Arranged Marriage(Fatal Striker)

[XlaserbeamsX]

The sunlight cascaded over the canopy of ancient trees, reflecting throughout the forest as if it were ricocheting off a mirror. A path ran through the trees, rocky and beaten from the many carriages and horses that had traveled the road. On this particular summer day, a large, black carriage with a golden family crest engraved on the door bounced along throughout the forest. Inside sat a mother, a father, and a daughter. The mother was a regal woman, with graying brown hair and wrinkles around the corners of her eyes. The father was strong, standing tall even in his carriage, with a thick beard and unruly salty hair. The daughter, a smaller girl with wide eyes and long blonde hair sat across from her parents, her eyes pointing toward her lap which held her clasped hands. The family had been traveling for days, proof of their sleepless nights shown as circles under their sleepy eyes.


The way they were dressed gave away who they were, with flashy, fancy clothes it was obvious that they came from some sort of royalty. Atop the youngest's head was a tiara made of gold, with emeralds encrusted at the tips. Her mother wore a round crown with steeples that pointed to the sky, her father's crown had crosses. They were the royal family of a large land with rolling fields and large cities. They were wealthy and powerful, but loved by their people. Many people would even gather at the gates of their castle in hopes to catch a glimpse of the princess, who would often be out in the courtyards or gardens reading or helping the groundskeepers with the gardening.


"Lillian, look at me." The man spoke, his voice gruff and attention capturing. The girl's eyes snapped to her father, and he gave her a calm reassuring smile. "What you are doing is honorable, and important. You are helping bring two kingdoms together as allies. Do you have any idea how important that is?" The king spoke as if he was trying to convince the girl of something.


"Yes, father, I understand. I only wish there was another way." Lillian answered, her pleading voice not registering with the king. The man only shook his head and looked out the window as they emerged from the forest and got on a cobblestone path that brought them onto a bridge. The bridge was wide, and as Lillian followed her father's gaze out of the carriage she got a full view of a towering castle. One that, if this meeting worked out as her father planned, Lillian would be spending a lot of time in.

 

[Dark Enforcer]

"They should be arriving any time soon. How are you feeling dear?", asked a woman with dark black hair that was braided on her back. Loving dark blue eyes fixed on her son who was standing before a full body mirror as he fixed his clothes. She kept a loving smile fixed on her son who was getting ready to meet his future fiancee.


"Well, what can I say? Heh..." the young tall man said with a small chuckle at the end. Perhaps an escape of his uneasy self at the moment. Luke has always been an obedient son, never questioning what his parents orders nor his duties. Many looked up to him because of his great sense of responsibility. As the sole heir to the throne, he would soon become king after his father retired. In reality, that was not too far from the future. Luke's father, the king, was hoping he could retire soon because he was becoming old and having problems with his health, thus sparking more interest in their only son's future as king. It was necessary that he married soon because alliances for the kingdom were of utter importance. Honestly, Luke hadn't really had time to think about this arranged marriage too much. He knew that the moment he let his mind ponder too much on it he would without a doubt start questioning if it was the right thing to do. Sighing, he finished the final touches on fixing his coat before finally turning around to face his mother. The woman clasped her hands together and brought them close to her mouth, taking a couple of seconds to take in that his little boy was becoming a man already. "Mother?" the prince inquired seeing how her eyes had suddenly turned watery.


"Ah! I'm sorry my dear! I'm just being silly!" she wiped off the small tears and kissed her son on the cheek. She had to get on her toes seeing how she was so small compared to her son. She soon left, leaving Luke alone in his chambers. Now with his mother gone, the man sat down by on of the chairs that was by one of the windows and stared at the bridge that gave entrance to the castle. Waiting for his fiancée was all that was left now.


The castle had been decorated and cleaned as it has never been before because of this special day. Everyone was hoping that things would go well among the princess and the prince. Two very prosperous kingdoms forming an alliance in honor of their children's marriage. The kingdom of Dalacea was well known for its prosperous towns and fair system. It wasn't a perfect kingdom, but people were happy to live there. Given it's geological location, most of the kingdom was almost always full of marigolds. In fact, the king and queen had prepared a bouquet of marigolds for their son to gift the princess whenever she arrived. I don't even know how I should behave myself before her. I hope she isn't stubborn. That would be troublesome... he thought naively. He was surely in for a lot of surprises. Sighing once more, the man adverted his eyes to the gates of the castle and decided to wait by the entrance. He could surely use some fresh air. Just because he was always obedient it meant he was always happy with what his parents decided.

