AE Chapter 1

Chapter 1

            Princess Anabelle is sitting in front of her mirror. Her maid, Linda, is putting the finishing touches on her makeup. “You look very beautiful, Princess Anabelle.”

            “Thank you, Linda,” she says and smiles at her maid. “I wonder why father wants me to dress up tonight.”

            “I’m not sure, Princess,” Linda says while putting all of her makeup brushes away.

            “Well, I’ll see in a few hours, Linda,” she says. Linda pulls out the heels she is going to wear. She puts them on. She stands up and smooths out her dress.

~

            When Anabelle walks down the stairs, she’s greeted by many guests. She smiles politely and bows to all the distinguished guests. She can’t wait to sit down. Her feet are starting to hurt in her shoes.

            She finally gets to sit after a half an hour. She sighs happily to herself. She’s finally off her feet. While she’s sitting down, a prince from a neighboring kingdom walks towards her. “Hello, Princess, you look beautiful tonight.”

            “Why thank you, Prince Jonas, you look handsome tonight as well. How have you been, my dear friend?”

            “I’ve been well. Mother’s condition has been improving.”

            “I’m so very happy to hear that. I know the last time you came to visit; she wasn’t doing very well. I hope she completely recovers soon. How is your father,” she asks.

            “Father has been well. He has been very busy lately. My sister is going to be getting married very soon. She’s marrying Charles Leon from Addison. Luckily, she actually likes him. She’s liked him for years. He asked for her hand in marriage a few years ago. Now they are finally getting married,” he says with a smile on his face.

            “I’m so happy for her. Marrying someone you love or like is better than marrying someone you despise,” Anabelle says. She knows her father has been looking for a suitable man for her to marry. Anabelle, wish she had a choice about whom she was to marry.

            “Me too. I want my younger sister to be happy and not miserable. I wish the same for you, my dear friend.”

            She smiles at him, but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes. She is really worried about the suitor her father is going to choose for her. She didn’t want to be with an arrogant man. She wanted to be with a sweet man like Jonas.

            “I also wish the same for you,” she tells him.

            “Well, it was nice talking to you, Princess Anabelle. I shall talk to you later. I must go catch up with some of the other guests that were invited here,” Prince Jonas says. Then he walks off.

            “See you later, Prince Jonas,” she says.

            She eventually also gets up again to greet more people as they arrive. Tonight, must be an important night. Many important people have arrived at the castle.

            While she is talking to one of her best friends, Simone, it is announced that her father has arrived. He walks down the stairs towards her. He has a small smile on his face. He takes her hand in his. He then kisses her on the cheek.

            “My lovely daughter, you look absolutely stunning tonight.”

            “Thank you, father.”

            “I must go mingle with some of our guests. I will see you shortly, my dear,” he says

            “Yes, father,” she says. She’s feeling a little suspicious. She is still wondering what this night is all about.

~

            Twenty minutes have passed since her father has arrived. He is still talking to many of the distinguished guests. He has a smile on his face. When he looks over at Anabelle, his eyes light up.

            She smiles at her father whenever he looks over at her. A cold feeling runs up her spine whenever he looks at her.

            A few moments later, trumpets blow and her father walks over to his throne. He addresses everyone that attended the gathering. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for gathering here tonight.”

            People clap in the audience. “I have gathered you all here to announce the engagement of my daughter, Anabelle Davis.”

            “What?” Anabelle says to herself. Her father found her a suitor. Why didn’t he discuss this with her? She can feel anger seeping into her. She tries to keep a smile on her face. She’s trying to show that she is not affected by the news.

            Her father gestures towards her. She slowly walks over to him. When she approaches him, he kisses her on the cheek. He has a warm smile on his face.

            “In two months, Anabelle will be married to Prince Gerald Peterson from Lionsmane. Now, everyone, please relax and enjoy the rest of your evening.”

            The band starts the music up again. Some go back to dancing. Some others come up to Anabelle after the announcement to congratulate her. She thanks them as kindly as she can. As the evening goes on her anger continues to rise.

            How could her father do this to her? Why did he choose for her to marry Gerald Peterson? He is the one man that she wants nothing to do with. She’s going to have to talk to her father in the morning about his decision. She was going to just try to get through this evening.

            After an hour or so, her friend, Prince Jonas approaches her again. She smiles at him, but the smile doesn’t reach Anabelle’s eyes again. He notices. “Are you alright, Anabelle?"

            “I’m trying to be. I didn’t know that my father chose a suitor for me. He didn’t tell me before this ceremony anyway. I’m also not happy in his choice of husband for me either,” she replies.

