ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴏʀɢᴏᴛᴛᴇɴ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ

ℜ𝔬𝔶𝔞𝔩'𝔰 ℌ𝔬𝔫𝔬𝔲𝔯 (𝔓𝔞𝔯𝔱 ℑ𝔙)

"Hello gentlemen" Isabella greeted three knights. "My lady" they bowed. "I didn't know we had such formalities" she grinned. The dark haired knight chuckled. "I suppose you want to know what happened in the meeting?" asked Sir Kenton. "I never met another sixteen year old who is so interfering" said the red head, Alex. "You're talking to the future queen. I have a responsibility to the people" said Isabella, faking annoyance. "You're second in line" quipped James, his black hair looking messier than ever.

"Are you going to tell me? Or should I ask the cook to not make anything special for you lot?" asked Isabella. "You wouldn't" said James, looking terrified. "I would" Isabella threatened. "How did you know about the meeting anyway?" asked Alex, looking genuinely curious. "I overheard one of the servants while I was showing Lady Rose around the gardens. They have gossip about the entire kingdom." Isabella shrugged.

"It wasn't important...some sort of merchant whining about stolen goods" Kenton continued to explain the story as Isabella listened curiously.

                                                                                             ꕥ

King Minton and Queen Lorinda signed the peace treaty with ease. Edward added his signature.

"It truly is a pleasure having you over at our kingdom...but you seem distracted my lord" Lorinda noted. Edward looked at them. "It's...well...my father was going to discuss it with you but that duty seemed to fall upon me" "Go on" said Minton. "My father wishes for our kingdoms to truly have a strong bond" the lord of Stallian began. "We have already signed this treaty. We have signed it for many years now" said the queen. "Yes and we are extremely grateful for it. But my father wants a union" he said. "A union that will bind our kingdoms forever. The king and queen looked at the lord with delight.

"Our oldest daughter, Olivia is your age. You two always played together when you were young. You both seem to have a great bond" said Lorinda.

"I have been waiting for someone suitable for Olivia's hand. I agree my lord, my Olivia will be a perfect queen for you" said Minton with glee.

"When will you propose?" asked the queen. "The sooner, the better" said Edward.

"Then until you propose, this shall be kept a secret"

                                                                                              ꕥ

One of the rooms that Olivia enjoyed was the library. The main reason was the balcony view. She stared out into the distance, enjoying the peace and quiet.

"We used to come up here a lot when we were younger"

Olivia looked startled and looked behind her.

"Lord Edward" she relaxed. "An unexpected visit, nevertheless, we are friends so you are welcome here" she said.

Edward hummed in agreement. They stared into the horizon for a few minutes. "Er...about us being friends..." he started. "What?" asked Olivia. "The peace treaty was successful as always. There's another delicate matter. My father wants an everlasting bond on our kingdoms" he said. Olivia looked confused for a second before realization dawned. "Everlasting bond as in-?"she asked, feeling faint. "Yes" said Edward, who looked embarrassed. "You can say no, I'll just say I'm not ready for a marriage yet. I don't want to make you uncomfortable in any way" he said quickly. Olivia stared out to the distance. She closed her eyes, remembering how excited she was to see her old friend again. She remembered her family, her kingdom, her people.

They'd want me to do this, she told herself.

I don't want to make you uncomfortable in any way.

I trust you to do the right thing.

Isabella trusted her to make the right decision.

She opened her mouth and revealed her answer.