Chapter 2: The Truth Reveled.
The moment Shalimar opened the door she was greeted by two angry and disappointed faces. In the instant she saw them, the princess knew that her earlier thoughts of this being a usual punishment were mistaken. There was one thing she knew though; she would stick up for herself and not allow her parents to see the pain she was in at being separated from Will. She was hiding her pain so well that even though it was fresh, even she hardly knew it was there.
"Deanna I don't think you realize just how poorly you acted last night and this morning." the Queen began, "your actions not only reflect badly on yourself, but on the entire royal family. If word got out to the media about your ... exploits it could mean a loss of faith in the future leader of Beatzed. We might even have to come up with a medical miracle for your brother's condition. Not only did you stay out all night and well into this morning, but you … had relations with a man who was not royal or even one of us. And then you fail to see the diplomats off and I have to send your ladies maids to go and fetch you…what has gotten into you?"
"Firstly, my brother would never come back and you know it. Ever since father died he has been distant almost ashamed to be royalty. He made the choice that was right for him, but what about me? I have no choice but to become queen and continue on the line of Mykaria, but what is so wrong with having just a few months of thinking of me and not the entire planet? I realize that I am almost of age and need to act the part I was born to play and I will but I was happy with him...I could almost see life beyond what I knew. William and I both knew that we could never stay together and will probably never see one another again but for those few short weeks I wasn't a princess, I was just Deanna. I wasn't pretending and it was a wonderful feeling. We certainly never had 'relations' in the sense that you are thinking of and I love my people and would never leave like Hayden did and I-"
"Shalimar, stop. You are royalty and nothing you tell your mother and I can explain your behavior. Your actions have been irresponsible and irrational. It is time you began to behave as a princess... not some commoner who thinks they are in love. Love is not real, all marriages are meant to be are unions joining two powerful families and gain power for the two people marrying. As such it is time you were informed of a decision your mother and I have come to regarding your future and then we will continue to discuss your actions and their consequences. We have found a suitable husband for you. His name is Andrew Latoya, a business man and noble...I believe I saw you with him at your mother's birthday. He is a pleasant man who will be good for you."
"So now you are going to force me to marry?" Deanna asked incredulously.
"I know you may not be happy with the arrangement but… he will be good for you. A decent match to help keep you grounded and behaving properly is just what you need."
"What if I choose not to marry him…I did dance with him that night but I certainly didn't enjoy it. I just can't understand why you want to inflict such torture on me. I understand that what I did was wrong but can't you realize that I won't make the same mistakes. I'll marry in my own time, someone of my own choosing, but not someone I don't even like or know nothing about." She argued.
"Shalimar Amelia Deanna Tory Jaina Serena Mykaria you will treat your step father and me with the respect our positions deserve. Our decision is final you will marry Andrew Latoya, it is a smart match, will be good for you and will marry because we order it. Now he will arrive here in two days time and remain until the ceremony which will be held in three months time, right after your 18th birthday. Announcement of the engagement will be in exactly one week, on the eve of your birthday. The people will be so happy when their future king is announced and will want to wish you well. No more running off, sneaking about, lying, and or anything that is inappropriate for a lady of your standing.
"So I really have no choice? I can't believe this. I am your daughter and future queen, don't I have the right to be somewhat happy? Even if I can never see William again can't I choose my own husband?
"NO! And there will be no more arguments from you or you will have to face the consequences." The king yelled at his step-daughter.
At this Shalimar took a step backward. In all the time she had known Caleb he had never raised his voice to this degree and the princess was beginning to feel frightened. She stood there dumbfounded for a moment and realized there was no way out of her current situation. She took a deep breath and said in a small voice, "I will marry Him, but I will not be happy about it. Is that all?"
The queen sat there looking at her husband, astonished at his actions, but she knew better that to call him on it. When he had mentioned that marriages were only mergers to benefit wealth and power, she wondered if that was his motivation for marrying her or if he had said it to motivate and make Shalimar understand their decision. She was called out of her thoughts when her daughter gave her acceptance. Being completely honest with herself she was amazed at how quickly they had gotten her to agree, she had assumed that she would fight until she had nothing left. She looked at the young girl…no woman in front of her and saw that in her eyes she had lost something. And there was an unexplained fear present as well. 'Well maybe the fear isn't so irrational' she thought, but that missing 'something' she realized must have something to do with her quick submission. It appeared as if her daughter had lost her other half. 'When Hayden left, she became such a quiet child, so subdued, and lost…but when she was with that young man she acted more like the child who loved life and looked at everything with such a positive outlook…are we doing the right thing' she began to question herself.
"No, Shalimar. I do have one other thing to share with you…I am pregnant. You are going to have a younger sibling. We should have told you sooner, but with the delegation here we didn't want word to spread to early"
Deanna looked like she had just been slapped. She stared incredulously at the two monarchs. She stood in blind shock for a moment before she regained herself enough to offer her congratulations. She was dismissed after that and walked to her room in a daze, hardly realizing where her feet were carrying her.
"Two days later, Andrew did indeed arrive and a small banquet was held with my family and his. Caleb didn't want the press to know anything until the formal announcement was made. Of course there were rumors flying around due to his arrival but we kept quiet. The pregnancy of my mother was weighing on my mind and I couldn't help but feel disdain for my parents, my brother, for society for putting me in this position."
