The Arranged Marriage

Chapter 3

Her hands raced along the books through the library as the night was covering her sins. Holding a burning candle, she waited for what she knew was wrong, what she knew was against all rules. He watched the halls as a hawk as he headed toward what he truly desired but knows is not right.

“Princess Rivers,” he breathed as he finally found her in the maze.

“Oh Nathan,” Rivers whispered as she wrapped her arms around him being with the man she truly wanted to marry.

“You know we can’t do this anymore,” he says holding the letter she wrote to him for them to meet.

“But we can, don’t give up on me now,” She smiles, rubbing her hands on his cheeks.

He smiles down at her in her silky nightgown. He has always admired her since he was a young boy learning from his father how to work around the castle. His job is to be the scientist for the castle making herb medicine as they believed in natural remedies to heal them. If someone found out, his life would be ruined and he would be killed for loving someone higher than him.

Rivers smiled, twirling around. “In my wildest dreams, I dare to think of a life with you. Oh to not be a princess or queen-to-be so I can be with you. Wouldn’t that be the dream? We could start a life in a little cottage, raise children, watching them run in the wild grass with wild dreams. But in reality, I am a princess and you are a servant to science.”

Running a hand through his hair, he smiled in agreement as he thought the same. “To be in a world where it didn’t matter what class you were in, but your majesty, it does.”

“With you, I don’t care,” She says pulling him in close for a hug feeling how he held her.

Their love was only in secret with only the two knowing. Her guards think she is in the library reading. Her maids think she is still asleep in her room. His parents think he is staying up late to work on projects for the King and Queen. No, they lie. Their secrets have been going on for a year now. Running around the castle at night, slipping kisses under the moon, only the two know their love.

“You are to be married soon, it's all over the castle,” He sighs, pulling away from her.

“But I don’t like him at all. I am being forced, and they want to make haste with this wedding. It's all for the kingdom, they don’t care about what I think. They want me queen, and they are willing to do anything for that to happen.” She rants on and on being so sick of the way they treat her. She knows they love her, but it is to an extent.

“Don’t say that. He will be there for you in ways I could never.”

Shaking her head, putting her hands on his face she keeps saying no even if it's the truth. Love can only go so far when it's in the dark.

“It’s always urgent around here,” Rivers sighs, twirling around.

“We need to go before we get caught,” Nathan frantically says as he looks down the hall to make sure nobody is coming.

“I suppose so,” she pouts, hugging him one last time.

The morning came faster than anyone in the castle hopped for. The king requested that Rivers be awoken at the crack of dawn to start getting ready for the announcement. Lilly stared at Rivers sleeping soundly with her hand on the other pillow and her hair lay like a picture-perfect person. She was the most beautiful girl in the world; every nation knew that.

“Miss,” she said lightly tapping her.

Rivers groaned, turning away from Lilly and pulling the covers over her head.

“Miss Rivers, it's time to get up now,” she said nicely again, starting to pull on the covers but Rivers tightened her hold.

“I am not getting up, the sun just awoke so that means I still have a few hours of sleep. So please, let me do so,” Rivers argued, pulling the sheets back over her head.

“Get up now!” Lilly hollered sick of Rivers not cooperating.

Rivers sat up straight looking Lilly dead in the eyes as Lilly shrunk in her standing bowing her head. Waking up the princess was the most hated task as she was always at her worst in the morning. Rivers got out of bed and stomped her way over to her vanity.

“Please, don’t be mad at me, Your Highness,” Lilly said as she grabbed the metal hairbrush off the table.

“I am not. I know I need to be awake, but sleeping is so nice.” Rivers sighs looking in the mirror and watching Lilly brush her hair.

“Ah, isn’t the day so beautiful and it hasn’t even begun yet,” Queen Diana said as she opened the door to Rivers’s room.

To her slight disappointment, Rivers never looked back at her. She remembers when her daughter used to run into her arms with wild flowers she had picked up just for her. Lately, Rivers is never interested in those things anymore. She watches as her maid brushes Rivers’s hair as she used to do to her when she was a young child.

