Thank you all for the support! Here's the next installment of Queen Hours :)

Chapter 2: The Arrangement

The ocean spreads fore miles across. There are dolphins emerging from the water toward the north. A smile spreads across my face at this sight. Although it is extremely dangerous, the ledge of Mount Spew gives one of the best views of the island.

I take a sip of my water and turn my head to check up on Tristan. He is scaling the side of the mountain without a rope, harness, or any other type of safety precaution. I am not nervous for him. Tristan does this every Wednesday after school when we hike Mount Spew. I do this as part of my cardio training. Tristan does this for fun.

My mind wanders back to the king. I wonder if I am starstruck. I have only seen the king on campus two other times. Both times I quickly spotted Kinkow's leader across the main student center, barely catching a glance. I am too lost in thought to notice Tristan had taken a seat next to me on the ledge.

"Hey, what do you think of King Brady?" I ask impulsively.

He takes a sip of his water before responding. "I don't know. He's alright, I guess."

"I mean half the island wants to dethrone him. Do you think it's going to happen?" I ask. Although he is quite popular in school, many of the older islanders despise his leadership style. Word around the island is that he is too young to make wise decisions and too much of a loose cannon to be entrusted as the king.

"Nah. People are crazy. They just can't overthrow a king because they don't like him. I mean, sure he's put our island in danger, but I'm pretty sure that isn't even part of the law. Unless he doesn't follow through with his duties, he's going to stay our king." Tristan says. I can sense his disinterest in our conversation.

I nod. "So if I become a royal guard, do you think I'd be assigned to be part of King Brady's bodyguard squad? Following him around through class and standing in his outer circle, protecting him from obsessive freshman girls."

Tristan lets out a laugh. "You'd probably be fired for strangling one of those annoying girls if you were one of the king's bodyguards!"

"Let's hope that if I do become a guard, I'll do something that requires brain cells." I reply. I start to get up and dust the dirt on my shorts. I grab a hold of Tristan's hand and pull him up as well.

"Thanks! We should get going." He says.

We make our way back down to the mountain and go our separate ways. I take the dirt path back to my empty beach house to finish up last training exercises. My friends think the time I put into practice is overkill. Candace says I am an overachiever even when it comes to these things. I take it as a compliment. While I do not always enjoy overworking myself, I know I will be more than prepared when I enroll to become a royal guard.

I open the door to my house when I am greeted by the surprise of my life.

"Daddy!"

"Baby girl!" I run toward my dad and welcome him with open arms.

"What… what are you doing here? When did you get back?" I cannot contain my excitement. He was supposed to be in the island of Lakuna tending to diplomat matters and said he would not be back for another two weeks.

My dad gives me a big smile. "Oh well I've received new orders from the kingdom and I'm back home early."

I beam with joy. After a tiring day, seeing my dad has made me forget all about the fatigue and stress. I give him another hug.

"Hey, if you're still training I am more than happy to spar with you. Grab your bow staff and let's go!" My dad says excitedly.

"Okay!" I walk towards the door enthusiastically as my dad follows behind.

It is my favorite day of the week –Saturday. Ever since my dad's surprise homecoming, my mundane routine has transformed to happier days. Today is my rest day. I have been looking forward to this day all week and I get to spend it with my dad. Much to my surprise, he has been home for the most part. Usually he spends his hours at the castle.

Today we are planning to go to the beach and surf. I have dressed in my favorite beach attire and head down the stairs to meet my father. I take my last step when I notice our living room is cramped with guests I do not recognize. My father is sitting on his black armchair when he quickly stands up to greet me. I feel all of the strangers' eyes on me.

"Good morning, baby girl! How are you doing this morning?" My dad says a little too joyously.

"Um, I'm doing ok. Daddy, who are these people?" I whisper.

I turn my head and see three very old men dressed in ornate Kinkowan attire. They sit on the long couch adjacent to the armchair. Next to the trio is a young boy, no older than maybe fourteen years old. He wears a scowl on his face with his short arms crossed. Seated next to him are two Kinkowan guards.

My father clears his throat. "Mikayla these are the island elders."

My heart races a little. Kinkowan officials are in my home. I can only think this is regarding my impending tryout to become a palace guard. My expression goes blank, trying to contain my anxiety.

"Hello." I say in a quiet voice. I bow out of respect. The three elders nod their heads.

"Mikayla, the islander elders are…"

"They're the most respected people on the island. They have the ultimate say in island matters. The king is supposed to answer to them and they're only called out during important island business." I interrupt my father.

"That's right. Guess you're doing pretty well in that Kinkowan history class, aren't you?" My father replies.

I smile. "It's an honor to meet you all."

I hear the young boy clear is throat. He looks annoyed as he stares at my father with his beady blue-green eyes.

"Oh. Mikayla this is Lanny. He's the royal assistant." My father says unenthused.

"I'm the royal parliamentarian!" Lanny snapped. "Get it right."

My dad is unaffected by Lanny's exasperation. "You won't be the royal parliamentarian until you're eighteen."

"Nice to meet you." I say respectfully. I give him a quick bow that goes unacknowledged. If it weren't for the island elders, I would have rolled my eyes at the annoying little jerk.

"Daddy, what are these people doing here?" I ask.