It was the night of the small dinner welcoming Andrew to the palace. He was a tall man with graying hair, at least twice the princess's senior. He wore an expensive black suit and round spectacles (he hadn't worn those at the ball). He brought his mother, father, and sister all who stuttered and acted clumsily in the presence of royalty, being that the Latoya fortune was earned solely by Andrew. He asked her to call him Andy or dear. She insisted that he call her Shalimar or Highness. He chose Shal.
When it came time to prepare for the dinner Deanna called her two ladies maids and had them bathe and dress her. She couldn't stop the sick feeling she got whenever she thought of her future.
The maids were happy to comply. They bathed her in warm water with rose scented oils and perfume and soap. She was then dressed in a robe and sat at her vanity. She fought to forget when she dressed for Will at the same vanity. Lea brushed her hair until it was dry and put it up in an elegant knot, leaving wisps of curled hair to frame her face. She then wove small silk roses into the knot. Leanne on the other hand did the princess's make up. An ivory foundation was applied. Her eyes were coated with a white eye shadow, and had mascara put on. Her cheeks were powdered again giving her a slightly pale, but not sickly look. Her lipstick was a light, barley noticeable pink.
Once her hair and makeup were finished, Lea and Leanne helped Deanna put her corset and petticoats on and then helped her into her dress. The dress was solid white. The bodice was strapless and tight. It held an intricate, beaded pattern and had a narrowed waist. The skirt was long, but lacking a train and fell straight. It had a slit up to her thigh on the right side. The back was full of buttons, from the all the way to the slit. They put diamond earrings, in the shape of chandeliers in, and she wore a diamond choker with her pendant. The twelve bracelets were also present. She wore white open toed, heeled sandals and her nails were painted silver. She wore an ornate tiara, with diamonds and pearls encrusted, being formed into tiny flowers on vines.
After much poking and prodding the ladies maids declared her ready for dinner and sent her on her way. Deanna thought of little other than her impending marriage and plastered a fake smile on her face. To those who didn't know her previously she looked like the happy bride-to-be, which everyone saw her as, but to Will, though he wasn't there (he was the only one who could see) she looked like she was about to be led to the noose.
When she arrived in the dinning hall, everyone was standing waiting to greet her. Andrew came up and kissed her on the cheek in welcome. He then introduced his father, Char, his mother Cecilia, and his younger sister, Eleanor. His mother was kind faced woman, with laugh lines and a plump size. His father was gray but regal looking, with an air of nobility around him, and Cecilia was an elegant woman, with few gray hairs and very thin. Her husband was away on business and unable to attend.
Dinner was a fine affair, full of small talk and false compliments. It was a five course meal, including soup, salad, seafood, chicken, and steak. For dessert there were two types of cake, white and chocolate, and small truffles in assorted flavors. The King and Queen sat at the heads of the table, while Deanna sat at her mother's right with Andrew next to her. Cecilia sat on Andrew's left. The Latoya's were on the other side of the table. There was white and red wine served.
Deanna ate and made polite conversation, hiding the fact that she felt like she had been sold into slavery well. When the end of dinner approached Andrew made the engagement official.
"Shal, I have gotten to know you throughout dinner and would like nothing more for this engagement to become official. You are a lovely woman and will make a wonderful wife. I of course will be an excellent king and want you to stand behind me always. As they always say behind every man is a good woman. So, will you seal our future and consent to be my wife?"
She sat there knowing from the beginning what was coming, though it didn't make hearing the words any easier. He was proposing based on a few hours polite conversation and didn't even mention her role as queen, though he did make him king already. She was furious that he could make such assumptions, when without her he would only be a business man. She wanted to scream that he didn't know the first thing about her, he had only asked about trivial matters and gossip. He hadn't asked what she liked, disliked, what her dreams were, or what her plans for the kingdom were. When he wasn't talking about stupid matters, he was imagining himself as king, and how wonderful it was. She hesitated for a moment and then, out of the corner of her eye saw Caleb nodding at her. Deanna knew her fate was sealed. "Yes, of course I'll marry you." She found the words were difficult to get out and sounded like someone else was saying them. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of all she had just given up, Will, becoming who she wanted and making the changes she wanted.
Claiming fatigue from the evening's excitement she retired to her bedchambers, refusing Andrew's offer to accompany her back. She needed to be alone. Shalimar wanted to go to her father's grave and sit but knew she was being watched and couldn't risk going out at night again.
An hour later, Lea and Leanne helped the young princess into her bed clothes and brushed out her hair. She lay on her bed knowing that in five days the engagement would be made public and there was no way out. She finally let the tears fall that she had been holding back, she cried for Will, for having no way out of marriage, for being born a princess, and for being kept from her dreams.
She suddenly stopped crying and began to think. She rose and went to her balcony; she could still see Will calling up to her. From there she could see the graveyard where her father laid. Slowly she formed a plan and by the time dawn rolled around, she had a way of escape.
AN: OK I am so sorry this took so long. I have had school work out the ears…I had competitions every Saturday…and my brother was home for two months effectively cutting me off from the work I had started on this chapter. I know this was shorter but I wanted to get something out to all of you and didn't want to give away too much of the plan. Sigh…life is just so complicated. So I want to know from all of you if you like the longer chapters or if this length is ok. Longer chapters mean longer waits as I don't have a lot of time to write and I am constantly changing things. Yes this took a long time… but the first chapter took about a year to write… but that's because I forgot about it for about six months. I promise it won't usually take that long. Sorry if the long wait upset you but the longer the wait the better the chapter…let me know about the length thing and please give me some feed back of any sort.
Next Chapter: the announcement and a visit to Deanna's father's grave…what will is thinking and getting to know Andrew a little better.
Jaina
