Caged Heart

Chapter 1

Serenity awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside her window. Groaning, she rolled over on her side, dragging her pillow with her to put it over her head. She knew this would be in vain as her servants would walk through her door at any moment, but she still tried to get a few more minutes of shut eye before they did.

The royals of Dahlia were always to wake up with the sun and the birds, they were always to be cordial, and they were always to present themselves as nothing less than perfect. At least that was how they needed to act according to Serenity's father and mother, King Darius and Queen Violette Vixon.

And so that is how everyday of her life went; how it would always go until the day she died. As a princess—the eldest of the Vixon children, no less—she was forced to oblige to the standards her parents had set, even when she didn't agree with them. She never complained to their faces about how awful it felt to wake early in the morning after late nights spent reading, about how long it took her to get a corset put on, about how long it took the servants to comb and brush her tangled, brown hair and style it—she complained about none of it, no matter how much she wished to. She was content to keep her parents happy and pleased with her.

She only ever had one outburst of protest against her parents: the day after her twenty-fourth birthday when they told her she was to be in an arranged marriage with the prince of Vithe, a kingdom located far north of Dahlia.

"You must do this," her father had said, "for the good of our kingdom and for the protection of theirs."

It was clear to her that nothing she said would change the outcome of the situation. So, she did the only thing that she could: she held her head high and greeted Godric Tilman, Prince of Vithe, with a sweet smile and pleasing words.

After a few pleasant moments of peace, Serenity's servants opened her door, humming along with the tweets of the birds as they dragged the princess out of bed so they could help her get ready for her day in court. One of the servants helped her get into a corset while the other went through her closet to pick out a dress, and the one that was chosen was an amethyst purple V-neck that complimented her honey-colored skin. After getting her dressed, they began to work on braiding her hair—a beautiful shade of brown that had slight curls in it—into a crown that went around her head.

As they finalized her hairstyle by placing her tiara behind the front braid, a knock at the door startled the women. "Serenity," a voice called out from beyond the door, "are you decent?"

Serenity recognized the voice immediately, "I am," she said, giving her servants a nod that gave them the hint that once the door was opened, they were to leave the room completely.

Godric patiently waited, and then gave the servants who walked out a kind smile as they went by him. He put his hands behind his back and stepped into the princess' room, not bothering to close the door behind him as he did so. He made his way behind the chair his betrothed was sitting in, meeting eyes with her in the mirror.

"Good morning," Serenity greeted, giving him a sweet smile.

He bowed his head, "Morning to you as well, my dear," his eyes followed her body as she stood to be able to speak to him better, "Did you sleep well?"

"Godric, I would much rather have my ears severed from my head than to be subjected to the formalities of a bland conversation a husband and wife would have," the princess folded her arms, "but to answer your question: yes, I did."

"Isn't that what we are meant to be?"

"It is, but I do not plan on becoming my mother and father—as much as they love one another—anytime soon."