Choosing - On Hold UFN

Choosing

Fury is the only word that could describe what Asmira was feeling. The anger clearly stemmed from the betrayal that had just been committed. Her parents had betrayed her heart and soul. They could not return to the place of respect that had once held. It would be forever fragmented by their actions this day. .

Although she knew it had probably been long in planning, she had just been told of her – now promised – marriage. Though she had known for a long time that it was going to happen, she didn’t ever realize what a shock it was going to be. She couldn’t grasp how devastated that it would make her feel. How empty it made her.

Another rage-filled sob racked her body before she could attempt at calming herself. Pulling her weak body from the ground, Asmira made her way to the mirror. She examined herself, trying to collect her face into a mask of indifference.

There was a fifteen, nearly sixteen, year old girl glaring back at her. Shapely and tan, her body would appeal to any man and make every woman envious. Though they were puffy and red, her deep brown eyes would glisten with intelligence and curiosity at any challenge. In the proper lighting, these same eyes would become seductive with flecks of gold making them dazzle. Her lips were finely shaped, and her brows were thin and they arched to create an elegant look. Her chocolate hair hung down to her lower back, lapping at the curves. The golden highlights emphasized the careful curls that decorated the locks.

But despite all the beauty, Asmira only wished to hide. It did not mean anything to her. It was only a curse thrust upon her now. She pleaded with the heavens to be struck ugly and repulsive. This way, she reasoned, she would be safe from the perverted man that was just waiting to bed her innocent frame with his fumbling paws.

She shuddered at the thought. Though she tried to push it away, the depths of her mind whispered to her with an intoxicating voice. They horrified with the facts and the terrible truths. Her betrothed would most certainly be a despicable man. He would desire nothing more than her money and her body. Perhaps her body alone.

She fought back with the thought that he may be respectable enough to value her as a person. She tried to envision a man that would treat her well, but no images could come to mind. Not even her own father's. She was alone, kept away from the seas of men that may have changed her mind about their habits.

Though Asmira was part of the royal family of Keola, she wasn’t the next in line. Her older sister, Lia was the future queen. And, as second in line, Asmira didn’t receive anything but polite power. Yes, she would be forever served and loved by the people, but she would not gain land or subjects. She was just another figurehead with money. She was perfectly fine with that. Power did not call to her like it did to so many other people. She preferred for the only life in her hands to be her own, and thus she did not tend to reach out for control.

Asmira glared at herself in the mirror. It was Lia’s prosperity that were causing her own problems. Lia had married at her fifteenth year, and was already expecting a child at her eighteenth year.

Asmira snorted, ‘Love. Pah. More like drunken proposals and rich men.’ Though she loved her sister, she often wondered at what could have possessed her to agree to such a marriage. Love, to Asmira, was just another story. It didn’t really exist.

She finally decided that the redness and puffiness had gone down enough for her to venture outside. Grabbing a book off of her many shelves, she hurried outside the room to her spot in the greenhouse. Hiding, to Asmira, was the only option in times like these. It was safe.

~

Alexander Nathaniel, of the House of Wellington, was crown prince. An eighteen year old ladies man. And a closet genius. Yet when he discovered his impending marriage, he was completely taken aback. He vaguely remembered telling his adviser to get him a wife, but he didn’t think that it would happen so soon.