She had barely fallen asleep before her doors flew open at her grandmothers attempt to unlock them.

"Magdalena!" Josephine stood at the entrance to Lena's room with a look of wonder in her eyes. "What have you done to these doors?!"

"Is there something wrong with the doors?" She asked in a voice coated in innocence.

Lena sighed deeply and laid her head back to her pillow, closing her eyes and willing her grandmother to disappear. Four days she was constrained to her room and today she would be let out. Today was the day she became a wife.

Before long, Lena was forced out of bed by an onslaught of maids and seamstresses all tuned to the task of turning her into the perfect bride.

"Saints alive, Josephine!" Her grandfather stepped through the door while the seamstresses worked on the final fitting. "The door! What's happened to the door?!"

Her grandfather stood to the side opening and closing the door as the wood creaked painfully.

"Leave it be, Eldridge!" Josephine had a careful eye on the work of the seamstress. She had no patience for very much else.

He walked into the room and cast Lena a confused look. "The door?" He asked in a lower tone to not conjure his wife's anger.

"Truly, it was a force of nature, grandfather." Lena said.

The door was forgotten as Lord Eldridge Price stood in front of his granddaughter with a wide smile. Four women surrounded her, pulling at her sleeves and pricking at her side. He would have to admit that the women had worked wonders. He always knew Magdalena was a beautiful woman that would one day make a man happy, but he had never before seen his granddaughter in such elegance and finery. Gone was the wild streak in her loose hair and bare feet. She was a lady now. A Princess.

"You are beautiful."

There was a real pride showing in her grandfather's face. Tears came to Lena's eyes.

"Oh goodness, Eldrige! You're making the poor girl cry!"

"I can't tell my granddaughter that she is beautiful on her wedding day?" Josephine went to stand by him, the tension in her shoulders that she had carried around since she informed Lena of her engagement was gone.

"Of course, but only that. We don't want her getting married with a red face and swollen eyes."

Her grandfather laughed boisterously and shook her head, "Very well, Josephine. I can see if I say any more, I will be thrown out forthright so I shall depart!" He stepped forward and took Lena's hand.

"You have made me proud, Lena. Your father would be proud." Her grandgfather gave his parting words as Josephine pushed her husband through the door.

Josephine returned. "He's right you know." She said with a sad smile, standing back in front of Lena. "About your father. He would be proud of you."

Lena pushed tears away with the back of her hand and laughed bitterly. "Not too proud. I've just spent the last four days locked in a room."

"That's what would have made him proud." Her grandparents rarely spoke of her father and fairly refused to even mention her mother. Lena was left mostly in the dark over parents she couldn't even remember.

"Your father was a handful. He was always running off and getting into situations that he couldn't get himself out of. I see him in you every day." Lena felt herself grow still, afraid that if she moved, her grandmother would fall from this trance of honesty. "He was betrothed once before. It was this same castle where he faced his own prospect of marriage, but he was rebellious. He had disappeared and when we found him well- it was too late." A sark shadow passed over her grandmother's eyes.

"You have to forgive me, Magdalena. Forgive me for locking you up. I was only afraid. If your father had married who he was supposed to marry so long ago, he would still be here. Still be here to watch you get married."

The seamstresses stood after their work was concluded. They smiled at Lena and gave her small curtseys before leaving Lena and her grandmother alone.

"What happened to him?" Lena asked, her voice small and shaky. She had asked the question many times before but now was the closest she had ever been to an answer.

"The truth is that I don't know. When he left us behind, he left behind his birthright and from then he would only say that he would pursue his heart. Your mother. He left his family for the woman he fell in love with but no matter how much I hate that I never saw him again, I am happy because I know he was happy. I have been suffering with much guilt from marrying you off this way, Lena. I can only imagine your father wouldn't have approved." There was laughter in her eyes, "He probably would have stolen you away himself, but he would have been wrong." She said, "It that kind of reckless abandon that killed him. I don't know how it killed him, but I know that it did." She said firmly.

Lena dried all the tears from her face "I forgive you, grandmother." Lena said and they shared an embrace.

"The ceremony will start soon. You are ready. Do you want me to wait with you?"

"No, you can go find your seat. I need a moment to myself."

Josephine looked like she was about to argue. "Please, grandmother. I promise to you on my name that I won't run at first opportunity."

Josephine nodded with tears in her eyes. "I love you." She embraced Lena before leaving.

Lena took a seat on her bed trying to overcome her racing heart.

"Your door's broken." Lacey stood at the threshold, running her hand down the broken latch.

