Once in a lifetime // Prince Raji

Chapter 1

*knock*

no reply.

*knock*

"Aerin?" a faint voice could be heard from outside of the door

a yawn and a groan came out of my mouth 

"yes Zen hold on. " i turned to look at my clock and sighed getting up out of my bed, brushing the creases from my nightgown as I wandered towards the door opening it slightly 

"yes? what's the matter?" i said while rubbing my eyes

"Mother and Father would like to speak with us for dinner, specifically you" i looked at him dumbfounded about to open my mouth "and no, i dont know why, im confused myself, but im sure you'll be fine alright?" Zen put his hand on my head and gave me a warm hearted smile before turning away and closing the door, mitsuhide and kiki following behind

"What could they want with me this early?" i pondered as i scattered through my wardrobe trying to look presentable at the very least, it was a rare occasion we ever got to see our parents, even being the first and only princess of Clariness me and and my brothers never got to even look at them at the very least unless it was this important, i was scared to say the least.

I ended up picking out a sage green dress which was overgrown with flower designs at the top and was short sleeved, followed by the sapphire blue necklace Izana and Zen has gotten me for my 16th birthday, for my hair it was put into a low bun with a hair cuff underneath and a clip to the side. I admired myself in the mirror for a second before hearing a knock at my door

"Princess Aerin, its time" i opened the door and bowed my head to the guard before following behind, the click of my shoes could be heard on the marble floor as i turned my head to smile and nod to the maids as i admired the castle gardens, it was somewhere i always went to calm myself. while being trapped in my thoughts i was jolted out of them "Princess Aerin we're here"

"Thank you" i bowed my head to the guard as i walked into the dining hall and sat in my assigned seat.

silence..

the aroma in the room smelled heavenly, crisp bacon with eggs was served in front of us but that still wasnt enough to distract me from the intense feeling in the room. We dug into our meals, me and Zen occasionally shared worrying glances, Izana on the other hand was..smiling? an odd man he was indeed. 

The king cleared his throat and I instantly stopped my actions and turned to face him.

"My apologise for gathering you all here on such short notice, but it is an urgent matter we must discuss."

the room went silent for a while with just the sound of cutlery clattering. the air felt tense and my heart was beating faster by the minuet. 

This sounded serious..

"To get straight to the point...The first prince, Raji Shenazard has been invited for a stay within the castle for a day, Tanbarun and our kingdom itself has not been facing many actions these past few months."

I could see Zen clench his fists under the table, as for Izana he sat there emotionless like those words didnt faze him one bit. I had known what had happened between Zen and raji and it wasnt very pleasant, in fact i thought it was disgusting.

my face scrunched up out of disgust.

"Aerin." my head shot up to meet with my fathers eyes 

"Yes father?" 

The king took a moment before speaking "I believe this matter concerns you the most. The King of Tanbarun believes that you and Prince Raji should spend a valuable amount of time together during his stay, both kingdoms believe that you'd both be a suitable match for an arranged marriage."

the room was silent

"pardon..a match!? what is that supposed to mean?!!" i didn't believe what i just heard, was my head playing tricks on me? 

"were you listening?" Father spoke with a tone of stern in his voice

"No. I heard you right father...but why? after all that prince has done? ran after a girl solely because the colour of her hair?!" i hit my fist on the table out of pure rage and stood up. "If you believe that the Raji shenazard has done nothing but taunt his people, i'd be an embarrassment!"

"Thats enough." Izana stared at me, he said this in a calm but harsh tone. i sat down onto the chair with my head down. "I also believe you two could work together well." Izana spoke with a slight tint of humour in his voice. 

"Izana you-"

i was cut of by a glass slamming on the table "This is final. Its whats best for both kingdoms, if all goes well during the visit you will be sent to the kingdom of Tanbarun for 3 weeks to spend quality time together"

"what about me? do my feelings nor concerns matter?" i blurted out

the table fell silent as my eyes locked with the foul man at the end of the table/

i gritted my teeth as we were dismissed from the table, i stormed out of the room with my brothers trailing behind me

"What are they thinking.." Zen muttered under his breath 

"I think its a good decision for the kingdom" Izana stated "when i become king its only a matter of time before our little sister becomes a queen right Zen?" he turned around and walked towards his office 

i was pulled into a sudden hug by Zen, this wasn't usually like him at all...

"we'll fix this dont worry" 

fix? nothing can repair this action.

"promise." he smiled at me and patted my head 

"we believe in you Princess." Mitsuhide also put his hand on my head. Kiki and him were always like big siblings to me.

"Thank you..so much. i'll do my best either way.." i smiled at them with tears pricking my eyes ,I waved at them before walking back to my room. I closed the door behind me and shook my head while sitting down on the side of my bed clenching my dress with my fists, anger wasn't the right word to describe how i was feeling right now, i had no clue how to feel.

"just for the kingdom huh..."