Enchantingly Different

Chapter 1

Three Years Ago

The sun is starting to set and it casts a beautiful warm pink hue across the sky. As the sun escapes the realm, new light starts to spread throughout the city, breathing life into the approaching night. Fires are lit, mugs of ale are filled, and laughter pours out of open windows. 

It's on evenings like these that I like to go out and spend time in the city that I'm soon to rule over, but I don't very often get my way. I hear a soft knock on the door and I close my eyes briefly with a sigh of slight irritation.  

"Come," I order, breaking my gaze from the beautiful valley scene before me and turning round to see who it is. A young maid enters gingerly, lifting the hem of her dress and curtsying deeply before me.

"Your Highness, the Queen requests your presence in the grand room." Her high pitched voice is barely audible over the crackle of the fire burning in the large stone fireplace beside me. I wave my hand in dismissal. The young maid dips her head and I briefly see her cheeks redden before scuttling out of the room, the door snapping shut behind her. I pull myself away from the warmth of the fire with a sigh and follow her reluctantly into the hall and to the side stairway.

The stairwell comes out in the second entrace hall, where I am greeted by more nervous looking maids, dipping low to the ground with their dresses flared out around them. They mutter greetings as I pass by, one of them being so bold as to make eye contact with me, which is something that isn't permitted. I don't feel like ordering punishments for things so insignificant so I push on through. There are other things requiring greater attention, such as witchcraft and theft, which are the things top of the list to get you executed in Avonzia.

A servant opens a large door, motioning me inside the great room and releasing the melodic rhythm of a banquet in full swing. I walk through the large ornately carved wooden doors to see my father, step mother, and new sister sitting at the grand table surrounded by an array of people. Most of the faces at the long table I have never seen in my life and I have found that these banquets are just an excuse for my father to dangle suitors before me like worms on hooks. I see tonight is no exception and I roll my eyes at the row of women directly opposite my chair. They see me enter and immediately straighten their backs, smooth their new dresses and flutter their eyelashes at me. No doubt their families have pushed them to make an impression and so I don't hate them for it, however I don't know if I can handle the forced conversation and giggles for a second night in a row.  

As I near the table, I notice the usual plateau of meats, including a full wild boar, complete with a red apple pressed into its mouth. A large flagon of wine sits in front of my seat, which is a welcome sight and maybe one of the only reasons I put up with the whole torturous ordeal over and over again.

"Robert, come sit with me," my sister Juliette hisses at me.

"Don't I always?"

"I don't know, perhaps you might want to sit with your new suitors. They have been waiting so patiently for you," she teases, passing me a goblet of deep red wine.

"Thank you, but no thank you," I reply, drinking half of my cup in one shot. "They're all the same."

She shrugs, looking over at them. "Not all women are the same. Am I like them?" She smooths her dress down and sits up straight, batting her eyes at me with a love-sick expression, making me laugh out loud at her impression.

"No, I don't think anyone is as equally crazy and lovable as you. Just think, in three years you will be eighteen and it will be your turn to sift through the eligible bachelors of Avonzia."

"I don't want an eligible bachelor. I just want to find someone who loves me and I him. Is that so hard to ask for?"

"Yes, it is impossible and you know it. We are royalty and are expected to marry only the best. They won't let you marry some peasant, even if he were the best lover in the valley," I mutter with spite. My father definitely won't even take my opinion on the matter, never mind Juliette's.

She huffs, folding her arms and watching the entertainment for the evening. "I'll just have to find someone outside the valley then", she mutters. 

I chuckle at that, drinking more of the strong wine and following her gaze. Men and woman come in dressed in exotic outfits, prancing around playing with fire or juggling. One of the ladies, who is baring her midriff, dances provocatively. She shakes her body and sways her hips in time with the music. The men around hoot and holler as if we're in some kind of brothel and not one of the finest castles in the province. She is a beautiful woman, yet I have no interest in her or the ones sitting before me, begging for my attention with their eyes.

"Robert," I hear a voice boom from the other end of the table. It is my father. I excuse myself from the company of my sister and walk down to my father, the King. "Are you just going to sit there all night?"

"No father, I was perhaps going to excuse myself completely. I'm feeling unwell," I add, knowing full well that he will detect my lie instantly. He looks at me slightly bemused from under his lashes, his dark hazel eyes meeting mine.

"Sit," he commands gently, patting the chair beside him that is usually reserved for the Queen. "I have brought many girls here for you tonight. It is expected of you-"

"I know what is expected of me father, but I just can't do it. All these girls were pushed into coming to meet me by their families. I bet none of them came by free will."

"I would bet my fortune on it as well, however just remember that you need to be wed before your twenty first birthday or Juliette will be eligible for the throne," he threatens, stating the most well known fact in the city.

"I have lots of time. Besides, Juliette doesn't want to be Queen," I respond.

"She does and she will since you're so incompetent at choosing a wife," a cool voice announces from behind me. I jump from the seat and see Valancia, my step mother and my Queen, standing before me. "Now leave us." She snaps her fingers at me, ending the conversation. I scowl openly at her and stalk away, leaving her to whisper more poison into my father's ear.