the arrangement | ethma

10

Emma

My family and I arrived at the New York Palace exactly seven days before the wedding.

The plane landed towards the evening, so the palace had dinner ready for our arrival. My sisters and I were so jet-lagged that we ended up going straight to our suite, and falling asleep after dinner was over.

I was thankful for these last few nights with my sisters.

Lia had recently turned 16, and she was officially engaged to Prince Kristan of Massachusetts. I was so happy for her.

If anyone deserved a marriage that started out of love, it was Lia. I was so happy that my father accepted Prince Kristan's offer for Lia's hand.

I was also glad that she was getting to marry someone she grew up knowing.

I only met Ethan a year ago.

I'm not saying that I wasn't happy I was marrying Ethan. I was. In fact, I was grateful that Ethan wanted to have a good marriage. I was glad that my dad didn't stick me with someone who wasn't going to care about
me, or someone that would just treat me like a toy and have mistresses behind my back.

Ethan wasn't like that at all. Yes, I was his, but he made it clear since the first time we talked that he was mine too.

Not all Princes treat their wives that way.

I was so ready for our wedding, yet I wasn't at all.

I was really going to miss living with my family, and especially Lia.

Lia and I have been best friends since the minute she was born. She still had two years until her wedding, but once she got married she'd move even further away from me than the rest of our family.

The Californian Island was in between New York Island and Massachusetts Island. It was already a seven hour flight between New York and California.

Massachusetts would be a 12 hour flight. 12 hours between Lia and I. At least we had two years of being only a seven hour flight away.

The week was going by slow, yet so fast. I was enjoying these last nights having 'sleepovers' with my sisters, staying up too late and reminiscing about old memories we probably should've gotten in trouble for, but somehow never did.

That Thursday night, Lia and I were getting ready for the welcome party for the guests, and for my family before the wedding. Royal families usually had welcome parties before weddings, welcoming the bride's family into the palace, along with the guests of the wedding.

Lia walked up beside me in the mirror, pushing me to the side so we could both look at ourselves as she put her dangly earrings in, and I finished my makeup.

Lia was humming one of her favorite songs, and I could tell she was excited for the party. Kristan was going to be there, and even though she saw him two weeks ago, I could tell she felt like she had waited forever to see him again.

It was cute.

My mother came in the room to find Lia, and then they left before I was done getting ready. Ethan got there a few minutes later, offering me his arm on the way to dinner.

Dinner was a more casual, quick event before the party was supposed to start, and of course Ethan and I were the focus of the evening, everyone stopping and greeting us when the celebration started. 

I noticed Lia off at a far table, laughing at something Kristan said to her. From a mile away you could see how happy she was that he was sitting next to her.

I smiled to myself as I felt Ethan's hand settle on my lower back. "You're happy for her, aren't you?" he asked.

I smiled at him. "I am. She deserves a real fairytale."

Taking my hand in his, he kissed my knuckles. "You do too."

My smile grew bigger as he lifted my arm and twirled me around. "So, you're saying you're my Prince Charming?"

He smiled at me, still holding onto my hand. "Prince Ethan," he said. "Sheesh. We're getting married in two days, and you can't even remember my name."

I laughed. "Two days," I repeated. "It doesn't seem real yet."

"It doesn't," he agreed.

We walked around for a bit, talking to guest and eating appetizers from the buffet. They had those sweet potato slices with goat cheese and cranberries, and I couldn't get enough. especially after a glass of champagne that Ethan was regretting giving to me.

After I got back to my suite, I showered and climbed into bed, Lia climbing in not long after me. Raven must've been with our parents. I had just been on the verge of falling asleep, but Lia woke me up when she climbed In beside me. 

"Are you awake?" she whispered. I turned to face her. 

"Yeah."

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

I nodded. "A little. But Ethan's way different than we expected, Li."

"I just don't want you to do anything with him if you're not ready for it. I know that's what you're probably most worried about."

"Lia," I said, but she cut me off.

"Emma, I don't care that that's how our world works. Tell him no if you aren't ready. I don't want you to be miserable."

"Lia, I'm going to be fine. He's a good guy."

"I just get worried about you because you only met him after you were already getting married to him, you know?"

"Hey, it's okay."

"Please just tell me you'll tell me if something's ever wrong."

"Lia, I will. You know I tell you everything anyway."

"I know," she said. "I hope that doesn't change when you get married."

"It won't," I said. "And it won't change when you get married either."

"We're gonna talk on the phone a lot, right?"

"Right."

"God, Em. I'm going to miss you so much."

"Don't tell Mama or Raven, but I'm going to miss you more than anyone."

"Are you going to visit?"

"Ethan said we'll try to visit California often, yes. But he's not going to let us have sleepovers."

She laughed. "That's okay. We're closing in on the end of an era."

"That we are."