Chapter 54: Forced To Marry
"Welcome, Prince Eric." Norman said.
"Thank you." Prince Eric said.
"Let us introduce you to our daughter." Caroline said. "Princess May."
At that moment, the large doors at the top of the stairs opened to reveal May in her beautiful pink dress. The bottom is layered like a rose. The top isn't anything special, it's just plain pink. May is wearing pink two-inch heels and a pink choker with a heart in the front. And of course, the waistband has her scepter in it.
May starts walking down the stairs. Prince Eric's mouth is slightly open as he takes in May's beauty. Her Ninetales is to her left and Dahlia is to her right. Since Kiara is not who the Princes come to see, she was told to not show herself to the Prince. She's actually watching from around the corner at the top of the stairs.
May, Dahlia, and Ninetales stand at the bottom of the stairs. May is not the least bit happy to be there. Another Prince. Not Drew. Just...a Prince.
"So umm…" Prince Eric started. "Why did no one mention your beauty?"
"Maybe they wanted to surprise you." May answered.
"Yeah. Looks that way, because I definitely am surprised."
It was silent for a moment.
"So," May said. "Prince Eric, what reason do you have for being here?"
"I came to hopefully win the heart of a beauty known as you." Prince Eric answered.
"Ahh...so...if you accomplish that, what will you do with me?"
"Well, I'd marry you of course," Eric started. "And I'd enjoy kissing that beautiful face of yours."
May's eyes widened. ("He really said that?") She thought. ("Drew would never speak to me like that. He's who I love.")
"And…" May started. "Wouldn't you even care to know about my likes and dislikes before marriage?"
"I know everything I need to know just by looking at your appearance."
"Oh?"
"Because it's always the outside of a person that reflects the inside."
After a moment of silence, May turned around and started walking up the stairs. "I'm out of here."
"May." Norman called.
May stopped and looked at Norman. "Dad, he's just...not my type." With that said, she continued up the stairs, followed by Dahlia and Ninetales.
Norman sighed and faced Prince Eric. "You'll get a chance to speak with her again. She just needs time to think."
"You'll be okay May." Dahlia said.
"That Prince is just like all the others." May said. "They only care about the outside instead of the inside."
"Unlike Drew?" Kiara questioned.
May shyly nodded. "Drew would never speak to me in the way that Prince Eric did. Prince Eric said that he came to win my heart. When Drew was a Prince, he said that he came to get to know me better. That's who I want to be with. Someone who cares about the inside more than the outside. Why can't Mom and Dad understand that?"
"It's just the rule that you can't be with a commoner." Dahlia said.
It's been two weeks since Prince Eric came to the castle. He would try every now and then to try and speak to May, but she just tells him to go away. And Norman is getting tired of that.
Knock knock knock
Dahlia stood up and walked to the door. She opened it and stepped to the side for a guard to enter.
"Princess May, you're requested in the Throne Room."
"Okay." May said. The guard left the room.
"I wonder what they want." Kiara said.
"Me too." May said. "Kiara, you could stay in here. I'll go see what they want."
May is in the throne room after being told by a royal guard that the King and Queen requested her. Dahlia is with her. Norman and Caroline are on their thrones.
"You wanted to speak to me?" May questioned.
"Yes. We just wanted to bring up the fact that you haven't chosen a Prince to marry yet." Norman said.
"Why bring that up?" May asked. "I already told you that I don't want to marry one of those Princes."
"But you need to follow the royal tradition of marrying a Prince." Norman said.
"I understand that, but I just don't want to."
Norman sighed. "I knew you'd refuse again, so...I've chosen a Prince for you."
"What?!"
"You are to marry...Prince Eric." Norman said. At that moment, the doors to the throne room opened and revealed the Prince of Flor Kingdom. May turned around and saw Prince Eric walking towards her. She turned back around.
"Dad, you can't be serious, right?" May asked.
"You couldn't decide on a Prince, so we chose for you." Norman said. "This is how it must be."
Prince Eric stood next to May.
"But Dad," May paused before continuing. "I won't go through with it."
"You'll do as you're told." Norman said.
"No. I won't!" May yelled. She then turned around and ran out of the throne room. Dahlia soon went after her.