"I noticed." Lena evaluated her cousin solidly. She hadn't seen her cousin in the four days since arriving at the castle and she hadn't expected a visit from her now.

"You look beautiful, cousin." Lacey said, but anger poisoned her tone.

Lena schooled her face to keep from molding into a triumphant grin.

"Thank you." She waited in silence for her cousin to leave.

"I really thought it would be me." She whispered a look of utter destruction on her face.

Looking at her cousin now, Lena felt a wave of pity for the spoilt child who never learned to share the spot light.

"You will have Layton and Westly. With those two, I know you will be happy. Probably more happy than me, living amongst strangers in a strange place."

"It's not fair. If grandmother hadn't locked you up, they would've seen. They would have seen that it was me they wanted, not you."

Lena's pity dried up instantaneously. "Well, I guess we won't know if you were right." The truth was that Lena was happy to marry the Prince if only to save him from a lifelong attachment to her cousin but she knew how close to the edge of a temper tantrum her cousin was. Knew not to say anything to evoke her anger. They stood in silence for a moment before Lacey shook her head.

"You're going to ruin everything. I'm the only one who seems to know it."

With that, Lacey turned and took her leave, leaving Lena alone for only a moment before the door swung open again. Half expecting Lacey to return with more calloused words, Lena tensed up but to her surprise, the Queen walked in.

"These doors are completely destroyed!" The Queen said, stopping at the broken wood. Lena lost all her words at the sight of the Queen standing in her room. "Have they been like this your entire stay?" She asked incredulously.

Lena was more than willing to start a manhunt for the beastly traitor who broke down her door, but her wedding was only moments away. Raving over the lunatic who kicked in the door for her during the dead of night was not high on her priority list.

"I misplaced the key. I had some forceful help." Lena said.

Lena's response seemed to satisfy the Queen well enough. Lacey stood frozen as the Queen stopped in front of her.

Lena bowed, not knowing what else to do, "Your majesty."

The Queen stared at Lena with a slight worried brow. "You are well then, my dear?"

Lena nodded. She had forgotten her grandmother's cover story to explain Lena's absence. No doubt the entire castle thought Lena to be very sickly and weak.

"I am fully recovered."

The Queen smiled then, "Good. I had thought to visit you earlier but Josephine can be quite insistent when she wants to be."

Lena smiled tightly, "Yes."

"I need to apologize to you, my dear."

"There is nothing you could have to apologize for."

"Of course there is. This entire engagement has been unfair toward you from the start. I had hoped you would have time. To fall in love with the people here to fall in love with the city. I had hoped you would have met Garrett at the very least-" Her voice cut off and her eyes held a sad melancholy.

"No matter. What's done is done and I know my son will be bewitched by you."

Lena bowed her head and smiled at the floor. "Thank you for your kind words, your majesty."

"I promise they are sincere. I've always wanted a daughter" The Queen said with a wide grin. She pulled Lena into a hug and Lena felt a a small pang, longing for home. Wishing Iris were here to see her married.

The Queen pulled back. "It won't be to much longer now, dear. Do not be afraid. Hold your head high and walk with purpose. Everyone will be won over by you, the moment they see you."

There was a sharp knock at the door. They both turned to see a footman standing in wait.

"It's time." The Queen said, taking Lena's hand. Lena hadn't realized how heavy her dress would be until she took her first few steps down the hall. It felt as though she were trudging through thick mud. The Queen took Lena's arm through her own and supported her until she reached a grand doorway.

The Queen reached up and took the front half of Lena's veil and brought it over her face.

"Don't let my son scare you off. He can be rough around the edges, but he's a good man. If he gives you a hard time, just give him a hard time right back, understand?"

Lena nodded and the Queen smiled.

"Well, I will take my seat. Everyone will be ready for you. You just come in whenever you feel like it."

The Queen squeezed her hand in parting and then slipped through the doors quickly.

Lena stood at the precipice on her wedding day scared for what lay ahead. The soft organ music floated in from the doors. The guards tensed and their faces asked the question she was asking herself. Was she ready?

Lena took a deep breath, remembering Iris's promise that she would be with her. Walking down an aisle for all the kingdom to see was a performance. One thing Lena knew she could do and do well and that was perform.

Lena graced a confident smile. "I'm ready." She said to the footmen in a steady voice. The doors opened revealing elegance. Even through veiled vision, Lena saw that white banners and flowers adorned the room with little expense spared. accents of gold and lilac littered the room. The room housed hundreds. Some sitting. Some standing at the edges. There were second story seats, people packed in tightly to witness the royal wedding.

