Royal Deception (GirlxGirl)

Chapter 20

Hawk / Hartley

I slowly stood up the moment I noticed that the King, Malin, and Natalia were heading towards me.

Malin gave me a look to calm down like she sensed the brewing of my anxiety. The King gave me a wide smile and stretched his hand for a shake. I looked at his hand confused before I slowly took it for a shake.

Suddenly, I heard the fast clacking of heels as someone rushed towards us. I turned to see Princess Faith looking nervous.

"I'm so sorry, this is all my fault-" she started as she stopped beside me but was interrupted by Malin herself. "Hello Princess, I was looking forward to meeting you. I'm Malin and this is my soon-to-be wife, Natalia," she said stretching her arm forward and Natalia greeted her with a soft, "Hi."

I've never seen Princess Faith so confused and distressed that I wanted to ease her worries.

Princess Faith shook her head slightly to get a hold of herself and shook Malin's hand and then Natalia's, "Hi, it's nice to meet you. Um... I think there might be some confusion," she said in a much calmer tone.

The King gently put his arm around his daughter's waist, "Sorry, about my daughter. These kinds of banquets always make her very uneasy," he said with a smile.

Princess Faith turned to glare at her father but the King ignored her as he addressed Malin, "So where were we?" he asked.

Malin's eyes moved from mine to Princess Faith then to Natalia. The couple started to communicate with their eyes. Natalia sighed and touched Malin's arm. Malin turned to Princess Faith, "Your father offered us marriage in exchange for our military." Malin said straight to the point.

Marriage? The King is offering Princess Faith for marriage? I didn't know why but I felt this intense uneasiness in my stomach. Married to who?

Princess Faith clenched her jaw, "I heard."

"I don't take arranged marriage lightly. I know my reputation precedes me but I do believe in happiness and love. I want that for my family." She turned to the King fully, her eyes held seriousness even when there was still a smile on her face, "I will do anything for my family, don't you agree King Matthew?" I could hear the darkness in her voice as I'm sure she was thinking about her two missing cousins.

The King nodded, "Of course. If it wasn't for the recent threat to our kingdom's livelihood, I wouldn't even consider marrying Faith," he said with a touch of sorrow.

Malin nodded as she studied the King a little longer, her charming smile never faded while Princess Faith and I felt like we were thrown upside down through a waterfall. "So, I think everyone knows that I don't have any siblings or children to marry your daughter off to, but I do have quite a few cousins."

The King nodded in understanding while waiting for Malin to continue as Faith watched her father with hurt and disappointment. I knew Princess Faith didn't want to get married, she wanted to pursue higher education.

She was studying and reading books nonstop for it. Now, it seems that all of that was for nothing. She was going to end up like every single woman in her family anyway.

"As you might have heard but I doubt you did, my cousin Danielle is already expecting her firstborn and is very much in love so she is out of the table. My other cousin who traveled from east to west regularly is so hard to get a hold of, so she is also not an option." She glanced at me with an intense look.

I guess that was one of two cousins that she had missing. They were travelers.

"So, you are lucky that I have one more cousin here who graced us with her presence," Malin said as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder.