𝒜 𝒟𝒶𝒾𝓈𝓎 𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝒬𝓊𝑒𝑒𝓃

Valentina: 5

The blood drains from my face, I'm sure, as I see the duchess standing in the doorway.

"Your Grace," I stutter. "I apologize for my little out burst, it was very unprofessional-"

"Oh, Your Majesty, you know by now it shouldn't matter to me." She waves a hand. "But I'm afraid that I might be the sorry one in a moment."

"Wh- whatever do you mean?" I cock my head, and notice Lukas has quieted since my tantrum. His eyes are downcast at the table, not bothering to look up.

"Well," The Duchess takes an empty seat beside me. "It appears an alliance won't be enough to convince the two kingdoms of peace. I tried speaking to our monarchy about it, and even some of they are opposed to the thought of coming to peace with Fjiotila."

"How do you propose we shall fix that?" I cough.

"... by force. Coercion, I suppose. Take our to kingdoms and.." She makes a motion of clasping her hands together.

"That... how could we even... how could that be possible?" I scrutinize at the thought.

"The Fjiotilian monarchy and I have discussed it, and we think the best option in mind at the moment could be.. an arranged marriage." She purses her lips, waiting for the impact of her words to settle in.

"Between who?" Lukas asks just as I say "Isn't that method a bit outdated?"

"Er- between the two of you. I think it would help the kingdoms if they saw their leaders getting along, creating a new dynasty, and they might just stop this wretched rivalry." She says.

"So... what, after they're all happy happy and joy to the world, then what? We have to stay in this marriage neither of us want to be in?" Lukas says.

"There goes another milestone of my life, overruled by the responsibilities." I mutter.

"The two of you are acting absurd. This rivalry isn't between either of you specifically, so it should be simple to act as though you're in love." She says.

Neither of us say anything, because we know it's true, but I really wanted to get out of this life someday. I still had a little hope left that I could escape this life, start a family, forget about the kingdom, but that hope washed away as soon as the words 'arranged marriage' left the Duchess's lips.

"The idea is laughable. Did you not just see our little fits we just had? How could we make it look like we're in love?" Lukas scoffs.

"That's not for me to figure out, Your Majesties. I have brought you the best possible solution that could save our kingdoms from downfall, and now the two of you have to do the fooling. Because unless you can come up with a better way out, you will be forced to partake in this strategy." She says.

Neither of us speak, for we're afraid if we do we might wind ourselves into this situation.

"So?" The Duchess persists. "Any other solutions? Because we are running out of time to fix this."

It goes silent again, so the Duchess nods her head curtly.

"Okay, no strong refusals, so I suppose that's what we'll do. I shall get the word spread that the two of you are to be wed when his Majesty proposes." She says, and Lukas and I glance at each other, horrified.

"But- there has to be another way-" I begin.

"You missed that window while it was open a minute ago." The Duchess scolds. "As you can't come up with anything on your own, I have decided for the two of you. Get to work, lovebirds. The proposal can't wait for long."

⚜️⚜️⚜️

I am back in the living quarters of my own bedroom, and I dry my hair with a towel as I stand in my robe and slippers after a hot bath. I fall back onto my bed with my phone in hand, pulling up a new contact.

Luis. I ran into him while exiting the Fjiotila palace, and gave him my number to text me. I see his name popped up, and it looks like he sent the text not long ago.

Luis: Hey, how r u? I wasn't sure if I was supposed to text first or not, so I just went for it😅

Me: Sorry I didn't see this sooner; was taking a bath. Thx for reaching out! How has your day been? Not too tiring, I hope🤭

Luis: It's been good. Just did my usual work stuff, and then went home and had supper. My girlfriend made spaghetti today; it was so good🤤

Me: Sounds delicious! And... please tell her we're just friends, I don't want her to get mixed signals. It's a girl thing, just do it. She'll get paranoid if she finds out you're texting some girl and you didn't tell her.

Luis: I don't think it's just a girl thing; I would get paranoid too. But don't worry, I already talked to her about how I met you and you were really cool. She'd like to meet you sometime, if you would like to come and have dinner or something. Must get tiring being a queen😮‍💨

Me: I would love to meet your girlfriend! What kind of things does she like? And yeah, it does get tiring, but you're the one doing the grunt work. I wouldn't be in my position without your squad holding down the fort.

Luis: My girl likes flowers, books, food, stuff like that. She's a keeper🥰

Me: Aww🤭
Well, I don't want to keep you, but I'll see you sometime soon! Let me know about those dinner plans!

Luis: Will do! 'Night, Valentina!

Me: 'Night Luis 🥱

I power off the phone, and slip under my covers. I'm so sleepy, it's ridiculous. Starting tomorrow, the fooling begins.

I just hope Lukas isn't going to propose yet; I don't think I could handle that so soon.

And I let my eyes flutter asleep.