I AM BACK WITH THE PROLOGUE! It's nothing amaze but the first chapter will be up soon anyways and I'm sure you'll enjoy that :)
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"We've arrived at the Styles Palace, m'lady."
Reina's head immediately pushed out of the window to gaze up at the most eminent place in the whole of Caunwaiton: The Styles Palace. The Styles Palace had architecture like no other in the entirety of Caunwaiton. Towers of a crimson color rose high into the hot, summer sky, enormous horse pastures and kitchen gardens surrounded certain parts of it, along with thick stonewalls.
Words couldn't describe how magnificent the palace was, and how much bigger it looked in person. Reina's curious, emerald eyes rose up as she stepped out of the carriage, following up the dusty white to where a knight was standing.
"I still do not understand why we had to come all the way to Siremeth just to settle some agreements on land ownership with the Styles'," Reina muttered under her breath to her stepmother, Genevieve who had just climbed out of the carriage after her.
"Reina, if I hear your whining one more time, you will be forced to sit outside in this ridiculous heat with Myles," Genevieve warned her with a stern look, dark brown eyes gazing at Reina with an eyebrow arched.
"Doesn't that just defeat your reasoning for having me here today with you?" Reina questioned with a roll of her eyes.
"I can handle the discussions that will take place today without you," Genevieve spoke, keeping her stern brown eyes forwards with a fake smile attached to her lips.
Reina clamped her mouth shut to stop herself from talking back and giving a witty response. Her wide luminous eyes glanced behind her at Myles Taler, her bodyguard. His kind, chocolate eyes rose to meet hers, his lips curling in a smile as he bowed his head curtly at her.
Reina liked Myles, unlike most of the people in her kingdom. Despite his bravery and courage during the numerous battles he had fought and won in, people still judged him based on the color of his skin. The only reason they tolerated him the slightest bit was because he was an honorable knight. Reina's parents and brother loved him dearly and respected him greatly, looking past the fact that he was a colored man since her actual mother could relate to him.
Reina's mother, Rhoda, was a foreigner, infamously known as the Foreign Queen of Vardomos. She was hated on when Ronan Rahraenos married her, bashed and continuously discriminated against because of where she came from, which were the foreign lands of Khido. However, she showed the people of Vardomos what foreign people were really like. She showed the people kindness and love. She cared for the poor and provided for them. She won the hearts of the people of Vardomos in many ways, and ultimately led to become more open-minded and accepting, than the rest of the population of Caunwaiton.
However, there were still some people who opposed her, because some were just too conservative: it was hard to change. This was why Myles still faced discrimination despite him being an honorable knight, a high and prestigious position in the Vardomos kingdom. But whenever that happened, Reina and her brother always defended him, just as their parents did. House Rahraenos never judged anyone based on the color of their skin, nor the lands that they came from. They were the most honorable, noble house to exist in Caunwaiton and didn't receive enough credit or appreciation for it.
"Reina, you are dirtying your dress by letting it drag against these filthy steps! Lift it up," Genevieve snapped at Reina, ripping her away from her thoughts.
Reina hid her scowl when Genevieve casted a glance at her, hands quickly moving to clutch the soft material of her ivory dress. She exhaled through her nose, grimacing at the scorching heat of Siremeth, wishing she were back in the bitter cold of Vardomos. They reached the top of the stairs where a man was stood in heavy, golden armor. He tucked a strand of his lengthy brown hair, then bringing his hand down to rest on the hilt of his sword. His light blue eyes glinted in the sunlight as his lips stretched into a polite smile.
"Greetings m'ladies, welcome to Siremeth and The Styles Palace," the man bowed with respect at Reina and Genevieve, making them both nod curtly at him. "I am here to escort you to the council room. Right this way please."
The man gestured towards the open doors with a bowed head, making Reina smile at him kindly while Genevieve walked straight into the palace without another glance. Reina was astounded by the interior of the palace, lips parting in awe with her white dress slipping from her fingers, as she stopped for a moment.
"Isn't it beautiful, Myles?" Reina murmured to the quite knight who stood by her with his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"It is, m'lady," Myles responded.
"How many times do I have to remind you to call me Reina, and not m'lady?" she arched a brow at him playfully, making him smile. "Do you know the name of the escort, by the way?"
"Yes. Sir Fredric Bryne. Head of the Styles Royal Order," Myles answered as they walked alongside each other behind Genevieve and Fredric, now descending the stairs of the castle.
"Is the Styles Royal-"
"Reina!" Genevieve called out from in front of her, making Reina walk a little faster to walk alongside her stepmother.
"Yes, mother?" Reina spoke with a hint of sarcasm, causing Genevieve to clench her jaw slightly.
"No sarcasm and back talk during the meeting. Know your place, Reina," Genevieve warned. "Things are still a bit...fragile after the rebellion. This meeting is for us to try and find some common ground, establish peace between House Styles and Rahraenos."
"By giving them our lands?" Reina muttered bitterly.
"That's what happens when your father made the foolish decision to rebel against the King," Genevieve murmured, making Reina's stormy eyes narrow at her. "Because of that we've lost valuable men, and our dragons."
