My Incomplete Fairytale

Chapter 1 - My Fairytale

Chapter 1 – My Fairytale

"Jayden."

I spun around to face my mother, whom was standing on the other end of the ballroom, waiting for me to join her at her side. I sighed, running a hand through my short black hair. "It's an important day," my mother whispered in my ear.

"Who are we waiting for?" I asked, getting impatient. My mother rolled her eyes, "Just be patient, Jayden," she gave my shoulder a squeeze. I sighed, tapping my fingers along the side of my leg to keep me occupied. Finally, my father raced in through the front door, standing tall. His golden brown eyes sparkling in the light, and I was so thankful to have inherited the same eyes.

But for the most part, I looked like my mother. The same baby like face, dark, wavy hair and lean body. If I must say so myself, I made a pretty handsome Prince. My father, King Carter Jackson, cleared his throat, gathering the crowd's attention. Inside the ballroom were at least a hundred people, all of them royalty from some part of the world.

Did I grow up in this castle? Hell no. My family used to live in Crosston, my mother's home town. She had been so passionate about raising me where she had been born that my entire family relocated there. My father ran the country from Crosston, making daily trips down to the castle. When I turned fourteen, so two years ago, we had moved back here so my family could become a real royal family, not just my father as the King.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed Crosston more, regardless the lack of luxuries. It was literally dirt verses marble, gold verses rocks, and a thirty room castle verses a two room upstairs apartment. Even if it was a small town with the population of two hundred, it was my home, just as it was my mother's.

This castle was so.. empty. I had no friends here, well, almost. I had very few, and there was only a few people even anywhere close to my age. So basically, I spent my whole day, everyday, by myself, trying to entertain myself around the castle with rubber balls and imaginary games. Every now and then, when the one of the maids were on a break, I went and saw her.

Her, you ask? Her being Lana Cartwright. She was almost too pretty to be a maid, something that I had always thought when I would look at her fiery hair and bright green eyes.

"Prince Jayden Jackson," my father called my name to get my attention. It probably wasn't the first time he had done so, judging by the angered look on his face and the tone of his voice. Oops. The King cleared his throat, "I present to you," my father continued, "Jennifer Lifton."

I raised an eyebrow, completely confused as the doors opened and a gorgeous young woman stepped into the ballroom. I swallowed, glancing her up and down. Her long blonde hair was curled in perfect ringlets, her bright blue eyes sparkled in the bright lights, and her body.. Let's just say she had a sexy form. I put my hand on my the back of my neck and lifted my chest in confidence. I leaned my head towards my mother,  "Who's she?" I whispered.

My mother smiled, "Jennifer Lifton is the dutchess of the country next door," her eyes flickered back to Jennifer as she spoke. My eye brows knitted as confusion took over, "Why's she here?" I asked.

My mother nodded at my father, and I listened as my question was explained to me. "Jennifer Lifton, daughter of Sir Jacob, will marry into my royal family. Prince Jayden, step up and take your fiancé's hand," my father gestured for me to come to him.

I stopped, piecing together his words in my head. Marry into my royal family? Step up and take your fiancé's hand? My eyes widened, and I felt my throat constrict. No. This couldn't be happening. I couldn't marry, I was in love. Yes, you'd say that is the reason to get married, but I wasn't in love with Jennifer whatever her last name was. I was in love with Lana. I glanced around, thinking that she was probably in the very same room. I came up short and cursed under my breath.

I turned to my mother, and inside her green eyes read the emotions of guilt, happiness, and worry all mixed in one expression. "No, mother," I whispered, grabbing her hand. My mother gave me her best smile, yet I knew that it was fake. I could read my mother like an open book, and it was obvious that this marriage had not been her idea. "Just go," she said softly, squeezing my hand before she let me go.

I swallowed, slowly making my way over to my father. Jennifer smiled an aluring smile, and my father once again announced our engagement. I nodded, taking Jennifer's hand before kissing the back of it quickly. The crowd cheered, and Jennifer looked proud. Even though she was sexy as hell, I almost wanted to punch the smirk off her face.

Not that I'd ever hit a girl, but the thought was there. I wasn't even infuriated at her, she hadn't done a thing. I was angry at the agreement, and I was angry at the fact that she seemed to be happy with it. My father clapped his hands, making the crowd roar louder with applause. I gulped, and suddenly it felt like I was trapped. The sounds echoed in my skull, my father's words pounding in my head and eating at my heart. I choked, shoving through the guards until I made my way to the door. I pushed through it and toppled over in the hallway. It was silent out here, the only sound was my heart thudding in my chest.

"Sir Jayden."

I looked up, picking myself off the floor as I stared at the maid standing in front of me. I was slightly embarrassed to have been so worked up, and I was definitely ashamed to have been on the ground. I swallowed, my heart plummeting in my stomach as I caught her emerald eyes, "Lana, you don't have to call me Sir, you should know that by now," I ended in a whisper.

She smiled sheepishly, running a hand through her long, red hair, "What's all the commotion about?" Her voice was soft, just like I always remembered it being. I bit my lip, staring back into her bright eyes. I cleared my throat, feeling guilty just to breathe the word, "My father has just announced to everyone that I am engaged," I stopped at the hurt look that overtook Lana's expression. I sighed, "To the Duchess of hell."

Lana looked down, "Congratulations, Sir Jayden," she shook her head, "I apologize, Jayden, I mean," she mumbled. I swallowed, stepping towards her before I  used my hand to brush a strand of her hair from her face. "It'll be fine," I assured her, though I wasn't sure if I was trying to assure myself as well. She nodded, and without hesitation I pulled her into me and wrapped my arms around her nimble body.

Lana. The maid next door. She was the only person in the entire castle that seemed to look past the fact that I was a handsome Prince, and realize that I was so much more. She was also one of the only people that was my age at 16. And with no doubt in my mind, she was the prettiest, no, she was the most beautiful girl not only in the castle, but that I had ever seen. She had stunning features, ones that you could never forget, and ones that made you look twice to ensure yourself that you had seen correctly.

You didn't see many girls with red hair like she had, or eyes as green as hers. She was so utterly perfect. I had spent so many nights dreaming about the day where I would turn a maid into a Princess. It wasn't impossible, for my own mother had managed the exact same thing. Except with Lana, I knew we would marry out of love, not out of force like my parents had. But now, I couldn't have her at all.

I now had Jennifer. The sexy, snobby, self-absorbed duchess that wanted nothing else but to call herself a Princess. I swallowed, placing my chin on top of Lana's head as I closed my eyes.

This was going to be some fairytale.