“I brought my announcement dress for you to wear,” Queen Diana proudly says as she motions for a maid to come in who was holding a white dress.

It was an off-the-shoulder long sleeves that had diamonds around the waist with a silky complexion. It was just a simple white dress in Rivers' eyes, but in her mother’s it was something so beautiful. She was also holding a small silver crown that was passed down from generation to generation on announcement day.

“Is that what I am wearing?” Rivers asked, standing up and walking over to the dress.

She ran her hand over it feeling the softness. Just because Rivers didn’t want to do this, she knew this dress was her mother’s, and she felt proud that she was wearing it.

“Yes, dear, unless you want another dress to wear,” Diana says disappointingly, rubbing her hands together.

“No, Mother, I love it,” Rivers smiled, coming over to hug her mother with a warm embrace and then pulling away. “Even though I don’t want to marry him.”

“You know it is best for the country,” Diana sighs, letting go of her daughter’s hands. “I didn’t want to marry your father, and he surely did not want to marry me.”

Rivers put her hand over her mouth, shocked. She never knew that. They always seemed prepared together, classy, and organized, with slight kisses on the cheek here on there. That's what she thought love was. A business arrangement.

“Our countries were going under with attacks and the economy was punishing. To fix that our parents set us up in an arrangement where I was only fifteen. Just like you, I was resentful and I hated your father for years. I kept myself up in the drawing room and just watched from the window until I finally matured and came out. Then, we started seeing a liking for each other, and soon we were able to have love. Please, just give Cruise a chance,” Diana explains as she is looking at the window as she used to do when she first arrived at the castle.

Rivers sighed and faked up a smile. “I will try, Mother.”

Diana clapped, turning around and hugging her daughter tightly wishing she was still a young girl. It was hard for her to see that Rivers was 18; in her eyes, she was still 5 with two pigtails and a tiny crown on her head. Lilly brought over the dress informing Rivers it was time to get dressed.

Cruise sat out looking out the window in his room at the new kingdom he was going to rule over. His sister, Elizabeth Charleston, was married off a year ago so his country would have a ruler as he was married off to help the Northern Iles thrive. He was still in his black silk pajamas with a hand in his bed hair. Carter walked in with a maid to his left holding a white outfit that Cruise had to wear today.

“Cruise, it is past time for you to start getting ready,” Carter stressed as he brought out his watch.

“Lay the outfit on the bed. I will get ready soon,” He sighed, not giving them attention.

“Your waiting to be ready has long passed. You need to be ready now,” Carter demanded knowing they did not need to be late.

Cruise sighed, running a hand through his hair standing up looking over what his father had picked out for him. White pants with a white shirt and a coat that is red to represent the Northern Iles and a blue rope on the shoulder to merge Epheoris.

This country is great and all, but Cruise just wanted to be in Epheoris staring at the hills with a wide terrain inside of a flat island that looks like a tropical island. His fair complexion wasn’t fit for the harsh sun glare that comes from an ocean. Epheoris does have an ocean that connects it to all the other kingdoms, but the castle and their land are in the middle with the mountains. What he would give to go back not married and run his kingdom. Elizabeth is now the queen with a suitable husband from another kingdom giving much more power and access, but Cruise always felt he would have been a better pick to rule their land.

“Cruise, I am not going to ask you again,” Carter stressed, showing his watch to him.

Rolling his eyes out of spite, Cruise throws his hands up to show that he is getting dressed.

The couple was standing next to each other with their mothers fixing their hair and outfits before they were about to walk on the balcony and introduce their wedding in three days. Tears choked both of the mother’s eyes as both of their babies were leaving from their hands; Cruise leaving their land and Rivers leaving her innocence behind. Diana pushes a piece of Rivers’s long locks behind her ear as she has done all her life to have a last moment with just her child before the chaos of marriage. Samatha smiled happily at her son with a tear running down as these were her last three days with her innocent and non-stressed son and those two acts of vengeance would be taking hold of him soon.