Hey, guys, thank you for reading if you do! Please give me all the reviews you want, I am so open to constructive criticism! I do not know how long it will take me to post chapters, because I'm in University and everything, but I will try my best! Thank you, thank you!
Riley Matthews was a relatively happy young woman. She was poised, elegant, intelligent, always prim and proper, exactly as her family wanted her to be. She would always have her hands folded just so, her ankles crossed just right, tiara expertly secured atop her head. Riley lived a safe life, and that was the way she liked it. She never had to worry about anything other than learning how to run her country.
Well, there was one tiny problem. Riley was the princess of a small country called Rilestun, and she was the eldest child of her parents, the King and Queen, thus making her first in line for the throne, correct? Wrong. There were still laws enacted in the country that refused to allow Riley to assume the throne on her own, which Riley found honestly so barbaric seeing as it was the twenty-first century. But she had to be married in order to become the future Queen, much to her and her mother's dismay. And if Riley did not get married, then the country would be run by her younger brother August, which just did not seem exactly right to anybody, even him. So, the only thing that Riley had to worry about, other than learning to run her country, was to find a man to run it with.
And she tried looking. She really did. At every ball held in the kingdom, there were hundreds of suitors for Riley to choose from, but none ever seemed to really see past the tiara atop her head. She was starting to grow tired of waiting, thinking she may never find anyone at all. Which would be absolutely disastrous to both the country and her self-esteem. Eventually, her best friend, Maya Hart, whom had been her roommate at boarding school when they were younger, got tired of the waiting as well.
"Come on, Riley, these guys aren't all that bad. Maybe if you tried giving a few of them, oh I don't know, more than ten seconds of your time?" She stated on one afternoon as they were hanging around in Riley's room of her home. Palace. Whatever it was. In reply, Riley only scoffed and rolled her eyes at Maya. "Riley, you know it's true. And if you don't find anyone of your choosing soon, you know what's going to happen." She gave Riley a small, sad smile after that statement.
Riley didn't even want to think about what she was trying to mention. She would never understand why she agreed to it in the first place. She and her parents had agreed that if Riley had not married by twenty four, then her parents would pick a suitable man for her. An arranged marriage, essentially. In the twenty first century. Riley had just turned twenty three last month, so time was ticking away from her. "Maya, you don't really think they would do that to me, do you? They never gave up on their love, so why should I have to give up on my chance?" She let out a sigh and flopped backwards onto her bed.
Maya walked over and flopped down next to her. "Why would you ever agree to it, Riles?" She asked, turning her head to face Riley.
"Because it's what they wanted. And I always do what they want, you know that." And it was true. She went to the schools they chose. She learned piano, horseback riding, and archery at their request. She went to every ball they needed her to be at. Riley was the golden girl of the country, never doing wrong, never letting anybody down. She was a model citizen and daughter.
Maya sighed at her, turning her face back to the ceiling. "You have to stop doing everything they want, Riley. You've never done anything fun in your life. Or wrong. You need a little bit more of me in there, come to think of it." When they had met, Maya was a rebellious thirteen year old, who wanted to make both of her parents angry. She was the daughter of a British business mogul and a Hollywood actress. Her parents had divorced when she was younger, and her father was already on to wife number three. Maya's mother meant well when it came to caring for her, but neither of her parents were just ever around, and Maya acted out all throughout her teenage years. Riley was there for all of the most dramatic moments, including, but not limited to: Maya's blue haired days (and then pink…then purple…), the pranks on the Headmaster of their school (cow in every classroom being most notable), and every single one of Maya's tattoos (there were seven, and Riley secretly had one). Maya was everything that Riley wasn't. She was free, wild, and fun. But then again, she didn't have a country to run in the future.
"Well, there's that ball tonight to welcome the Grand Duke of Luxembourg because of some trade that's happening, I guess. We can have fun there!" Riley said this even though she knew that she absolutely would never do anything other than what she always did. She would wear have her hair and makeup done modestly, she would wear a fancy dress, and she would smile and nod and be the perfect, polite princess that everyone expected her to be.
Maya, however, seemed to have a different plan. "Alright, Riles, I'm holding you to it. Now, let's pick out what you're going to wear. No fru-fru dresses this time. I'm thinking bold." She said, as she jumped up from Riley's bed and ran off into her closet.
