Emma
Who does he think that he is? I sat at my vanity and unraveled my loose braid from this morning with shaking hands. He comes to my kingdom, and thinks that he can just order me around? “He did save your life and try to comfort you about Benjamin,” a quiet voice whispers in the back of my mind. Whatever. I don’t need him. I need Benjamin. Benjamin! We are supposed to be meeting tonight. I would have to tell him everything. I groaned.
Laying my head down on my vanity, I began to cry softly. It was no use. I was to be subjected to the cruel rules of royalty for the rest of my days. Derick already hates me. There is no way that this is ever going to work out. He doesn’t even think that we need love.
There was a slight knock on my door and I hurriedly wiped the tears off my face and continued to brush my hair. “Come in,” I called. Mother opened the door and came inside with a box in her hands. It looked like it was from my favorite dress shop in town.
“Yes, Mother? Is there something I can do for you?” I said as I looked away from her.
“Actually, I did have some things I wanted to go over with you,” she said as she wiped the last tear from my cheek, “but first, why don’t you put on this dress? I want to make sure it fits.” She walked over to my bed and placed the box on top of it.
I gave my mother a long pensive look. I was not in the mood to play dress up with her, but she seemed in such high spirits and I did not want to upset her. Besides, it was a dress from my favorite shop, so I knew that I would love it.
I carefully peeled off the lavender gown I had on and laid it over the chair to my vanity. I walked over to the box and found the most beautiful dress on the inside. It was rose colored with small intricate details done in gold throughout. There was dark colored lace along the edges of the sleeves and the neckline came up just enough to be polite.
I looked at mother and smiled as I put the dress on. Walking gracefully over to the mirror, I took a moment to examine myself. It fit exactly like I knew it would, hugging all of my curves in just the right places; it flowed nicely and had a nice train on the end that exceeded three feet. It would have to be bustled if there was to be any dancing done in it. The color matched my skin tone perfectly, and my dark hair was like an accessory.
I ran my fingers along the gold details of the dress. They were beautiful. The time that was put into making this dress… I would have to thank Mona myself.
“Mother, this is the most beautiful dress I have seen since the one I wore for Lukas’s wedding. Thank you so much.” I ran over and gave her a hug that I thought would show my gratitude.
“Oh my darling Emma,” she said as she smiled and hugged me, “this dress is not from me, but from your husband to be. He thought that you would like a gift.”
“From Derick?” I said as I stepped away from her in shock. “Surely not! He hates me, Mother. Have you not heard us screaming at each other all day?”
“I have, and I know that is exactly how your father and I sounded for the first week of our marriage. I am only slightly concerned that you have been so rude to him after he has saved your life this day. Could you not have been more grateful? Did you even stop to consider his feelings on this whole situation? He obviously took the time to consider yours,” she waved her hand towards the dress as her voice took on a more serious tone.
I turned around and suddenly felt very ashamed of myself. I had not conducted myself in a lady like manner all day. He had not acted like a king either, I rebutted. But still, I should have acted appreciative after he saved my life. I am after all representing my kingdom. I sighed and sat on the bed.
“What am I to do, Mother? I am supposed to meet Benjamin tonight and tell him goodbye, even though he has no idea. I cannot possibly get on a dragon and fly to Scotland after what happened this morning. Derick and mine’s relationship is strained at best, and I have no idea if this marriage thing is even going to work out.” I laid back on my bed and looked up at the canopy.
“You, Emma, will do just as I know you can,” She said as she gathered my head in her lap and began to play with my hair. “I have some things to tell you now that you are not going to want to hear. I need you to take them well, for there is not a lot of time for you to get over them, ok?”
I rose up on one hand and looked at her. Her features were drawn up like it was going to hurt whatever she had to say. I took a deep breath, gathered my courage, and gave a slight nod.
“Emma, you must leave tonight and go away with Derick back to Scotland,” she said as she put up a hand to halt my onslaught of words. “You will leave with only him and your belongings will be sent for. You may not go and see Benjamin, even though I said that you could. That is an order from the king himself. Benjamin has got himself into a great deal of trouble, and your father wants you to have nothing to do with him. Wear the dress you have on,” she said as she stood up from the bed, “it becomes you. And be ready to depart at sunset.”
