Freddie's POV

"I'm home," I yelled into the seemingly empty castle. The halls were not lit, even though the sun had already started to set.

I searched the walls for a light switch, hoping to find my way through the castle to my dad so that I could get some 'advice'. As soon as the lights were switched on, my attention was caught by a distant laughter.

"This is good news!" I could hear my father's laughter from the hallway. The doors to the room were slightly open and the light from inside creeped out onto the floor. The guards were not stationed outside the room, so I figured that whatever news my father had, it was really important. "Fetch my son right away! He will be overjoyed to hear of this!"

Whoa, that sounded like huge news. I decided to enter the throne room to listen to whatever he had to say. It better be good... "I'm home, dad."

"Oh! My dear prince!" he exclaimed. "You're just in time to hear some good news!"

I scanned the room. The guards were stationed at the sides of the king, the red carpet was rolled out and my best friend Gibby was sitting on the smaller throne-like couch beside my father, with Princess Carly leaning against him blissfully. Then, my eyes fell on a certain someone.

Princess Valerie.

She stood there in front of my father, with her lady-in-waiting directly behind her and two of her country's best guards by her side. She had a smile on her face as I walked down the carpet.

"What's up, dad?" I asked.

The advisor, seated on my father's right, had a look of disdain which flashed across his face as he tried to lecture me. "You do not speak to the king in this manner, your highness!"

I flashed him a glare, then continued with my journey down the carpet. Boy, this carpet sure is long.

"Fredward!" my father was not the least interested in the mannerisms and stuff. He was the happy-go-lucky type. "You're engaged!"

"What?" I stopped in my tracks the moment he mentioned the word 'engaged'. "To who?"

"Princess Valerie, of course!" he replied.

My world came crashing down. "What? Why?"

"As you know, Princess Valerie will be taking part in the upcoming pageant," my father stated. "But that's just the other reason why she's here."

"Then what's the main reason?" I asked.

"Our kingdoms are to be merged together," he replied. "There is a new enemy for our kingdom. His name is Lord Nevel and he has given us threats that we simply can't ignore. In order to ensure that our kingdom is strong enough to prevent any losses in case of war, Princess Valerie's country will merge with ours and we shall form allies to defeat Lord Nevel."

I rolled my eyes. "Why must I marry her? I mean, can't we just become allies just like this?"

"Well, sure, we can become allies without tying any knots, but..." he frowned. This is getting serious. "You two are going to get married."

This time, it was my turn to get angry. "I don't want to marry Valerie! The one I love is Sam! Not Valerie!"

"Exactly!" he stood up from his throne. "I want you to forget about that Samantha Puckett girl."

"Not going to happen," I rebutted.

Carly looked at me, then back at my father, as though she was worried about us. "Err... King Benedict... I think we should let Freddie decide who he wants to be with-"

"Prince Fredward," he interrupted Carly. "You're marrying Princess Valerie in one month's time. No further discussions."

With that, he left the room.

"One month's time, huh," Valerie approached me. "That's on the night of the 'People's Princess' pageant. I guess I won't be able to take part in the competition. I'm sure we can't even go and be a spectator, can we?"

"I'll marry Sam," I glared at her. "No matter what happens."

"Oh, we'll see," she smirked, leaving the room.

Carly climbed down the stairs from the elevated platform where she sat. "Don't worry, Freddie. I'm sure we'll find a way to get you out of this."

"My father's been known for his stubborn personality," I replied. "Once he makes a decision, nothing will change his mind."

"What about Queen Marissa?" she grinned. "I'm sure that she'll be glad to help."

"Yeah," Gibby came down the flight of stairs too. "Remember that time when she came back and brought Spencer with her? I've been afraid of the ballroom ever since that incident. But I don't mind helping out."

We laughed. "Thanks Gib," I said.

"No problem, what are friends for?" he said, more of a statement than a question.

"But there's still one more problem though," I looked at Carly.

She raised her eyebrow. "What?"

"Sam."