"This is definitely not going to go well." Riley said, shaking her head, before standing and heading off to find her best friend.
Maya somehow got Riley to wear a tight, floor length, red dress that had been sent to her by Calvin Klein and eventually had just sat in her closet for years. When her favorite hair stylist appeared, Francois (although Riley really knew his name was Dave), she requested that he stray from her usual style of loose waves falling across her shoulders in favor of pulling her hair away from her face and into a high ponytail. For makeup, she had a simple cat eye and nude lip to balance out how dramatic her dress was.
And Riley had to admit, when she finally looked at herself in the mirror, she felt different. Good different. She no longer looked like the prim and proper princess. She looked…like a powerful one. She even dare thought that she looked kind of hot.
"This was surprisingly a really great idea." She said to Maya, who was sitting at Riley's bay window wearing a black, backless Michael Kors gown.
Through the mirror, she saw Maya roll her eyes and prop her head against her hand. "Gee thanks, Riles." She muttered. "Are you ready, or not? We were definitely supposed to be in the ballroom ten minutes ago."
Riley stole a glance at herself one last time in the mirror. She couldn't believe that she was actually deviating from the usual appearance she had. Her father was definitely going to be unhappy about it, but for once, Riley found herself not caring one bit. She turned around, quickly walking over to her night stand to grab the final touch before walking back to the mirror. She carefully placed her favorite tiara atop her head, making sure it would stay in place. "Ready. Definitely ready." She stated. With that, the duo left the sanctuary of Riley's bedroom to head off for what would typically just be a night of boring small talk and cringe-worthy dancing skills.
When they arrived at the ball, everything went smoothly at first. King Matthews looked incredulously at Riley's appearance upon her arrival, but her mother looked happy, so she knew she wouldn't be in that much trouble. And as the night progressed, Riley had danced with so many men that she had lost count. Tonight, guys seemed more interested in her than ever before, but none of them stuck out in her head, and she found herself needing a small break just to process the night so far in her head. She found Maya dancing with a guy, who Riley believed to be the son of a famous American business tycoon, and told her that she was going to take a small break in her room.
As Riley left the ballroom, she was accidentally run into by a man trying to leave as well. "Oh god, sorry, Princess, sorry." He stated, but continued to keep walking away down the corridor that he ballroom exited into.
"Excuse me!" Riley called after him, and found herself so peeved that she followed him. "Hey!" She called again, which got him to stop and turn to look at her, and she came to the realization that he was the son of the Duke of Luxembourg, the man who the ball was held to honor. Her father had told her to research the family before their arrival, so she could properly make any conversation with them if the time arose.
He looked at her for a moment, cocking his head to one side. "Are you coming?" He eventually asked a second later.
She scoffed. "Where are you going exactly? This ball is being held for your father; aren't you supposed to be in there, supporting him?" She asked, and then folded her arms across her chest.
To this, he just shrugged. "Can't be in there anymore. Had to leave. So, are you coming? I was thinking of heading out to find some better food. Because, no offense, Princess, but the food tonight blew." He turned back around and started to move on his way again of finding an exit.
Riley was beside herself with shock. This man was supposed to be there for his father while he was being honored, and yet he was just leaving. A prince, just up and leaving, probably without even telling someone that he was doing so. This was completely unlike how it was supposed to be. When you're royalty, you're supposed to behave for the good of your family and your country. And here this guy was, going against everything.
"To be honest, Princess, you don't seem like the type who would break any rules." He called before he turned at the end of the corridor and was finally out of her sight. Riley couldn't believe herself, but slowly, she found herself walking after him, and then jogging. When she turned the corner, he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, waiting for her. "Guess I was wrong." He stated with a smirk.
She rolled her eyes, and continued down the new corridor. "You don't know your way out, so I am obviously just coming to your rescue. Once you're out, I'm not coming with you. And please, stop calling me 'Princess,' my name is Riley."
She heard him chuckle, and turned to watch him strolling after her. "Prince Lucas Friar of Luxembourg, ma'am." He stated, tipping an imaginary hat at her. "And I thank you ever so much for saving this damsel in distress."