The Prince's Bride ✔️

| Chapter 4 |

After lunch is over the king and queen leave Stefan and me alone in the tent.

On of the servants refills my teacup and I look across the beautiful garden, as the awkward silence pushes us apart.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" Stefan offers.

"What?" I reply taken by surprise at the sudden broken silence between us.

"You seem to be enjoying the view of the garden. I thought maybe you'd enjoy a walk through it."

"Yes, of course," I smile and rise when he does.

In the direct sunlight, Stefan's eyes sparkle like deep sea pools, and they hold me in complete rapture as I walk next to.

"Why have I never seen you at court?" He asks.

My gaze drops to my feet, "My studies usually kept me to busy to join the court when it's in session."

"What were you studying?"

"Nothing of significance. Or at least nothing I thought was significant until this morning."

Stefan gives me a quizzical stare, and I smile in response.

"Government and political science, business, economics, several languages, horseback..."

"Horseback?" He chuckles.

"If I have to live here it's probably a good thing," I nod toward a wagon delivering goods to the palace.

"So, you want to live here then?" He asks with a pause, then continued, " And to marry me?"

I look up at him to meet his gaze. I ponder his question, not sure how to answer. I don't really seem to have a choice. I was told to come here. I was told I was marrying him. What I want isn't relevant.

"Yes," I reply weakly, "it's what's expected of us."

"Is it what you want?" I meekly ask.

"Do I want to marry a complete stranger? Not really, expectations be damned."

I can feel my stomach sink into my shoes. I'm not disappointed that he doesn't like me, he doesn't know me. But it's going to make this marriage so much more difficult.

"Have you talked to your parents? Surely they won't make you marry someone you don't want to marry."

"Have you?" He chuckles.

Fair enough, I wouldn't dare suggest that I don't want to go through with this marriage.

"According to our laws, the crowning prince or princess must be married before their twenty-second birth date. I had until last fall when I turned twenty-one. When I didn't produce a worthy bride, they took over."

I note when he said "worthy bride." Does he have a girlfriend he'd rather be with?

"What happens if you don't get married before your birthday?"

"I lose the crown to my idiot cousin," he scowls.

The weight of how important this marriage hits me and my eyes grow wide. I don't need the news to know the young Duke isn't fit to be king. I have seen him in person. Last year when my brother and I turned nineteen, our parents held a dinner for us. The Duke of Glensberg was one of the guest. The heavyweight young man got so drunk that he crawled out of our house, but before he made it out he threw up all over my mother's imported rug. I wish that was the worst of it though, I spent most of the evening trying to avoid his wandering hands. They were constantly trying to grope me in places they had no business touching.