Runaway Royal

03

Victoire continues down the list, providing her own comments about some princes that she is familiar with. My head is spinning as I try to remember everything about each prince, avoiding every mention of Tobias.

If Victoire suspects anything, she doesn't say, and merely continues down the list.

"You have to cross some names out," she encourages, handing me her pen.

I look down at the list. "What if they're the perfect one and I crossed them out?" I argue, feeling queasy. While first impressions were definitely important, I wasn't sure about getting it from the internet. I knew first hand that both the internet and first impressions could be deceiving.

Vic wrinkles her nose at me. "You're impossible."

"I know," I sigh, "I feel bad for my future husband to be."

My best friend only snorts, shaking her head. 

"How do you think my mother managed to pull this off?" I wonder, tapping my paper on the paper, which is beginning to look ancient from all the wear and tear. "There's quite a few guys I didn't even know existed."

"She pulls her queenly strings, and stuff gets done." Victoire shrugs. She crosses the room to her bed, which she sits on. "You know how important alliances are these days. Especially one to a princess."

During the second Eurasia War, former European countries fought each other for more land and resources. The aftermath formed a lot of new countries, with a staggering death toll. The remaining people struggled to survive, as almost everything was decimated.

Still, hundreds of years later, we are still suffering from its repercussions. To rebuild society, our ancestors placed an one child policy, and boys were valued more than girls. Royal families only accepted male heirs, making me the first female heir in hundreds of years.

Victoire knew these history lessons as well as I did, so deep down, we both completely understand why this marriage is so important. Especially since my father died. I was only ten when he died, but his last words to me were, "Take care of your mother. Listen to her."

And when he died, I tried my hardest to please her and receive her validation. But no matter what I did, it was never enough, and now we're practically estranged. All I want to do is get out of the marriage, but all she wants to do is push me into it.

"I wish it was different for you," Victoire sympathizes as she lies down on her bed, her long hair all sprawled out. 

I smile at her. "Thanks, Vic." Shaking my head, I lie down on the couch as well. "Let's stop talking about me. How about you? How's your brother doing?" 

Vic immediately sits up, eyes wide. "Oh my god, I totally forgot to tell you!" She exclaims excitedly, swiping on her phone and handing it to me. "They're expecting a baby!"

"Really?" I ask, just as excited. I take the phone and peer at the picture of Vic's older brother Zach and his wife, Leila. She's glowing, her hand resting on her small baby bump as Zach grins with an arm around her. "That's wonderful, I'm so happy for them!"

"I'm going to be an aunt soon," Victorie says happily.

"You're going to be fantastic, I just know it," I reply, "Do they know if it's a boy or girl yet?"

She shakes her head. "They only found out a few days ago. I'm not sure if they'll find out or if they want to keep it a surprise." Vic turns to me, clasping my hand. "You'll be his honorary aunt, right?"

"Of course," I agree immediately, brightening at the idea of having a nephew or niece. I would absolutely love to spoil a little kid with love. I don't have any siblings, so there haven't been any new additions in my personal family.