of his head that I gently smooth down before Charlie stands up and stretches his arms.

Robin leaves, and Charlie and I walk up the staircase and down the hall towards the library. Every few seconds Charlie will let out a yawn. I look at his tired eyes and then he lets out another yawn.

I poke him in his side, "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty."

Letting out a laugh he says, "I'm trying to."

Then, we enter into the library and see Queen Chelsea sitting behind a desk with her hands folded in her lap. Usually she has a mad look on her face where her lips are pouty and wrinkles on her forehead, but this time she has a smirk on her face. Immediately, I begin to have a bad feeling. She motions for Charlie and I to sit in the seats in front of the desk and we do just that. 

Charlie lets out a small sigh before asking her bluntly, "What do you want?"

Ignoring his question, she politely asks us, "So, how are my newlyweds?"

My mouth couldn't help but give her sarcasm, "Better than ever."

"Splendid! The media has been all over the 'Royal Wedding'. Your faces have made it onto every cover of every magazine, every LookingView, and every LivingSquare. Everyone is loving you two together!" Queen Chelsea says overly excited as she holds up some of the magazines with our faces on it. I roll my eyes at her and I take a glance at Charlie's reaction, but he just has a straight face.

Then, Queen Chelsea opens a magazine and starts reading an article about Charlie and I's love life. With an amused tone in her voice she continues speaking, "Wow, what a beautiful couple! They just have such a fairytale romance. First, there's love. Then, there's marriage." She briefly makes eye contact with me with a sly smile on her face before continuing, "And maybe Arizona with a baby carriage."

It takes me a few seconds to process her words, and I feel anger boil up inside. My face gets hot. My eyebrows scrunch up, creating wrinkles on my forehead, and my eyes widen. She cannot force me to do that. She was able to force me to marry Charlie, but I will not let this happen.

"Get that idea right out of your head because that is NOT going to happen," Charlie growls as his face turns red. Then, he gets up from his chair, heading towards the door.

Following him, I do the same, "If you think you can control us, then you're wrong!"

"Oh but that's where your mistaken, Arizona, because I can control both of you," she says, laughing.

"No, you can't!"

Charlie and I stomp hastily to the door when suddenly, Queen Chelsea's eerily calm words make us stop in our tracks, "You can control anybody as long as they have people that they love..."

Instantly, my anger is transformed into fear. My heart sinks, and a dreadful feeling is in the pit of my stomach. I can feel myself starting to panic, and an overwhelming set of emotions floods over me. Slowly, I turn around to face her. This moment can't be real. It feels as if it's a nightmare. This cannot be real.

Charlie's face grows even more red as he clenches his jaw and rolls his hands into fists so tight that his knuckles turn a bright white. Every muscle in his body is tense, and he refuses to look back at Queen Chelsea when he asks his question, "What do you mean?"

With a smirk on her face she replies, "You will conceive a child immediately. I have Emerald and Bethany held captive right at this moment. And I have people who can capture the rest of Arizona's family--Miles and Dylan. If you refuse, I will make them suffer mentally, emotionally, and physically." She rises from her chair and slowly makes her way to the door. She looks at me in the eyes, and she grins, knowing that she has won. She notices the fear in my eyes, and I can feel her gain an extra dose of pleasure from it. As she exits, she looks back at us, "Have a good evening, my newlyweds!" Then, she's gone.

I thought I knew what it felt like to feel your heart slowly break, but I was wrong. Deep inside me, I know I am completely helpless and stuck. I just stare at a wall and suddenly, fall on my knees. So many emotions flood all at once that my chest seems to tighten up. I take deep breaths, but my lungs demand for more air. Tears start to burn my eyes and my vision seems to have gone completely blurry. When I blink, tear after tear trickles down my cheeks, and I burry my red face in my hands.

There has to be some other way to keep my family safe. This cannot be my only option.

Charlie yells out in a rage as he grabs his hair. Suddenly, his hands grip the chair he was sitting in, and he slams it against the granite wall. Pieces of the chair fly across the room, but he continuously slams it into the hard wall until there is nothing left of it to break. His hands sling the other chair against the wall, and he continues until that one is completely demolished as well. Again, he lets out another yell that echoes throughout the shelves of books.

"We can't do this..." I mumble through my cries.

Charlie looks at me with bloodshot eyes. Those same eyes that moments ago were sleepy and relaxed, are now filled with rage and tears. "What choice do we have?"

"We can't--" I begin to repeat hopelessly when Charlie interrupts.

"WHAT CHOICE DO WE HAVE?" He screams at me. His eyes look at me desperately, pleading for answer that will solve all our problems, but I don't say a word. Charlie stares at me for a while before turning away, huffing, and anxiously running his fingers through his hair. My hands start to tremble from all of the overwhelming anxiety and fear.

Fear is such a controlling thing, but love is too.