I sat up and looked at her as if she had just splashed me with a bucket of ice water. She could not be serious right now! I was now expected to leave without saying goodbye to Benjamin? What sort of trouble had he gotten himself into that I could not see him and it deemed my father’s attention? I swung my legs off the opposite side of the bed and began to pace.
“Why do I have to leave in the dead of night like a thief? Why can we not leave tomorrow morning so I could tell everyone goodbye? What has happened with Benjamin? Why can I not take any of my things with me?” I roared as I continued to ask questions. “WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DECISION?”
My head jerked to the left as I felt the sting of my mother’s hand. I raised my hand to my face and looked at her enraged features as tears began to fill my eyes.
“You will not raise your voice to me, Emma Rakel. I am your mother, and you will respect me,” venom dripped from her words as she spat them at me.
“I have done nothing but be the bearer of the news. I have tried to come here and comfort you because I know how hard this is for you. However, it seems all you can be is ungrateful and disrespectful. No wonder Derick is in such a rut. No more. Enough, Emma!” She turned away from me and walked out of my chambers, slamming the door behind her.
I stood there looking at my door as the tears began to fall from my eyes. Was there nothing that I could not muster to mess up? Turning around, I walked over to the window and looked out over the kingdom. It was all that I had ever known, and now they just wanted me to leave like a thief in the night? Running my fingers down the curtains, I looked skyward. What have I done to deserve this? Can I not just make one decision for me and not for everyone else?
Yet another knock on my door stirred me from my thoughts. “Come in,” I whispered, looking expectantly towards my door. No one entered. I walked over to the door and opened it to find Rowan standing outside. “Please, come in.”
“Actually, I thought it might be good for you to get out of the castle,” she said with a sad look in her eyes. “Perhaps you will join me for a walk in the gardens?”
Rowan had never been anything but kind to me. Her red and gold ringlets were pulled back over her shoulders as they cascaded down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were the color of Mediterranean Sea, a nice mixture of blue and green. She smiled as she reached out for me. Reluctantly, I followed her out of my chambers and to the gardens inside the castle walls.
“Emma, how are you?” she asked me as we walked to the middle of the gardens.
“I am restless, angry, bitter, unhappy, and anything else you could add in that would sum up miserable,” I said as I hung my head.
Putting her finger under my chin, she raised my head. “It is not as bad as it seems, I promise. I know that I was able to marry the love of my life, but that was after my previously arranged had died before we were married. I had loved him so. He was killed in battle.” She looked out into the distance like she was remembering a memory. She sighed and then looked back towards me with a smile. “Your brother was the only one who was able to bring me out of my melancholy,” she whispered as she looked me in the eyes.
“This Derick may not be your Benjamin, but he may be the only one who will be able to heal your heart form the hurt. Lukas did speak with him as he said he would. He is quite fond of him, I must say. He says that Derick has been nothing but worried about you since he saved you from the dragon this morning. I know you are in an undesirable situation to say the least, but try to make the best out of it. Lukas thinks that Derick already has a weakness for you.”
Looking Rowan in the eyes, I could not believe what she was saying. Lukas talked with Derick, had actually approved of him, and Derick had some sort of affection for me already? I pulled away and sat on the bench that was in front of the castle fountain. I thought about everything that she had just told me. After a moment, I came to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter. None of it does. I don’t want him to help me heal my hurt from Benjamin. I just want Derick to let me go to him. I don’t want anything he has to offer me. I hate him. Standing, I turned to Rowan with a renewed strength.
“Rowan, I cannot even allow my heart to give Derick a chance when I know it was he that commanded such a thing as leaving tonight. How is that showing any sort of sympathy for me? He is a coward, and I will fight him the whole way to Scotland. Our marriage will be one of necessity, not love. I will just have to deal with it.”