 

[XlaserbeamsX]

The closer the carriage got the gates of the castle, the harder Princess Lillian's heart beat. She was going to meet her arranged fiancee in a matter of mere minutes. What would she say? How would she hide the fact that the last thing she wanted to do was marry him? She gulped, audibly, which earned her a stern look from her mother. Lillian bowed her head in apology, her hands slowly starting to shake. She wasn't ready, her head was spinning from nerves and her stomach felt as if it were bounced around her torso. Lillian wanted nothing more than to return to her own castle, where they had their beautiful gardens and the familiar faces.


"Lillian, sit straight. He is at the front waiting for us," her father announced, his words entering through her ears and winding up in her heart. Taking a deep breath, Lillian managed to straighten her back and shoulders, her chin moving upwards as she took on the confident role of a princess. It was like her second nature, after nineteen years of studying how to be a good queen, what is or is not considered proper. Her shaking hands held tightly to one another as she heard the scraping of the gate as it opened for her carriage. Through the corner of her eye she strained to see him, the prince she was being given away to. She only had the chance to glimpse black hair and a tall frame before her mother snapped Lillian's attention back to inside of the carriage.





"You will not ruin this, do you understand? Lillian, we are counting on you, do not make a fool of yourself, or us," her mother said, a gloved hand resting, rather tightly, upon Lillian's shoulder before the carriage eased to a stop. Their driver hopped down from the seat on top of the carriage and stood straight outside the vessel, awaiting his king's signal to open the door. Once Lillian's father nodded toward the driver, the door gently swung open, allowing the warm sunlight to enter the area and engulf the royal family in light. First, the king stepped out of his vessel, without the help of the coachman. Then, gingerly taking the driver's hand, Lillian's mother hiked her skirt slightly and stepped out. Finally, it was Lillian's turn, by then her heart was pounding. The princess was worried that if she stepped out of the carriage, the entire kingdom would hear her heart slam against her chest.


Lillian's parents turned toward her once they noticed the hesitation, the Queen's look was fierce while the King only quirked an eyebrow, apparently amused by the nervousness of his daughter. Lillian closed her eyes, biting down on her bottom lip as she tried to convince herself to take the coachman's hand, and finally after what felt like hours but was only a few seconds, Lillian's hand took hold of the driver's and she followed her mother's example, hiking her skirt as she stepped down onto the stone beneath her.

 

[Dark Enforcer]

Here they were at last. The royal family of another kingdom to whom Luke would soon be eternally related too. He knew his parents had high expectations of him for this. He quietly stood on the side as the royal family arrived and stepped out of their carriage. The young prince stood tall, firm, fine features, and mesmerizing eyes with a look quite captivating. In his hands he held the marigolds bouquet. They were so bright in color and fresh. They weren't their kingdom's national flower for nothing.


On the outside he looked truly calmed, passive, confident, even strong. Quite befitting to man of his status. However, on the inside he felt not so confident. He knew nothing about this people nor his soon to be fiancée, what if she was a tyrant? What if she was ugly? What if she was angry all the time? He had friends who had gotten arranged marriages and their wives had turned out to be absolute cruel. Naturally the young prince feared that his future would behold something similar. It can't be that bad... I mean... his thoughts were completely interrupted when the princess came into view once she was completely out of the carriage. Luke wasn't blind. He knew when a woman was beautiful and the princess was completely stunning. His parents really hadn't told him anything about her. As it was shown on his face, the man was in awe, taking in all the princess's features. Once he snapped out of it, he bowed to her and to her parents.





"Welcome. It is an honor to receive you here. I'm Crowned Prince Luke Nathaniel fon Fabre. Please follow me." he smiled slightly at all of them, not wanting to get too familiar with them just yet. Normally it would be considered odd that the king and queen of that kingdom wouldn't come to greet such special guests, but since everyone knew of Luke's father illness, they probably understood that the queen was by the king's side at the moment. No, the man wasn't at his dying bed, but he was just too weak at the moment to even stand. They had, just in case, sent a letter to Lillian's parents to inform them about it. Anyways, as they walked towards the actual entrance to the castle, the green sights of the area came visible. They were really bright, wild flowers around, the mountains were just so close and you could see the peaks covered with snow as well. As in the castle, there was high maintenance to the gardens, and as expected there were marigolds adorning most of it. Truly a magnificent sight to foreigners. Once inside, everything was just as clean, organized, and decorated in such a regal manner. Portraits, vases, flowers, anything you'd expect in a castle that actually looked nice. "I hope you will fill just as home. Our servants will take all your belongings to your chambers." The silly prince had completely forgotten about the marigold bouquet he was holding. It wasn't until a passing knight elbowed him very discreetly on his side to remind him of it. "O-oh right. For you your highness." he said a bit timidly as he handed her the flowers. He wasn't sure if she was even the type of women who appreciated this sort of stuff. This too proper and correct boy was just the act he had to put up for the king and queen. The real Luke was only known to his best friend, a knight.