"We're sorry about her, Prince Eric." Norman said. "Just give her time to calm down and I'm sure she'll come to her senses."
("Poor May…") Caroline thought.
May is laying face down on her bed.
"It's not fair." May said. Her voice is muffled in the blankets.
"I know you don't like the idea of marrying a complete stranger, but maybe you could give this a chance." Dahlia said.
May sat up on her bed and looked at Dahlia. "But they're forcing me! They're forcing me to marry someone when…" Her voice trailed off. She looked down.
"I know."
"I love him…" May said, eyes getting watery. "He's the...only one that...could steal my heart." She said, sniffling and crying.
"I know, May. I know."
May looked up at Dahlia and Kiara. "I've always just wanted to marry someone who truly loves me for what's inside more than outside." She cried more tears. "But...the rule that I have to marry a Prince…" she paused before continuing. "I don't like it. I've never liked it. It's ruining my life and…" she looked down again. "I just wish it could all go away." She said quietly.
"I do too." Kiara said. "Because all I want is to see you happy. And I know that Drew is the one that makes you happy."
"If only my parents would let Drew come over...they'll see how much I love him."
Knock knock knock.
"Who is it?" May asked after hearing someone knock on the door.
"It's Prince Eric." Eric said from the other side of the door. "I wanted to see if you'd maybe like to talk about our upcoming wedding."
"Go away!" May yelled.
"But Princess, King Norman sent me up here to-"
"GO!" May screamed.
May and Dahlia didn't hear an answer. Prince Eric walked away from the room.
"He saw how upset I was and that's what he came to say?" May asked angrily.
Knock knock knock.
"May, can I come in?" Norman asked from the other side of the door.
"Should I let him in?" Dahlia asked.
"I can't tell my Dad to leave, so yeah." May answered.
Dahlia got up and walked to the door. She opened it and stood to the side, letting Norman enter.
Norman entered and sat down on the couch, looking at May.
"Girls, I need to speak with May alone." Norman said.
Dahlia curtsied. "Of course, Your Majesty."
Dahlia and Kiara exited the room, closing the door behind them.
"Listen May, I know you say that you don't want to marry a Prince." Norman said. "But you need to understand that you have to. That rule has always been followed by Royalty everywhere. And we're not going to change-"
"I know." May cut Norman off. "I know that it's my duty as Princess...to marry a Prince…" she said sadly. "So I'll do it."
"No more complaining?"
"I won't complain about it anymore." May confirmed.
"Good. Because the wedding is this Friday."
"What?" May asked incredulously, eyes wide. "This Friday? Today's Monday. Isn't that way too soon? I'm not even 18 yet. And I'm not done with high school."
"You won't be attending high school anymore, remember?" Norman reminded. "I don't want you to associate yourself with commoners that could use you."
"But they won't-"
"And the wedding has to be soon." Norman cut May off. "Look at it this way. The sooner it is, the sooner you'll get it over with and you can live your life happily with Prince Eric."
May frowned. ("Happily, huh?") She thought. ("There's only one guy who could make me happy, and that's Drew.")
"So, the wedding is this Friday." Norman said. "All of Petalburg will be invited to see Hoenn's future King and Queen get married.
"Great…" May said sadly.
"I'll take my leave now." Norman said. He stood up and walked to the door. He opened it and left. Dahlia and Kiara came from around the corner and entered May's room. They sat on the bed.
"So...what happened?" Dahlia asked.
"I told him that I'll go through with the wedding." May answered.
"You what?" Dahlia asked incredulously. "I thought you were against it."
"I am." May said. "But there's no way I can convince my Dad, so I agreed to marry Prince Eric."
"But...what about Drew?" Kiara asked.
"Drew probably won't be allowed inside of the castle when I'm going to be getting married, so it's fine. I won't see him and want to decline the wedding at the last minute, and he won't see me and make my Dad mad by objecting to the wedding."
"Well...I guess you're right…" Dahlia said. "You can't argue with your Dad anymore about this."
"I really never thought that being a Princess could actually make you this sad." Kiara said.
"It's part of being the next Queen…" May said sadly. "Marrying a Prince…"
"It's not fair though. You found your Prince. And he's the only one you'd ever want to be with." Kiara said.
"They just...don't see that…" May said. "There's Princes in every guy."