Chapter 1: Goodbye, But Not Forever
*Outsider’s POV*
Alirah sat patiently and stared at her own reflection in the mirror. Hand maidens were running wild about her; pinning her beautiful, soft hair back into braids, tying the sheer, white ribbons up of her layered dress, puffing the tulle out from underneath to swim all around her legs. Regardless of everyone else in the room hustling about, sweating with racing hearts and worried minds, stressing to make everything right for the royal wedding, Alirah’s chest felt settled and calm. She knew this day would come since she was young. She never had to fret about planning a wedding, picking a dress or even finding her own man to marry - everything was chosen for her. Her mind fleeted back to a memory from when she was eleven years old.
“Can I please go riding with Jonathan? Please, please, please?” begged a small, frail Alirah. All she had wanted to do was climb up on her horse and ride to the waterhole with her older brother.
“No. Do not ask again.” Her father glowered at her from across the room. The only time they ever had eye contact these days was when he was scolding her. Alirah slumped her shoulders and walked back into the main hall of the castle.
“He said no again,” she told her brother, disappointment etched across her small face.
“Ugh, I’m sorry, Alirah,” Jonathan said, the same amount of disappointment etched across his. “Maybe next time he will finally say yes.”
A small tear dropped down Alirah’s face, her brown eyes glimmering with more tears gathering. “Maybe.” But probably not, she thought.
The King has not allowed her to do anything her brother does for the past year or so. Not swimming at the lake, not wood sword fighting in the courtyard, not even horseback riding into town.
Jonathan came over and draped an arm around his younger sister. He gave her a kiss on top of her messy, blonde head and said “I will not be gone long. Perhaps I will bring you a surprise on my way home.” A small hint of cheer danced in his voice.
Alirah used the back of her arm to wipe away her tear and a couple more that had settled in the corner of her eye. She gave a sheepish smile in Jonathan’s direction, knowing that if she looked at her older brother, she would probably cry some more.
The royal siblings said their goodbyes and Alirah went back towards the dining hall of the kitchen. The King was seated at a long, solid oak table by himself. He was eating an assortment of fruits on a golden platter. “Sit,” he commanded, still not looking at her in the eyes.
She sat.
“You are a princess. Princess Alirah of Nine Provinces. You must start to act as such.” He was chewing with his mouth open, juices spewing out of the corners of his lips. Doppling a royal blue handkerchief to his face, he continued to speak. This time he looked right into Alirah’s eyes.
“In seven short years, you will be married off. Your price has already been negotiated and fully paid for as of last year. I will admit, I received more than expected. In turn, I need to keep you out of harm’s way and in one piece. Not a scratch on you until the day you marry. After that, you will be someone else’s responsibility, and no longer mine.”
Alirah sat on the cold, wooden chair, just a few feet away from her father. “I understand,” she muttered slowly. But she did not fully understand. She bowed her head. “Thank you, your grace.”
Thinking that her response would please her father, she was disappointed when he remained angry looking. His one fist curled into a ball, the other gripping his golden fork so hard, she pitied it. She looked into the brown eyes of the man who gave her her’s. She was told her mother had green eyes, like Jonathan’s. A shade of green that would make a pine tree envious. I wish I could have met her.
“Do you have any further questions?” growled the King, still smacking on his fresh fruits. His question pushed Alirah back into the moment.
“Where will I be going? Will I still live here in Narwan?” She could not imagine a time where she would live in a different castle, away from home, away from Jonathan.
“You will go where you are told to. You will do as you are commanded. The day you marry, it will be a goodbye, but not forever. You will always keep your allegience to me over anyone else.”
Alirah blinked and was back to studying herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were painted a dim pink, her eyelashes brushed with a black ink. She admired the several braids her handmaidens had woven. Only a few loose, blonde curls remained flowing to frame her porcelain face. Although she had an idea of what was to come, she refused to think about it all. In her mind, she was in a freshly oiled saddle riding her majestic horse as fast as he would bring her through the lavendar meadows with her brother, racing him and his horse to the watering hole.
