I wrote this in Stratford-upon-Avon, the home of Shakespeare :) It's set in an imaginary time, in an imaginary place. I may or may not give this place a name in the future. I really hope you like it, R+R please (:
Rosalie stared out the palace windows at the land which would one day be hers. She took in everything – the beautiful rolling hills, the winding rivers that shimmered like diamonds, the leafless trees swaying delicately in the wind. And the rain. Of course. Out of all the wonderful, exotic countries in the world, she had to inherit the kingdom of clouds. Still, she supposed, it was better than nothing. And once she was on the throne and this awful war had ended, then God would surely be happy and bless this land with sun.
The war, in Rosalie's eyes, had raged on for far too long. It was just a silly squabble between her father and the king of a neighbouring kingdom. Something about the assassination of their prince… She didn't know the details. What she did know was that all her father's money was going into making swords and armour, and replacing the soldiers that had died, and not into buying her more dresses and jewellery. Well, not enough, anyway.
There was a knock at the door.
"You may enter," Rosalie's father said, his voice echoing around the empty room. He and Rosalie sat side by side, otherwise alone in the very large, grand throne room.
The big, oak doors were opened by servants to allow a man inside. The man was tall and handsome, with sandy blonde curly hair framing a strong jaw line and pale complexion. He didn't have the build of a fighter in particular, though he was stronger than a moose and had a sharp, intelligent look in his eyes that made him appear quite formidable to one who did not know him.
Rosalie, however, did know him. He was the general. It was unusual for a woman at that time to be involved in matters such as this, and Rose did not care much for it, but the king liked to educate his daughter in the hope that one day she would be a great ruler in her own right. She wouldn't have minded a bit just going to dances and wearing pretty dresses and getting a husband to take care of such trivialities as running a country.
The general bowed deeply to Rosalie first, saying, "My lady," before turning to the king. He bowed once more, then spoke.
"Humblest apologies for my lateness, sire." When the king remained silent, he hurried on. "I believe I have found a suitable replacement for the late Captain James."
The king nodded. "So who is this soldier?"
"His name is Emmett Cullen, your highness." The general was beginning to feel nervous. The king was a powerful, intimidating man with rather a short temper. One wrong word and his career would be over. Possibly even his life.
"Bring him in," the king commanded.
The big oak doors opened once again to reveal a beast of a man. In contrast to the general, he was big with bulging muscles and curly black hair. His eyes, however, softened the look. They were big and baby blue in colour; in fact, they reminded Rosalie of one of her servants' baby. She found herself instantly warming to him.
He smiled confidently and bowed to the king and princess in turn. "Your highnesses."
"Congratulations on your new job as captain," said the king. Decisions were becoming increasingly rushed for him; there was simply no time anymore. "You will set out with the troops at sunrise. Now, we must devise a battle plan."
Rose tuned out at this point. She was completely uninterested in battle tactics, and found herself gazing at the new captain. He certainly was handsome… Snapping out of it, she realised it probably wasn't a very princess-y thing to do. He wasn't of any noble blood, and princesses were meant for princes, or, at the very least, dukes.
"And when you return in three days time, we shall hold a ball to celebrate," announced the king. Rose perked up at this; a ball would be something to look forward to.
"Thank you sire," said the general. "Now, I must go any prepare the troops. Good day."
He bowed, before turning on his heel and walking smartly out the room, with Captain Cullen following suit.
Once the two men had reached a safe distance, Emmett turned to the general and grinned.
"I cannot thank you enough, Jasper," he said.
"Anything for an old friend," Jasper smiled. "So what did you think of the princess?"
"She's…wow…" Emmett replied, and they both laughed like old friends do.
Back in the throne room, the king rose and started pacing the width of the room. He then turned to Rose and smiled. This in itself surprised her – her father hadn't smiled in a long time. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen him smile since her mother died two years ago.
"Rosalie. My beautiful daughter. I have found you a husband. You are to be married in ten days time."
Rose gasped in joy and ran to hug her father. She was going to be married; this was what she'd looked forward to all her life. Yet despite herself, she couldn't get the image of the handsome new captain with his baby blue eyes out of her head…
"Who is to be my husband?"
"Prince Edward of Viridian. This is a very important marriage bond to make; it could certainly help put an end to this God forsaken war. Edward shall be attending the ball in three days time, so you will be introduced then. His family shall be staying with us prior to the wedding."
Rose nodded. This all seemed to be so final… Not that that mattered; this was everything she'd ever wanted. At least, it was everything she'd thought she wanted.
The door creaked open.
"Ah, Alice," Rose smiled.
"Forgive me for interrupting," said Alice, Rosalie's servant, standing in the doorway, afraid to come any closer to the kind.
"That's all right," the king sight. "I need to get back to work anyways…"
As the king left the room, Alice's face broke into a smile. "Rose, come with me. There's a surprise waiting for you in your room."
Intrigued, Rose followed Alice, who was almost bouncing from excitement, back to her bed chambers. There, lying in the middle of her four poster bed was a single red rose. Rosalie stared speechless at it for a moment, before stepping forward to read the note tied around its stem.
"If I may be so rude as to enquire, what does it say?" Alice asked.
"Alice, you're my friend, of course you may ask. It says, 'To my beautiful princess, I give the second most beautiful rose in the world. Your humble servant.'"
"Wow…"
"I know…"
"Who do you think it's from?"
"It doesn't matter. Father just told me I am to be wed in ten days. To Prince Edward."
Alice gasped. "Oh my goodness, congratulations! That's great!"
Rose raised her eyebrows. "Is it?"
"Of course! A prince, Rose. Just what you've always wanted, right?"
She sighed. "It was… until today. I don't know. It's already been arranged; I can't change anything now. I'm meeting my future husband at the ball in three days."
"Don't worry about it. Trust me, he'll be handsome and charming and amazing!"
"Let's hope so!" Rose laughed, cheering up considerably. "Please get a vase for this rose though, it really is beautiful."
"Sure," Alice smiled, and skipped out the room. Rose watched her leave. She used to be jealous of Alice, being married to General Jasper Hale and being so in love and happy. Not anymore. Soon she would have a prince for a husband. She picked up the rose and inhaled its fine fragrance. Sighing happily, she flopped back down on the bed. Life really was good.
