As the sun peeked through my window and the first dreadful feelings of morning sank into my skin, my door was flung open. I sat up quickly and looked towards the door in a slight panic only to sigh and flop back onto my bed as I noticed the girl standing at my door.
"Wake up starshine! The day is new, the adventures are waiting outside of our door and you my friend are lying in bed without a real thing to do with your life. Such a shame, you have so much potential," she smiled at me before crossing the room and opening my curtains so more light shone into the previously dim room.
"You wish to torture me don't you friend, why can't you let me sleep just an hour longer. It's not as if I have anything to do today that requires me rise with the dawn," I groaned before crawling down under the fluffy blankets to avoid the sunlight.
"Your father has made arrangements for you to meet a few suitors this morning. And don't give me that look Tiana I just got here, it seems my father set up a few meetings for myself. When I arrived your father simply told me to go and wake you up and get you dressed seeing as they should be arriving for breakfast soon," my friend explained as she walked to stand beside my bed. She grabbed my blankets and threw them off of me to reveal my curled up form. I looked up at my friend; her pin straight black hair was pulled back at the front with what seemed to be silver flower clip that wound around the sides of her head. Her striking green eyes stared down at me with determination despite the small smirk set in place on her mouth.
"But I don't want to deal with suitors Arabelle, they are all the same in the end. All of them are ignorant pricks with no real want to marry me. They just want my money and my father's respect. None of them really care about me, or any woman they court," I replied back, groaning as Arabelle grasped my wrist firmly and pulled me up and out of the warm bed.
"Well we have to deal with it anyways starshine. Now I'll call for the ladies maids, you go freshen up real quick, wouldn't want to leave me downstairs for too long would you amico," Arabelle said teasingly before smiling at me and walking back to the door. "I will try friend, but do not be surprised if you come back up to check on me and I seem to have jumped from my balcony. It would be absolutely to agonizing wouldn't it," I replied drolly as Arabelle stood by the door. Before she left she threw me one last glare and then slammed the door shut behind her. I smiled down at the floor as I heard her call out for my maids in the hallway. She always was a fun one to fool with, her innocence was much worse than mine, even though I may not seem to be innocent to the common eye. I made my way quickly to my bathroom, closing the door behind me as I heard a few ladies make their way into the room."Do not worry ladies, I will be out in a minute. I just got up and needed to freshen up myself before I got dressed and ready," I explained as the ladies began to call my name. They all called back to me before I heard them rustling around, most likely picking out a dress for me to wear. I sighed softly before getting along with my regular morning routine and washing my face before stepping out of the bathroom to be met my two of my girls grabbing me and pulling me towards the mirror so they could strap me into a corset and gown. I laughed along with them as we fumbled to move together and as I ended up stepping into the wrong hole on the dress. Getting ready for the day was usually hard and my ladies and myself made many mistakes in the process of even putting on a corset. The fist time I had to wear one we didn't figure out how to lace it for twenty minutes and when we did, I later ended up passing out because it was too tight. Thankfully this morning it didn't take up too much time to get myself situated.
"So, what do you think about this Tiana? I mean this is the third time your father has invited over suitors just for you to meet. I mean he couldn't be more obvious at the moment," one of my ladies said as she finished the pin that was clipped to my head. I coughed weakly and felt a bit of blood rush to my cheeks as I remembered the true reason I was getting so dressed up and fancy this morning.
"I don't know. I just feel like my father wants o get me out of the house you know? I'm only seventeen, barely an adult and knowing him he is going to marry me off to some old man on his deathbed. I just don't see this as an enjoyable life; I don't understand why I must be married off. I know every girl complains about it but I would like to marry for love and not for money or title," I explained as I sat down onto the freshly made bed. My ladies exchanged a glance before coming to join me at my bed.
"Miss Tiana you know that you cannot. The best you can hope for is that you learn to love the man your father will pick out for you," the eldest maid, Mary, said with her hand on my back, moving in circle as an attempt to soothe me. I nodded but let myself wallow in self-pity for a few more moments before standing up and straightening out my dress. I nodded to my ladies and bid them farewell before opening my door and stepping into the hallway. I threw my ladies one last glance before closing the door and turning down the hallway. The long corridor outside of my bedroom led to the garden of which I spent most of my time. I was unsure where my father could want me to meet him in the formal living or perhaps the gardens seeing as he knew I felt more comfortable in the flowers.
"Wait, it is my father. If I had two children and was trying to sell one off to a rich old man where would I want my daughter to meet her future husband?" I thought aloud before sighing and turning to my left. My father was a formal man with most people in town, obviously he wouldn't ask me to meet him in the garden if it was another one of the most eligible bachelors of our town again. The familiar dim lightly made me a bit concerned seeing as my father liked things bright in the house. He said it made things more cheerful, but it seemed to me more like he was attempting to replicate my mother's traditions. As I located the old room I stopped outside the door to peek in and examine the merchandise before hand. The room itself looked darker than usual, five men in dark suits were sitting in the room, two of them on the couch facing away from me, and the other three in their own chairs around the coffee table.
"What are you doing Tiana?" I jumped and a squeal escaped my lips as hand lightly touched my shoulder. I turned to see the familiar face of Arabelle standing behind me with a look of disgruntlement and a bit of amusement. "It's rude to avoid people dear friend," she smiled at me before grabbing my arm and pulling me into the doorway. As soon as I stepped into the room my father and Arabelle's looked up in my direction with a smile.
"There she is! Come in darling, come and meet the fellows who came to see you," my father called to me as Arabelle pushed me forward, edging me on into the middle of the room. I forced a smile onto my face as I approached my father, only looking at my father until I stopped to stand beside his chair. "Tiana darling, these are the Mikaelson brothers, Elijah and Niklaus," he said, gesturing to the men sitting on the couch across from us. I sighed before fixing the smile forced into my face and turning to the men across the room. But as my eyes met the baby blue eyes of the man who looked to be the younger of the two, my own breath was taken away at the sight. Damn, this man is attractive, but I couldn't help the frown on my face as he began to smirk in return. The two men stood up as Arabelle walked over to stand by my side.
"It's nice to meet you Miss. Tiana. I look forward to learning more about you," the blue-eyed man said as he walked towards me, grabbing my hand and bringing it to my lips before whispering lightly against my skin, "My name is Niklaus."