An:Â Hii! So, this is the first chapter I wrote EVER. Please take it reserved, since English is not my first language :) I am still learning. If you see any mistakes, I apologize. I am open to any tips!! Enjoy the chapter.
M
Your life wasnât perfect⌠but it was very much close to perfect. So far in your life, you had nothing to complain about. I mean, for fuckâs sake, youâre a princess, born into one of the happiest kingdoms far and wide, where people helped each other, and hunger was only in the distant memories of the oldest grandmas and paps. You grew up happily, in a castle where the doors were always open, and laughter and singing were always filling the marbled halls. You grew up wild, kind, and free⌠For the whole seventeen years, you only bloomed into a kind soul. You always helped the townspeople as much as you could. Always took care of your six younger siblings the same way your older sisters used to take care of you.
You were happy like that, free-spirited like a spring breeze.
Life was fant-astick! It was spring, your favorite season. You were curled up in your favorite spot in the world, under the blooming apple tree. The shadow gave you peace, and the sweet smell of the blooming flowers tickled your nose. The grass tickling your arms softly, and the only sound that filled your ears was the whispering between the trees⌠wshuuuu⌠wshuuuâwait, thatâs not leavesâLilyâs voice filled everything around you.
âOh my god, I canât believe you didnât tell me earlier! The whole townâs getting ready. My dad made me bake pies before the rooster even crowedâWhat are you still doing here?! Why arenât you getting ready!â
You squeezed one of your eyes open against the sun, gazing at Lily, your best friend, standing over you. The tip of her nose was traced with flour, and her red braids glimmered in the sun. But right now, that was the last thing on your mind. You sat up, your face filled with confusion. Baking pies? The town getting ready?? You getting ready??! You had too many questions swirling in your mind.
âLilâsâwhat are you talking about?â You answered as steadily as you could.
âYou donât know?â Lily slowly posed the question, her green eyes wide open.
âIf I knew, would I be asking?â
You could swear, in that moment, you saw a glimmer of sparkleâscratch that, a fireâin her eyes. An excited smile formed on her face, and before you knew it, Lily was sitting next to you in the grass, your eyelashes almost flapping into each other.
âMy dear, dear, dearest princess, you are getting married.â She curled her voice in a high pitch at the end of the sentence, and the world seemed to stop for a good long minute.
The feeling that this sentence blew into your body is very hard to explain. The closest comparison is a confused raccoon throwing up a rainbow into a bush behind a tavern. Perhaps you didnât know your childhood best friend as much as you thought you did, and maybe this was just a very out-of-character joke? You really, really hoped it was a joke.
âI am getting married? âIâ as in me?â
âYes! This morning, the bugler read the news straight from the castle. Your father is offering your hand in marriageâand the kingdom with it! A prince is comingâwell, three of them actually! Isnât this exciting?â
Exciting was not the word you had in mind.
You really wanted to respond to Lily, in fact, you were about to, when none other than your motherâs loyal little messenger, Peter (the smallest, as you liked to call him), showed up. His big cheeks were red like two bowls of borscht, and little rolls of sweat were rolling down his face, down his neck, and under his collar.
âPrincessâIâI... t-the Queen wishes... to see youânow.â He panted, holding his stomach and gasping, like heâd run all the way from the castle by himself, and not on his horse.
Refuse and face your motherâs anger later? Rather not. So, with a rushed, chaotic goodbye to Lily, you followed Peter down the hill, the long grass staining your feet green. Itâs a quick walk from there to the rocky path. Narcis is still pulling the grass in handfuls, chewing it down slowly, just like he did in the morning when you left him here.
You recognized the smiling faces as you rode through the town, people laughing and waving at you. Lily wasnât kidding, the townspeople seemed busy in preparationâdusting the carpets, cleaning the windows, hanging flowers out of their windows. And from the Evans tavern, the sweet smell of pies and pastries really did linger. When you were close enough to the castle, you could see the preparations here were even more... even more⌠The kingdom's flags were hanging out of every window, maids cleaning each one of the paving stones in the yard, and gardeners fixing every bit of the long lawn. At the stone gate to the castle, your mother was anxiously waiting for you, holding one of your little brothers on her hip.
Now as you rushed through the long hall into your chambers, you finally mustered the courage to look at your mother. She didnât seem upset. Instead, something about her was unusual, something you had never seen before. Under her calm demeanor, you could see cracks of anxiousness.
âMumâmumâmother! Could you stop for one minute? And explain!â
âWhy did I have to hear that I am getting married off from Lily? Why AM I getting married off?â
You shakily said, trying to stay collected, but you felt your eyes tearing up. The sudden anger you felt mixed with confusion⌠betrayal.
