Tied to the Throne

chapter five

As Aiden walks me through the stone halls, I notice the sheer size of the whole building. It is fucking massive.

"I do apologise Arabella, but this is where we must part. I will have your lady in waiting come get you, and guide you further. Goodbye!" The king has a sympathetic tone as he wishes me his farewell.

Wait. Did he say lady in waiting? No. How incompetent do these people think I am. I will not settle for someone doing everything for me. A sweet voice interrupted my little mind tantrum, "Hello your highness. I'm here to take to to your room. I'm your-"

"Lady in waiting. Yes I know." I rudely cut her off.

What the hell. Arabella, you can't be mean to this poor lady just because she has to do her job. I mentally scolded myself.

"Sorry that was rude of me. I'm princess Arabella. And you are?"

"Tina, miss." She sounds like fucking honey. I feel so bad for being a bitch to her.

"Lovely to meet you." I go to shake her hand. At first she seems confused, but quickly returns the gesture.

Shortly after our conversation, she goes to grab some of my bags and starts leading me to my room. My room. How can I even say that. I've never stepped foot inside it. It isn't my room, merely a room that I happen to be staying in. Maybe one day it will be my room, just not yet.

"Here we are miss." Tina stops before a sizeable wooden door. We seem to be on the second floor, on the mezzanine; a rail stands behind us.

She opens the door to reveal a gorgeous room. It's littered with hints of green and silver - Athline's kingdom colours. A king bed sits against the back wall in the middle. Beside it are two nightstands, as if to guard the precious thing. A vanity is in the right corner of the large room, adorned with a mirror. It was amazing, but this is not the end of it, no. There is a walk in closet, a suite, and my favourite: a small nook in the wall, filled with a window overlooking the frost-nipped gardens. Oh it is magical. I need to ask if could explore the gardens soon, they do look breathtaking.

Tina sees my state of awe, and goes ahead and places all my belongings and bags next to the bed.

"I see you like it miss?" She questions.

"Oh yes, I love it. And please call me Arabella, or Bella. No need for the formalities if you're practically stuck with me." I finish the sentence with a chuckle, and she joins.

"Oh don't get too attached, I must warn you. It's only temporary, well until the wedding." Tina informs me.

"I'm sorry?" My voice sounds panicked. Why am I getting so worked up over a fucking room?

"Oh? Um, I'm going to get prince Nikolai, he will be back to explain. I'm not really sure it's my place to tell." And just like that, she scurries out of the room.

Oh shit. Is she getting Nikolai? This will be our first interaction by ourselves. Well if you don't count the dining hall incident. That was just strange.

After a minute or two, a stern voice entered my ears,"Arabella," I spin around to face the doorway. Nikolai. Nikolai and his stupid, creepy mask- fabric thing.

"Nikolai." I reply with the same cold tone. No matter how I speak to him, I can hear the slight shake in my voice. I'm kind of scared of him. That cannot be good, considering I'm fucking stuck with him.

"Tina told me that you are yet to be informed on the details of our arrangement. Is this true?" I feel almost weak with the way he speaks to me, like I am a child. What a dick.

"Yes, it's true," He towers over me.

"Okay, the wedding will take place in two weeks in royal church, where both our parents got married. It's tradition. After the wedding, we will have our honeymoon. And after that takes place, you will move from this room into mine." I try to get a word of protest in, but he cuts me off before a can make a sound. There's no way he's making me stay in the same room as him. Absolute bullshit.

"This marriage is nothing but an alliance to me. Don't expect anything else, because you won't get it. I will never love you."

Little bit harsh, don't you think?

"I-u-okay, of course." I'm taken back by his sudden aggressive tone. Who is he to think that I thought this was a marriage of love. It's just a convenience to my father, I knew that.

'I will never love you', he's stupid if he thinks that I want him. He's got too much of an ego. I don't like it.

After our conversation we kind of just stand there. Staring at each other, trying to analyse one another.

"You must also wear this." He hands me a ring. "You cannot take it off under any circumstances, we must make this marriage seem real. Everything will seem more legitimate if people think this marriage is real." Before I can respond, he pushes past me and walks out the door.

How is he genuinely so rude. Like I understand that he doesn't want this. But neither do I. And frankly, he has no right to treat me like shit. He doesn't even know me, nor does he even let me speak to him.

I stop wasting my brain cells on Mr fucking ego, and go to put the ring on my finger. I can't help but admire it, and as much as I don't want to admit it, it's one of the most stunning pieces of jewellery I've ever seen.

Tina renters the room. "Lovely ring you've got there." She quietly says. All I can do is hum in agreement.

A yawn catches me off guard. When did i get this tired? I am so tired. I did wake up at the crack of dawn. So that might be it.

"Would you like a nap, you seem exhausted Arabella?"

"Yes please." The sheer thought of a nap makes me smile.

Tina goes to get me and everything else ready. She tells me that whilst I sleep, she would unpacks my things. I'm truly too tired to disagree, so I simply nod and head to sleep. Tina is a sweetheart, maybe this whole lady in waiting thing isn't so bad after all. I could have a friend.

But as I drift off to sleep, only one thing is on my mind.

Nikolai.

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first proper arabella and nikolai interaction! i'm not sure how to feel about this chapter. but anyways, thank you for reading :)
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