Unexpectedly Royal

Reina P.O.V All my life I've gotten everything I've ever wanted, from fine clothes to servants who cater for me, it may sound like bragging but hear me out. In my twenty-four years of life, there is one thing that truly matters, my parent's love; it’s something I’ve never experienced. I know I’m too old to care and frankly I’ve gotten used to it. My parents are of noble stature, which means they believe they're above others. They leave trivial matters such as my education and other needs to others, which means no television and no going out from the Manse, despite my age. My Father is a member of the Privy Council who helps the King govern our country, which means he is hardly ever around and my Mother is a lazy, well-bred lady from birth that can't be bothered to spend time with me unless she's wants something. Enough complaining, time to get to the point of my frustrations. My parents and I have been invited to a grand party tonight. The celebration, is in honour of the Prince's twenty-fifth birthday. Frankly, I don't care enough to want to attend; I've never met the Prince in person nor been to the Royal Palace. After all, my Father believes I'm no good, and therefore would embarrass him, because I’m not the proper lady he wants me to be. Another reason is I've heard rumours about what a cold-hearted person the Prince can be. Unfortunately for all of us, I have no choice, but to attend. This request came from the King himself, which is something nobody can refuse.  In preparation for tonight, the maids have drawn a unique bath for me, in which the water is heated just right and rose petals are floating on the water's surface. I'm not sure why I need a rosy scent, but I'm not going to complain. When the water has turned to a cooler temperature, I step out of the bath. I slip on the soft, wool robe left for me and exit the bathroom. The maids are there, waiting to dress me for tonight's event. I have tried dismissing them before, so I can choose what I want to wear, but the dismissal ended in an argument with my Father that night about the social hierarchy. Long story short, I ended up doing twice the work I usually did in my tutoring sessions for a month; after that, I didn't dare refuse again. The maids hold out the dress in which I'll be parading in tonight. The dress is a beautiful ocean blue, floor-length, cap sleeve, dress. They approach and before I can blink I'm wearing it, and a pair of white ankle strap dress shoes are on my feet. The maids guide me over to the vanity mirror and style my wavy light brown hair into a side-swept romantic low bun, then a light layer of makeup is applied to finish off my look. I glance at the clock on the wall; it's nearly time. I'm ready, ready to get thie evening over. I stand from my seat when the door clicks open, revealing my Mother. She dismisses the maids and walks gracefully in her olive green, one shoulder, pencil dress, towards me. My suspicions piqued at her arrival; she must want something.  “You look lovely, my dear.” A smile or a compliment from her or Father is never a good sign; it must be horrid. “What do you want Mother?” "Only one thing. That you do not do anything that will desecrate our family name." 'Is that all? It's not as bad as I thought.' She doesn't have to worry about that. I know how vital my Fathers reputation is to him, so I plan on sticking to the shadows away from the prying eyes of others tonight. "Yes, Mother." “Very good.”  She grabs my arm, and we wander out of my room and walk downstairs where Father is waiting for us. At our approach he looks up and smiles at Mother. He takes her hand and guides her down graciously. “You look stunning, Darling.” He kisses her hand and then turns to face me. He’s staring at me, most likely assessing whether or not my appearance is suitable for the party. “You look beautiful, sweetheart.” I don't buy it. I can tell Father's up to no good. “Thank you, Father.” However, I will not press the issue, because I will find out in due time what their intentions are. "Ahem. Sir, If you are ready, the car is waiting for you." The family butler, Andrew informs us and we all exit the Manse in an orderly fashion towards the limo. Andrew opens the door, and we each slide into the luxury seats. As soon as we're seated, the Limos engine starts, and we're on our way to the Royal Palace. It takes about fifteen minutes, but we arrive safely in front of the Palace. We move out of the limo and proceed into the palace and through the canary yellow halls following other guests, until we come to the grand ballroom. The room is a lovely shade of amber that is lit up brightly with three impressive crystal chandeliers, one after the other hanging above our heads, with the King and Queen sitting on red cushioned