≫ eadrik oneshots

"Yes, but what if I don't want to marry?"

Eadlyn's POV
"No," I insisted, crossing my arms over my chest. "I won't allow it."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," said my mother, rolling her eyes. "It's not like I'm waving around a sign that says 'please marry my daughter'!"

"Well, that's pretty much the same thing!" I yelled, my arms waving around crazily.

"Eadlyn, this is a party for your brother," she said. I hated how calm she was acting. "I'm not forcing anyone to dance with you. I just want you to consider your options."

"What options?!" I cried in defense. "You're not giving me a choice! It's my life! Why are you trying to control it?!"

"I'm not controlling anything," my mother insisted. She glared at me pointedly before continuing. "I could do what all the other queens do, but no. I'm letting you choose your husband. He won't be hand picked by your father. He'll be yours."

"Yes, but what if I don't want to marry?" I asked, knowing what the answer will be before I even ask.

"You have to, sweetheart." Her tone softened a bit. "Illéa will have Ahren as their king, but whose going to have you as their queen? You can't sit around the palace the rest of your life. You need to find a husband."

"I know," I sighed in defeat. I'd heard it a million times. It was like a bedtime story to me, the kind you memorize after hearing it so many times. I had to get married. There was no other option.

"All I'm asking is that you consider a possible suitor at the ball," she smiled sadly at me. "Please promise me you'll try?"

I looked up at my mother's pleading face. My heart hurt at the thought of loosing all my freedom. But I would try. For her.

"I promise."

• • •

I was running late for the ball, but I didn't care. I didn't want to be there, anyway. There would just be a long line of men, waiting for the princess to dance with them. They wouldn't even care about me. They'd be too focused on the crown on top of my head.

My crown! My hands flew up to my hair. When I only felt the top of my dark brown hair, I let out a string of very unladylike words. Mother would kill me! She hated when I didn't wear my crown.

I considered turning around and running back to my room, but quickly decided against it. I was already too late to keep making unnecessary delays. The town would have to deal with my tiara-less hair.

I started fast walking down the halls, afraid that if I was too late I'd embarrass myself even more. That would just result in unwanted attention, something I'd been hoping to avoid.

I was about to round the last bend when I spotted something in the corner of my eye. I stopped and turned around, curious. I was surprised to find a man, about my age, standing in the middle of the hallway. He looked lost and a bit flustered.

"Excuse me?" I asked, taking a step towards the dark haired man. He turned around faster than I thought possible, his face masked with terror. His features relaxed once he saw me, which was surprising. Most people were afraid of me, since I'm the princess. Apparently that didn't affect him, though.

"Sir?" I asked, taking a few steps closer to him. His eyes widened a bit and he cleared his throat loudly. What was this guy's problem?

"Uh, yes, well," he stammered nervously. Our eyes met for a brief second, but he quickly averted his gaze. "My apologies, fair maiden."

I found myself squinting at him, not sure why he was apologizing. He hadn't done anything to offend me. "There's nothing to apologize for, kind sir."

"Actually, there is," he said, a smile tugging at his lips. At least he was friendly. "For I do not know your name."

When he said this, I was taken aback, and I could feel the shock leaking onto my face. "You...you don't know who I am?"

He gave me a funny look. "Begging your pardon miss, but I don't," he said.

"Interesting," I whispered under my breath. He honestly didn't know that I was the princess, one of the most important people in the land. I wasn't used to this. "My name is Eadlyn."

I was expecting him to immediately bow or beg for mercy. Instead he just smiled and said, "Pleased to meet you, miss Eadlyn." He bowed slightly and kissed my hand. Woah. I was not expecting that. "My name is Erik."

His touch gave me goosebumps and I could feel the smallest hint of a blush forming on my cheeks. "You still don't know who I am, do you?" I asked. In the back of my mind, I was hoping he'd say no. I hated the way men treated me. They tried as hard as they could to impress the beautiful and powerful princess, but of course I could always see right through them. They didn't care about Eadlyn. They cared about the princess.

"Sorry," he shook his head. "I don't think I do."

Well, that changed everything. He didn't know I was the princess! He didn't know that my father was the King! He wasn't trying to woo me over or deceive me with smart words!

I smiled up at him, excited to see where this would go. "Well then, Erik. Shall we?" I lifted my arm, inviting him to take it.

He grinned, and I could feel butterflies fluttering in the pit of my stomach. "We shall," he said, linking his strong arm with mine.

I surprised myself by wondering if men weren't all that bad, after all.

A/N [old me]
I HAVE A GREAT BIG QUESTION GUYS!! Should I write about the ball??? Because I feel like that would be really fun to write, but idk if you'd get bored of this AU but then. So, I'm going to plan on writing about it, but...I guess if you don't want me to, I won't. And btw, my goal is to write at least one story per week. So yeah, there's that... ;)

Anyway, moving on to the questions and answers! I'll remind you, if you answer the question CORRECTLY you will receive a SHOUTOUT in my next update! Here we go!

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Q. What is Kile's little sister's name?
a) Julia
b) Josie
c) Jenny

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Previous question: What kind of pendant was hanging off of America's necklace?

Answer: A songbird🎶🐦

Shoutouts to Beneaththesea001  and Raine_Youngblood for answering correctly!! Great job, guys!!

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Love you marshmallows!
ThankyouthankyouTHANKYOU for reading!