            “I’m sorry to hear this,” he replies. He gives Anabelle a hug. Anabelle also wraps her arms around Jonas and hugs him back. She lets him go a few seconds later. She has a genuine smile on her face now.

            “Gerald is pretty rude every time I have to interact with him. He is also all about himself,” Anabelle tells him.

            “I know what you mean. I don’t really enjoy speaking with him either. He doesn’t show interest in other people either. I wonder if he will be able to change,” Prince Jonas replies to her.

            “I’m not sure. I’m starting to get tired now. I hope this little get together wraps up soon,” Anabelle tells her friend.

            “Yeah, I will be heading out shortly myself. I will be meeting my fiancé tomorrow.”

            “Oh, I didn’t know you were engaged, Jonas! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

            “Yeah, it hasn’t been announced yet. Father is going to be announcing the news soon. It slipped my mind,” Jonas says with a small smile on his face.

            “Who are you going to be marrying?”

            “Rachel Indress,” he replies and sighs to himself.

            “Oh, not that girl,” Anabelle says and rolls her eyes. Jonas laughs a little. He’s not the biggest fan of hers either. He sighed when he found out he was marrying her.

            “Yeah, she doesn’t have the best attitude,” Jonas replies. “Well, I guess I’ll get going. I will see you later, my dear friend. Try to keep your head up.”

            “Thank you, my dear friend. You do the same. I wish you the best of luck,” she says.

~

            The get together is starting to wind down. Some of the guests have started to leave. Anabelle is preparing to go to her room and change out of her dress. While she’s walking towards her room, she hears something that stops her in her tracts.

            “I can’t believe Anabelle Davis is going to be marrying Gerald Peterson. They are not even in the same league. He is so gorgeous while Anabelle is pretty plain looking,” she hears Penelope Meril say to Rachel Indress.

            “You’re so right, Penelope,” Rachel replies with a little giggle.

            “Plus, I heard that he complained when he was told he was going to be marrying her,” Penelope says.

            “I heard that his father was the one pushing the marriage between them. I think they are just getting married so that the two kingdoms have some sort of alliance,” Rachel replies. “My dad is forcing me to marry Jonas Watsburg. He also wants an alliance between our kingdoms too.”

            “Oh, wow, really? You really have to marry that fool,” Penelope says.

            “Yes, it’s very unfortunate really. I would rather marry Gerald Peterson.”

            “Girl, same, at least he isn’t a fool like Jonas.”

            Anabelle can feel more anger seeping into her. She’s angry with them for talking about her, but also saying rude things about Jonas. She storms over to the girls. “How dare you say that about Jonas! He’s not a fool at all. He’s very smart. He has a lot of bright ideas unlike you.”

            Penelope’s and Rachel’s eyes widen. They didn’t realize that Anabelle heard them talking. Penelope speaks up first. “How very rude of you to say! I’m very smart! You of all people know that Jonas is a complete fool.”

            “I agree with Penelope. When father told me I was to be married to Jonas, I was very disappointed. I have met with him a few times over the last week. He’s also very boring and not at all attractive,” Rachel says.

            “You know what, Rachel? Jonas deserves a better woman than you. You are one of the worst people I have ever met. You make fun of other girls every time I’m around you. I saw you making out with Prince Nami the other week. I saw you both in a very compromising position as well. You’re lucky I haven’t said anything to your father about it. You also wear the tackiest dresses to parties like the one you’re wearing this evening.”

            Rachel bursts into tears. She runs from the room. Anabelle turns towards Penelope, a smile on her face.

            “Now, it’s your turn. Penelope, you are a witch. I watched you pull Valerie’s hair for talking to Gerald. You also bully other girls at parties. I saw you make Carol cry at her engagement party. You deserve to be punched in the face. You’re also ugly. I have never seen someone as ugly as you. You deserve to be unhappy for the rest of your life.”

            Penelope looks at her in shock at first. Then tears start to well up in her eyes. She also runs out of the room. Anabelle sighs. Other guests are giving her looks, but she just smile demurely and leaves the room. She heads to bed for the evening.

~

            The next morning, Anabelle wakes up. She dresses herself as quickly. She needs to speak with her father. She wants to discuss last night and why it’s a bad idea for her to marry Gerald Peterson.

            She approaches one of the guards. “Good morning, Bernard, how are you this morning?”

            “Good morning, Princess Anabelle, I’m doing alright. Thank you. What may I help you with,” he asks her.

            “Is father awake? If he is, do you know where he is,” she asks him.

            “Yes, your father is awake, and he is in his study,” he replies.

            “Thank you, Bernard,” she replies.

            “Shall I escort you, Princess,” Bernard asks.

