Forging Love

one

She was steaming mad by the time she shut the door to her chambers. Throwing herself on the bed she began to sob. Not quite polite sobs, no the sobs that ripped her chest apart.
How could her parents do this to her!
It was outrageous!
She didn't need to marry. Especially some rude stuck up prince! A man she had never met she was now betrothed to. She couldn't find it fair. She had done everything they asked of her, been the perfect daughter, and now they had married her off.

She could not find reason. He lived nowhere near her kingdom, it was actually a two week journey to reach his. But they had married her all the same. She knew that she wasn't the ideal daughter. Now she was destined to leave everything she loved, just to marry a man she will never love.
She's made that decision when she slammed her door. She would never love someone who married her because she was a princess.

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The usual family dinner was stressed. Although her parents had tried to talk to her about wedding plans she was rather closed off about it. She didn't want to plan the worst day of her life. After they realized that's she wasn't going to respond they talked among themselves.

"Amity!" Her mother called loudly.
She must have been so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear her. Calming herself so that she didn't say anything rash she responded.
"Sorry I was thinking, yes mother." She know her parents didn't buy it by the look that crossed her father's face.
She tried to sell them with a smile.
"I was saying that Nathaniel will be here tomorrow to help plan the wedding, I thought it was something you could look forward too." Her mother says trying to act as if everything was normal. Nothing was normal now. But seeing her older brother would help.

"I always look forward to seeing him mother." She replied curtly. Her voice was still blank with emotion. She watched as her father's jaw tightened.
She braces herself for the storm.
"And as for the wedding I just need time to get use to it all." She lied quickly. Her father's jaw didn't unclench but her mother bought it.
"That's wonderful to hear! Maybe tomorrow we can meet with a designer for your gown!" She faked enthusiasm. Smiling wide and nodding her head.
"I would love that, it will be some mother and daughter time before I have to leave here." She realized her mistake to late. Her father was now red in the face. She swallows and looks down in shame.

"We are doing this for you child!
Why can't you see that!" He burst out.
She flinches as tears fill her eyes. Swallowing again she answers.
"I meant no disrespect father, I was simply trying to say that me and mother won't get to spend as much time together when I'm married." Her Voice trembles and, She hangs her head in fear.
"You are dismissed from dinner Amity." He father says and she stands leaving without a word. She holds her tears in until she reaches her room. And still only lets them fall after the windows are shut.

Not long after her maid comes in to help get her undressed for bed. Maids were not allowed to give their name so she did not know it but they were close friends.
"Have you heard?" Amity  ask as the maid undoes the corset. She simply nods.
"Did I do something wrong for this?" She ask as the maid pulls out her nightgown. She takes a careful second before responding.
"No, my princess. They simply are doing what they think best." She responds. Amity takes a moment to think about this. She could not see how it was love. She didn't want to marry.
"And what do you think." She ask as the maid begins to brush her hair.
The maid does not answer for a long time.
"I cannot disagree with my Queen and King." She answers instead but Amity already knows what she thinks. She lay in bed thinking that night. She'd never meet the prince. Her parents had agreed to the marriage so that the two kingdoms could become allies. A small part of her tried to tell her she could still leave run away and never come back. She shoved that piece down as far as she could. Years of practice made it easier.  She closed her eyes and tried to sleep but even her sleep was wistful and hard on her. When maid woke her in the morning she knew that her eyes had large bags under them but maid said nothing. She simply applied an extra layer of makeup to her face. Before she left her room she tried to smile as if she was genuinely happy. She even skipped a stair to prove her point. When she sat down at the table. Her mother's eyes skipped from her to her father. Obviously trying to guess the mood.

"Good morning mother, father." She greeted. Her mother said a quick hello but her father's eyes were cold and dark. All the same she acted as if she was happy. Her mother talked about wedding plans and she tried to act interested in it. That is until it came up that the wedding was in two weeks.

"What!" She choked out around her food. Her father's icy stare meet her scared one. Two weeks was no time at all. Her mother just calmly repeated herself.
"The wedding is two weeks away. Well two weeks and a day." Two weeks and a day. That's all she had. She nodded going back to eating although it felt forced. Her father's dark glare fell on her but she ignored it. Two weeks, echoed through her head again and again. When she'd finished eating she asked for permission to leave. Her father nodded his okay and she turned to walk away. She needed a minute and she always found peace in the garden.