The Problematic Princess

Chapter 1 - News

Sienna slumped in the limo's seat. She closed her eyes remembering what her parents had told her a month ago. Or was it a week? Sienna couldn't remember, remembering it like it was yesterday.

The Haesea Kingdom was a very small kingdom, but nonetheless a kingdom. Sienna was 15, almost 16, the eldest of her sisters, meaning she would inherit the kingdom when her parents died. She lived in a tall castle, in a room that overlooked the whole kingdom. Sometimes Sienna would go to her room to read near the window occasionally looking down at where she lived.

Her father wanted to speak to her that night. She sat on her bed as he pulled a chair in front of her. He sat down rubbing his temples before he finally clasped his hands together and looked at her.

Her father's tone sounded as if he had broken something important and knew he would be getting in trouble. He talked about the duties of Haesea Kingdom, and what it meant as a princess, blah blah blah. Sienna was only half listening, catching a few words here and then. Words such as princess, king, knowing this is hard, Leolerith Kingdom, date, marry...

"Dating someone from the Leolerith Kingdom?" Sienna blurted, "Who's dating someone from the Leolerith Kingdom??"

"Have you been listening to what I've been saying?"

Sienna stayed quiet. Her dad sighed.

"Sienna, you know how small our kingdom is..we're struggling," her dad gulped, "The Leolerith Kingdom, our ally, is small too. I was thinking about merging with them making our kingdom much stronger—and bigger."

Sienna stared at her dad wondering what he was getting at. What did this have to do with dating or marrying?

"You know the Leolerith Kingdom, and their particular ways, so when I asked them about it, they hesitated and said that the firstborn child would have to marry their son in order to merge."

Sienna felt a lump in her throat. She caught on to things quickly. "So you're asking me—or rather forcing me—to date the Leolerith Kingdom's prince, and eventually marry him?" Sienna asked, hoping she was wrong.

"Well..er..yes." her father said, realizing how bad this sounded.

Sienna gaped at him in horror. She didn't know what to say or how to act. She just sat on her bed staring at him, her mouth wide open. She would have to date someone she'd never met. And when would she marry him? Would she marry him when she was of age, or marry at just 15?

"Sienna, this is what is best for Haesea, and you know that." her dad sighed, "And if it makes you feel any better, your great great great grandmother did it too when the Haesea Kingdom was smaller than it was now."

Sienna shifted in her spot on the bed. Hundreds of thoughts spilled out into her head, causing her anxiety to go wild. "C-could I have some alone time?" she croaked. "Of course." her father replied, soon walking out the door.

Sienna sat still for a moment before finally getting up and looking out the window at her kingdom. She thought of her favorite flower, the bluebell.

Sienna loved flowers. They made her calm down when she was angry, they helped her through her times of sadness. She had a small pot of lilies by the window as well as a little small succulent. Her parents never understood her love of flowers. They were to busy doing their kingdom-y stuff to "stop and smell the roses".

She thought about what her father had said. Maybe the prince of Leolerith would be a nice, charming boy that she would  fall in love with. But, she couldn't help think that he wasn't. She had no idea who this boy was—she didn't even know his name—yet she would be dating and marrying him! She took a deep breath before heading to bed. She would have all night to think about the situation she was in.