*Nymeria's P.O.V*
Castien had brushed through my long waves of hair, gently working through the tangles. He pulled my hair into a bun, letting a few loose strands of hair frame my face. I looked at him curiously as I started to do my makeup, settling on doing some eyeliner and eyeshadow for the most part.
"You know you don't have to wear your hair up? I asked Xentha about it and it's basically a way to say you are of age. Everyone knows that you are so you don't have to wear it up," Castien said. I shook my head slightly.
"If only children wear their hair down then I won't wear it down either. I don't want them to see me as a child," I said as I pinned a few loose strands of hair back with a few bobby pins. I looked at myself in the mirror as I made my way to the bathroom. "Pick out a dress for me," I called to him as I went to the sink and brushed my teeth as I waited for him to bring me my dress.
"Use your manners," Castien said as he tossed me a dress through the doorway. It fell to the ground even though I tried to catch it. "Oops," he muttered as I glared at him. I shut the door to the bathroom and picked my dress up, my toothbrush still in my mouth. I finished brushing my teeth after another moment. I washed my mouth out with water as I put my toothbrush back into place.
I snorted softly as I realized that he had wadded up my bra in the dress. He was always so uncomfortable with touching anything like a bra or underwear when I asked him to hand it to me so it was funny to see the lengths he would go to to make sure that he didn't actually touch them. I stripped down and put the bra on, fiddling with the clasps as I fixed it into place. I looked at the dress he hand tossed me and shook my head.
It was one of my usual dresses, a loose flowy dress that went to my feet. It cinched at the waist and had the flowy sleeves that I loved. It was a soft pink color with floral patterns decorating it. It was a bit more childish than most of my other ones. It wasn't really formal wear though so I was hesitant to wear it out. If they didn't say anything at breakfast then I suppose they wouldn't mind if I wore it to the meeting I decided after standing in thought for a moment.
I slipped the dress over my head, struggling to find the hole for my head to exit the mound of fabric. I let out a sigh of relief as my head exited the dress and I found the armholes. The silk fabric was soft to the touch and it fell to my feet. I did a small spin as I looked at myself in the mirror.
I opened the door as I walked out of the bathroom. I snorted when I realized that he had already laid out my heels. I sat down on my trunk as I slid on the socks I wore with my heels. I slipped the heels on afterwards, noticing that the color of my dress matched my heels. Of course Castien would be thoughtful enough to make sure they matched.
"Thank you Castien," I said as I stood up, Castien steadying me with a hand on my book. He interlaced our arms together and led me out of my room, a small smile on his face.
"How do you think the meeting will go today?" he questioned.
"I don't know, I hope it will go well but there's no telling what way it could go," I said honestly as we walked, having to take slightly longer strides than usual to keep up with his naturally fast walk. "Can we talk about anything else? I don't want to stress right now," I said.
"Anything else? Okay how about the betrothal contacts I'm having to sort through that are intended for you," Castien said simply. I groaned as I held my head in my free hand with a small frown.
"Just keep rejecting them, I'm not going to agree to any of them," I stated, shaking my head slightly with a frown. "I won't accept any of their contracts, it's too much hassle," I murmured.
"You'll have to get married eventually," Castien said quietly. "You will be queen one day and you need to produce an heir, it's expected," he stated.
"I don't give a damn what's expected, I never was supposed to be queen. It was my brother's place and just because grandfather banished him doesn't mean he won't rule one day. I won't do it Castien," I said as I glared at the floor.
"I know Nym but what do you want me to do? I can't erase their expectations," Castien sighed as he looked at me with a small frown.
"I won't meet their expectations, I never have. I was never supposed to rule," I whispered as Castien wrapped an arm around my waist. I leaned into his touch as he kissed the top of my head, holding me for a moment before he pulled away.
"Keep your head up princess, if you live your entire ruling period as just a way to upset the old nobles then that is good enough for me," Castien stated as I leaned into him. "Now you have to get to breakfast, try not to think about anything upsetting," he ordered.
"You suck at distracting me from stressful things," I muttered as I pulled away, heading to the dining hall. Castien opened the door for me and I went back to my seat from last night, painfully aware that I was the last one to enter the room. I sat in my seat, staring at my lap as I listened to the conversation around me. Today had started off horrifically, I hated talking about the future of my life, even more so if it was my love life. I just had to hope the meeting would go better.