Rowan looked at me and raised her hand to my face, staring intently into my eyes, “And who would that make happy my love? You would rather spend the rest of your life miserable than to try and work it out with a good man who could love you? Foolish girl. Anyone with eyes can see that Derick has done nothing but try to befriend you. You cannot keep turning him away. You are leaving with him. Then who will be there to be your buffer or help comfort your pain?” Letting her hand fall from my face, she kissed my cheek and headed back into the castle.
It seemed like I was being hit with one blow after another. I sat at the fountain until almost sunset. I finally dragged my feet up the stairs to the castle and went to the throne room, praying that my father would be there. As I pushed open the doors, I was greeted by my mother, father, Lukas, and Derick.
I turned to leave, when my mother called out to me in an icy tone, “Emma, you will speak when you enter this room and someone is present.”
I stiffly turned around, smiled, and curtsied. “Father, Mother, Lukas.” Turning I walked up to Derick with steel lacing my emerald eyes. Curtsying to the ground I forced out a polite, “My king.” Reaching down to grab my hand, he kissed it and helped me up.
“My lady, it is a pleasure.”
When I looked up into his face, it seemed as if sadness coursed through his eyes. As if he could sense my own sadness and reflected it back out of his eyes. I stood there staring at him for a moment before I looked away. The intensity in his eyes was unparalleled to anything I had ever received from Benjamin.
“Was there something you needed, Emma?” my father asked me.
Pivoting towards my parents I addressed him. “No. I just wanted to see you before my departure. However, since you are hence preoccupied, I will see you in twenty minutes time to say farewell.” I curtsied once again and left to go to the dragon quarters.
I sat down next to Evrae and scratched his head idly. What sounded like a grumble of pleasure came out of his mouth. “I am sorry about earlier. I am. One day soon, maybe.” He just looked at me like that was never going to happen. I laughed out loud. I could not blame him.
I could see Derick’s dragon in the stall next over. She was beautiful. She had an air of power and grace about her. I knew she meant a lot to him, but I had yet to ask him one thing about her. Or himself for that matter. I shook my head. It made no difference. I would not be happy anyway.
“Her name is Artemis. We will be riding her back to Scotland,” a familiar voice said behind me.
I turned around to find Derick standing about twenty feet away, staring at me with that same intense stare. There was no telling how long he had been there. I turned my head back to Artemis.
“She is beautiful,” I said as I stood up. I ran my hands down the front of my dress. “Thank you for the dress, it is beautiful as well.”
He smiled at me and said, “I cheated. I went to your favorite dress shop, but you are welcome just the same.” He took a step closer to me. “Emma, I know that I am not your favorite person, but I would like to try to make this work out between us. I was mad earlier when I said that love does not matter. That was one of the main reasons I was so mad about being arranged.”
I gaped at him as he continued to talk to me.
“I know what we have now is not love, but we can start with trust.” He handed me his hand.
My hand seemed to move of its own accord as it reached out to grab his. He pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear, “I want this to work out. Help me make this work.” His voice sounded so strong and sure that I nodded my head in agreement.
We walked Artemis outside and he started to get her ready for the departure. “Emma, I have something to tell you.” He sounded almost nervous now, but his eyes held resilient. “I want us to trust each other so I must tell you two things.”
I looked off into the distance and saw everyone coming towards us form the castle. It seemed like the time had flown by so fast. Looking back towards him I said, “Ok. What is it Derick?”
He took a deep breath. “First, I was in love with a girl in my kingdom named Braylene. She refused me after she found out I was going to be king. My mother and I got into an argument about the arranged marriage after I got home, and that is why I am here early.”
I nodded my head. This was news, but it was nothing that I could not stand to hear. “I understand, and I am sorry about Braylene.” I knew better than anyone else how it felt to have someone you loved taken away.
He switched his feet as he looked out past me. “The second thing,” he said as he let out another sigh, “is that I am responsible for something that I feel like you have the right to know if we are going to trust each other.”
I looked up again towards the castle. My parents, Lukas, Rowan, Sebastian, Lavinia, and Demetri were about fifty feet away and coming quickly. I wish he would just say it before they got here.
Looking me square in the eyes he said, “Emma, I am responsible for Benjamin getting into the trouble that needed your father’s attention. As a result of my actions, he has been exiled.”