âIâoh dearâI⌠your fatherâs getting old and youâŚâ
She finally stopped, turning to you suddenly, her eyes soft as she tugged your hair behind your ear.
âYou are a young woman. I remember being your age. All I wanted was to get marriedâŚâ
She smiled gently, like mothers do, but the last thing you wanted to do was grin like an idiot back at her.
âI donât want to get married, mother! Iâarenât we happy like this? Iâm good, I study, I take care of the townspeople and my siblings, I take an interest in things. I thought... I thought we were happy like this... just us, as a family together?â
âOh dear... you have to understand, your father isnât the youngest. He needs someone to take over after him.â
âThen I shall! I can be a queenââ
âDear, I apologize for not telling you sooner, I thought it would be a pleasant surprise!â
It was far from a pleasant surprise. But what to do now? You could yell at your mother, perhaps even find your papa and throw a tantrum to him too, but what would that fix nowâŚ? But now what? Youâre amazing, you canât lie to yourself about that. Some of the princes will surely propose... Well, you canât lie to yourself about that, but you can lie to them... Oh, your genius! Youâll just act so awful that the princes will run away! Applause, sâil vous plaĂŽt.
The night outside felt distant as you looked out the stained glass window at the black skies, decorated with stars. The thick, melodic music filled your ears loudly. The light from the candles stretched all the way down from the ceiling to the marble floors. People danced stiffly, according to the âdance rulesââhow booooring.
You stood by your parents, corset tightly wrapped around your waist, and silk dress falling around you elegantly. Could this night get any more booooriâ
Tumtumtadaaa (or whatever the sound trumpets made is)
The man coughed, clearing his throat, unrolling a piece of parchment in front of him before speaking loudly.
âThe Prince of the Kingdom of the Second Sun. The land filled with sun and revival. James Fleamont I. of the genus of Potters!â
And as he finished his speech, the door opened widely. The music started playing as James flabla bla bla something walked in. It felt like a ray of sun followed him into the ballroom, lady after lady suppressing gasps. If you had to be honest⌠you must admit, he is quite... not so bad looking! Tan golden skin, dressed in red and gold expensive clothes, brown curly hair falling over the tips of his ears messily. His eyes flickered playfully around the room. Andâah, well, what a shameâif he didnât have that smug smirk on his face, you might even call him handsomeâŚ
He walked straight from the door across the ballroom toward you⌠and your parents, of course! And when he was only three steps away, he stopped and nodded his head in a respectful manner. As he turned away, his eyes flickered into yours, making his smirk for whatever reason even wider. Your gaze followed behind him until the trumpet startled you again.
âThe Prince of Neyxland! The kingdom that can't lose a war. Prince Bartylus Crouch II.â
The contrast between this Crouch and Potter was hard to ignore. The light that came with Potter seemed to fade away under Crouch's shadow. Now, instead of the tanned boy who had been at the door a minute ago, there was a boy who could easily be mistaken for a corpse. He had smooth, pale skin with a slight purplish tint, and deep shadows under his eyes. His brows furrowed, making him seem angry? His hair was black with an almost green undertone, his clothes simple, dark green and gray with sharp shoulders. His features were sharp, like he was cut out of stone, his gaze placed firmly ahead of him. He seemed sure of himself as he started walking toward your father with long steps. It was a different kind of confidence than Potterâsâless cocky, more calculated.
He stood confidently in front of your father. For a long ten seconds, he only stared at him. Then, he bowed sharply, quickly. He didnât even look at you before making his way to the edge of the room. Bit rude, isnât he?
âThe Prince of the Constellation Kingdom. Sirius Orion Black I. of the Black genus.â
A tall boy walked through the door. He seemed much shyer than the suitors before him. He walked awkwardly forward, like he was unsure of his steps. He was wearing a dark blue sateen cape that was fastened at his shoulder by a silver star badge. Underneath, a white silk button-upâthough it seemed a bit too small for him...? He walked slowly through the crowd, looking around at the people, unlike the two men before him. Finally, he was close enough to bow. He bowed deeply in front of your father. Your father obviously liked that, as he smugly looked at your mother, whispering to her:
"See? I told you, I still got it..."
But you only heard that distantly, catching the bowing prince only in your peripheral vision. What really captivated your attention was the knight in silver armor at the prince's side... only his eyes peeked out from under the helmetâa pair of icy blue eyes intensely focused on you. Even though you couldnât see his lips, you knew he's smirking... His eyes didnât even flinch when a strand of black curls fell from his helmet, covering his left eye...
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