Chapter 4- Change...
"Come! Come!" She gestures for me to go over and sit in front of the desk.
With my mouth hanging open, I slowly walk towards her. I grab the skirt of my dress, getting ready to bow but her majesty shakes her head, "No, please. Just sit."
I sit in a small, but soft and comfortable chair in front of her. I, finally, close my mouth.
"Q-Queen Chelsea..."
"I've got my servants to bring you here for a very important occasion," she begins.
"You... Are... Queen Chelsea..."
She looks at me, "Yes, now, as I was saying, I have brought you here for a very important occasion."
"Go on..." I say.
"You know my son, Charles White, don't you?" She asks, and I nod, "Well he is going to take the title of Prince Charles soon, and it is tradition to already be married by age of twenty-one in the royal family. He turned twenty in September, and me, Queen Chelsea, and my husband, King Randolph, arranged him a marriage from the time I was expecting."
She looks at me, expectantly.
"What?"
"Don't you understand?"
"N-No... Was I supposed to understand something from that?" I ask.
She sighs, "You are going to marry Charles."
I lean back in my seat, my voice creeping slowly up to a yell as I speak, "What? You're joking! This is some nasty prank or something-"
She interrupts me, "Why would I joke about marriage, Arizona? He is a wonderful young man, and many girls would love to be in your shoes!" She says angrily.
"But I'm just a teenager!"
"No, you are a young woman today! Eighteen years old!"
"But I have so-"
She interrupts me again, "You have so much to do? Do you really have the nerve to say that to the Queen of England?"
I stay quiet. Marriage? I'm not ready for marriage! I'm just now getting a boyfriend! Let alone getting married!
I look at her, "Why? Why is this happening to me, exactly? I'm not even wealthy..."
She laughs slightly, "Oh, trust me, I definitely know you and your family aren't wealthy!"
"I don't have any true family, only Miles," I say.
"Do you want to know why you have an arranged marriage with my son?" She asks.
"Of course!"
"Well, your parents... Miles just turned two at the time. He was a young toddler, and your mother and father were so poor and so afraid of not being able to have the financial support for him. They snuck to the palace and tried to steal the most valuable things here. They got caught, of course. You and Miles both have your mother's hair but your father's eyes. Anyways, I digressed. The fine they had to pay was so great, that a hundred year sentence in jail wouldn't cover it. Neither would a total death sentence would work, so I talked to them in private. We made a deal, and at the time I was pregnant with Charles. The deal was they get to keep Miles until they had a baby girl for Charles to marry in the future. They had to keep having children until they had a girl. Around a year later, your mother found out she was pregnant with you, a girl. She tried to back out of the deal, and I wouldn't let her! I took custody of Miles and your father was sent to the dungeon. Your mother lived in the castle in good conditions until she had you, Arizona. As soon as you were born and didn't need your mother, we prosecuted your parents for all the trouble and treason they'd caused to the royal family. Thanks to your mother, you are here now."
I stare at her, "I didn't know the royal families did arranged marriages."
She laughs, "Oh! We don't!"
Is this lady bizarre?
"Then why is he having an arranged marriage?!"
She dusts off her dress, "Some debt had to be paid!" The Queen stands up and so do I.
"The country must not know this information, so you and Charles will be acting like you have been together for a while. We'll set up some sort of public engagement announcement for the press to see him propose! Of course, you say 'yes' and we go on from there!"
"When will that happen?" I ask.
"A while from now..." She examines me closely, "We need to work on you. Teach you proper etiquette and manners..."
I stare at her and she speaks up, "Like that, no staring!"
I focus my gaze somewhere else.
"You may leave, Arizona..."
I walk out quickly, pretty much jogging. My foot steps echoing against the white marble floor. I don't want to cry. I'm not going to cry.
Oh look at that... A tear streams down my face.
I wipe it away quickly as I open the doors to find Bethany standing there, all perky.
She smiles, "How was it?"
Married... Some people would wonder why I would cry after finding out I'm going to be a princess of the richest country. I don't want this, though. I want to choose my husband. I want to choose who I'll spend the rest of my life with. I want to choose the man that'll help me through everything.
I want a choice!
But I don't have one...
I stare at Bethany for a while, until she is all blurry. I cannot make out her face through the tears welling up in my eyes. My eyes are filled to the capacity of tears, and they fall. Gliding down my freckled-covered cheeks. I pinch myself. Please tell me this is a dream! I want to wake up! This is a dream!
But it's not...
Bethany's smile disappears, "Are you alright, dear?"
I shake my head.
"Here, let me take you to your room..."
"Did you know about this?" I growl.
She gives a slight nod, wrapping her arms around my shoulders, trying to comfort me. She guides me up a crystal staircase. I stair at my shoes not wanting even to look at this place anymore.
She opens a door for me to go in. I look around in here. It's huge. The size of my apartment.
It has a huge bed with a gorgeous light pink comforter. Everything in there is white and pink. There is a dresser in one corner with a makeup section, and there is a fold-up divider where I slip clothes on. There is a LookingView and there are several windows with silky white drapes. Between those windows I see a pair of doors that leads me to a balcony. There is a section of couches and blankets, too, in the middle of the room.
I notice something, though.
"Bethany, where is the bathroom?" I ask.
"Oh! My apologies, dear!" Bethany leads me across the room, and in the corner by some couches is a door I didn't notice. She opens it, and I expected to find a small bathroom but I was wrong. The bathroom was huge! It had golden floors and in the center of the room was a huge bathtub. It was a bright white and had gold rims around it. The faucet and drain were golden, too. There was a toilet that was golden, and the faucet was golden.
Man, after seeing this bathroom I'm sure that there must be some sort of Gold Shortage!
How in the world can they afford a bathroom like this? There was a LookingView in there and extra LivingSquares! There was a massage table and much more luxurious things!
Then, I came back to reality. I'm getting this for a reason. I'm marrying Charles.
I go back into my room.
"Thank you, Bethany."
"You are very welcome!" Her eyes were kind and she gave me a gentle hug, "if you need anything, anything at all, just buzz on some of the LivingSquares around the castle."
She kisses my cheek and exits, leaving me alone.
I unfold the covers and throw the pillows from where they were, and I snuggle in between the silk. The comfy mattress swallows me, and I burst into tears.
Tear after tear.
Sob after sob.
Until I cannot cry anymore, so I take a nap.
A/N: Again, a huge thanks to ML_Brooks for the fan art and the cover. They are absolutely gorgeous.