My Heart or My People

News.

The dawn had just risen when I got the news that I would be marrying a King from a neighbouring country callled King Rogue.
His father had died quite suddenly, leaving him the crown, and in search for someone to share that royal burden.

My kingdom, the kingdom of Fiore, had fallen into an economic crisis, and marrying King Rogue was the only way to save my people and fortify the land. At least that is what I was told.
Growing up a Princess, I knew what my duties would be. Our people come before our own selfish desires. Always. That is how we have kept them faithful to us, and how my family have stayed in power for so long.
But is it really that selfish to want to choose who I marry? To marry someone I love? And if I did, could my people forgive for that?

"Princess Lucy, if you do not stop that daydreaming we are going to be late! You have five minutes to get there!" A rather pissed off voice popped me out of my bubble. "Honestly, staring at him through a window is not going to change anything!" My lady in waiting stood glowering down at me, her arms crossed in front of her chest and her eyes a stormy sea.

"I know. I'll get going right now, I'm sorry Lady Aquarius, it will not happen again," I said, standing up from my perch by the window, overlooking one of our gardens and smoothing out my skirts. I tried to look away to hide the pink tinging my cheeks, but I fear she saw it anyway.

"Bullshit!"

I let out an audible gasp before quickly checking the corridors were clear of curious ears. Aquarius had been my Lady in Waiting for as long as I could remember, and my mother's before that, so our closeness allowed her to relax around me in a way she never would with any other member of my family. And this normally ended up in a bright variety of language being used. By both of us.

"You do know my father would kill you if he heard you speak to me that way!"

Aquarius rolled her eyes. "Tsk. Look at you, acting all prim and proper now you're engaged to a King. Pathetic really."

"Oh shut it!" I said, but there was barely any malice behind it, as I turned on a heel and walked toward my awaiting doom.

                              …

"The fitting was painful, in every meaning of the word. Being pinned and pricked and bored for an occasion I am less than thrilled for is not my kind of fun to spend a Tuesday morning. And I had Aquarius tittering about and exclaiming dramatically about how beautiful I looked in that cream puff of a dress, and that did nothing to offset my mood! At least I don't have to think about it until my meal with my father tonight," I said, stabbing into my piece of cake before shoving it into my mouth rather indelicately.

"Aquarius is quite a character. I quite like her," chuckled my pink haired friend, raising his eyebrows playfully, and moving his fork towards my plate.

"Of course you do. You like anything which torments me!" I laughed, swatting his hand away before he could steal some cake from my plate, when he had his own untouched before him. We were sat in one of the palace gardens not too far from the stables, where some servants had brought us some afternoon tea of vanilla cakes with hot steaming mugs of coffee.
I had met Natsu a few years ago, on one of my few escapades outside of the palace walls when I dared to escape, and we'd been best friends ever since. When I learnt how truly poor he was, I had done everything in my power, including forging a few documents to get him a job here.
He seemed to possess the power to always cheer me up. One look into those sparkling eyes always had me trying to suppress a smile, even in my most sour moods.

"You love it really," he winked, flashing that killer smile and my heart was set racing. I rolled my eyes in pretend annoyance, ignoring the hammering of my heart, and stole some icing from his cake when he wasn't looking. He clutched his heart in feigned shock and I was set off laughing so loud I set four ravens flying from a nearby tree they were perched on.

"So, what's the occasion? From what royal hell does the next visitor hail from?" he said, when I finally caught my breath.

My heart stopped, and I could feel the world sliding from underneath me. He didn't know. I wanted to tell him straight away, but instead I said,

"Royal hell! Need I remind you a royal hell pays your pay check?"

He laughed, "Only thanks to you Luce."

I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my nose up. "You should have more gratitude towards me. If it wasn't for my persuasiveness you wouldn't have a job here."

He shook his head, smiling, before finally tucking into his slice of cake. My plate was now empty. "I hope whoever it is, they're better that Lord Ichiya. I know he's an important ally, but he gave me the creeps! There's only so many times a guy can be sniffed before he starts to feel uncomfortable."

And then I just said it, and I could feel the cake rising in my throat.

"Natsu, I'm getting married." I blurted it out so fast I was half sure he didn't understand me, but I kept babbling anyway. "It's a political marriage to save the country. My father has arranged it. I don't have any say in it." I don't know why I was attempting to explain myself. I'm a princess, and it's a given that I would be sold off to the highest bidder at a time of turmoil.
It's not as if it concerned him.
It's not as if we were together in that way, no matter how much I yearned for it.

"Oh, that's great Luce," was all he said. He should have punched me. It would have hurt less.