Hello Loves! First of all I'd like to apologize... thus us the first book I've ever written so bare with me😂 Otherwise enjoy! Hit up the votes and comments!
"I'm sorry... what?" My mother's words rang in my ears. Engaged... but I'm eighteen. Betrothed... I still have so much time. Wedding... Why don't I have a say in this? I suppose my parents never did give me much of a choice. And I was never one to disobey my mom and dad. Being the oldest I had to set a good example for my younger brother, Coda.
"You're getting married, dear! Isn't that wonderful? There will be a big ballroom and a huge cake and-"
"When was this decided, exactly?" Her smile faltered just the slightest until she tugged her cheekbones back up, acting as if my reaction to her news hadn't disappointed her at all.
"Well, um... we decided last night, honey." My eyes stayed wide, jaw to the floor. I'd never felt so helpless in my life. My father snuck his arm around my mother in a small embrace.
"We only want what's best for you, Bliss, and you know that." His voice was concerning yet fierce. I knew not to argue, but I needed answers.
"Yes father, I understand, but-"
"Then we shouldn't have any further problems with this, should we?" I dropped my head in defeat. I wouldn't win, I never did. Things had always ended this way. I was told to do something and I did it without question. Being trained under an army general wasn't easy. My father had always wished for a firstborn son, and since Coda wasn't, he taught me instead. I guess you could consider me a lady by day and soldier by night. Since Coda and dad were always away, I was left to protect the rest of my family. We considered my Pegasus, Majesty, but she's merely an animal and can't do everything we can. Then there's the family cat, Meena. She's not the fierce type... unless it comes to eating and napping. Protecting people was never a chore for me. I'd always been accustomed to it, and helping people was always something I did on a regular basis.
"No father, it's just I-"
"You what?" I stood abruptly from the living room couch.
"If you would let me speak I'd explain!" My parents took a step back, surprised by my sudden outburst. "I am eighteen years old, barely an adult, and most certainly not ready to betroth a man I don't know!" I glanced at Coda, who was sitting silently in the chair next to me. His head was lowered and he seemed to be uncomfortable about the subject. "What are your thoughts on this, Coda?" His head shot up, addressing the person that said his name.
"I..." I could see his thumbs fiddling out of the corner of my eye. He was clearly nervous about this. And why wouldn't he be? His big sister was being sent off to marry someone she doesn't know After a few more moments I realized he was behaving differently though... not like how he would when he was normally against the subject. He looked at his feet, his eyes darting anywhere but back into my eyes. It's probably a good idea he didn't make eye contact, or my gaze probably would've melted his eyes right out.
"Coda...? Did you... know about this...?" He sighed in defeat. My hands clenched my thighs as to keep myself from strangling him.
"Yes... I did. I have a right to know. It's my commander you're betrothed to." My heart sank layers and layers into the earth. I'm surprised it didn't melt from falling so deep into the Earth's core. I glared at my mother.
"I am betrothed to the prince?!" My words held venom in such a way I thought my enemy would perish. She took a step towards me, her hand extended as to stroke my face.
"Sweetheart-" I swatted her hand away.
"No! Don't touch me! Why would you do that?"
"He is a great man and has the wealth and status you need to have a perfect life, Bliss. We are commoners, we don't have anything else we can give you. Your beauty got you this far, why stop there?" I jutted my hands out in frustration.
"A common girl marrying a prince like him? You don't think that'll be looked down upon by the king and queen?"
"They agreed to the marriage, dear."
"What about other kingdoms? They'll look down upon it for sure." She sighed in frustration, then her face softened.
"I want you to take some deep breaths and then let me know when you're ready to listen to what I have to say. Okay?" I looked away in defiance but took slow, ragged breaths as she instructed. Once I felt more relaxed, I nodded my head to signal I was ready. "Your father is the head general of the kingdom and he has met the king first hand, not to mention that they have become great friends in the meantime. His majesty was the one who proposed the betrothal." I gasped. So this wasn't my parents doing. Well, sort of. They made it happen. No wonder my brother didn't oppose the idea. As a soldier, he would never disagree with royalty.
"But... but the prince surely is pressured into this as well."
"He is a little, I suppose. But he has quite an interest in you from what your brother tells me since they're good friends as well." My eyes widened and darted to my brother, who was smiling and looking away. I felt my cheeks heat ever so slightly but hid it by letting my long, brown hair fall slightly in front of my face. "There's no reason for you not to do it, Bliss. He's a good man, and he's about your age, nineteen."
"Age means nothing mother."
"Of course it does! It's something more you two have in common." I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, okay mom." She rested her hands on my shoulders. Her hair was still wet from her shower and she had tugged it up into a messy bun.
"Just... sleep on it okay?"
"Not like she has a choice..." My bother muttered. I shot daggers at him again.
"You better shut up or your big sister is going to kick your ass!" I spat through clenched teeth. He snickered and hurried up the stairs, escaping the danger zone. I turned back to my mother. "I'll think about it... okay?" She smiled lightly.
"Good," My father kissed my cheek. "Goodnight, Bliss."