"He was mad. The Mad King," she murmured sadly under her breath. "At least we still have Vaera and her eggs," Reina spoke up just as they reached the doors of the council room.
"I'm not too sure about that."
"What? –"
"The King and Queen awaits inside," Fredric announced before opening the doors and swinging them apart. "Your Majesties, I present Lady Genevieve and Princess Reina of House Rahraenos."
Reina forced herself to smile as she stepped into the room, trying to stop her blood boiling from anger when her gaze landed on King Desmond and Queen Diana. Reina had heard nothing but wretched things about House Styles. They despised foreigners and colored people like Myles, which was something that angered Reina and her family, excluding Genevieve. They were conservatives and had a very narrow mindset. But they were strong rulers, or so Reina had heard.
Reina and Genevieve greeted the King and Queen with fake smiles, as did they since they were all still bitter after the rebellion. The King lost his only brother during the rebellion, and countless soldiers and generals whom were valuable and precious to him. However, despite their bitterness and resent towards each other, both houses wanted peace between themselves, so that no tragic wars like the rebellion could occur again.
"I must say, I would have appreciated it if your son, Reyes, were here with you for the discussion. He is after all, ruler of Vardomos after Ronan," Desmond spoke up as they all took their seats.
Reina caught Genevieve's deadly eye when she leaned back against the chair with one leg over the other under her dress, immediately correcting her position with a roll of her eyes.
"We apologize deeply for the absence of my stepson. We have a bit of a water crisis back in Vardomos, which he had to deal with," Genevieve spoke respectfully, making Desmond bob his head.
"No matter," he waved his hand, opening up a map. "We can manage without him. Shall we begin?"
Reina knew a lot about politics. She wasn't one of those princesses whom were raised to marry and please her husband, clueless of the outside world and what was going on with the houses. Genevieve would always try to prevent her from attending diplomatic meetings because it wasn't very princess-like. But even she had to admit that Reina was shrewd and incredibly persuasive when it came to these matters. However, that wasn't the only reason why Genevieve decided to bring Reina to this particular meeting with the Styles family.
"What more could you want from us? We've given you more than half of the land we own!" Reina exclaimed in slight frustration, noticing her mother glaring because of her raised voice.
"We are satisfied with the amount of land, for now. However, you must understand, Princess, no amount of land nor money will make up for the number of our men your army slaughtered. It won't make up for the death of my brother, either," King Desmond spoke in a warning tone, his beady eyes narrowing at her. "Plus, these are the consequences when you rebel against the King of Caunwaiton."
"I understand that, completely," Reina said, leaning back against her chair with her fingers touching her forehead. "But these lands are where we get all our resources. The money! We use that to buy the bloody-"
"What my stepdaughter is trying to say," Genevieve interrupted with an uneasy chuckle, touching Reina's hand and squeezing it as a warning sign to cool down her temper. "Is that House Rahraenos are willing to offer whatever House Styles desires, in order to keep our peace and avoid anymore wars in the near future."
"We want the dragon," Queen Diana spoke up firmly for the second time in the entire meeting.
Reina felt her heart drop in her chest at the Queen's words, eyes widening before she began shaking her head. Genevieve held onto her hand under the table, brown eyes shooting her a stern look saying 'I will handle it'.
"Are you sure there isn't anything else you would like? The dragon is our sigil-"
"The dragon is a weapon. One that can be very useful to us in future wars," the Queen interrupted her with a wicked smile. "I heard the wretched thing has laid eggs. How many was it again, Des? Three or four?"
"My dragon is off-limits," Reina snapped loudly, ignoring Genevieve's warning gaze. "You have already slaughtered the rest of them, god knows how you did that. Our house will not accept any terms of this agreement regarding dragons."
"My my, you're a fiery little one, aren't you?" the Queen laughed all of a sudden, making Reina narrow her eyes at her. "I'm not sure if our Harry will like that, isn't that so, Des?"
"No one wants a hot-tempered foreigner," King Des agreed with the Queen, making Reina frown tightly, slightly confused and angered by their words.
"What on Earth-"
"I apologize for my stepdaughter's behavior. It is just that she's still upset over her father's death, and that dragon is her precious pet. She means no disrespect," Genevieve apologized, while Reina ran her tongue over her teeth discreetly, pissed off due to the way she was constantly being treated like a little girl.
Before the King or Queen could respond, Fredric spoke up from behind all of them loudly, hand on the door handle.
"The Prince has arrived, your grace," he announced, making Reina's brows slope downwards.
"Send him right in," the King waved his hand.
Reina's pale green eyes lingered by the large oak doors, which swung open, revealing a tall, handsome, curly-haired man. Prince Harry Styles. Reina had heard rumors about him, all about his devilish good looks. But he was nothing like she had imagined. She didn't let her gaze linger for long. Gleaming, green eyes. Sharp cheekbones, and structured jaw. Pink, heart-shaped lips. Long, chocolate curls that hung by his ears, which he ran his finger through them, clad with expensive gold and silver rings.