The only person not looking at her was the man who stood across the room- down the aisle dusted with flower petals, up the steps of the dais, and standing in front of the archbishop. He faced away from her.

Lena walked powerfully, scared to slow down and risk losing the momentum of the long train that drug behind her. She felt like some sacrifice, walking toward an alter to be given to some stranger.

She was almost there. Barely up a third of the steps, only a short distance from the alter when a loud ripping sound echoed throughout the hall, louder than even the soft sound of the organ. Lena felt her dress jerk her backwards as the rip sounded out. Her heart plummeted. She quickly turned around. Relieved that her dress had not torn from her body. Instead, her train had somehow found itself trapped beneath a bench directly in front of her cousin Lacey.

Lena was stopped short, unable to move further. She tried to subtly pull on her dress to free herself but it was too stuck.

She saw a sea of smiles and sympathy as they all enjoyed the predicament Lena was forced into. Hot tears of frustration built up in her eyes. Since the day she had arrived at the castle, 'trapped' had become a recurring theme and now on one of the most important days of her life, here she was. Trapped. She stepped back towards the dress ready to wrench it towards her with every ounce of embarrassment and desperation that coursed through her but to her horror, a man stepped down from the dais towards her. The broad shoulders she would be married to in only minutes cut in front of her. He wrapped his hand in the fabric of the train and effortlessly released her. When he turned, all coherent thought shriveled from her body. She found herself looking into the eyes of him. The traitorous beast of a man.

She barely recognized him. No longer did he look disheveled. He was freshly shaven and his hair combed back in perfect form. He wore a white coat with gold embroidery and a crown. The awful beastly traitor was her betrothed the entire time. She should have seen it coming. Should have recognized the cruel and twisted hand of fate. She felt incredibly stupid, but there was nothing she could do except stare at him. She gave a small prayer of thanks that a veil covered her face as she gawked.

"You are well enough to continue?" He asked. His eyes regarded her in some sort of challenge. There was a slight air of mocking in his voice. He stepped forward, "It's either continue on or turn and go back. Your choice,"

Lena could hear the sea of whispers around them as hundreds of people looked on, oblivious to what words were exchanged between them, only feet from the alter.

"I can't go back now." She was already almost there.

He just nodded; his eyes remained unreadable. "Very well. I'll meet you at the top."

He was back at his place waiting before she could bring herself to move forward. Her ascent was slower than his, having to drag her lengthy torn train up behind her.

She stood side by side the traitorous beastly Prince; her mind was spinning. How could she marry him? The archbishop began to speak. Lena tried to hold on to the words he spoke, but she was assaulted by a wave of thoughts and feelings.

The archbishop spoke of strength and unity. In a country and in a marriage. Lena thought of tearing off her veil and running out, refusing to marry him.

The archbishop spoke of love and laughter. Lena wondered if they would care if she ran. Lacey would surely jump at the opportunity to be standing where she stood now.

"I do." The Prince spoke the words first. A promise to protect. love. cherish. value. Through all adversities.

Before she knew it, the bishop looked to her, waiting for a response.

"I do." Lena choked out. Those two words solidified the reality of the situation. Gone were her fantasies of fleeing as far as her legs could take her. Running back home to the Lenwood.

"You may kiss the bride."

The Prince took her arm and turned her towards him. She was overly aware of the hundreds of people who stood in anticipation for this moment. The Prince lifted the veil over her head, his eyes stormy and unreadable.

"I am convinced you will love him at first sight." That's what Iris had said.

She really looked at him now wondering if there was a world where she could have loved him at first sight. If this was the first time she had seen him. Standing beside her looking like some long proclaimed Greek hero, his hand gently wrapping around her waist as the other caressed her cheek. He pulled her forward into his arms and he kissed her.

She wasn't ready. wasn't prepared for the onslaught of emotion that came from just his touch. The bells rang. The people around them erupted in riotous cheers. All of it barely registered for Lena. All trepidation was soothed. It was as if she had been sliding backwards ever since her grandmother told her of the engagement, but she just found a foothold.

He pulled back from her, his face stern with traces of anger.

Lena realized Iris was right. If she had not already poisoned their relationship with foolish embarrassments, her arguing and sarcasm. If this was the first time seeing her Prince, her husband, she would have loved him.

Applause erupted in the hall. He pulled away, his eyes studying her. She wished she could decipher his emotion.

Her own emotions were likely plastered over her face. Her shock, her embarrassment, and the weakness in her knees that would not go away.

She was a wife. She was a Princess.