In two days, her husband was going to come home.
In two days, she was going to be held in his arms and sleep peacefully.
But what she isn't looking forward to is the wedding ball.
She could live without it.
But no one seems to care.
Right now, she decided to wear a long sleeved red dress.
She has two likeable dresses.
One white and one red.
She liked them because one, Artie bought them for and two, they hugged her body softly.
She could move and breathe in them unlike the other dresses.
When she finishes dressing and washing herself, she walks around the halls of the castle.
Lillian was taking care of the details of the ball.
The front entrance had a banner that said Welcome Newlyweds.
Down into the patio of the castle were round tables filled with silver platter and a white cloth covering the tables.
Roses were set in the middle.
There was a stage with a piano for music.
She and Artie would descend down the stairs arm in arm as the kingdom screamed for their marriage.
She sighed.
That was a bit too much.
As she walked, she heard running footsteps coming towards her and she turned to see Joanne.
"Joanne? What's wrong?"
Joanne stopped in front of her and caught her breath.
"Your...highness..." Joanne said through gasps. "The...king...has returned."
"What?" Anya asked.
Artie was back?
So soon?
"The king has returned home early." Joanne said.
Anya frowned.
This was a bit weird.
Artie wasn't coming home for another two days.
"He's here? Artie is here?"
For a moment Joanne didn't speak and Anya thought she wasn't going to answer.
"Yes, he's here, looking for you."
"Anya!" She turned.
She heard someone call her name.
"Artie?" She said as she started to run down the hallways and look for him.
"Artie?" She yelled again as she ran down the stairs and ran out the door.
"Artie?"
"Your Highness?" One of the guards.
"Have any of you seen my husband?"
"Yes, he just went inside looking for you."
She ran back into the castle.
This was weird but she didn't think about it much because Artie was here.
"Artie?" She yelled, running up the stairs.
"Artie?" She yelled as she turned to the right to look after him.
"Anya." She stopped and turned around.
There he was, leaning casually on the window ledge.
She stopped running when she looked at him.
"Artie?" She asked as she slowly walked up to him.
Something was a bit...off about him.
She couldn't help but frown as she she stepped closer to him.
It was Artie.
But she sensed something different about him but she couldn't figure it out.
"Aye, Anya. It is me."
It was his voice. It was too deep.
"What happened to your voice?" She asked cautiously.
Although his voice was different, something was nagging at her that this wasn't Artie.
But how could it not?
He was right here, in front of her and yet why wasn't she running to his arms like she always did?
Why did she feel something was off about him?
"I drank a potion to get rid of my headache and my voice changed."
"But, why are you here?" She asked.
She didn't have the urge to step closer to him.
Something wasn't right.
"The king cancelled the meeting and we came back. Something about attending to something of the utmost importance."
"Anya? Artie?" Aunt Lillian asked with Joanne in tow.
"Aunt Lillian! I just came back. The king cancelled the meeting."
Anya didn't like his voice. It was wrong.
She was still trying to figure out what was so different about Artie.
He still looked the same.
She was constantly frowning at him as he walked closer to her.
"Um, your voice is different, Artie." Lillian said, frowning also.
Joanne looked guilty.
"I took a potion to get rid of a headache and the result was my voice changing. It'll go away."
He turned and grabbed her hand.
It felt wrong.
His touch felt cold and lifeless.
Her body was rejecting him.
But why?
This was her husband.
She frowned when he wrapped his arms and she placed her head on his shoulder.
This felt weird.
Her body didn't like this at all.
It felt like she had goosebumps going all over her body.
There was no warmth, no tingle, no anything.
What was going on?
"Now, Aunt Lillian, I would like to be with my wife as we prepare for the ball."
He placed an arm around her waist and walked with her as they passed Aunt Lillian and Joanne.
Anya was still frowning.
Her body wanted to get away from him.
She was stepping away from him as far as she could, looking back at Joanne and Lillian but Artie pulled her closer.
She looked back at him with a confused expression.
Why was his touch so...possesive and greedy?
Artie always held her gently, warmly, tenderly.
She didn't like this.
She didn't like this at all.