My dad leads me to his armchair next to the island elders. I sit down, still confused. Thoughts race through my mind. I watch my dad pull up a chair next to the elders. By the way he looks, I know there he is thinking very deeply about something. I know something is not right.

I am the first to speak after a few moments of silence. "What's going on?"

"Mikayla, this isn't going to be easy to explain." He says solemnly. He cannot look me in the eye.

I glance at the elders who wear no expression on their faces. Lanny looks equally vacant. All of them cannot look at me. Their gazes are fixated on the wall behind me. I grow impatient.

"Is this about royal guard signups?" I ask. I hear the impatience in my voice and demand to be answered.

"You want to be a royal guard?" Lanny scoffed.

I am close to introducing my fist to his mouth, but my dad begins to speak. Lanny is lucky I spared him the injury and embarrassment.

"No, baby girl. It isn't about that. It's about the king." My father speaks in a hushed tone.

"What about the king?" I am growing restless not knowing what this meeting is about. I nervously tap my index finger on my lap, awaiting the news. Why on earth would they need to talk to me about the kings?

"Mikayla, my father, your grandfather, was very close to the king of Kinkow at the time. He had saved the king's life from the Tarantula People and the king was forever grateful." My dad says.

My finger taps even faster. I can only wonder where this story will lead. The elders and Lanny are intently listening to my dad as he speaks.

"The king was so thankful, that he gave your grandfather a position as a royal guard to express his gratitude, but felt that he needed to do more for the Makoolas as a token for saving his life." My dad pauses for a moment and finally looks me in the eyes. I return a pleading stare for him to continue.

"The king felt that the best way to repay the Makoola family was to make them a part of his."

I raise an eyebrow and I am still baffled by his story. There is no clear connection as to how I am involved with the king.

"What does that have to do with me?" I ask.

Again, my father takes a few seconds before he responds. "Your grandfather and the former king of Kinkow signed a long lost decree declaring an arranged marriage between the king's future son and the Makoolas' future daughter."

My eyes widened at the revelation. "Well grandpa had only sons…"

"The decree states that if unfulfilled by the next of kin, then it shall be fulfilled by the grandchildren and so on." My father speaks in a low voice.

I feel the heat rising on my cheeks. I stopped tapping my finger and curled my hands into a tight fist. I am still confused at my dad's words.

"Mikayla, the elders are here because you have been arranged to be married to King Brady." My dad says in a quiet voice.

My face is red with rage. My breathing begins to hasten as I start to understand the situation. "Arranged to be married?" I ask viciously. "How? Why? Nobody does arranged marriages anymore. It's the twenty-first century!"

"The former king and your grandfather have established this engagement and it is the law. It is to be done." Says one of the frail elders. His voice is shaky, yet dignified.

My dad looks at me with an apologetic look. "Baby girl, the king is facing impeachment by the islanders. The opposition groups have discovered another old Kinkowan law, stating a king must be betrothed before succeeding the throne. By having King Brady married, it will silence the opposition groups and save his throne."

"So you're asking me to be his scapegoat!" My voice has risen in volume and toxicity. I completely forget I am speaking to respected island officials and my own father.

"Young lady, the law states the king must be married. The official decree also states the a marriage must be conducted between the royal family and the next Makoola female, which happens to be you." One of the other island elder states, as he looks me directly in the eyes.

"Daddy, you can't force me to marry someone I don't even know! I'm only eighteen years old. Daddy, please!" My voice cracks in desperation. I want to cry, but I feel more anger than sadness.

My dad turns away before he starts to speak. "I… I know baby girl. More than anything I do not wish this to be your fate, but it's the law and they have threatened my line of work and imprisonment if you do not comply."

I am furious now. Not only are they forcing a marriage on me, but also blackmailing my father if I refuse. My hands clench into tighter fists, wanting to strike the closest living thing –which so happened to be Lanny. These people are giving me no choice. If I follow my heart, I compromise my father's career and ultimately my future. My dreams of being a palace guard are out the window. My father will be placed in Kinkow's dungeon. The Makoolas will forever be shamed.

"You people are disgusting. You're forcing me into this marriage so you can save King Brady's job? If our king wasn't such a screw up in the first place, we wouldn't even be in this situation!" I stand up and scream my words. I inch closer to the elders who are unfazed by my uproar.

"Mikayla, please calm down." My father pleads.

I look toward his direction and see how helpless he is. I have never seen my father given up on anything and now I can see that he has fully surrendered to this ordeal. I know in my heart that he has done everything to sway this decision of the elders, but he is too powerless to convince them and the royal family.

I know I could spend the rest of this time yelling everyone in the room. I can plead my case, citing reason after reason as to why this arrangement is depraved. Though, I know their minds cannot be made up.

I can feel my chest tighten. Although the anger does not subside, I know it is a helpless cause to keep fighting them. Nobody can get me out of this mess. I can stubbornly defy the elders, the decree, and the royal family but at the expense of my father and the family name. I take long breaths as I stand before the island elders. I look in the eyes of everyone in the room. I walk slowly toward Lanny who holds a scroll in one hand and a brightly colored quill in the other.

Lanny hands me both items with an expressionless face. Everyone watches me as I quickly sign my name on the parchment officially agreeing to fulfill the arranged marriage.