"Goodnight, dad." He and mom followed each other up the stairs. I sighed and walked to the kitchen to make some tea. I needed to keep an insanely clear head to think about this big of a decision. I replayed Coda's words in my head. Not like she has a choice... the tea bag bubbled as I bobbed it up and down in the steaming water. The steam reminded me of the waterfall by the lake. Maybe I'd take Majesty there in the morning. She always enjoyed going there, as did I, and sometimes we'd talk about the memories we had before we'd met each other. Or things we wanted to do together in the future. Being able to talk to animals had its perks. I could vent to Majesty and she'd be forced to keep the secret among other humans. In a way, Aridonya was like a fairytale story. Some people in the village were born with gifts. I, for example, am able to talk and manipulate animals. My mother was born with eternal beauty. We were the only two in our family that had powers. Not everyone in the village had them. People with powers were called Handers because our bloodline of gifts would often be passed or handed down to our children. Someone without a gift was called a Minor. My head rested on my lazily propped up hand and I soon remembered my situation. A marriage to the prince...? Why so soon? And why couldn't we have waited a little longer? He's barely older than I am, after all. A sudden knocking sound came from the patio door. My head jolted in surprise, but I soon relaxed when I realized it was just my best friend, Love. Her bright green eyes peered playfully at me, one hand covering her eyes to see through the glass and one waving wildly at me. Her smile was wide. I smiled and shook my head, unlocking the door and opening it. She struck a funny pose and formed her lips into a duck face.
"Your undeniably amazing friend has arrived." I laughed and pulled her arm inside. A slight draft from the outside wind blowing my hair back. Love was a hander, just like me. She could turn her skin into indestructible steel. Sometimes I wish I'd had her power because it would be a great advantage on the battlefield.
"Love, what are you doing here? It's nearly midnight." She shrugged.
"I haven't seen you in forever."
"You literally saw me a few hours ago. So needy." I punched her arm playfully and offered to make her some tea as I knew she wasn't much of a coffee drinker, but she politely declined. "Please sit, Lovey." She smiled at the nickname I used for her. We'd come up with it when we were eight years old, and it stuck longer than we thought it would. "I'm actually glad you came... I'm in a little bit of a tough situation right now and I could really use your support." She raised an eyebrow.
"Sounds like you could use a little Love in your life, huh? Come 'ere!" She threw her arms around me and squeezed until I thought my lungs would pop.
"Love! I would prefer to be able to breathe the rest of my life please!" She merely giggled and released her death hold.
"Okay. Now, what is it?"
"I... am engaged to the prince Beckham." Her eyes widened and her smile grew even wider.
"They prince asked for your hand? How did I not know about this! Why haven't you told me yet, Bliss?"
"It's not like that Love. I was just told about it minutes ago. I didn't even know myself. The arrangement was made yesterday... the king wants this for his son."
"I would want you if I were a man too, Bliss! I mean, you're the most beautiful girl in Aridonya. There's no doubt the prince agreed to this." My cheeks grew the slightest pink at the mention of the prince. He has quite an interest in you from what your brother tells me... Love narrowed her eyes at me. "And it would seem that you have agreed as well?"
"W-what? No, of course not. At least, not yet... my mother said to sleep on the decision." She crossed her arms and smiled slyly at me.
"You're blushing and stuttering. I'm your friend since birth. You really think you can hide such behavior from me?" I pursed my lips. She was right, and we both knew it, too. "I know you like the idea deep down inside of you. Why hold back? Any other girl would be head over heels for such an opportunity like this." My heart beat in my chest.
"I am a trained soldier. I don't have time to sit still and look pretty, Love. We both know that I can't keep an act like that up for a long period of time."
"You lasted the whole night of senior prom. What's the difference?"
"That's different, Love. That was just one full day of dressing up. That I can handle. But all day, every day? Please." I sipped my tea, realizing it had gone cold while we were talking.
"I think you could do it. You might not like the idea, but you know you've got the drive to do anything you put your mind to." I got up and placed my cup in the microwave.
"You think I'm so amazing... why do you encourage me?" She lifted herself from her chair and took my hands in hers.
"Because you need this, Bliss. Ever since... him... you've been in your shell. You haven't talked to any boy since. You push away every man that comes into your path. This is the prince we're talking about here, and you know you can't deny a request from the king." She was right.
"Don't remind me of my past relationships, Love. You know what happened, and you know the reason I act the way I do." She cupped my cheek with her hand. I could see her newly manicured nails. Teal with a white feather design on each of her ring fingers. She was always the one to be girly of the two of us. Sometimes we joked about being a couple in a parallel universe if I was the man and she was the woman. We were complete opposites, but we had enough similarities and differences to keep our friendship as strong as ever.
"Bliss, I really think that it's time to set the past aside and look at the opportunity you have in front of you." I didn't realize I was crying until she wiped a tear off of my cheek. I sniffled, trying to keep myself together.
"Love, I don't know who this man is. What he's like. If he'll betray me like...." I trailed off knowing she'd understand who I was referring to.
"He's the prince. You know he has to behave himself." A breath escaped my lips.
"I'll think about it." She smiled sadly. I knew I didn't really have a say in all of this. But it made me feel better to think that I did. So I could say yes and marry the prince, or I could say no to make things difficult and end up marrying the prince anyway. Somehow this had to be easier... right?