"Apologies for being late, I was out riding with Declan," Harry spoke quietly, taking a seat at the head of the table. Reina noticed his voice was deep and raspy, his Siremethian accent prominent.
"Greetings, Lady Genevieve of House Rahraenos," Harry smiled politely at Genevieve, who greeted him back before Reina found himself staring into his bright eyes. "And, Princess Reina."
"Prince Harry," she nodded back in acknowledgement, watching him pull his seat back, shoulders shifting under his white ruffled shirt.
Harry's gaze landed on the beauty who was sat towards the right of the table, a chair away from him. The King and Queen began chatting amongst each other briefly while Reina spoke to her stepmother, giving Harry a little time to study her.
He had heard about the foreign princess. He had heard rumors about her exquisite beauty and fiery personality that matched her sigil, the dragon. His gaze lingered on her face, stunned by the intriguing color of them, green with hints of blue and gray. His eyes ran over her strong brows that were arched, the soft curve of her nose and round, florid cheeks. They lingered around her pink plump lips, briefly wondering what they would feel like against his own. But he pushed all his thoughts away when her gaze suddenly met his, causing him to look away and clear his throat.
"So, may I know what was being discussed before my arrival?" Harry questioned, resting his forearms on the table with his fingers laced together.
"Land" and "Dragons" were the responses that were said in unison, by Genevieve and Queen Diana to Harry's response. Harry looked at them both with furrowed brows, pursing his bubblegum pink lips.
"Dragons? I thought we slayed them all," Harry spoke, making Reina speak up.
"There was one that didn't participate in the rebellion. My one," she said quietly. "And she's off-limits."
"Oh Princess, the dragon will be ours anyways," Queen Diana chuckled heartily, making both Reina frown tightly in confusion. "Soon enough for sure."
"And how is that so?" she questioned sharply when she noticed that the ones in higher power than her, in the room knew something that she didn't. Her gaze flickered to Harry who seemed equally confused.
"The marriage signifies what's yours is ours and–"
"Marriage?" Reina gaped, gaze flickering between Genevieve and, the King and Queen. "What marriage?"
"Oh you didn't know? Perhaps you are not as clever as the rumors have said you were," Queen Diana laughed again, her cold green eyes glinting brightly. "Signatures on paper are not going to be enough to confirm the exchange of lands and money."
"But a marriage is," Harry spoke up, his ring-clad fingers rolling his lower lip between the pads of them, letting go when he realized. "Mother, father, why the fuck wasn't I notified?"
"Harold," King Desmond snapped at his son's use of profanity, while Reina sat there piecing together everything. "This meeting was held today for this specific reason. Your marriage to Princess Reina"
Reina felt her heart drop in her chest, blue-green eyes darting to meet Harry's, whose was filled with rage. Why didn't I think of this? She questioned herself angrily. She knew everything about political marriages. Her brother was married to the princess of the noble House Sevoren, in the south.
But the difference was that he fell in love with her before they got married. Reina didn't know Harry; she had just met him and was expected to marry him. She assumed the marriage was going to happen soon, to prevent her from doing anything to stop it. She knew she was supposed to marry, as it was one of her goals in life, set by her stepmother. But she didn't expect her to get married to someone she barely knew, and so quickly without her knowledge.
"Y-You lied to me," Reina spoke up loudly, looking at Genevieve who had a guilty look on her face. "You told me we were only coming here to discuss the lands we owed to the Styles'!"
"You never would have come if I didn't lie, Reina," Genevieve snapped in response, disliking the way her stepdaughter was speaking to her. Before Reina could say anything, Harry spoke up in a deadly tone.
"Father, did you not think about how either of us when making this decision of yours?" Harry growled; his dark brows pulled tightly over his gleaming eyes. "This is utterly-"
"Necessary," the King stood up with his face contorted in vexation.
"But Father-"
"Enough!" The King slammed the palm of his hand down onto the table, startling everyone except Harry. "You will marry Princess Reina and it will happen in the next two days. No excuses. You and the Princess will be watched to ensure none of you disappear before your wedding day."
"Mother," Reina whispered, looking at her stepmother for help but she simply shook her head.
"It was a decision made ever since you were 3 years old."
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❈ comment a 🍆 if you liked the prologue !!!
❈ just to clear things up because the names were mentioned in the cast list. Ronan Rahraenos was Reina's father who died in the rebellion. Rhoda Rahraenos is Reina's actual mother who was a foreigner from lands called Khido, which aren't a part of Cauntwaiton. Lastly, Reyes Rahraenos is Reina's brother.
Ronan and Rhoda are both dead, you'll find out how Rhoda died.
❈ I know these names and shit are hard to remember, but I promise when you see them often you'll come to understand and remember them. Happened to me with Game of Thrones. I was fucking lost until like season 3.
But if you have any questions please do comment and I'll answer!
❈ Also please bear with me as I get a hang of this old, Medieval English. Especially during the upcoming smut scenes 'cause they might say phrases that sound weird ass fuck but was a thing back then.
Until we meet again...
thiø