I met my father on my fifteenth birthday.
His present to me was announcing my engagement to a noble twice my age.
Papa was furious.
Perhaps I should explain the situation...
I have a mother and father, of course, but they wanted a son, and when I was born, a second daughter and not a third son, they were very unhappy. My mother refused to care for me, and so I was passed on the the maids. Being cared for by maids was no better than being cared for by a mother that hated you, however.
Soon after I was born, Logan, my father's older brother, came to visit his nephews, niece, and the newest addition to the family. When he arrived, he saw his niece and nephew playing, but could not find his newest niece anywhere. It was then that he learned who my caretakers were, and asked my father if he could raise me.
My father agreed, and Uncle Logan became Papa.
He hired my grandfather's old friend Jasper to help him, and they took me back to Papa's home in Brightwall, to be raised properly.
So, on my fifteenth birthday, I was taken to the castle to meet my father, and be presented at court. Papa thought it would be the normal presentation; I would be dressed up, paraded around, and no ill would come of it, save the obnoxious stares of men much older than myself. He had spent the week prior to my birthday schooling me on proper etiquette, and weeks before, had a new dress made.
He wanted my presentation to be a happy event for me, even though he knew it was unlikely such an event could ever be happy.
And he was right.
The morning of, I was woken up ridiculously early, dressed in traveling clothes, and rushed into a carriage bound for the monorail station. The monorail went twice as fast as a carriage, and there was no need to go around the mountains, so we were able to arrive in Millfields hours before the daily festivities of the court began (my father had begun throwing daily parties after my youngest brother was born). Which meant, in turn, that we were able to arrive at the castle hours before.
We were greeted by a maid, who insisted that my father was extremely busy, and that all she could do was show us to our rooms. She eyed my guardians – Papa and Jasper were men, of course, and men did not stay near women in the castle – but Papa told her that their rooms had been settled with his brother, and that we were to have the adjoining rooms near the gardens. She looked nervous to follow the orders she was given, but she lead us there, anyway.
Once in our rooms, Jasper helped me change into my new gown, and forced me to sit still in order for him to do my hair and make-up, which I fought, at first, but Jasper had become a tough old opponent over the years, so I quickly lost. When he was done, he allowed me to look in the mirror.
I was only fifteen, but I looked eighteen. Jasper had put a thick layer of make-up on my face, and it made me look like a porcelain doll. My blue eyes were lined with black ink to make them look bigger than they were, and Jasper had taken out the rolls he put in my hair the night before, so it fell around my shoulders in golden ringlets. The dress was rather simple, but made in blue silk the same shade of my eyes, with lace trim on the cuffs and hem.
I was overjoyed, but I learned later that this was planned by Papa, in an attempt to dull the pain I would likely feel later.
I walked into the throne room with my arm hooked around Papa's, smiling as wide as I could. But, no one paid attention to the grinning child. Not even my father, who was soon greeted with a bow by Papa. Father barely glanced at Papa, but sent away those he was speaking with at the time.
"Logan. I trust you found your rooms alright? Don't answer that, you fool; I don't care. Hobson insists I act the part of gracious host. It's tiresome..."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
"Now, why did you bother me?"
"Your Majesty, I came to introduce you to your daughter. Adaryn."
I swallowed my fear, and curtsied stiffly, the same grin on my face. My father looked over me with cold eyes, and brushed past us with the command to follow him. Papa wrapped my arm around his, again, and followed after my father.
He stopped in front of the throne, and, fixing a smile on his face, ended the festivities with the sound of his voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Today is the day we welcome my youngest daughter to court."
He motioned to Papa and I, and I felt the warmth of the man next to me disappear, while a gentle hand guided me forward to stand in front of my father. He stared down at me, his 'smile' not reaching his cold eyes, and I felt a shiver go down my spine. This was the man who created me? I did not want to meet the woman who birthed me...
"And, in honor of her fifteenth birthday, I have an announcement to make: three years from now, when she turns eighteen, she will marry a faithful servant of the throne, Sir Jonathan Hubert."
My heart dropped into my stomach, and a man surrounded by women – tall, muscular, wearing the uniform of a naval officer, with shoulder-length black hair – raised his glass with a smirk, nodding at those who clapped for him.
That night, after I had scrubbed the make-up off my face, torn the curls from my hair with a brush, and thrown my gown across the room, I cried myself to sleep, both Papa and Jasper asleep in armchairs next to the window.
They would be there, should I need them...unlike the father who sold me off to the highest bidder.
Author's Note: Ahahahahaha~ I realized that I had accidentally made Walter alive. I guess in my head, he was still alive. I fixed it, though. (This story and A Hero King will now both feature a dead Walter, I promise. No crazy moments of him being part of the action, even though he should be in the ground.)
This, if you cannot tell, is the first chapter of a story I have scrapped twice already. It has had a MAJOR face-lift, and facts have changed quite a bit. This will bear almost no resemblance to The Hero of Grom that used to exist. It also has a new name, which you will understand later in the story.
I hope you enjoy it. I'll be working on more chapters whenever I have time...which will be nearly all the time, since I'm on summer break.
Also, I will be starting one or two other stories at some point soon-ish. I have to figure out all the details...but, one is for Skyrim, and the other for Harry Potter. Because I have a sad lack of Harry Potter stories. I also may write another chapter for The Promise, but that's a big maybe. And, if you come across any odd one-shots...yeah, I've been on a story kick, lately...