𝒜 𝒟𝒶𝒾𝓈𝓎 𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝒬𝓊𝑒𝑒𝓃

Valentina: 12

"Nice to meet you!"

I'm engulfed into a giant hug by Luis's gorgeous girlfriend. She's a flurry of blonde hair, freckles, and smiley expressions.

"Nice to meet you too!" I give her a once over when we break apart. "This is going to be a weird thing to say five seconds after we've met, but you are insanely pretty."

A red hue pours across her cheeks, and she smiles embarrassedly.

"Thank you. You're honestly so pretty too. I expected you to come in here with a crown and a gown, but this was a surprise." She leads me down a hallway.

"Please, I'm not going to waltz in here like I'm better than everybody. Believe it or not, I was normal once too." I laugh, gesturing down to my jeans and hoodie apparel.

"Aww." She links arms with me. "I can tell we're going to be awesome friends. Luis is cooking in the kitchen, and I think he's ready to serve now."

"Hey, Val!" Luis grins from behind the counter, where he's mixing salads. "Welcome! Glad to see you and Hayley are getting along. Thanks for coming."

"Wouldn't miss a home cooked meal for the world." I grin, and take a seat at the dining table across from Hayley, and Luis sets down the food before taking a seat next to her.

"So, what's good?" Luis smiles as he shovels food into his mouth, Hayley elbowing him for his lack of table manners. Their relationship dynamic makes me laugh. "Heard you were going out with our king."

"Oh, my, god." I shake my head smiling. "Does everyone know?"

"Kind of..." Hayley laughs. "I did my own research before you came."

"Well... it's kind of the sake of our kingdoms. We both need something from each other, so we're forming an alliance for the upcoming war. But we kind of also hate each other since our families murdered each other." I roll my eyes. "Monarchies are confusing."

"So... you're like dating each other because you both have something the other wants?" Hayley's eyes light up.

"Ohhh no, here she goes." Luis grins lovingly at his girl. "You got her started."

"Hey!" She slaps his chest playfully. "I'm just saying, they're obviously going to fall in love. A trope like that never fails to work."

"I'm not so sure about that..." I laugh, but my words are hollow because they might be a lie.

"Trust me, I know these things." Hayley nudges Luis. "It worked for us. Forced proximity, we hated each other, he kissed me 'accidentally', we fell in love, he broke my heart, and fought for my love back. That's how I knew the troubles were worth it."

"Awww." I smile. "I can only hope that kind of thing happens to me one day. I highly doubt it, though."

"Why?" Hayley urges.

"Because I'm being forced into an arranged marriage with Luke." I blurt out.

Hayley gasps, and Luis's eyes balloon.

"We weren't supposed to know that, were we?" Luis laughs.

"No..." I groan. "My big mouth..."

"You're obviously going to fall for him!" Hayley squeals. "Arranged marriage is literally one of the best love tropes there is! You just hit the jackpot!"

I laugh at her excitedness, and Luis rolls his eyes while smiling like a fool. It's obvious he's infatuated with her. He loves every inch of her, without a care at what others might have to say about it. That's beautiful.

That's what I want. I would give anything to have family again.

⚜️⚜️⚜️

A week passes by, and I step out of my carriage as Luke escorts me.

"How was the dinner?" He asks knowingly, and I laugh.

"Luis's girlfriend, Hayley, was lovely, I was thinking about having her by the castle sometime to hang out." I say.

"Glad you made a friend." He smiles, but I'm frowning because it's hollow.

"What's up with you?" I ask, weirded out by his evasive dismissiveness.

"Nothings up." He shakes his head.

Not offering a further explanation, he leads me in to the dining room, for lunch.

"Oh!" I glance down at my shoe, missing a heel. "I must have broken a heel coming out of the carriage. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Sounds good." Luke nods.

I take a look around the courtyard for my heel that broke off, but it's no where to be found.

When all of a sudden, a knife slashes through my shoulder.

I scream, as loud as I can, hoping the guards hear me as a gunshot sounds.

There's blood on my dress.

Wait. Is that my blood?

"LUKAS!" I scream. "HELP! LUKE!"

Another knife stabs through my thigh, and I glance around the gardens, petrified. No one in sight. They must be hiding in a bush.

"Who's there?!" I scream. "What do you want?!"

I'm losing more and more blood by the second, and I stagger back against the door into the palace. If I turn around and go in, someone could shoot me before I make it.

The door bursts open, and I stagger in, limping against Luke, who opened the door.

"Valentina?! Who did this?!" He screams. "Get a medic!"

My breathing gets ragged, and Luis turns the corner and into the room.

"Val!" He rushes forward.

"Get a medic!" Luke screams at him.

"Don't yell at him." I snap, falling back onto the white couch of the parlor.

Blood flows out of me by the second, and I let out a strained cry.

"They're on their way." Luis nods, as Luke rips off his shirt and stuffs it into my gun wound, slowly removing the knives from both my shoulder and thigh.

"They're coming, Valentina, don't worry." He looks panicked, and he begins ripping the satin curtains and stuffing them in the knife wounds, adding pressure to stop the bleeding. "I'm sorry, I know it hurts."

Tears roll down my cheeks, not because of the pain, but because this is what being around Luke has brought me to. I can't help but hate him if his people are trying to murder me just like my parents.

"A-am I going to die?" I ache everywhere.

"No- no, I can't let you die."

The medic rushes in, carrying me on a gurney as I black out.

"Luke..."

"Valentina, don't worry. You're going to make it... I'm sorry I've been so cold today, the truth is, I can't help but-"

I'm sure what he's saying was important, and I'm sure I should have heard it.

But all I heard were people screaming Code Blue.