A Castle and a Curse

Chapter 3.

Supper at the palace had been underwhelming. It wasn't the food so much as the company. While Seraphina was used to comfortable silence and perhaps a soft conversation about current events, or a book, or plans for the next day, the royal family seemed compelled to force conversation upon the family, Seraphina in particular. She could understand some getting to know her, after all, if all were to go according plan she would be part of the family, but it was to the point that she barely had time to eat between answering various questions.

She had forgotten the names of all the family except for the prince, whose name was Julian.

The dinner, while being uncomfortable, was also awkward. Genevieve's sour, bitter expression created a strained atmosphere.

The next day, she would meet her prince alone, one on one.

Seraphina went to bed in trepidation of the following day.

In the morning, she was woken, as always, by Cecily, and for a moment she was blissfully unaware of what the day held in store for her, cocooned as she was in her warm, blanketed bed. However, this feeling of peace and fulfillment didn't last long; she remembered that today she was to meet the man she was to marry, whether she liked it or not.

The prince, Julian was his name, didn't seem too bad, but she had never liked the idea of an arranged marriage. A hopeless romantic, she had always wished to marry for love, one of the few things she was denied due to her noble standing.

What to wear? She mentally narrowed it down to two gowns, a relatively plain, slim fitting white one with beautiful streaks of turquoise and yellow through it, and a blue chiffon affair, complete with pearls and a black silk sash.

She finally asked Cecily for her opinion, and when all she could stammer out was that it wasn't her place to say, Seraphina asked her to send for her mother to help decide.

As she waited for her mother to arrive, she thought wistfully that this was exactly the type of thing sisters were for. Why couldn't her sister have been normal.

Seraphina supposed that Genevieve had an excuse for being this way; she was jipped of marriage to the future king and a chance to marry into royalty at age sixteen. She still hadn't bled, and their parents, worried that she wouldn't be able to produce an heir, had passed her over for the other daughter, Seraphina.

Thinking about this, Seraphina decided that if their roles had been reversed, and Seraphina had been excused, she would have taken it happily. She hated the pressure it put on her to always be performing, always the face of the East.

Finally, her mother arrived in her chambers, looking harried.

Not for the first time, she wondered about the state of her parents' marriage. Deciding not to press the matter, Seraphina simply went along with her question as if she was blind to her mother's issues. Somewhere in the dark recesses of her mind, something was telling her that she wasn't a good daughter, but she pushed it back to focus on the matter at hand.

Besides, her mother didn't deserve a good daughter, if she did she wouldn't be selling her daughter off to get married to almost a complete stranger, she thought savagely.

"Which dress should I wear to meet the prince today?" asked Seraphina, gesturing to both of them, hung neatly off of the door to her closet.

Her mother smiled, no doubt happy to be involved in something feminine and unrelated to the everyday stresses of her life, and to have a chance to bond with her daughter.

With a conspiratorial grin, her mother said, "Wear neither. Did you pack the one I told you to?"

"Stars, Mother!" Seraphina exclaimed. "That's far too formal for this."

She knew the one her mother was referring to. It was absolutely gorgeous, and had cost an absolute fortune to have made. She was quite certain there was no other dress in the whole kingdom like it.

Her mother was daring, she would give her that, albeit begrudgingly. For her age.

"No," Seraphina whispered.

Her mother crossed her arms. "Fine, wear the white one. I like the golden waist on it," she admitted, still upset that her first idea had been shot down.

Seraphina took her mother's advice and donned the white gown, departing to the prince's sitting room for ten o'clock, knocking on his door just as the palace bells were chiming in the hour.

She was surprised to find herself nervous; she wasn't trying to impress him, but again, she didn't want to make a bad impression either.

A deep voice sounded from somewhere in the depths of the room, telling her to come in, so Seraphina obliged.

"Hello," she said with a small smile, not sure of how to greet him. She dropped into a small curtsey and smoothed imaginary wrinkles on the front of her dress.

Julian looked up from his breakfast and said, "Sit down, if you like," He had a stormy expression and made no effort to pull out her chair.

Ungentlemanly, Seraphina thought to herself disapprovingly. She supposed no one was perfect, and was determined to at least give him a chance.

It was only polite for the gentleman to initiate a conversation, and Seraphina waited in uncomfortable silence for what she judged to be about ten minutes before clearing her throat impatiently.

Julian was still chewing on his breakfast methodically, and looked up at the sound, as if he had forgotten she was in the room. Infuriatingly, he took his time finishing the bite, his jaws seeming to move as slowly as he could make them.

He was reaching for another bite when Seraphina, as unladylike as it was, said. "It is unusually warm for April, isn't it?" It was the only thing she could think of to get the conversation started.

"It is."

Two words, and back to his food. Seraphina was starting to feel slightly less gratuitous towards him now.

He took a bite of egg next, and while he was chewing maddeningly slowly, she asked him if he was feeling alright.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking." His tone was disinterest bordering on dislike, covered only by a thin veneer of kindness.

He seemed downright sullen.

Seraphina twisted her hair between her fingers, swallowed, took a deep, shaky breath and prepared herself for the most awkward hour of her life.

It was with relief that she left Julian's chambers, stomach growling embarrassingly, ready to have a bite to eat and some rest from the stressful and negative atmosphere that had been created.

It took all of her mental skills to remember where her room was located. After all, she had only been to it three times.

She eventually found it, and she knew she had gone the right way because she recognized a particular marble statue of a god, the only god that had ever interested her, Dominucos, god of dragons.

Seraphina turned the handle, prepared to collapse on her bed at last, but with a sinking feeling, she discovered it was locked. There was no way she was getting through the sturdy wooden door without the key.

I'm watching too much friends help me

ok please have a great day, leave a vote or comment if you want :p

-Evelyn