𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋𝐒 | 𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓

𝖟𝖊𝖗𝖔. 𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔

⃕⋆𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒏

*ੈ✩‧₊˚CARALYN LEANED AGAINST THE GRATE, LISTENING INTENTLY TO THE FOOLS WHO DECIDED HER FATE. She hadn't been eavesdropping in the Ancient Rooms in such a time that dust had begun to collect. She was concerned with the amount as it would occasionally cause her to sneeze, but ignored it as she let her ears stay attentive. She could only hear mumbles and whispers with the occasional word that she could pick up, but nothing definitive. Eavesdropping only worked when politicians wanted to be heard and clearly, they didn't want to be. 

Not toway.

She huffed, leaning forward just enough so that she'd be able to peek through the grate. It sat on the upper level of the Cabinet Hall, so she could see everything. The carpet was a teal green and had golden patterns on them that she used to trace when she was bored. The walls were burgundy red with golden candlesticks that lit up the room when there were power outages in the early years of the Reestablishment. Beautiful ordained chairs sat in rows and they had five on each side, ten in each row and thirty in total.

Her eyes searched the rows of Cabinet members when she stopped.

That was when she noticed her father speaking with Dehlia Navarro.

She narrowed her eyes. Why would Navarro be speaking to my father?

Navarro was the Head of Security, but this meeting was specifically about her – about Caralyn and the arrangement made with the North. Why would the Head of Security be concerned with marital plans and arrangements? Navarro never got herself caught in these types of situations unless it concerned a missile being pointed towards the Continent. It wasn't that she disliked the woman, but that 

If anything, it should be Leonardo and Loreto there, not Navarro.

Whatever they were talking about, Navarro disagreed as her face turned narrow and her jaw tightened. Her father, however, stood, unwavering and unaffected by Navarro's clear face of discontent. There were other Cabinet members around them, but she wasn't focused on them. They all had their decision, but it was her father's that affected hers.

She watched as Navarro bowed her head in reverence before her father walked off, got to the head stand of the Cabinet and banged the gavel. He hit it twice, signaling the beginning of "bargaining" as she liked to call it. Just another word for threats and power plays.

"I would like to bring everyone's attention towards me, thank you." He stood tall, not sitting in his seat as he usually would. The members all sat in their designated seats, papers flying across the desks. "I have come to a decision and although my daughter is not here today due to safety measures, she has come to one as well. It is a decision based on the greater good of the Continent, of the government and for my daughter, herself. She is human and I would like every one of you to recall this."

Caralyn had about five minutes before panic set in Isabella or any of her personal guards, but she couldn't move. She had to listen to this, she couldn't wait for her father to tell her a watered down version of what everyone says. She had a right to know what fools were saying about her and choosing for her.

"According to the Testament of our great nation, kingdom and continent, the Princess, my daughter, has the right to choose who she marries — whether it be the poorest farmer to the mightest of kings. Now, regardless of our predicament concerning the power of other countries and continents rising in power, this does not change. The Princess will not be bound to any marriage arrangement made by this court, other governments or even by myself."