𝙱𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚃𝚘 𝚆𝚊𝚛

Chapter 1: The News

"Sweetheart-" I swatted her hand away.

"No! Don't touch me! Why would you do that?"

"He is a great man and has the wealth and status you need to have a perfect life, Bliss. We are commoners, we don't have anything else we can give you. Your beauty got you this far, why stop there?" I jutted my hands out in frustration.

"A common girl marrying a prince like him? You don't think that'll be looked down upon by the king and queen?"

"They agreed to the marriage, dear."

"What about other kingdoms? They'll look down upon it for sure." She sighed in frustration, then her face softened.

"I want you to take some deep breaths and then let me know when you're ready to listen to what I have to say. Okay?" I looked away in defiance but took slow, ragged breaths as she instructed. Once I felt more relaxed, I nodded my head to signal I was ready. "Your father is the head general of the kingdom and he has met the king first hand, not to mention that they have become great friends in the meantime. His majesty was the one who proposed the betrothal." I gasped. So this wasn't my parents doing. Well, sort of. They made it happen. No wonder my brother didn't oppose the idea. As a soldier, he would never disagree with royalty.

"But... but the prince surely is pressured into this as well."

"He is a little, I suppose. But he has quite an interest in you from what your brother tells me since they're good friends as well." My eyes widened and darted to my brother, who was smiling and looking away. I felt my cheeks heat ever so slightly but hid it by letting my long, brown hair fall slightly in front of my face. "There's no reason for you not to do it, Bliss. He's a good man, and he's about your age, nineteen."

"Age means nothing mother."

"Of course it does! It's something more you two have in common." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, okay mom." She rested her hands on my shoulders. Her hair was still wet from her shower and she had tugged it up into a messy bun.

"Just... sleep on it okay?"

"Not like she has a choice..." My bother muttered. I shot daggers at him again.

"You better shut up or your big sister is going to kick your ass!" I spat through clenched teeth. He snickered and hurried up the stairs, escaping the danger zone. I turned back to my mother. "I'll think about it... okay?" She smiled lightly.

"Good," My father kissed my cheek. "Goodnight, Bliss."

"Goodnight, dad." He and mom followed each other up the stairs. I sighed and walked to the kitchen to make some tea. I needed to keep an insanely clear head to think about this big of a decision. I replayed Coda's words in my head. Not like she has a choice... the tea bag bubbled as I bobbed it up and down in the steaming water. The steam reminded me of the waterfall by the lake. Maybe I'd take Majesty there in the morning. She always enjoyed going there, as did I, and sometimes we'd talk about the memories we had before we'd met each other. Or things we wanted to do together in the future. Being able to talk to animals had its perks. I could vent to Majesty and she'd be forced to keep the secret among other humans. In a way, Aridonya was like a fairytale story. Some people in the village were born with gifts. I, for example, am able to talk and manipulate animals. My mother was born with eternal beauty. We were the only two in our family that had powers. Not everyone in the village had them. People with powers were called Handers because our bloodline of gifts would often be passed or handed down to our children. Someone without a gift was called a Minor. My head rested on my lazily propped up hand and I soon remembered my situation. A marriage to the prince...? Why so soon? And why couldn't we have waited a little longer? He's barely older than I am, after all. A sudden knocking sound came from the patio door. My head jolted in surprise, but I soon relaxed when I realized it was just my best friend, Love. Her bright green eyes peered playfully at me, one hand covering her eyes to see through the glass and one waving wildly at me. Her smile was wide. I smiled and shook my head, unlocking the door and opening it. She struck a funny pose and formed her lips into a duck face.