Colliding Worlds

Expectations

Isaiah didn't know what to expect when those doors to the office opened revealing his future wife, but it certainly wasn't Willow. He thought that maybe he would get the prim and proper Lady of the Sect who stuck her nose up at everything, or the timid, submissive Lady that let everyone walk all over her, but Willow was none of the above. She was an honest, spit fire, and if he was being honest, it was refreshing. 

He rubbed his hand down his face as he followed his father back to his office. He didn't want to be married, he wasn't ready. He wanted to rule without any hindrances, but he knew his sect could greatly benefit from this alliance, so he begrudgingly agreed. Seeing that Willow was a free-spirit definitely made this arrangement easier, but by no means did he mean he was happy about it, and it definitely didn't mean he was interested in courting her. He wanted to get to know her for the sake of ruling beside her, not for the relationship aspect. He smiled to himself as his little spit-fire caught on to his line of questioning and glared at him. She really was something, and it was a shame he wasn't ready for her. He knew they could make it work down the line, but for now, he wasn't ready to try. 

"So what do you think of her?" his father asked as they sat down in his office chairs.

"She is quite the spit-fire." Isaiah said, revealing his thoughts to his father. "I think she will be good for the kingdom." 

"And for you? Will she be good for you?" his father asked leaning forward on his desk. Even if Isaiah wasn't ready to settle down, his father was ready for him to. 

"Father, I've told you plenty of times before that I'm not ready to be a husband yet. I'm doing this for the value she will bring to the sect, but beyond that there is nothing. I'm sure I will like her just fine, but as far as a relationship goes, there won't be one. Not for a while at least." 

"Son, you are daft if you think that there will be a happy future for the two of you if you ignore her until the time that you see fit. She isn't one to wait around. She knows what she wants, and you'll ruin everything for the both of you if you don't put in the work now." His father said shaking his head. 

Isaiah sighed and leaned back in his chair. "What do you expect me to do? I'm not ready. I can't be a husband. I don't know the first thing!" 

"Just be kind and don't ignore her. That's all I'm going to ask of you, and you can figure the rest out the hard way." His father said coming to a stand. "She is a rare beauty, on the inside and out, don't ruin it." He said patting his son on the shoulder as he left the office. 

What did his father expect exactly? For them to fall in love, produce heirs, and live happily ever after? Love might never be a part of the equation, and he wasn't ready for the heirs and happily ever after, so his father was going to be sorely disappointed. The best he could give his father was that he wouldn't hate her and they would get along just fine. She seemed like a reasonable person. I'm sure she would wait for him to be ready, however long that might be. 

He loosened his tie a bit more, finding the piece of clothing to be more like a noose than a statement of his position. After all, he wasn't supposed to be the one taking care of everything. He wasn't meant to be the upright, responsible one. These duties were meant to be reserved for his brother, but after everything that had happened, the job fell on him. He wasn't angry, not anymore at least, but he was unprepared. He wasn't trained like his brother was; he was allowed to act like a commoner, and now he didn't know how to switch gears. 

"Shit." he mumbled to himself before getting up and deciding to head out towards the garden. It was the one place he could think straight, the one place that never changed, that never left. Stepping out into the brisk evening air he sighed. It seemed like out of nowhere a pile of expectations landed in his lap, and if he was being honest, it scared the crap out of him. He knew his father wanted to step down soon, and that would mean him taking over the sect, something he was never taught how to do. Then there was the marriage, the sect wanted to see stability between its future Rex and Lady of the Sect, and that meant putting on a show for everyone when he wasn't locked up in the castle. The one he felt the worst about though, was the broken expectations of his betrothed. He knew she couldn't find what she longed for or deserved in him.