            “No, you don’t have to. Thank you for your offer,” she replies and then heads towards her father’s study. She knocks on his door.

            “Come in,” he replies.

            “Good morning, father,” Anabelle replies.

            “Good morning, my lovely daughter,” he replies a smile on his face. “How are you this morning?”

            “I’m alright, father, but I would like to discuss what happened last night,” she replies while trying to keep her anger in check. She doesn’t know if she’s doing a great job at it.

            “What about last night?”

            “Why didn’t you tell me before the party that you found me a suitor,” she asks.

            “I’m sorry, darling, I was busy putting together the preparations for the party last night,” he replies.

            “That is not a very good excuse, father,” she replies while crossing her arms against her chest. “I wish you had discussed it with me before just surprising me with that news last night. Plus, why Gerald Peterson of all people?”

            Her father is taken aback by her anger. He doesn’t reply right away. “Sweetie, I really am sorry for not telling you sooner. His father and I also had negotiations going for a while now. We had been discussing if a marriage between the two of you would be in our best interests. We have concluded that it was in both kingdoms’ best interests. We now also have an alliance between our kingdom and Lionsmane.”

            Anabelle sighs. “Father, I don’t want to marry Gerald Peterson. He is stuck up, rude, and all about himself. I don’t like a man like that. I would rather marry someone I love than marry someone that I cannot stand.”

            “Anabelle, darling, I’m sorry, but you can’t always get what you want. As a royal you need to put the people from our Kingdom above your own needs.”

            “What about my happiness father? Will the people be happy when they see that their princess is miserable?”

            “I’m sorry, sweetie, but sometimes you have to put your duties before your own happiness. This is what is good for our kingdom and the kingdom of Lionsmane,” he replies in his end of discussion tone. Tears start to well up in Anabelle’s eyes.

            “I hate you! I wish I was never a princess,” she replies and runs out of the room.

            She slows down when she’s further away. She isn’t watching where she is going. She bumps into someone pretty hard. She falls to the floor. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

            “It’s okay,” the person she bumped into she replies.

            She shudders when she hears who replies to her. She looks up at him. He is holding his hand out to her surprisingly. He helps her up, He has a small smile on his face. It’s actually quite shocking.

            “Prince Gerald how are you this morning,” she asks him.

            “I’m doing pretty well, my dear fiancé,” he replies. A smug grin is on his face now.

            She smiles at him, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Glad to hear you’re doing alright. I would like to talk to you. Do you have the time right now?”

            “Yes, but I’ll have to be going in about thirty minutes. I have some things to discuss with your father,” he says. She gestures for him to follow her.

            She leads him out to the garden. It is the one place Anabelle feels the most comfortable. “Would you like any tea?”

            “No, thank you. I have already had some tea this morning.”

            Anabelle asks one of the passing maids to bring out some tea for her. She puts her thoughts in order while waiting for the tea.

            “What is it that you would like to discuss,” Gerald asks looking bored.

            She says what she’s thinking immediately. “I don’t want to marry you, Gerald.”

            He laughs, but his laugh sounds pretty cold. “Unfortunately, you don’t have a choice, Anabelle. Neither do I. I would rather not marry someone as plain looking as you.”

            “You really think your words wound me, Prince pretentious,” she says while smiling. Her smile is quite cold.

            “Of course not, my dear. Why would a true statement wound you?”

            Anabelle scoffs. “You’re honestly insufferable. Why go through a marriage that neither of us want? Can you kindly ask your father to call off this engagement?”

            “There’s not much I can do, Princess,” he replies. They glare at each other for a few minutes. “When we do marry, my dear, you are going to have to be absolutely obedient to me.”

            “What did you just say?”

            “You heard me, sweetheart. You will obey every word I say,” he says and smirks.

            “I shall do no such thing.”

            “You have no choice. I will be your husband. Your role in life is to obey your husband. You will obey me. Or I will make your life miserable. Do you understand me?”

            Anabelle gets up from her chair. “This conversation is over. I will never obey a man that tells me, I’m too plain looking for his liking.”

            Before she can walk away, Gerald grabs her. He turns her around and strikes her in the face with his palm. Tears start to well in Anabelle’s eyes. “We are getting married, Anabelle. Get it into your thick skull. Our fathers don’t care what we want. If you don’t obey me, darling, you will get worse than what I just gave you now. Now, I have to go my darling. I will see you later.”

            He smirks at her again. Then he walks away. When he is gone, the tears that were welling in her eyes fall down her cheeks. She runs into her room. She locks herself in. She tries to compose herself, but she has a hard time.

            She’s in disbelief that her husband to be hit her. She now has to come up with a new plan to get out of this marriage.