thrones at the opposite end. The room is alive with conversation, and classical music is playing in the background. I gaze around and see other families of nobility are paying their respects to the middle-aged King and Queen. My parents and I approach them, as well. Father bows to them. Mother and I follow along and curtsy to their Majestys. “Greetings your Majesty, I trust you are well.” Yeah like he cares, but I'll keep that to myself, although I may not like him, he is still, for all intents and purposes, my father. “You may rise.” We look back up to his majesty; this is the first time I've seen him in person. He is dressed up in an apparent royal attire and keeps a neat goatee on his face. He glances away from Father and looks to me, intrigue, written in his expression. "Would this girl be you daughter, Lord Dernum." What does the King want with me? I have to admit I'm curious. I didn't know that Father talks about me. I hope the conversations put me in a pleasant light. "Yes, sir." "You've got a beautiful daughter. She may be just right." I’d like to satisfy my curiosity about this, but I think better of it as it may end in a frightful scene. "Speaking of which, your majesty, may I inquire as to where the Prince is this evening." "Don't worry Lord Dernum; he'll arrive shortly. We can make the announcement then." The youthful-looking Queen dressed in beautiful jewels and an elegant violet style long dress fit for her station is the one to answer Father's question. I'd certainly like to her elaborate on what this announcement may be. "In the meantime, enjoy yourselves." In her rich voice, she allowed us to leave. No such luck at solving the riddle of the announcement just yet. We bow to their majesty again and leave them be, questions still lingering in my head. I separate from my parents as they mingle the other nobility in attendance. I cannot say I am fond of these tedious conversations so I glide through the crowd and out of the ballroom, only to find myself in the Royal gardens. I gaze around touching the flowers as I wonder, using the light of the palace and the crescent moon as my guide. I hear footsteps behind me, and the snap of a stick breaks, gaining my attention but in my hastiness to discover the source, my foot slides and trips on a stone, causing my downfall into the pink tulips behind me. “ha-ha. Your pretty clumsy, aren’t you?” The deep voice is mocking me. The owner of the low sound isn't helping my annoyance. I twist my head to the direction of the mocking voice to see a tall young man, with black, slightly spiking hair, nicely chiselled features and wearing an official blue and black, soldier-like attire. “Clumsy? You’re the one that caused my fall! The least you can do is help me up.” “Why should I? You’re beneath me.” He takes on a stoic expression. 'Beneath him, ha,' who does this guy think he is. Too bad his personality doesn't match up with his angelic looks. I don’t need to hear anything further; his true nature is out. I need to compose myself, or I'm going to be listening to another lecture from my parents. I ball up my fist, letting anger motivate me,picking myself off the ground, and out of the flowers. Back on my feet, I walk towards him, and without a word, I purposely push against his shoulder with my own and walk away. The walk to the ballroom is long, but I need this to calm down.  "That punk, who does he think he is."  I mumble it so no one can hear me and lean against the back wall. 'I've got to stay calm.' I close my eyes and repeat this over and over in my head like a witches spell. Having calmed down a bit, I open my eyes to see a strange man. "There you are Ms; we've been trying to find you." I stare at him blankly, not knowing how to respond. “no chance to explain come with me.”  I can not begin to comprehend what's happening. I've pulled up to the front of the crowd next to my parents. I can feel it, something isn't right. I glance over the front of the hall, and by the King's side is that infuriating punk. I cannot understand why I'm here, and soon enough, I get my answer. The King stands from his throne, and silence overcomes the hall.  "Thank you all for coming to my beloved son's twenty-fifth birthday celebration. We are thankful for the birthday greetings and gifts we have received from you all." 'huh, what birthday gift? We didn't bring one.' The question is pushed to the corners of my mind when the punk steps forward in front of the King. The thug is off to the King's right hand. His mannerisms are what you expect of a true prince. I am struck speechless by this. 'Do not tell me this i***t is, the, Prince?' I mentally slap myself at my ignorance. ‘Great, now I’m going to hear it from Father, so much for staying in the shadows.’ “As you are aware, Prince Jason is my only son and heir, and to ascend the throne he must take a bride, so I have an extraordinary announcement to make." ‘Bride, huh.' I sympathise for the girl unlucky enough to be his chosen bride. I'm curious to know who she is though, as is everyone else. Everyone looks expectantly at his majesty, waiting for him to continue. The King looks thrilled as he continues to the next part of his speech. “I am pleased to announce the engagement of Prince Jason to the daughter of Lord and Lady Dernum, Lady and future Queen of Finnera, Reina Dernum.” “What?” I’m shocked. My eyes go wide as a house. ‘Reina? Me? Ah, no, this has to be a prank.' I never heard or consented to this. I never wanted to be a royal, let alone a Queen. I gaze back at my parents, their faces beaming, only confirming that it's no laughing matter; on the contrary, it's genuine. Although it explains why they were kind to me earlier, it still doesn't excuse their deception. Immediately, I’m guided forward by that strange man that dragged me to my parents, and escorted to the Prince’s side, looking out towards the crowd. Applause sounds throughout the hall. The King holds his hands out, quietening the noisy atmosphere.  “May your life together be happy and blessed.” The music begins, and the crowd again cheers, and proceed to the front for a congratulatory procession. One by one, Prince Jason and I have the congratulations of our engagement by the high ranking officials and noblemen and women of this kingdom. My parents are the last ones to greet us. My father smirks at me, then turns to Prince Jason. "Congratulations, Your Highness." Father is the first to offer his blessing; Mother follows his lead. "Look after my precious daughter; she's all we have." Fakers, he doesn't care about me, he just wants to further his power and Mother, may get an all-access pass to the Palace. I know them all too well, despite the little time I've spent with them. To hide my suspicious thoughts, I show a smile like a noble girl should. I look to the Prince his face is stoic, which makes him hard to decipher, he bows and rises looking Father in the eye and smiles graciously. “I assure you, your daughter will want for nothing as my future Queen.” His smile resembles that of Father, but his words express it almost sincerely. His angelic face won't fool me. I've already seen his true nature earlier in the garden. 'I have to find some way out of this or my life is ultimately over.' My parents finally leave us, and I'm left standing with the Snobby Prince. He faces me and grasps my hand tightly, gracefully pulling me away from the crowded ballroom onto a private stone balcony overlooking the sparkling, moonlit sea, where nobody can overhear our conversation. He pulls me to the hand railing and let's go, leaving a red mark on my wrist. “Excuse me. What do you think you’re doing dragging me away like that, you could have ripped my arm off.” A slight exaggeration but still, I’d like to know why he pulled me here. “Hmm, Even someone like you should have more respect for a member of the Royal family.” His blue eyes are boring into me; he is as unhappy about this as I am. 'So this was against his will too.' It makes me feel better knowing he's against this as well, but that doesn't explain why he accepted the marriage so readily.  "Listen well, the reason I brought you out here is to tell you that I am going along with this facade so I can become King, but that doesn't mean I love you." His attitude is cold and unyielding. I need to voice my feelings straight out. "I'm not going to be your ticket to the throne. If you don't love me, then find some other girl willing to be with you, Good evening, Your highness." I turn my back to him and start walking away, when out of nowhere I feel him gripping tightly on my arm, stopping me from leaving. I turn back to face his cold expression. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. The engagement has been put forth by the King himself; we cannot refuse." Unfortunately, the stuck up prince is right, to refuse a royal order is considered treason, and is the same as signing your death warrant. I face the prince head-on and ask. “What can we do?” He smiles that loose smile. “I have a compromise that can help our situation.” I stay quiet, curious as to the plan the prince has concocted for us. “Only on formal occasions do we play the part of the happy couple the public perceives us to be, all the while avoiding each other all we can when it’s not necessary.” I take a moment to process his plan; it's okay, we'll most likely hardly ever see each other. This arrangement gives me the two things I want most. To avoid the Prince and have freedom, from my parents house. I inwardly chuckle at the idea, and nod my head agreeing to his plan.