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Chapter One

Courtney's POV

I calmly flip through the pages of the large book that'd been placed on my desk by Mister Hastings, aka Jordan, my private tutor, assigned by my parents, and my closest friend. Jordan has been teaching me for the past two years, longer than any other tutor has lasted.

My eyes scan over the words, my brain taking in every fact worth memorizing. Hey, "prissy princesses" can be smartasses too.

Suddenly, two arms wrap firmly around my waist, though not tight enough to hurt me, and I hear a quiet voice whisper, "Stay calm, princess, and don't say a word," as the hands pull me up to a standing position.

The stranger moves a hand up to my bare right shoulder and starts travelling down it slowly, pushing the thin and silky strap down my arm gently. I flinch as the hands move down the sides of my body to my waist.

A soft and tender feeling tingles my neck, and my fear turns to relief as I let out a small giggle. "Miss me, princess?" Jordan murmurs against my neck, wrapping his arms around me.

I smile and turn around, leaning back against the desk so that I stare into his chocolate brown eyes. "Of course, Professor," I reply with a bright smile on my face, and he grins in response. Okay, fine, maybe we're more than friends.

"How was your week?" I ask in order to break the awkward tension. Our lips are only two inches apart, but I can tell that neither of us have the courage to make them meet.

"Great. But I really missed you," Jordan admits, but then quickly adds, "Teaching you. I really missed teaching you."

I let out a small laugh as he leans in closer. "I missed you too." Suddenly, I hear a knock on the door. I immediately sit back down and start flipping through the book as my mother walks in, as regal as ever.

"Good morning, Courtney." Her head turns to see Jordan, and she smiles. "Nice to see you again, Mister Hastings."

He smiles back, replying with, "It's nice to see you too, Queen Marissa."

"How was your training session?" my mother asks, and I deliberately look away from them as they talk. As well as being my only friend, Jordan and I are- I'm actually not sure what we are. I'm supposed to be his student, and his student only. My mother doesn't really mind our friendship, unlike my stepfather, but if they find out about the little thing we have, they'd flip, for sure.

I'll admit; I have feelings for Jordan. I'm the typical, flirty student and he's the slightly naive teacher who likes to run the game as well. But I know that there's no hope for us. So I should just wait until I'm set off to marry that prince, Niff or something.

"I'll see you at lunch, Courtney. Enjoy the new material," my mother says with a soft smile, gesturing to a bound notebook on my desk before leaving. I slump back in my chair and sigh as soon as she's gone.

"What's that?" I ask, intrigued. Jordan picks up the notebook and looks through it quickly. "Advanced Etiquette," he reads off the front after he's done, and I groan.

"She's really making me do this, isn't she," I murmur, putting my face in my hands. Jordan takes a seat next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder, squeezing it gently.

"You'll be fine," he reassures.

"No, I won't. I don't want to get married off to someone I barely know. What if he's horrible?"

"And what if he's not?" Jordan counters politely. "You never know until you give him a shot. And hey, if he's that bad, you know I'll help you out."

I turn my head to smile gently at him. "Thank you."

"Anything for a friend," he replies.

I tense up and rise to my feet, walking away until I'm on the other side of the room. "What are we, really? I can tell that we're not just friends, and neither of us want to be just friends." I look into his eyes, but he turns his head away quickly.

"Can we discuss this later? You need to start studying this," is all he says, replacing the book on my desk with the notebook in his hands.

"Fine. We can." I let out an annoyed huff and open it up to the first page.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At lunch, I sit at the table in silence, barely touching my food. Archer, my stepbrother, doesn't seem to care, ravenously digging into the meal like a starving animal. He's such a pig. I can't believe he's going to rule Foxien after my stepfather is off the throne.

That's right. He's going to be in charge of this place. It would have been me, but when my mother got married to Alastair Fairchild from the west, he brought two annoying-ass children into the family as well; Archer and Isla Fairchild. And since Archer is older than me by three months, he's now the heir to the throne. Not fair.

Isla looks at her phone more than she looks at the food. She's probably texting her stupid friend, Piper. They're almost always cooped up in Isla's room together, doing whatever.

"What are you looking at?" Isla suddenly snaps, and my thought bubble pops when I realize that she's looking right at me. Her brown eyes harden, and I glare right back.

"No fighting at the table, girls," my mother says calmly, and Isla turns back to her phone. "Have some food, dear."

"I'm good," I reply quietly, my shoulders relaxing.

"Courtney, you need to eat. We're going out later today, after all. There's no food on the carriage ride," she points out, and my stepfather nods in agreement.

With a roll of my eyes, I jab my fork into the food just as Archer starts wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. Disgusting.

"Why am I getting etiquette lessons and why is he not?" I suddenly snap. Archer sends me a goofy grin before leaving the table, forgetting to tuck in his chair.

"You're going to be the queen of another kingdom, Courtney," my stepfather starts, and I have to refrain from rolling my eyes. "Therefore, you will need to learn the standard form of etiquette that applies to the whole of Terram, and from that, Newglade will help you build upon those manners you have learned."

"But there's only a month left. I'm not going to be able learn everything in-"

"If you don't, you'll embarrass yourself, and your family, in front of the whole of Newglade. It's your choice, Courtney Gracelline." My eyes gaze into my lap as my stepfather stands up and leaves the table.

I'm just a huge disappointment aren't I.