Her Own Kingdom

Chapter 2

Rae's POV

" So Raegan, your father and I know that you are nervous about knowing who you will be marrying. " , my mother said.

" So your mother and I searched through every kingdom nearby to find you a prince that is worthy of marrying you. " , my father said.

I slowly nodded as I took a sip of my tea.

My parents exchanged glances before smiling at one another...Uh oh.

" Your father and I traveled to a country in Europe named Romania. " , my mother said.

" It's a beautiful country, darling. The people are kind and loving, the economic is growing, the language is beautiful to hear, strawberries are their main crop and..." , my father started before I interrupted him.

" Strawberries? You mean my most favorite fruit is the main crop in Romania? " , I asked excitingly.

" Yes darling. " , my mother lightly chuckled. " And most of all the royal family is welcoming and kind. The king and queen have two children: a son about your age and a younger daughter.

" Well that sounds lovely, but how are the strawberries? Are they sweet or sour? A bright red or a dull red? Is it really the main crop? Can I just go to Romania and get me some strawberries? Or can we just order some and bring them here? How big are the strawberries? Are the best strawberries ever? Have you ever tasted the strawberries? " , I asked with excitement.

My parents gave him a look. My father crossed his arms and my mother shook her head and sighed.

" Raegan, we are not talking about the strawberries, that's not the main topic. " , my mother said.

" Well If isn't about strawberries then I guess afternoon tea time is over. " , I said as I started to stand up.

" Raegan Jones, sit down young lady. " , my father said sternly. " You do not dismiss yourself like that. "

" Very unladylike. " , my mother said.

I sighed and sat back down as I played with my hands a bit nervously.

" Raegan, we are here to discuss about the prince of Romania, not the strawberries. " , my father said softly.

" We have met the royal family and introduced ourselves and all before we sat down and talked. " , my mother said.

" Talked about what? " , I asked quietly.

" Well your father and I and the king and queen of Romania have made an agreement. " , my mother said.

" You will be staying in Romania so the prince may meet you and get to know you. " , my father said. " He has stated that he has never heard of you and never met you, so it's a great opportunity to impress the prince. "

" And if you impress the prince then he would happily want to marry you, so Romania and Ireland could be allies.  " , my mother nodded.

I didn't know what to say. It was worser than I thought. I thought they just wanted me to get married to a prince so I could have a chance of happiness. Instead of that, I'm being forced to go to Romania to meet and try to impress the prince so he could marry me just to make an alliance with my country. I guess I'm nothing to my parents, but a gift to the prince.

I slowly nodded at my parents.

" Raegan, this is a great opportunity. " , my mother said softly.

" And you should be lucky because no other princess has had the pleasure of meeting the prince of Romania. " , my father said.

" Come on, smile. Be happy. " , my mother said.

I put on my fakest smile and nodded. My parents clapped happily and they dismissed me from the table. I slowly left and went to my room where Anna was organizing my clothes and smiled at me.

" I heard the news. Congratulations! " , Anna said as she hugged me.

I didn't hug her back.

" What's wrong, Rae? " , Anna asked worriedly.

I looked at Anna as tears spilled down my cheeks.

" I don't want to go to Romania and try to impress the prince to like me. It's like I'm forced to act like other princesses and smile and wave to get attention. Why can't I just be liked for who I am? " , I asked quietly playing with my hands.

Anna held my hands gently after wiping off the tears on my cheek.

" I promise you, Rae that life isn't perfect. Who knows what will happen in Romania? Maybe the prince is different and will like you as a person and not as a status. Or maybe you will find someone else along your journey. " , Anna said softly.

I slowly nodded and hugged Anna gently. I will be honest, I am scared because I have never left my kingdom, but I know that I should be brave and do what is best for my country.

Even if it means pretending to be the princess that I'm not.