I met up with Peter in the hallway, after dinner. I only had a few minutes before I had to dance with Tristian. I caught his arm, but he pulled away.
"Peter?" My voice was quiet. He stopped and turned slowly. I braced myself for the worse.
"I know you don't have a choice," he said. His eyes were dark, tears glimmering in the corners. "I know you have to because you're the princess. I know you have to marry him to protect the kingdom, but," his voice broke.
My knees started to shake. Tears stung my eyes. "I just need to know if you love him." I opened my mouth and closed it again. Love? I didn't love Tristian. I reached out again, but Peter shook his head.
"I love you, Peter," I said, starting to cry. "And I'm sorry you had to fall in love with me." Peter took a step back, tears rolling down his face.
"Me, too." And he was gone. I collapsed, falling to my knees. Tears were falling down my face, staining my dress. I leaned against the wall and cried. Peter was gone. I was marrying a Southern Prince.
"Raven?" I looked up and saw Tristian standing a few feet away. "What happened?" He asked me, crossing over to me. I shook my head. I didn't want to talk about, least of all with my fiance. He held out a hand. "Maybe a little dancing will help?"
I thought for a moment and allowed him to pull me up.
Tristian could dance. He wiped my tears from my face and pulled me onto the dance floor. He spun me around and around, dropped me low to the floor and pulled me back up. During a slower song, we danced, too.
I slowly allowed myself to lean my head on his shoulder. He whispered in my ear, "I know I'm not your choice, and I'm sorry you can't marry him." Him. "But if you let me try, I want you to be happy."
I pulled away and looked into those ice eyes and smiled. "Okay," I said. "You can try."
* * *
The wedding was planned by my mother and I. After all, I was the bride. A few weeks past, and suddenly, the wedding was looming over me. I had three days left of freedom.
I was on the battleground, fighting with my new sword, stabbing a dummy over and over. My hair was stuck to my forehead, sweat dripping from my nose. Someone walked in. When I turned around, I was surprised to see my brother.
"Edward, what are doing here?" I asked, willing the sword away. It came easily now, fighting with it. He smiled and walked over to me.
"Do I need a reason to see my little sister?" He asked, pulling me into a hug.
"What's wrong?"
He shuffled a little, kicking at the ground. "I know that this is hard. I know you're getting married soon. And then I am. But I think this will be good."
"Why?" I crossed my arms and looked at my brother. He sighed and said, "Because even though this is weird, being married off, it's a good thing, too. We get to build a new kingdom from the ground up. Do something important."
I shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted to see how you were doing? How is Tristian?" He asked me, picking up a sword. He started to swing it around, each time he hit the dummy, the sound echoed.
"He's nice," I said slowly, "He'll make a good husband." The very word made me shiver. Edward stopped and looked at me.
"I'm sorry you can't marry Peter."
"I know."
"I liked him. But you can't change what is going to happen," Edward said, hitting the dummy again.
"Do you like Alice?" I asked, calling my sword back. Edward nodded and said, "She will make a fine queen. I'm lucky I didn't love anybody before. I like her, for sure. Maybe I will love her one day." He stopped talking.
"Shut up," I said, "And let's duel while we can." Edward smiled and we fought, our swords clanging against each other. Three days until the wedding.