The Royal Spare (COMPLETED)

4- Of Disappointing Fairytales

He carried her in his arms and carefully helped her mount his noble steed.

Then the Princess and her handsome Knight in shining armor rode off under the stars.

And they lived happily ever after.

Yup. That was exactly how I imagined a moment like that should happen. You know the magical moment of romance and possibilities that every fairytale promised every Princess when a handsome Prince or a valiant and chivalrous Knight came and swept her off her feet?

I'm a Princess. That's what I should be having, right?

But no! The daunting Sir Aidan, though valiant and adept, has not an ounce of chivalry in his being. The beauty of his chiselled features failed to mask the audacity of his pugnacious... Nay! Barbaric personality. It's a shame really that he had not inherited any of his father's politeness nor his brother's kindness.

The man, who had hands too heavy that squeezed the throttle too hard and made the motorcycle we were on tear through the streets of Reidonia like a ball of fire ripping through the nightsky therefore making me helplessly cling to him so tightly as if my life depended on it because it did, is the most uncouth human being I have ever met! He was fortunate to be born to a noble House otherwise his attitude would have been good for nothing but thugging around.

We reached the castle in a few minutes. I hurriedly climbed down from the wretched beast that had an engine that roared loud enough to cause permanent damage to my ears but surely not worse than its owner.

I immediately removed my helmet and turned on my heels then marched towards the door before Aidan had the chance to get in my way again.

Or so I thought. For some unexplainable reason he was right in front of me! How was that even possible?

My momentary shock was replaced by anger when he had the temerity to hold my arm. I looked up and made my eyes meet his.

"Wrong way, Your Highness." He sneered. "Did you forget that you were supposed to sneak back to the restroom and not make a grand entrance?"

I shrugged his hand away while I kept a stern gaze into his eyes. I made sure he knew that I was dead serious about every word that I was about to say. He let go. "I didn't forget, Lord Aidan. I just won't let you, a royal guard, tell me, the Princess of Reidonia and Duchess of Tezzaggio, what I have to do." I told him. He didn't respond aside from the clenching of his jaw. "And you should know, Sir, that the next time you lay your hands on me without my permission, I will have them severed from you and hung in the town plaza."

I heard his teeth grind inside his cheeks as a vein throbbed on his forehead and ear turned beet red. "You cannot punish me for doing my job." He snarled.

"But you're not doing your job. My brother is your charge. Not me." I snapped back.

"I wouldn't have left his side if you..." He stopped mid-sentence and stared at someone behind me.

Oh Lord! Please don't be my father.

"What are you doing out here Maiena?"

Nikolai. I sighed in relief. At least I was only half in trouble.

I narrowed my eyes at Aidan and mumbled under my breath, "it's your fault." Before he could respond, I turned to face my brother.

"I..."

"Where's Cora?"

"She's..." I was pretty sure she was still in the restroom, making it seem that we were still inside so Gali wouldn't suspect that I was gone.

"Right here." Nikolai stated sternly.

Just as Cora approached us with Gali.

Gali. My heart broke a little when I saw the hurt and disappointment in his eyes. I made a fool of him and he maybe in trouble because of what I did.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out, Maiena? How stupid did you think I am?" Nikolai asked.

"I don't think that, Nikolai. I'm sorry." I bowed my head in dismay.

"This won't happen again, Maiena. If it does, I will have the Varellis transferred to the Southern border and Cora removed as a member of the court." He warned.

I stared at him in shock as I felt tears burn my eyes and a lump block my throat. I was astounded. My big brother had never spoken to me so roughly. "No. Please, Nikolai." I begged as a sob broke my voice.

The Crown Prince sighed and cupped my cheek. He wiped my tears away. "You know I don't have any real care for anything in the world except for things that involved you, little sister. That includes your safety, the monarchy and the royal family's integrity. You have put all of that at risk with this shenanigan. This kind of rebellious behavior must end." He said. "Do you understand, Carina?" He ended his little speech with the endearment that he and our father fondly called me-- Carina which meant beloved.

I quietly nodded my head.

"Good. Now, come back inside. The dauphin is eager to meet you."

"The dauphin? But his courtship gala is not til next week." I protested.

"He's already here. We have no choice but to entertain him. He is one of the most powerful men in the continent." Nikolai said.

"Are you saying I can't refuse if he asked for my hand in marriage?" I asked, already about to cry again to the helplessness of my situation.

"There are still a lot of things to consider. If an alliance through marriage with their country proves most beneficial to the monarchy then father and I would be inclined to accept their offer." He answered.

Of course.

I felt like I was about to throw up. "I'm sorry." I croaked. "Here I was asking about my choices when I'm nothing but a commodity of the monarchy."

"It's tradition, Maiena," was all he could say to justify what needed to be done. "I'll see you inside." He said as he turned his back to me and walked back to the ballroom. Aidan quietly followed him.

I sighed and held my chin up as I fought my god damned tears.

Cora walked towards me and held my hand. I looked at her and she smiled softly. At least I had her. Wherever I might go and whomever I may be with, she will be there.

And Gali. I turned to the man who watched us in silence. The pain in his eyes was gone and was replaced by sympathy and kindness. Bound by his duty to me and a friendship we grew to have over the years, I knew I will always have Gali and his kind eyes by my side.

This Princess may never have a happy ever after but at least she will have the loyalty of lifelong friends.

***

A/N:

Hi! So? We finally heard the Princess's POV. What do you think of our female lead?

Here's the prompt for this chapter. I used three of the requirements. Can you guess which ones? Hint: It's not the word count because I wrote more than was required again. LOL

That's it for now. See you next chapter. 👋

Thank you. ❤

xoxo,
Deng