30 Days As A Substitute Prince

Chapter 3

"Are you excited?"

"Barely." Princess Aria sighed as her mother dabbed blush to her cheeks.

Her youngest sister, Liziath had asked with her own hint of excitement for her best friend and sister. Liziath had always been a romantic, reading books and day dreaming endlessly in the library, wanting her own true love one day. But Aria love was here and that would simply have to do for now.

She couldn't wait to watch the love story unfold in front of her. It would be like a live performance of what happens in books. That would be such a great societal investment.

"Why not! Your Prince is coming today and you are not excited?" Liziath couldn't believe her sister. How could she be so stoic about this?

"I..." Aria trailed. She really didn't have a reason for her hesitation. Maybe it was just nerves. "I have never met him a day of my life, Lizzy. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"That is why you are courting for a month, my dear," Queen Sylvia chirped. She was just as eager as her youngest daughter. "I'm certain Prince Zadkiel will make a perfect husband. Queen Vivian assured it."

"I hope," Aria mumbled to herself as her mother and youngest sister continued to blab about her union.

Aria never minded that her parents promised her to a prince. She understood her duty as the eldest daughter. But she was human after all, and nerves were simply a natural thing to happen. 

She was to meet her groom at noon today. It had only been eight in the morning, and she was sweating like a pig.

The news of his arrival wasn't sudden. Her parents even sat her down to have a talk even before they contacted the royal family of the Imperial Kingdom. Still, Aria had her doubts.

Would he treat her well? Will they fall deeply in love like her parents? Will they have the most beautiful family one day? Or will he be authoritative, mean and demeaning, only seeing her as a wife and not a partner, as there was indeed a vast difference.

This is what the courting season is for, she tried to tell herself, but barely listened. Aria could feel her palms sweating and her stomach churning violently. All the questions of possible ways this could end boldly invaded her every thought. She was not prepared enough for this as she thought she was.

At least they will have a whole month to get to know each other. But that's just it. Even if by the end of the month they aren't okay with each other, they would still have to get married. This month is just a pitied decency to have them familiarised before the actual marriage.

 There wasn't any backing out of this.

"You'll be a great wife, my dear. And soon I'll have beautiful grandbabies running around the castle." Her mother laughed in delight which made her eyebrows pull uncomfortably farther than what her tight hairdo had already caused.

Aria simply smiled and nodded, and suddenly the tightly pulled corset felt suffocating.

Could he just come already? Maybe just a glimpse of him will sooth her nerves.

But no. They had a whole three and a half hours until Zadkiel and his guard arrived.

The arrangement of it all puzzled Aria. Why would a prince--someone of such high status--travel only with one guard? Wasn't he supposed to have the whole kingdom of guards accompanying him to a strange island? It got her mind turning with more questions. Was Zadkeil so masculine and strong that he didn't need protection? Or was there another reason for his minimal company?

It didn't matter anyway. All she knew was that he arrived yesterday, and he's here in her kingdom, just waiting to be escorted from the Inn to the castle in a few hours. His sleeping arrangements puzzled her too. Why hadn't he come straight to the castle last night?

Questions. Too many questions. Aria could already feel the hint of a headache threatening to manifest itself into something larger. No. she needed to stop thinking of him so much.

"What is the theme for tonight's ball, Mother?" she asked, quickly cutting off previous conversations with her sister.

Queen Sylvia shrugged. "I believe it is black and white themed. Your dresses should arrive today. I will check with Davina just to be sure."

Aria embraced the change in topic. "I hope they are as lovely as the last ones."

"I just know there are," Liziath added. "Oh and maybe Prince Zadkiel has a secret younger brother that-"

"He has no siblings," her mother quickly cut her off, sounding and looking far more tense than her cool and collected state before. 

This didn't go unnoticed by the girls, and they all remained in tense silence as the queen finished curling Aria's hair. Sylvia always preferred to do these little things by herself for her daughters.

She didn't grow up as a royal. In fact, she was a poor villager from the far side of the island, when the king, who was prince at the time, went hiking and met her. King Andreas knew from there that she would be his queen, despite his parents' protests. So, Queen Sylvia knew her way around grooming and caring for simple things like a hairdo. She used to do the same with her sister before she moved to the castle.

"May I go promenade with Tina, mother?" Liziath asked, wanting desperately to get away from the tense air.

"You may." Came the simple reply, and both sisters shared a glance before looking back to their mother.

She didn't look upset or mad, so Liziath's outburst of the possibility that the prince having a brother didn't enrage her, but simply saddened her. God knows why. But Liziath didn't want to stick around to find out.

But just as she was about to leave, the door opened and Tina stepped inside in all her 5'8 beauty. Tina was the second eldest but the tallest. Yet, she fit in quite well with her family. She was sometimes short tempered and strong minded, and preferred to stay to herself most times, but they all loved each other dearly.

Tina also practised archery secretly, though everyone knows but makes her believe they don't. Still, out of the three sisters, she acted less of a princess and sometimes most mature.

Tina offered her sisters a smile before her eyes landed on her mother, and she stopped in her tacks at the sight. Her eyes silently asked Liziath what the matter was, but she simply shrugged in uncertainty.

Slowly, Tina retreated, as if not wanting to be caught in the web of tension. But Aria caught on to the movement and quickly came up with a way to stop her.

"Oh look mother, it is Tina." 

She shot darts at Aria with her eyes as her mother's head jerked in Tina's direction. However, she quickly replaced her expression with a smile and curtsied to her mother

"I was just coming to check on Aria. I hope she's not too nervous," Tina said, but her voice and eyes as she glared at her sister said differently after what Aria just did. Aria stifled a giggle.

"I'm doing just fine. Unless you want to take my spot? You are only a year younger than me, after all."

"No," Tina shot back without a second hesitation. "He's your groom, not mine." And with that, she was out the door as if fire was on her tail.

Sylvia and her daughters immediately burst out in laughter, and just like that, the mood was restored. That Tina--Always so afraid of love. She barely even accepted affection from her sisters, let alone a man.

Still, they all were unique in their own way, and as they fell back into comfortable conversation like minutes ago, Sylvia couldn't help but feel grateful for her family.

Aria stood in her bedroom window and gazed at the beautiful kingdom of Oryn. She stared specifically at the Inn that her 'groom to be' was probably at, getting his things ready and locking his cufflinks to start his trip to the castle. It was one of the only three story buildings in the town, and so it wasn't quite hard to see.

With a deep breath and her eyes closed, Aria set her mind on what she simply has to do, rather than what she would've proffered.

Her groom is coming. Whether she liked it or not.