to eternity | n. riki

28. the other woman

The wedding date for Prince Ni-ki and Princess Isabel was set. The royal wedding was to be held in a week. Seven days. The Queen soon announced this message to all of the nations. There had been rumors flying all around the kingdoms due to Prince Ni-ki's lack of public appearance within the past months and rebels spreading news false and partially true. The announcement of the marriage was no surprise to the world as desperate times would come to sudden decisions. This marriage was for the survival of the nations, a political scheme to overpower Zrykon.

The royal family of Odessia and some high military officials set off on their journey to Eloria. The prince to be reunited with his family and Hayoung to be reunited with her father. There would be many festivals and grand events to commemorate this wondrous occasion, uniting Odessia and Eloria. As the Elorian royal staff began setting up for these festivities, the city began to brighten, somehow appearing so beautiful the town looked like it came out of a fairy tale, as if war didn't exist. An unsettling feeling lingered in Hayoung's stomach as she felt as if she were in a dystopian society. Everything looked too normal in times of danger and sorrow.

It had been two days since Hayoung and the prince's arrival. The prince seemed to be making minimal effort in interacting and getting to know his fiancee. The prince was either sketching in his notepad or always walking alone with his bodyguard five steps behind him. Whether it was lingering in the royal garden, sitting in the library, or walking in the corridors, the prince avoided Princess Isabel.

It was obvious to the princess that Ni-ki did not want anything to do with her. He did not wish to marry her even if it were to save his country. Princess Isabel disguised her mild love for the prince. She tried to make herself believe that marrying Ni-ki was going to change the world, end the war, better society, but truly, she wanted him for herself. However, the princess was not stupid and not oblivious. She knew that there was clearly a tension between the prince and his bodyguard and Princess Isabel could not make her way through the two.

Princess Isabel had met the prince twice in her life. Once she was 15 years old, she went to Odessia for the King's birthday where she was formally introduced to Prince Ni-ki. But the very first time she met the prince was when she was 11 years old.

Flashback

It was Isabel's first time in Odessia and it was the very first time she ever went the beach. She was in awe of how the ocean looked like a lake of stars at night. She had never seen such endless amounts of water and soft white sand before. The young princess would spend multiple hours collecting seashells and looking at the tide pools with little sea critters in them.

Though her curiosity of knowing more got the best of her on one fateful day of her stay. The young Princess Isabel snuck out of the manor the Odessian royal family had lended to her family. While Isabel's parents organized a get together with nobles and other people the girl did not know, she became bored and wanted to go out. Her escape from the manor was successful and she roamed along the coast for hours until the sun began to go down.

In her realization that she had gone off too far, the princess cried for hours as she stared at the endless plains of sand and ocean.

"I don't know where I am," she wailed loudly to herself, slumping onto the sand. Her wide variety of seashells lay scattered in front of her. "How could I be so distracted? I don't know how to get home now."

As she cried helplessly on the beach, the angels somehow heard her cries as she soon learned there were people around her. A rugby ball had rolled in front of her feet and the sound of rushed footsteps came her way.

"Did you find out where that howling was coming from," a voice shouted from afar.

The princess looked up and saw a mysterious boy. He looked a few years older than her. He was her knight in shining armor as he crouched down to her eye level. His hair was an odd color of blonde mixing in with black hair, wet from the salty ocean, flowing in the sea breeze. His features were sharp and intimidating, but something about his gaze was lonely and soft.

"It appears I have."

"How did you end up alone?" he asked her gently.

"I snuck out," the princess confessed, eyes full of tears, "I want to go home. I miss my mommy and papa. I should've been good and stayed inside. My mommy and papa don't know where I am."

The boy gave her a comforting smile. "Perhaps I can help you."

**

Princess Isabel didn't register that it was Prince Ni-ki until she saw him four years later, but her unrequited love never ended from that day.

When Princess Isabel met the prince for her second time, she noticed a sort of emptiness and soullessness in his gaze. The prince was aloof, nothing she could do to get his attention. But now, even if another four years passed, she saw a part of him light up with energy. He may not have been excited for their marriage, but he regained his spark he lost years ago. And Princess Isabel could firmly conclude that it was because of the other woman in his life: his bodyguard.