Arranged

17: Hard Goodbyes and Butterflies

Same with the last chapter (16), if you have read this chapter before the recent update (this one) I suggest you read it again, because it is COMPLETELY CHANGED AND DIFFERENT. Thank you.

Kalia had spent her last days beating her father in chess, braiding her sisters' hair, enjoying her favourite meals conjured up by the kingdom's chef and sunbathing in what good weather was left in London, beside the pool with her sisters and three best friends. She was having such a great week with them, she almost forgot why she was making the most of her time in the first place.

She was reminded when she was forced to say good-bye to Mia, Ana and Lisa.

Kalia held each girl in a tight embrace, leaving Lisa for last. Tears threatened to fall, but she told herself not to cry. "I guess it's a cold day in hell," she chuckles, and even in this tear-jerking moment, she felt surprised at herself to be able to still make jokes in a moment such as this.

Lisa let out a broken sob. "Shut up. You're making me cry."

"Come on. I'll be back to visit. You can't get rid of me that easy," she comments, going by the words of her mother and father, who promised her something they couldn't fulfil. It was up to her soon-to-be husband to allow her that call, unfairly and unfortunately, but she wouldn't tell Lisa, Mia or Ana that. Or her sisters. She wouldn't break their spirits. She would enjoy this moment with them. 

"Same goes, kid," Lisa says, punching Kalia's arm playfully, causing her to chuckle humourlessly at her choice of a nickname, since she was the one that would lose any innocence she had left  in two days time. The four friends are pulled in one last embrace before they took off, an hour before Kalia's flight. 

***

Where she had been exhausted to the core about a half hour ago, she was now afraid that if she were to open her eyes any wider, she might risk them popping out of their sockets. The one thing she was relieved about was her single seat, behind curtains on her family's very private jet. She was finally happy to get some time to herself, because after-all, the last few weeks had been nothing shy of a commotion.

Her baby-blue, manicured nails tapped away at the cushioned arm rest, Kalia not even realising she were doing it. If the butterflies in her stomach didn't stop fluttering aggressively she thought she might faint. She was relieved to be alone, but her thoughts did seem to eat at her without shame when she was out of company.

"Crap," she whispered to herself, her arms tightening around her waist, creating folds on the thin satin fabric of the shirt beneath her coat. She hadn't felt this nervous since her first day at a normal school. She first thought herself stupid to feel this way, since she had already met him once before, but another part of her mind reminded her that she will be getting married this time. Another, very compelling - if not hungry - part of her mind confirmed that the marriage arrangement was not the main cause of her torment when his almost clear, thrilling eyes were projected in it. 

Her fingers made their way to her neck where the pendant he had sent her lay, a new subconscious habit of hers that often occurred when her mind drifted to the hot topic of Prince Elec. If she were ever to catch herself in the act, her cheeks would resemble the colour of the roses in the kingdom's garden before the winter took over.

Looking out the window to the dark oblivion seemed to calm her, but with every glowing cloud they passed that brought her closer to her destination, the stress in the back of her mind continued to grow, along with her questions, into the pile of things that couldn't be ignored for much longer. It had been a month... what did he think of her now? She never liked a lot of attention, and she had grown to hate it in her time trying to fit in with real people at school, but she didn't mind the way his eyes were only glued to her in a room filled with others. She couldn't help but wonder if he would still look at her as though she were the only woman in the room. What had changed over the month they had spent separated? Had anything changed with him? What if he decided in all the time he had to contemplate, that she just wouldn't do it for him anymore but it was just too late since the arrangement had gone public? His mother had said to her before that Prince Elec hadn't been interested in all the other princesses they had visited... and so it wasn't exactly impossible for him to be sick of her after such a short time, and especially at how she had treated him at the duration of the plan and his stay in London. Would he send her back anyway, even if it was too late?  She hated herself for even thinking such yielding thoughts, but she couldn't control the aftermath of her mentality.

The only thing she was excited about was reuniting with Queen Celeste. She thought back to the secret garden she had mentioned and nerves bubbled up inside her again, but she wasn't quick to deflect this kind as she were to deflect those risen by the one and only, Prince Elec. The man that had frustrated her and determined her whole future in less than a humble week's visit. She thought she should be terrified of a man with such power over her life, but even though his eyes had been icy at their last encounter, she couldn't forget the mirth and playfulness that danced in them in those days before, and something along with hope sprouted in her heart for a reason she couldn't yet quite comprehend. Her blood boiled beneath the surface, and whether it was her frustration with him or something else, she didn't know.

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