The Wrong Prince

Arabella Today is a big day in my life. Today is the day I meet my husband for the first time before spending the rest of my life with him. I know this sounds odd and not ideal, but I don’t exactly have a normal life. I am crowned princess of Astra, a small country in the northern sea. Because it just so happened with being a girl and second born, I have no rights to the crown. Unlike my older brother, I can never rule Astra unless I have a king. My country likes to live like it is still 1950 and hasn’t progressed like other countries. Not that it would matter if our country was more progressive. My brother is still older by four years, so the kingdom goes to him regardless. Which means my parents would have tried to marry me off, regardless. It was just my destined fate. I looked in the mirror as I checked myself again. I wanted to make sure I looked as good as I could for this first meeting. You only have one chance to make a first impression and mine had to be perfect. He could call this whole thing off in a second if he wanted. It scared me how much power he had over the rest of my life. How would I ever recover from the rejection if he would not have me? “You look fine,” my older brother, Henrik, said with an eye roll as he watched me. Why my parents would have sent him with me was beyond me. He wasn’t very helpful to me. He just wanted to sit around and complain about the fact he had to babysit me. Like it was my fault, my country still follows these backwards laws about women? It was really only in royalty that our country. Our country was modern with its citizens. I don’t understand why you would change the laws for your subjects, but not your own. It was all bizarre to me, but my father always told me not to question things like this. “Shut up, I want to make sure I look perfect.” I said, smoothing my platinum blonde hair, so no hairs were sticking up. I picked up a tube of lipstick and applied it. “Why don’t you go see how much longer we have on the boat? Make yourself useful or something besides just watching me.” “You don’t have to be perfect. He is going to marry you regardless,” Henrik said, crossing his arms. “It would be a stupid move to refuse this marriage proposal. The alliance between Astra and Denmark is very important. It would help both countries greatly. It would be a stupid move to not do it.” I sighed as she looked down. I hated that my fate was up to what was best for the country. It wasn’t based on love at all. It was based on the good of others, not me. I was just a pawn in it all. It was times like this. I wished Iwasn’t born into royalty. Ishould feel lucky to be born with such privilege and riches, but I wasn’t. It came at such a high cost. — — — It was another before we docked onto Fallen Crest. I was glad when we finally docked. I was feeling seasick. Fallen Crest wasn’t a long way from Astra, but that was a good thing. If it had lasted longer than a day, I would meet my prince with puke breath. It would mortify me to meet him like that. My brother came up behind me to help lead me to the place where we were supposed to meet the servant that was going to take us to the palace. I had been hoping to meet the prince to just get it over with, but that would be done at the palace. Hopefully, after they give me my room and I can freshen up. The servant bowed as we walked towards them. “Phil, at your service, princess Arabella and Prince Henrik.” I curtseyed, but Henrik stopped me. “Thank you, Phil, now let’s head onto the palace. The princess is eager to meet her prince.” Phil nodded as he took our bags and began loading them into the car. Henrik grabbed the door and held it open for me so I could get in. He followed closely behind me. Once Phil got all our bags into the back, he crawled into the driver's seat. “If you need anything on the ride, ask.” We both nodded at the man. He smiled at us again before turning around to start the car. I took a deep breath, releasing the air slowly as I looked at my nails. Before we left, I got a manicure and wanted to make sure it was still in good shape. I know boys rarely care about chipped nails, but still, everything needs to be perfect. I pulled a mirror out of my purse to check my hair and makeup. