Arthur Leywin, Prince of Alacrya, is betrothed to Tessia Eralith, Princess of Elenoir. The problem? Arthur has never met his wife-to-be and doesn't seem to be able to despite their engagement ceremony coming up.
Oh, and he meets this amazing mysteri...
The girl doesn't leave Arthur's mind for the rest of the way home.
After the incident, Arthur is left to skate lazy circles around the rink all by himself. On a different occasion, he would've been happy to have the rink all to himself. He could sing and dance around and act like no one is watching because nobody is watching. But when the woman left, the rink felt lonely. Just as he always felt during his reign in his previous life. Arthur already missed watching the amazing performance the beautiful woman made, missed the sound of ice chipping under skates that weren't his own.
After approximately two hours, he'd headed home like he promised. However, once he'd sat in the comfortable seat of the carriage the Imperial Family had given them, the whole reality of the situation donned itself to Arthur.
Why was that woman avoiding him like some parasite? Arthur didn't even do anything particularly wrong, except for compliment her and maybe ask her name and... Oh my god, did he sound like a creep?
Arthur tried not to cringe as he stared out the window, watching the clear night sky and the moon to prevent him from slamming his head against the window of the ornate carriage. God, Arthur did sound like a creep! No wonder she sprinted away. But Arthur didn't look like a pervert or anything... did he? Sure his hair was a bit longer than it probably should be. But he was smart, popular too! And not to sound too conceited, but he wasn't bad-looking either. Right?
But he wanted to see that girl again, wanted to see her skate again, and maybe have an actual conversation with her, and maybe he'd have another friend to invite to his supposed arranged marriage.
_-_
The next morning, the Alacryan family and the Elenoir family were called together to arrange the paperwork and other paraphernalia needed for the marriage. Arthur was slightly disgruntled, not wanting to scrounge through endless boring discussions on what sort of ivory they should use, but he knew he had no choice. Maybe he'd be able to see his wife-to-be for once goddamnit it!
After breakfast, a chauffeur picks them up from the cabin and they all head to the actual palace. Arthur didn't really understand the need for all this, especially since the palace was only about a block away. Arthur could've walked all the way there himself, however, being the spoiled royalty that they are apparently they aren't allowed to use their legs. So they squeeze into the carriage for a two-minute drive to the palace.
However, as the carriage rolled up to the front gates, another one was parked there. There, they see the King and Queen talking with someone; Arthur could not tell because her back was faced to them and all Arthur could see was the woman's dress and gunmetal grey hair. The Queen gives the woman a hug. She slides into the carriage before Arthur could have a better look at her.
As the other carriage rolls away, Arthur's carriage moves into the place where the other used to be. They all step out, the Elenoir family greeting them cheerily.
"Oh, that's too bad! Our Tessia just left, we should've made her stay for a while longer so she could greet all of you! Especially you, Arthur." The King throws a wink at the blue-eyed man. Arthur merely offers a nod and a smile, but his attention was diverted to the carriage that was innocently driving away, the carriage that held his supposed fiancé.
_-_
After the meeting, Arthur immediately requests his attendant to bring any information they can on 'Tessia Eralith'.
As Arthur impatiently waits for the information to be brought to him, he is filled with some sort of anticipation. What would he see? What would he read? He knew if he wanted to learn more about his fiancé, he should've asked his grandparents or the King and Queen, or maybe asked her himself. But for now, this was his only sort of answer. He'd have to ask questions later.
Soon, he is provided with numerous papers, each containing articles about the crown princess, however, he's... confused.
There are no pictures?
Arthur's eyebrows furrow as he flips through numerous articles, news clippings, and blog posts. However, there was very little information set in. Sure, there were pictures, but they were very blurry and unrecognizable photos of the Imperial Family, usually somewhere far off like on top of a balcony, consisting of the four of them, the King and Queen, with the Crown Princess herself and the former king.
Arthur flips through the images and only manages to find one decent one. It was a baby photo or a portrait even. A formal photo of the four of them, sitting stoically. There, Arthur sees the Princess who looked about seven years old, with gunmetal gray hair styled and emerald eyes unmoving.
That photo was taken maybe a decade or so back then.
Arthur sighs impatiently as he runs his fingers through his auburn hair. He forgoes looking for more pictures and decides to read through one of the articles.
...very little is known about Elenoir's Crown Princess, Tessia Eralith. The female [that was said to be twenty-eight years of age] was rarely seen outside the Palace walls, only said to go out for business purposes and government-related trips. Even so, it is hard to catch a glimpse of this fleeting Princess, with her ability to avoid press and media attention as much as possible. So much so that even her physical attributes and looks are oftentimes rumored about. Numerous people say that the reason why the Princess has chosen to stay hidden is that of a physical deformity or illness. Meanwhile, there are some who protest, saying that the Princess was actually young and very good-looking.
When asked on the matters of their daughter [Tessia Eralith] the Elenoir family [King Alduin & Queen Merial Eralith] has simply stated that it was their daughter's decision if she wanted to be open to the public, whilst the Crown Princess prioritized the beloved country, she was said to be quite uncomfortable with expressing herself to the public.
Rumors state that this behavior is due to an event that occurred in her early childhood, where she was kidnapped by...
(see next page)
Arthur purses his lips as he stares at the paper, eyes unreadable, but his mind is filled with so many questions that he cannot answer.
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