FINALLY, here's another chapter of Reluctant Love. So so so so SO sorry for the long wait. If you guys are still reading, let me know! I hope you love it, and thanks to whomever alerted, favorited, or reviewed this!

-Jen

I stopped for a moment, looking to my father, face pulled in to shocked confusion. Prince Oliver said nothing, just stood there, face set in a solid line showing no emotion, and nodded.

I, however, turned to my father. "What?" I said. "What do you mean I'm his future bride?"

"In order to save our kingdoms and our countries we are going to join as one. The only way to do that is through marriage." My father told me.

"But Jackson is your heir...he's the oldest. And he is male!"

"Yes but he isn't the only eligible heir in the family, Amanda! Oliver is the only Oken eligible to take the throne. You will be eighteen later in the month, and you will marry Oliver and become the queen of our joint country. We will all still be living in the castle of course, for help and to...supervise."

I shook my head, eyes stinging with tears. "Father...I can't."

"Miley," He said, his voice gentle, holding a note of sorrow and sadness, "You have to."

"I do not know him! I have just met this man today and you are marrying me off to him!" I said angrily to him.

"Oliver is a very nice young man, dear. He will take care of you. He will make a nice, level headed king, and a good husband for you. And you will be a great queen, just like your mother-"

"Do not talk about her!" I shrieked at him. "Don't you dare talk about my mother! She is probably rolling around in her grave right now! And have you ever thought about this, father, maybe I do not WANT to be queen! You know what I wanted. You know. Traci wants it so bad. Marry her off to him, let her take the crown." I demanded, angry.

From the corner of my eye I saw my step sisters and step mothers faces perk up.

"That will not count as the nations joining, Amanda Mariah." My father said sternly. I was embarrassing him. Well...I did not care. He could not do this to me. "Traci is not my biological daughter, so she is not my heir. If she married him she would be the queen of Costa Luna, not Costa Luna Estrella. For the nations to join, you, my child, need to marry Oliver." He said, daring me to challenge him. "And you will."

"Well no, I most certainly will not!" I shouted at him. "I am not getting married to that man, and you cannot make me!"

"You are my daughter, Amanda Mariah Amelia Stewart. My daughter. You marry whom I say you marry, when I say you will marry him, just like every other girl in our country marries whom their fathers want them too, as it has been for centuries." He said angrily, glaring at me.

"Well some fathers actually love their daughters and want what's best for them." I said, the tears now spilling over, "And they want them to be happy. So they let their daughters marry who they fall in love with."

My father stared at me for a long moment, face hard, eyes hurt, but I didn't care. He was hurting me. This wasn't fair, not at all! "You will do as I say, Amanda. I don't want to hear another word of protest come out of your mouth. Now go to your room. Lillian!" He called loudly, turning away as a final dismissal, over to Oscar.

I stood their for a moment, looking at his back, the tears falling down my face. My gaze found that of Oliver, who looked at me, nodded once, then turned to his and my fathers.

Lilly came up, holding my handkerchief, and looking concerned. "Princess-" She said.

I cut her off, taking the cloth from her hand to dab at my eyes, saying softly to my father's turned back, "I hate you. And I will never, ever forgive you for this for as long as I live." I said, before turning and walking swiftly out of the room.

I stalked through the palace that was my home with purpose, dabbing at my eyes and willing the tears away. Lilly followed me closely, trying to say something to comfort me, but stopping, at a loss.

She finally spoke when we got to my suite, and I stood there, waiting for her to help me out of my dress. "Would you like me to draw you a bath?"

Afraid to speak, I shook my head. She undid the dress in the back, and I let it slip from my body and fall to a puddle on the floor, and stepped out of it, standing there in my heels and slip, I sat on the chair from my vanity and kicked my shoes off, and Lilly moved forward, sliding off my tiara, and placing it in the special box so she could polish it later, and then removing all the pins from my hair. I combed through my hair with my fingers, gathering my long brunette locks in to a ponytail which I then split in to three sections and quickly braided, securing the end with a hair elastic.

Then, I grabbed my pink silk pajama set from where it hung on the hooks outside the door to my restroom, and went it, quickly changing.

Once I finished dressing, I left my bathroom, and walked over to my window seat again, and crawled upon it, staring pensively out the window.

"Miley," Lillian said quietly, standing beside me. "Would you like me to get anything for you?"

I shook my head, my eyes filled with tears. "No, Lilly. Thank you." I said, sniffing. She held out a handkerchief, and I took it from her. "It is not fair, Lilly," I cried, "I never asked for this. I want to marry someone out of love, not out of force. How could he do this to me? My mother never would have allowed this."

"I am so sorry, Miley," She said softly. "I wish I could make you feel better."

We were interrupted by a knock on the door, and then my father entered. "Lillian, please go to your quarters for the night. If she needs you she will call for you." He said. Lilly nodded, and turned to me and curtsied, murmuring,

"Good night, your highness," and turned to leave, pausing to curtsy to my father, and then leave. My father came in slowly, shutting the double doors behind him. He came over and sat at the end of my window seat, I continued to stare out the window in to the dark night before me.

"Miley," He said, his voice taking on that of the caring father that I knew and loved instead of the ruler and king, the one who had to do what was best for his country and could not worry about his family.

"Please leave, father," I said through my tears. "I do not wish to speak about this."

"I never wanted it to come to this, love, but, despite that, it has. I can do nothing to put our country back to how it was before with the exception of the solution that must happen. You must be crowned queen of Costa Estrella, and then married to Prince Oliver, who will be the King of Costa Luna. Then our kingdoms will be joined as one, and we have some glimmer of hope. I have to do what is best for our country, for our people, Miley." He said.

"What about what is best for me, father?" I asked, "This is not what I wanted, not at all! I want to fall in love, I wanted to...to go to a University abroad and learn. I wanted to get away from this for a while and feel what it's like to be on the other side before I have to take on my duties." I reminded him.

"I know that, my daughter, and I was going to arrange for you to attend a University in America, though I was terrified of you being away, because I know it was what you wanted and what your mother would have wanted. But things happened, child, and I cannot change them any other way. Our kingdom is falling, and we need to save it." He said gravely. "We need you, Miley. You have a few weeks to get to know Oliver, before the wedding, and I'm sure you will find he is a very nice man. He will take good care of you, and be a nice, good king. And you, my girl, will be a wonderful queen." He said gently. "I am so, so sorry, my Miley. But this is how it has to be. I love you so much, Miley, and I hope you can forgive me. But I am asking you to please, do this for me, for the country. You need to help save our people, Miley."

Staring out in to the dark night, after a moment, I gave one stiff nod. "Fine, father." I said. "I promise you I will do it. However, I will not be happy about it."

"And for that, Miley...I will never forgive myself." He said. He stood, and kissed my forehead. "I love you, Miley. I'm sorry it has to be like this. Get some rest, dear. You will get to spend some time with Oliver tomorrow, to start getting to know him. The day after, the official engagement will be announced."

I nodded again. "I will go to bed now." I said. He kissed my forehead again, and then bade me goodnight, before leaving.

I slowly got in to my large bed, in between the silk sheets and down comforter, all pink and white and pristine, and lay back against all the pillows, reaching to my bedside table to press the button that would turn out the lights.

I would do what I had to do for my father, for the country, for the family name, but I would not like it. Despite what my father said, Prince Oliver did not seem nice in the least, he seemed stand offish, and less then thrilled to marry me.

This had never been what I wanted, but because of my bloodline and birth, I am being forced in to marriage with someone whom I do not love.

I will never understand why little girls aspire to be princesses, and those Disney people give people even more false assumptions.

Frankly, it sucks.