Arranged Marriage to the Fairy Prince

Chapter Five

"So...what's the deal with my dad and the king?" I asked. The queen sat in a "glass" chair across the room. Today she had a pale blue dress decorated with emeralds and sapphires along the top.

"They met at a brothal," she said it quite simply.

"They...what?!" I was shocked.

"A brothal," she said, "Your dad isn't gay either, that was just a cover up,"

"Oh my...wow..." I didn't make any effort to mask my emotions. "Sorry, continue,"
I apologised.

"Well, they became good friends, because of their similar....hobbies." She said the last part in quite a bitter tone, making me think of something.

"Wait, he told you all this?" I asked.

She closed her book and walked across to put it on a table.
"No, of course not, I have my sources," she said, making me feel a bit stupid, "Anyway, one night they were out gambling, and your father borrowed a lot of money for a big bet...and lost it,"

We both stayed quiet for a while, taking it all in. Then she said, "Your dad was pissed, but my husband was even worse. He wanted him dead."

"Well, at least him and I have one thing in common." The queen let out a small laugh.

"Yes, you do," she said, smiling "Well anyway, your father tried to make a deal with him. If he let the king marry you, then the king could forget about the debt.And the king agreed.

We were both silent, as there was nothing to say. But then I suddenly thought of something.

"Does it not annoy you that the king goes off and sleeps with other woman, half your age?"

The queen thought for a moment the said; "Well, it does, but the king doesn't care about that. You know I was also had an arranged marriage?"

I was a bit taken aback. After all, I had never really thought about it.
"You were?!" I said, shocked.

"Yup," she replied, "Of course though, when I found out was incredibly excited about it. And my mother was even more excited. It's every duchess' dream for her daughter to marry a prince. But when I actually met him, he wasn't...quite what I expected,"

"Oh," I just said.

"He was a player. He was in love with me for ten minutes before he moved on to someone else. I was just like a little extra thing, a possession. But that's not even the worst bit. You know what the worst part is?" She continued without waiting for my reply, "The worst part is watching my own son grow up, and know he'll be just like his father."

I said nothing as she stood up and looked around.

"I have to go, I'll try and come tomorrow though," she said softly as she closed the door and went out to the balcony/hallway.

I didn't even have time to tell her she had forgotten her book.

I picked it up and read the title. 'The one and only guide: How YOU can be the perfect wife, By Michelle Reed, Published by 'this and that' inc.' was the title. I opened it up and started to read the first page, kind of ironically.

Contents:
1. Personality
2. Cooking
3. Cleaning
4. The bedroom (never to be discussed, only read)
5. Arguments

I turned the page, expecting to see another list of sexist topics but instead I saw something that nearly made me drop the book.

Chapter One: Note your surroundings

Whether your in a prison cell or a tower on the top floor by the sea, it's an important aspect of your escapism. If....

I stopped reading and checked the cover again. The title still read the same but this time some words were circled (brackets indicate the word being circled) 'The one and (only) guide: How (YOU can) be the perfect wife, By Michelle (Reed,)Published by '(this) and that' inc.'

I said the circled words out loud, "Only...you can...reed...this," I put together, then I said, "Only you can read this!!"

I quickly shut my mouth when I realised anyone could be listening and I jumped round the room with excitement.

The queen was a genius!! I opened the book again and scanned through it. There was a map of the castle attached and a few chapters like, 'knowing your kidnapper', 'How to lie to anyone' and 'Knot tying'.

And then it hit me properly. Like, I actually thought about it. The queen wants me to escape. The queen WANTS ME TO ESCAPE. THE QUEEN WANTS ME TO ESCAPE AND WE ARE GOING TO ESCAPE AND I AM ESCAPING WITH THE QUEEN.

I said it till I was nearly screaming it out loud.

We're going to escape.

I'm not going to get married to the prince.

I felt alive for the first time.

*****

Sorry readers, that chapter was a bit short but the one before it was longer.

-Bye