Tied to the prince *Complete*

Chapter 10

Edited by TenYearOdyssey

Ava’s POV

"Whoops," I say tripping on the stairs. Eric turns around and he grabs my hand, catching me before I fall.

Blushing, I look away and steady myself. That wasn't awkward at all.

Eric smiles and asks, "Are you alright?"

I nod my head quickly and say, "Yes, just clumsy."

Eric nods and says, "Clearly," around a little peal of laughter.

I give him a small smile and walk faster to catch up to him. Everyone is so perfectly polite and refined here. I guess they were always taught to be that way considering they're royal and all.

But it's still strange to me. At my old college, all of my friends frequently used different slang words. The informality of the way we spoke was a sign of our close friendship and made everyone seem more approachable. Here, I can't quite tell if they dislike me or if they are just being polite the way they were taught.

Right now, I wonder if Eric actually likes me or if he's just being nice to me because I'm new and don't know anyone.

Suddenly Eric's voice breaks my thoughts, "What are you thinking so deeply about? Your eyebrows are scrunching up."

"Oh, ummm..." I decide to tell him the truth, "I'm just amazed at how polite everyone here is...it's different from what I'm used to."

"Oh, I remember when I was amazed at that too," Eric says opening the door to the limo.

I look at him confused. "Didn't you live here your whole life? Why would you be surprised at that?"

Eric shakes his head and says, "Oh, no, not at all. When I was young, my parents sent me to live with my aunt and uncle, who live in a farm pretty far away because they didn't want me to grow up around other royals and end up spoiled and snobby. So, I went and lived on the farm until I was 12 then they sent me back here."

"That's nice. How, uh, was the farm?" I don't know exactly what to say.

His face lights up. "It was wonderful. I loved being surrounded by animals. Life was so simple nothing to really worry about, except making sure everyone was fed. Now, not so much. Sometimes I just want my old life back, but I have a duty to fulfill. I have to be the new duke once my father dies," he replies.

I frown. "I know exactly how you feel, I wish none of this ever happened. There's just too much stress. I have to be the queen one day. I'm not fit for that type of pressure. I'm just not fit to be queen."

He looks shocked and says, "But you wouldn't give up everything, right? Clearly, you and Thomas love each other. Would you really risk losing him?"

"Of course not. I love Thomas. I just never wanted to be queen" I lie smoothly. I don't love Thomas, I barley know him. He's nice, I guess, but I would give all of this up. I don't want to marry him and I don't want to be queen. I don't want any of this, but my mom and I do need the money. I just wish there was a different way we could have gotten it. But there isn't, so I'm going to have to live with it.

Eric nods and opens the door. I step out after him and look around; we're at a large carnival.

"So, where would you like to go first," he asks.

"Uhhh, can we get some food first," I say. As if agreeing with me, my stomach growls.

Eric laughs and nods, and I follow him to a stand where we buy some burgers, fries, and cotton candy.

I sit down on a bench and eat. With a french fry halfway to my mouth, I overhear two girls, who look a little younger than me, whispering: "Oh, my God. Is that the girl Prince Thomas is marrying She's...not what I expected. I mean look at her, she's not exactly pretty, she's only ok, and the way she's eating... Does she have any manners? Who eats a burger with their hands? You're obviously supposed to cut it into tiny bits and then eat it."

The girl's friends nod, agreeing with her. I bet someone else would be mad right now, but not me. I honestly don't give a shit. I love my food so I will eat anyway I want. Plus, I know I'm not drop dead gorgeous. I'm willing to accept that I may be ugly or I may be beautiful, but people should know that looks aren't what matters, it's personality. So what-the-fuck-ever.

I throw my burger away and walk over to the two girls. "Excuse me," I say and they look up, shocked expressions on their face. They clearly were not expecting me to come over.

I give them my megawatt smile and say, "I heard you too talk about me so..." I watch as their faces change to guilt and as they stutter out apologies. I keep smiling and say, "Look I didn't come here to listen to your apologies. You hurt my feeling so much. What you said hit hard. I'm honestly trying not to cry right now."

Their eyes widen and they start saying things like "we're sorry", "we didn't mean it", "don't kill us", and "you're amazing".

After the last one, I start laughing hard. I can tell from the look on their face they think I'm crazy. Taking a big breath, I say, "I honestly don't give a shit about what you just said," then I give them the middle finger and walk away with my head held high.

Eric smiles at me and says, "I have to say that was awesome, they clearly didn't expect that at all."

I give him a genuine smile and plop down on the bench next to him, I can't help but look back at the girls, still standing there, mouths dropped open in shock.

Eric and I start laughing hard, then Eric screams, "You might want to close your mouth, don't want to catch any flies."

I laugh even harder at that as the girls snap their mouths shut. When we finally stop laughing we head over to the Doom Tunnels. The brightly colored plaque describes the ride as 'a terrifying, ever-descending drop to your doom'. I snort at the dramatic wording. As long as my lunch doesn't come up, I doubt anything will be terrifying about this ride.

I stand in line and try to ignore the gaping people but it's hard. Finally, we get to the end and Eric pays for the tickets, no matter how much I protest.

We enter the ride and everyone starts screaming as we plunge down into darkness. I almost slide down the seat because the seat belt is super loose, but thankfully Eric saves me by grabbing my hand.

After that ride, we go on about six more. But then the sun slowly inches towards the horizon and we realize how late it is. We head back to the castle in companionable, exhausted silence.

I say bye to Eric after we get to the palace and head up to my room. Tiredly, I change into the pajamas my mom had been nice enough to give me, then I plop down on my bed and fall asleep.

Authors note

Heyyyyyy, I'm wrote finally...your welcome by the way. 

Hope you liked the chapter it sure took me a while to write.

Please vote and comment it only takes about 5 seconds of your time.

And that's all I'll write soon, byeeeee.