Daddy's Little Princess

Chapter One - Engagement

"Alexandria!" Mother hissed from beside her. She looked up from her journal. The older woman slapped her daughters spine quickly with her hand, an indicator to correct her posture fast. Alexandria sat straight and tossed her journal under her chair, folding her hands delicately as she was taught. Her father strutted into the room with an assertive air about him. The servants in the background rose and bowed respectively.

"Your Majesty." They adressed him in unison. With a wave of a hand they were dismissed, and they all hustled to get out of the room while still looking orderly. Alexandria's father sat at the head desk to our right. The entire room was wall-to-wall mahogany and ivory furnishing. It felt hard to breathe under all these uptight, formal materials. It suffocated her.

In walked the General and some commanding officer. She didn't really care. They nodded to the royal decoration, or in other words family, and were seated in front of the desk to discuss politics. The queen and her two daughters were merely decoration, sitting off to the side to give the look of a well-structured family that could kick ass in a respected and proper way.

There was a knock on the door.

"Enter." The king so graciously commanded. In walked a young man, probably in his mid-twenties, who was adorned with medals and gold lining. The king rose to his feet and the two shook hands. This man was obviously important.

"My dearest Alexandria," The king said. She looked up from her white lacy gloves.

"Yes, Father?" She replied in the most angelic voice she would manage.

"This," he gestured to the man, "is Prince Fernando, of Spain." The prince walked over and kissed her hand cordially. She nodded. He was handsome, with dark olive skin, thick black hair and attractive brown eyes. He was also eyeing her in a way that meant this conversation was not only an introduction.

"Prince Fernando is going to be your husband. You will be marrying in a month." Her father said frankly. Every head in the room turned, staring at Alexandria, waiting for her to explode. Her temper was legendary amongst these people. She swallowed all the nasty remarks she wished to make.

"I look foreward to it." She said simply. An easy smile spread on the prince's face. His white teeth shone on his lips. He was beautiful, Alexandria would admit. But he was still older. She was only eighteen, after all! She stood abruptly, her chair scraping in discord.

"Pardon me." She said and swept out the doors, holding herfrilly dress in her hands. As soon as  the door clapped shut behind her, she ran. She kicked her shoes off as she ran down the stone hallway,  sprinted under the arch and into the private courtyard, not stopping. She scrambled towards her sanctuary of a fountain on the far west side of the yard and plopped down onto the stone ledge. Tears flowed down her cheeks, her scratchy gloves tossed into the water. They became clear and floated on the crystal surface of the water. The ripples made tiny waves in the tranquil pond. She stared at them.

"Princess." Alexandria heard a sudden voice from behind her. She started and tried to whip around, but her leg got stuck and she tipped into the water.

"AAH!" She screamed as she splashed into the cold fountain.

"Princess!" Fernando exlaimed and offered his hand to pull her out. I gladly accepted his gesture and was lifted up effortlessly. The prince put his hand around her waist and looked deep into her eyes. Too deep? Definitely.

"Princess Alexandria, are you alright?" He asked. She nodded, which was pretty much a complete lie. Her hair was a tangled mess down her back, the puffy powder-blue dress deflated and sopping wet, her feet bare and makeup running down to her chin. He pulled a handkerchief out of his breast pocket and handed it to her. She dabbed my face gently and blew her nose as daintily as she could manage. He gave her a look.

"Blow like you mean it." He told her. A small, tiny smile crossed her face, but she quickly made it disappear. She blew harder and he nodded with approval.

"I didn't know guys still carried handkerchiefs in their coats." Alexandria said and awkwardly offered it back to him.

"Keep it." He replied, trying to hide the repulsed look in his eyes. She laughed lightly, but it quickly lapsed back into an uncomfortable silence. He kept opening his mouth, like he had something to say, but then closed it.

"Look," he said finally. "I know this is sudden. I'm sorry that you have to marry me because I know you just met me but please give me a chance. Not that this is exactly our decision, but we can at least try to get along?" She considered this.

"Alright." She said and a nervous laugh escaped her lips without permission. "Sorry, this is just really weird." His laugh was breezy but just as nervous.

"Isn't it? I don't know about you, but this is my first arranged marriage." She laughed with him.

"Oh no, I've done this a million times before." The two laughed at her dry attempt at a joke. He backed up and offered her his arm. She placed hers on top and they waltzed back into the palace, the conformed Prince and the free spirited Princess, arm-and-arm, engaged.

She was trapped, of course. She was a caged animal, only at least caged with a decent guy. How unfair must the world be?