The Tale of a Princess and Her Journey to Love

Chapter Nine

"What is all of this?" Aurora asked shakily, recognising the scene as one of her nightmares.

"Well I thought that we could discuss our relationship now, whilst you do me the pleasure of dining with me." Korian revealed making Aurora feel rather feint.

"Do not worry Princess; I have cleared your schedule for the next hour, so you can enjoy your meal in peace." Dusty winked much to Aurora's horror. He probably thought that Korian was her secret admirer, which was why he agreed to this!

"Oh, no..." Aurora began, feeling incredibly flustered, but Dusty had already exited the room with Sychelles, who she had not seen but supposed was lurking in the shadows.

Once they had left, the door was shut firmly and Aurora and Korian were alone. What a predicament! Aurora was still flabbergasted by this turn of events and desperately wanted to leave. She was not up for this at all.

"Come and sit down Aurora, I have asked for your favourite meals to be prepared." Korian insisted as he pulled one of the heavy, finely crafted oak chairs out for her.

"Oh... Thank you for all of this Korian, but I, I really must..." Ro scrambled for words to say, anything to get her out of this situation, but Korian would not have any of it.

"Nonsense, Dusty has cleared your schedule so we can talk, so do not worry about anything. I am not asking for marriage Aurora." He chuckled which calmed her a little.

She did not know what excuse she could make to leave without insulting him, and what harm could a simple lunch do anyway, so she allowed him to take her hand and guide her to the table without much resistance. She felt as though she were being unfaithful to Theo, however she knew she had not actually done anything wrong. If Korian did try something funny with her, she would leave straight away.

"'Please sit, we have so much to talk about." Korian instructed, and Aurora did so unsurely with the intent of telling him she was expecting to be betrothed soon, and he should concentrate on her sister instead.

"You know Alluvia is beautiful, but I miss Aubriemia. I think you would like it there Aurora, it is always sunny and we have some beautiful beaches."

"It sounds lovely." Aurora replied as she took a sip from her golden cup, feeling as though she needed alcohol to get through the lunch.

"It certainly is. We have had many attacks over the years from greedy people who want access to our diamond and gold mines, but we have only ended up stronger, and now control most of the Middle East. We have strong allies in our neighbouring countries Bre Smium and Niva, although Aubriemia is without a doubt the largest and most wealthy. I have plans to conquer the world when I am crowned King, most likely within the next two years according to my aging father." Korian revealed after they said Grace, and started tucking into the carrot soup with soft bread rolls - indeed Aurora's favourite first course.

"That is nice; you must be excited to be King." Aurora commented, although was mostly focusing on the delicious food.

"It is my birth right." He shrugged which irritated Aurora a little - it should have been his elder sister's. Nevertheless, Aurora just kept her eyes down and focused on not dropping any food on her beautiful velvet navy blue dress.

"I have to admit to you Aurora; I came to Alluvia with the sole purpose of finding a Queen." He suddenly announced.

"I thought you came for my ball?" Aurora asked drily.

"Your ball served as the perfect excuse. Alluvia's greatness matches Aubriemia's, which is why I knew I wanted to marry one of the beautiful Princesses. Think how unstoppable we will be!"

A sick feeling started swirling in Aurora's stomach. She REALLY hoped that he was not about to say what she feared.

"What are you getting at?" She asked anxiously, suddenly feeling quite claustrophobic.

"Princess Aurora, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes upon, and I wish for you to be my Queen." Korian declared with a serious expression upon his bronzed face, and there was no playful spark in his bright blue eyes.

Aurora choked on her drink and abruptly stood up, panic shooting through her making her feel dizzy.

"Oh no you have got it all wrong!" She gasped feeling horrified as Korian stood too, raising to an imposing height above her. "I already have a betrothed and what about my sister Rosilabeth? She is smitten with you and will make a perfect Queen." Aurora insisted adamantly.

"I do not want your sister! You are my chosen bride. I do not care for her; we have already had our fun. I will make you my Queen Aurora and we will rule the world together. Who ever you think you are betrothed to is no match for me!" Korian dismissed her worries as he took her hand, trying to pull her closer.

"Let go of me!" Aurora cried as her heartbeat pounded in her head and the whole situation made her feel nauseous.

"Be quiet Aurora, stop struggling!" Korian hissed as she was pulled firmly into his chest.

Immediately memories of Carson, (the man who attacked her on Theo's boat) attacked her memories painfully, causing her to let out an ear-piercing scream. The door was then flung open, revealing Seymour and then Dusty, which made Korian let go of her immediately. Aurora sunk back into her chair and placed her head into her hands.

"What happened? Is everything alright?" Seymour asked as he knelt beside Aurora, looking for any obvious injuries.

"I... I am fine." She whispered, although was not ready to face the world yet.

"Are you sure? Did he hurt you?" Seymour asked quietly, but Ro shook her head after a moment.

"Everything is not fine! You have made a big mistake Aurora! How dare you reject me? I could have given you everything! Well you are certainly not worth it, scum." Korian spit. "Perhaps I will 'focus' on your sister. At least she was grateful!" He growled before dramatically storming out.

"Oh... oh dear." Aurora sighed as she felt tears stab at her eyes.

"Please do not worry your highness. What matters now is you. Are you sure you are ok?" Seymour asked as he took Aurora's hand and looked almost fatherly.

"Yes... everything is fine I just want to go to my room now." She whispered shakily, and Seymour awkwardly offered her his arm to help her stand up, knowing that she was feeling vulnerable.

He did not trust that Korian, and when he heard Dusty had taken her to lunch alone with him he was furious. However he could not just barge in - he was not the girl's father, only her bodyguard, and she was not in immediate danger so there was nothing he could do.

"I will go and apologise to the Prince on your behalf Princess, as we do not want this minor upset to ruin our treaty with Aubriemia and bring shame upon Alluvia." Dusty announced before he turned and hurried after the Prince, but it only made Aurora feel worse.

Could she have caused big, political problems, possibly even a war?

Seymour awkwardly comforted the sniffling Aurora who was very upset and just wanted to see her mother.

I dislike Korian 😡

Edited