Chapter 2 #2
“You know he despises me, so if he’s arranging this marriage...” I pulled my hand back from my sister’s.
“It will benefit the entire kingdom.” Reina’s words were sharp and unforgiving. “Imagine what your life might be like as a lady of your own house. It may suit you nicely.”
What would that be like? A life without my father’s condescension, without upholding every court expectation. Milana held a glass out to me—the cool water cooled the fire rising inside me.
“The way Lord Thalen looked at you…” Reina continued. “It was so romantic.”
Maybe they were right. “I’d like to take a moment to myself. Milana, can you stay to help me freshen up?” I dusted my dress off as I stood.
“You haven’t much time. The feast will begin shortly,” Reina said.
“Take what time you can. He needs to see how incredible you are.” Ashlyn tugged at my hands once more before the two left my chambers.
“What do you think of him?” I raised an eyebrow. Milana tucked my loose tendril back into the braid.
“It doesn’t matter what I think of him. What do you think, Your Highness?”
“When he touched my hand briefly…it made me feel…”
She smirked at my words. “Are you having feelings for him already?”
I twirled my mother’s pearl ring, winding it around my finger. “How would I even know?”
“When you do, you’ll know it.”
I bit my lip. “That’s entirely unhelpful.”
“It’s too soon to know anything—you just met him. Let him show you who he is.” Milana retied the loose corset strings. “All you know is he’s handsome.”
“It doesn’t matter what my feelings are.” My voice trailed off.
“How does it not?”
“It’s not my decision to make. My father will decide.”
“He will decide the marriage, but you will decide the rest. If you have feelings for him. That changes everything.” She slid the clasp of my necklace back into its proper place. “You deserve happiness, Your Highness. Let yourself have a little for once.”
“And if I don’t? I’ll be married to a man I’ll never love.” A fate like my mother’s.
“Give it time…May I offer advice?”
I nodded.
Milana steadied the pearl hair pins in my wavy tendrils. “You’re giving them both too much power. Take some of it back for yourself. Make Lord Thalen earn your respect.”
I was so worried about being controlled by my father that I hadn’t given myself time to assess any of it—to think about what I truly wanted for myself.
A future with Thalen was full of uncertainty, but maybe, just maybe…I would discover something good behind it all.
Milana’s words steadied me as I moved through the palace corridors. By the time I reached the grand hall, I was ready to face Lord Thalen again. The candlelight flickered against the golden damask curtains in the great hall.
My head held high.
“You’re late...” My father scowled as I sat beside him.
“I’m making an entrance,” I retorted. He drove his fork into the fish on his plate. “I thought you wanted him to notice me.”
My eyes caught on Thalen’s again.
My father smirked with a hint of approval—he had never looked at me that way before.
I prodded the food already on my plate, unable to take a bite, as a server poured wine into our goblets.
“A toast to our visitors from the Vale.” My father raised his glass. “I hope you find your stay in Bailoc most welcoming.”
I raised my glass—my forced smile lingered. Lord Thalen raised his as well. “I am most honored, your majesty.”
He commanded attention from every corner of the room the way my father did. At my father’s gesture, the musicians played the first note of the evening, and the dance floor filled.
Lord Thalen appeared in front of me, his hand extended. “It would be an honor to have this dance with you, Princess.” Thalen’s confidence was unwavering. “You are a vision.”
My hand slid into his. “Thank you, my lord.”
“Please, speak freely with me.” His palm pressed into mine as we moved in unison. “You are to be my wife.”
A dull ache settled in my chest. “Have you both settled on a decision already?”
“Negotiations are underway. In the meantime, I would like to get to know you.”
“I would like to get to know you as well, my lord.”
“Something tells me we’re more alike than you think.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Oh, I’ve had my suspicions ever since I laid eyes on you.” He twirled me around him. “I’m rarely ever wrong about these things.”
My jaw clenched. We had spent mere moments together, but he spoke as if he knew me.
As the final chord was struck, Lord Thalen took my hand and lifted it to his lips.
The king raised his glass at us both and gulped down his wine.
“Come with me.” He led me through the crowd out onto the balcony. The palace guards silently took their place. “You’re nervous.” His eyes locked on mine. “My father used to always remind me to look to the stars whenever my nerves overwhelmed me.”
The stars glittered behind him. I marveled at them. My mother always said the stars watched over us.
“What makes you think I’m nervous?”
“You’re trembling.” He clasped my hand in his. “The thought of marrying someone you barely know. It must be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.”
His hand lingered on mine. There was something about him I couldn’t place, a feeling that was new, but strangely familiar.
I needed to remove intimacy from the conversation. “Can you tell me about the Vale?”
“It’s very secluded. It’s nestled between the corners of Bailoc, Estlen, and Nythrel.” He paused, his voice growing cautiously quiet. “Do not let that alarm you, Princess. There are no threats from the fae there. My land remains protected by the divide.” My heart drummed louder as he spoke.
The idea of a far-off land was enticing. I had only lived my life within the palace walls.
“It sounds lovely.”
“What would you do without the weight of the court on you?” Lord Thalen asked as he tucked a loose curl behind my ear.
I didn’t know how to answer. No one had ever asked me what I wanted before.
“I’m not sure if I would know what to do with myself.”
“Well, we can figure it out together,” Thalen whispered.
I closed my eyes, daydreaming of life away from here—a home I could make my own. When my eyes opened, Thalen was closer—a warm smile spread across his face.
“Why do you want to figure it out with me?”
“The feeling I got when I met you…” He trailed his finger down my arm and my breath caught in my chest. “It’s different than I’ve ever felt before. And from the look in your eyes right now, I think it’s something more to you, too.”
“I’m not easy to figure out.” I didn’t know why I said it.
“Oh, you’re a challenge, then?” He grinned. “That’s even better.”
An unspoken calm settled between us as the stars glittered above. His eyes locked onto mine. “Let’s return to the celebration.” He extended his hand back to me.
My father bowed his head to him as he watched from the grand hall.