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my brother's eyes roll slightly at me, but I did my best to ignore him. He wouldn’t understand what it's like to be in my position. He at least gets some say in who he marries. The drive was down a long, windy road that led to a castle on top of a mountain. It was a pleasant view to see; I noted as we drove. It had big green trees all around, with plenty of grass. The higher we got, the closer we got to the clouds. I started feeling light-headed with how high up this castle was. When we got closer to the castle, my mouth dropped when I saw the beautiful castle. There was no way this could be the place I was going to live. Our castle was okay. A normal castle on the ground, but there was something about a castle on the mountain added to the beauty. “Wow,” I said, looking at the beautiful towers that were around the castle. I hoped my bedroom was going to be in one of those towers. I always wanted to sleep in a tower. Our castle didn’t have them, because our castle was a much more modern castle. Henrik shrugged. “It’s just a castle.” He said with a lift of his shoulders. “Nothing great about that.” “It’s a stunning castle,” I retorted. “It looks hundreds of years old.” “That is miss,” said the man driving the car. “We built it in the 1500s. With some upkeep, of course, but it has lasted all that time.” It amazed me as I looked at the castle. The 1500s until now. I wondered what it looked like inside and couldn’t wait to see. When we entered the castle, I saw him standing there. He looked just like his picture had depicted. He had flaming red hair and was leaner and taller. There were freckles all over his face. In his own way, he was very cute. The prince I would marry. He bowed at my presences. I curtseyed right back. I was wearing my traveling dress, which meant it just wasn't as poofy as the rest of my dresses. "My lady," he said. "I would like to welcome you to my lovely palace." "It is for sure a lovely place." With a smile, I said that. "I can't wait to look around. They built it in the 1500s, I heard. I can't believe it is still in good condition." "Yeah, she is a beauty," he said, returning the smile. "This is my sister, by the way. Princess Josephina." She curtsied at me as I returned the motion. She will be the one who will show you your room. I am sorry that I couldn't be the one to show you around. Today is busy for me. I had some unexpected things come up." I nod. "It's okay. I am sure I will be fine. Will I see you at dinner, though?" "You shall," he said, reaching for my hand. He kissed the top of it. I couldn't help but smile and blush a little at his action. Maybe this won't be so bad. "Josie," he said, referring to his sister. "Tell Jon to come here as soon as he gets a chance. They also needed him at this meeting." She nodded. I looked over at her and asked, "Who is Jon?" I knew little about the prince, which included his siblings. All I had been told was he had two siblings. I didn't get told about their gender or anything like that. "Prince Jon is my other older brother. He is younger than James, though. He is more closer to your age than James is. I think he is a couple of years older. She told me. "He should be around, though. Come, let me show you to your room. I am sure you want to change out of your dress." She turned to my brother. "You must be Prince Henrik. Phil will show you to your room. " My brother nodded before bowing at her. "Thank you, my lady." I couldn't believe those words had come out of his mouth. I was expecting a sarcastic remark or something along those lines. Henrik was not known for his manners at home. I guess since we were in a different place, things could be different. Henrik went with Phil as Josie led me to my room. "So do you go by Josephine or Josie?" I asked her. "Most call me Josie. I only get called Josephina in proper moments, since it is my given name. Do you have a nickname, Arabella?" I shook my head. No one had called me anything unless I was little. My dad called me Ella, but it never caught on. I always had been just Arabella. "I go by Arabella to most people." She nodded. "It’s a pretty name. Just like you. You are a beauty. No one's description could give you justice." I giggled. "I don't know about that. I just hope your brother likes me." "I am sure he will,” she gave me a reassuring smile. “Now let’s go see your room.” We started down the hallway. I was looking at the walls and paintings on the wall when I bumped into someone. “I am sorry,” I said as I felt backwards a bit. The man who I had hit rolled his brown eyes when he saw me standing there. He ran a finger through his thick black hair. He was lean, just like the prince, but had a bit more muscle on him. He wasn’t dressed like a royal, though. He was in a t-shirt and jeans. “Is this the new b***h?” he asked, looking at Josie. Both her and my mouth dropped. I couldn’t believe he had just called me that. “Yes, this is Arabella. She is not a b***h,” Josie insisted. The man shrugged. “She’s marrying my brother so close enough. Where is he, anyway?” “He is in a meeting. One you are supposed to be at. He was looking for you.” “Well, he is going to be looking for me for a while. I told him I wasn’t going. Not like he listened.” He shook his head and turned to me. “I hope you enjoy your stay.” He hit my shoulder as he pushed past me.