Waveborn | The Oceane Series

Twenty

I awoke cocooned in the comforter, warmth spreading across my body as my eyes fluttered open. I did not hear any breathing beside me or feel an arm drape protectively around me like usual. Confused, I turned around, craning my neck to look behind me, realizing that Delmare was no longer asleep beside me or in bed.

Suddenly, my door flew open, banging up against the wall as whoever was intruding made their way inside. Whipping my head back around, I quickly stood, ready to take action if I was in trouble. Thankfully, it was just Ondina holding a tray of food and Consuela with a dress bag.

"Good morning," they greeted, curtsying deeply before laying out their items.

"Good morning," I replied. "Where is Delmare?"

"He left earlier this morning. I'm not sure where he went, my lady—I mean, Anna," Ondina said, setting my tray down on the bedside table.

"Oh," I said, picking up the plate of food. "I wonder where he went."

"He probably just went to check on the preparations for this afternoon," Consuela suggested as she placed the dress bag into the wardrobe.

"What's that, Consuela?" I asked after taking a few bites of my breakfast.

She turned around and smiled sweetly at me. "It's your dress for this afternoon. After you eat, we'll get you ready for the day."

"Oh," I replied as the room was filled with silence again. "Have you both eaten yet?"

"Yes, Anna, we have," Ondina said with a smile.

After I finished eating, Consuela handed me the gown she had placed in the wardrobe. The fabric was black, and the dress was simple yet modest. The dress had an empire waist, concealing my baby bump under a layer of flowing fabric. Slipping ballet flats on my feet, I looked at myself in the floor-length mirror as Ondina pinned my hair up and out of my face, using a seashell to hold it in place.

"I don't think it will be a good idea to put makeup on me. My hormones are everywhere and if everyone cries, I might start too," I said, waving Consuela's hand away as she came toward me with something that looked like powder.

"You're probably right," she said, setting it down on the vanity just as someone knocked on the door.

Consuela turned and cracked the door open, letting whoever knocked inside. "Good morning, your Highness."

"Good morning, Consuela, Ondina," Delmare said. "I hope you don't mind, but I would like to borrow Anna."

They giggled, a knowing look spreading across their features. "No, we don't mind at all."

"What?" I asked as Delmare held both of my hands. "What's going on?"

"Well, I realized you had asked me to marry you and I know this probably isn't the best time to do this. My father's funeral is in just a few hours and our citizens will wonder who you are and where you came from, but I want there to be no mistake about who you are with, so I got you something." His eyes shone their familiar mix of gold and purple as he reached behind him, pulling out a box wrapped in paper—not the frilly kind you found at a jewelry store, but the kid kind that you use when you're wrapping your kids' Christmas presents, covered in cartoon characters you only knew the name of because you've watched the movie five billion times. If you were really feeling stubborn, you wrapped the present twice. "Go on, open it," he said.

"Is that what I think it is?"

He nodded, reaching out his hand.

I took the box, the colorful wrapping paper gleaming against the shine of the tape. I stared at it for a moment, realizing that he was trying to distract himself once again, trying to make this day less of a mournful one. I knew why he did it, but I knew that this wasn't how I wanted to do it.