Chapter 1: The Arrangement
A short, fat castle steward swiftly runs looking for the king with an urgent letter in his hands. His small and chubby legs were already numb and tired as he sprints all over the castle halls. Peterson reaches the library and spots King Edmond busy staring at the piles of papers on his desk.
"Your Majesty, a letter came from the queen of Windshire," Peterson said with high respect and showed the envelope.
The king let go of the papers he holds and his eyes were pin to the sealed envelope the steward was giving to him. King Edmond reached for it with his hands shivering in fear, 'What could the queen wants?' he thought.
He ripped it open and takes the paper out of the envelope, King Edmond felt anxious as he read on,
Dear King Edmond,
You know the situation of our kingdoms, because of your poor ruling you almost led Phoenicia to its downfall. But you're lucky we helped raise it back to its prosperity. I can guess you can't pay the worth we contributed, but there is one option.
You will let your older daughter marry my son when they reach the age of eighteen and both of our kingdoms will unite and will be one. If you dare to disagree, you will lose the support of Windshire and without us, Phoenicia will fall again.
Queen Leila of Windshire
King Edmond's jaw clenched as he slammed the letter on the desk. He knew this would happen, Queen Leila was a greedy queen and she planned this all along she wants to take Phoenicia and make it hers.
Phoenicia is the smallest kingdom in the North and is considered a weak land. One year ago, armies from the East came and attacked Phoenicia. King Edmond made the mistake of not seeking immediate help from their nearby kingdom.
The continued attacks have already damaged some parts of Phoenicia, the king's army couldn't bear their enemy's strong force.
On the kingdom of Windshire— one of the richest and large land in the North— ruled by Queen Leila heard the slow loss of their neighboring kingdom, Phoenicia was the closest land to them. She decided to deploy the Windshire knights to help them whether its king likes it or not. King Edmond has no choice but to accept it, he can't risk losing Phoenicia.
It took a month until the enemies were all defeated, but because of the war, Phoenicia's economy collapsed. But they received additional support from the queen who helped them rebuild the downfall of the kingdom.
Now, after that huge service they gave to Phoenicia, it was expected from their ruler to ask something in return.
But it won't be bad for their people if both kingdoms will combine, rulers can work together to bring opulence to the kingdom, there's still a positive result to this agreement.
The problem the king is worried about right now is if her daughter will agree to marry the boy he hasn't met and know. King Edmond doesn't want to take away her freedom to choose the guy he likes to marry.
"Peterson, please send Lynea here. I need to speak with her,"
"Right away sir." Peterson bows his head and left the library.
###
Twelve-year-old Lynea stayed inside her pink-themed room, gazing outside from her window. She looks down at the courtyard and sees her eleven-year-old sister, Giselle, playing with her bunny. Giselle named it Snowy because of its fluffy white furs.
Giselle's laughter echoes, she giggles while Snowy was chasing her around the courtyard. Envy of her little sister's happiness, Lynea looked away.
Lynea was jealous of how her father treated Giselle differently than her. King Edmond pushed and trained her how to be a good ruler someday and there are a lot of rules that bind her from being free and happy, unlike Giselle who's able to do anything and has nothing to worry about.
A knock from her door startled her, "Princess Lynea, your father wishes to speak with you in the library," the castle steward said.
"Be right there!" she replied.
The princess doesn't want her father to wait, she instantly straightened up and left her room.
Lynea encounters Giselle in the hallway soggy and wet in her sweat, and she smells unpleasant.
"Where are you going?" Giselle asked.
"Somewhere far from you," Lynea said in disgust and pinched her nose.
Giselle smells the collar of her wet dress, "Do I smell that bad?"
"Yes, you do."
Giselle smiles devilishly at her sister and opens widely her arms, "You know Lynea I love you so much, can I hug you?" she said sarcastically and walked towards Lynea.
Her eyes widen and stepped backward to have distance from Giselle. The two girls giggled as Lynea tries to run away, while Giselle was catching her clean and neat sister.
She found a way to escape from her smelly young sister after Giselle fell on the floor yet she manages to laugh harder and it makes Lynea laughs too. Lynea knows Giselle is fine so she continues to walk away.
Lynea reached the library and open the door as she found her father looking stressed sitting on the chair. He noticed the presence of his daughter, he straightened up and cleared his throat.
"You called me, father," Lynea said and approach him.
"Yes, I need to tell you something important,"
King Edmond grab the letter he received earlier from the queen of Windshire and gives it to his daughter.
"Please read it for you to understand." Said the king.
Lynea was confused but she took the paper and begins to read it.
Like he was expecting, Lynea's expression changes. He could see she was getting angry as she reads the middle of the message 'till the end of it. Lynea drops the paper because of disbelief, her fist clenches as she looks to his father.
"Tell me, I don't have a choice but to accept this right!"
King Edmond open his mouth to speak but no words came out, he wanted to say 'It's your decision, you can refuse if you don't want to accept their offer' but he knows she can't say no to them. Their decision will affect the whole kingdom and Phoenicia needs the support of the kingdom of Windshire.
Tears are dripping down to her cheeks, "I'm beginning to regret I was born a princess. I have no freedom to decide for my future and you're using me to be the solution to the problems of our kingdom that you can't handle on your own." She sobs.
"I apologize, my daughter, your right it was my fault our economy had fell. I admit I am a terrible king but—"
"Enough father I understand, for the sake of Phoenicia I will marry the prince of Windshire. Besides Queen Leila is an excellent ruler and she makes good decisions, so why not trust her."
King Edmond sadly watches her crying daughter left the room leaving him alone. He sighed and grab a clean sheet of paper and the feathered pen. The king writes his response to Queen Leila about their approval for the marriage.
When Giselle entered her sister's room, she was shocked to see Lynea crying in her bed. She went near Lynea and gently rubs her back, "What happen?" Giselle asked.
Lynea couldn't answer, she was too sad and can't stop sobbing.
Giselle stayed at her sister's side until Lynea calmed down, Snowy climbs up to the bed and bounce near them. Lynea smiled at the bunny and caress its furry head, she couldn't resist its cuteness.
"They already arrange a marriage for me and the prince of Windshire," Lynea miserably said to Giselle.
"Wait what? Your still twelve and you're getting married?" Giselle asked, flabbergast.
"What no! It will happen when I turn eighteen,"
Giselle breathed, "That's a relief. I can't imagine you wearing a white wedding gown and walking in the church's aisle at the age of twelve."
Both girls giggle and somehow Giselle manages to make Lynea smile, but tomorrow Lynea might not find a reason to smile.
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