 

[XlaserbeamsX]

As soon as Lillian's feet touched the ground she looked up toward the prince, surprised to see a look of awe on his own stunning face. He really was rather handsome, the black hair and strong build. Lillian stopped herself from looking him up and down as a light blush showed up on her pale face. Her mother had taken one of her father's arms, and the man held the other out for his daughter. Lillian, glad to have something to hold onto, looped her arm with his and walked in step with him as the prince led them toward the castle. Lillian and her parents said nothing about not being greeted by the King and Queen themselves, for they'd received a letter explaining the King was ill and the Queen was tending to him. Lillian was glad to hear that the Prince's parents loved each other enough to take care of one another, and couldn't help but yearn for someone to love. Instead, she was there, being forced to marry someone.


He wasn't so bad, at least where looks were concerned. But it wasn't about looks, it was about feelings. Lillian didn't want to be tied to someone who she didn't love, and looking at the back of the Prince's head as the walked, she knew she didn't love him. Love at first sight didn't exist, no matter how attractive the person is. The thoughts that rambled through the Princess's head came to an abrupt halt when the rolling hills and marigolds came into view. Lillian gave an audible gasp, tightening her grip on her father's arm as she pointed toward them. Her father's face twisted into a smug grin as they continued into the castle, satisfied that Lillian had exerted some sort of approval of the place they were at.


When the Prince turned to address them, Lillian's eyes traveled to the bouquet of flowers in his arms. Beautiful Marigolds, like the ones outside in the gardens. Lillian smiled lightly, her hand resting on her stomach as she listened to the Prince speak. At least he was a gentleman, and spoke politely toward them. Lillian had heard that some Prince's were cruel, and were hungry for power. Hopefully the Prince wasn't like that on the inside, for if they were to really get married, Lillian would be truly miserable if he were mean.


When the prince stumbled on his words, having forgotten about the flowers, Lillian's hand covered her mouth as she giggled quietly. When prince Luke handed her the flowers, she curtsied, her head bowing with respect as she had been taught.


"Thank you, Prince Luke." Lillian spoke for the first time since she'd arrived, her voice was soft, and as she looked back toward the prince her blue eyes shone lightly. Her smile faltered slightly, the fact that this man was to be her husband sinking into her skin. She reminded herself she had nothing against him, and tried to accept the fact that it was her duty to marry him. Lillian backed to stand directly beside her father, forcing her lips to form the sweet smile she was used to.

 

[Dark Enforcer]

Luke smiled at the princess warmly, trying to act is best in front of his future wife and his soon to be parents-in-law. She was beautiful, truly defined facial details, and her voice was soft, much of what was expected of a princess. If he were marrying just based on physical appearance, he knew that this woman would be the right one, but sadly that wasn't the case. There was more than just physical attraction or pleasure involve in a marriage. There was supposed to be love, and that was something that royals like them rarely got to experience.


"I hope they are to your liking, Princess Lillian." he smiled genuinely at her. Just because he didn't her yet it meant he couldn't actually wish something was to her liking. She seemed nice and honestly he would understand if she was against this marriage. The man just happened to be very obedient so he wouldn't complain, but he was still against it. Before the prince could say anything else a maid walked in and bowed to everyone in the room before she spoke.


"The king and queen expect you in the king's chambers." after saying that, the maid left the room. Luke was expected to guide their guests there. He was glad that they seemed understanding of his father's condition. Luke was very worried about his father and he prayed that he wouldn't have to be in a funeral any time soon. He didn't even care if it meant he wouldn't become king soon, becoming king wasn't even one of Luke's goals, he just wanted his father to be well and for his mother to feel rested as well. Ever since the king became so ill, the queen had been resting less and less because of the worrisome nights she passed.


"Please follow me." he told them, guiding them towards his parents' chambers. It was on third floor of the castle. It was an extensive castle, with flowers all around, paintings, elegant vases, and overall nice decor that brought light to the rooms. The queen found joy in making rooms look luminous since the weather of the kingdom was mostly gray and full of rain. After going up the stairs, which were made out of marble the color of ivory and with much detailed decoration, the finally reached the king and queen's quarters. "After you." the prince said as he opened the door for them. Once inside, the king and queen came into view. The king was resting on a broad king sized bed. The bed sheets were silky red and the bed covers were highly detailed and made from the finest of materials. He looked pale, with bags under his eyes, fragile, but he still bore a smile. The queen was by his side on a golden chair with velvet seats. She looked tired as well, but had a better built than her husband at the moment. Her long brunette hair was braided and tied into a bun. Neither the king or queen were wearing their crown at the moment.


"Ah, I am glad you made it safe." exclaimed the queen. She stood up and greeted Lillian's parents as well as the princess. She too bore an amicable and loving smile. "I am sorry we must receive you like this..." she was referring to the informality of receiving them at the bedroom.