Imagines and Preferences: Book 1

I Don't | Arthur Pendragon

Requested by @harmonizerfan101

Thanks to @XtraVan3lla4U for the votes!

Summary: You're a princess and you're being forced to marry Arthur Pendragon.

QOTP: Would you rather marry Arthur or Merlin?

Word Count: 4198

"Y/N, you can't ignore me forever," your father says, slightly miffed and riding on a horse beside you. You turn away, also on a horse, and refuse to look at him.

You're being forced to marry someone you don't even know.

Arthur Pendragon, prince of Camelot.

////

"I've never even met her!" Arthur argues.

"Well, she and her father are on their way, so you will," Uther replies, irritated. Arthur won't stop arguing even though it's too late to change anything.

"I want to marry for love-"

"Well, you're not! You're marrying for the good of Camelot, and that's that! Get out of my sight." Uther waves his hand toward the door.

Arthur hesitates for a second, then storms out. He barely registers Merlin, who was eavesdropping outside the door. His servant follows him down the hall. "I'm sure we could do something-"

Arthur stops and turns on Merlin. "There isn't! I'm being to forced to marry... I can't even remember her name!" He continues down the hall, heading for his room.

He slams the door in Merlin's face, but the servant takes no offense to it; he'd be mad, too if he was being forced to marry someone he didn't know.

////

"Y/D/N, I haven't seen you in years," Uther greets your father. Your father greets him back, but you tune it out. You still haven't talked to him since he told you you're marrying Arthur.

You look at him - Arthur. You have to admit, he's attractive. That doesn't mean you want to marry him, though.

He looks back at you, thinking the same thing about you. He steps forward and holds his hand out. Just by his body language, you can tell he doesn't want to be here either. "Arthur... Pleasure to meet you."

He doesn't mean it.

You take his hand and he kisses yours - a formality, probably to appease his father, who's watching out of the corner of his eye, making sure Arthur doesn't cause a scene. You flash him a close-lipped smile. "Y/N... The pleasure's all mine."

Suddenly, Uther turns to a servant standing next to Arthur. "Get their bags, will you?"

"On it, sire," he says. He grabs your dad's bag, then goes to grab yours even though he can barely carry what he already has.

"I'll get mine," you say, grabbing your bag. "Don't worry about it."

"Really, I can-"

"I'll carry them. Just show me where my room is."

Unbeknownst to you, Arthur's opinion of you starts to change. He'd assumed you were a stuck-up spoiled brat; all the princesses he'd ever met were.

But that doesn't seem to be the case with you.

////

You'd give anything to be anywhere else.

After the servant - whose name you learned is Merlin - showed you to your room, you stayed there until he came back and told you to come have dinner with Uther, Arthur, and your father.