Arranged Marriages

Rosemary, Princess of Harrow

Briac and I danced silently for a long moment, my arms around Briac and his arm wrapped around my waist, and the song ended. Another quickly began, but I still took my arms from around Briac's neck. He loosened his arm from around my waist, stood straight, and shot me a questioning look.

Biting down on my bottom lip I looked up at him and grabbed his hand, "I'm thirsty, come get a drink with me?" 

He nodded and we weaved our way out of the dancing couples. Briac got a pint of ale and I simply requested water. Once I held the cup in my hands and we sat I stared at it for a moment, then turned to look up at Briac.

"Briac, do you think you could love me?" I asked, and in response he nearly choked on his drink. 

Setting it down carefully, he questioned, "What? Rosemary, I've only just me-"

Shaking my head I cut him off, "I'm not asking if you love me right now, what kind of question would that be? It's just....I'm sixteen years old. Even if it weren't for the arranged marriages I would still be marrying within a few years. The only difference would be that he probably would love me before we got married. I just want to know if you think you maybe could, maybe some time after we're married?"

He opened his mouth a few times to say something, but finally settled on, "It's been a day."

I placed my cup down and swallowed a lump in my throat. Laying my arms on the table I rest my chin ontop of my hands, closed my eyes, and whispered, "I think I could fall in love with you." 

What I didn't say, however, was that I thought I already was.