Talia smiled as she looked at the noble ladies chatting and showing off their expensive and luxurious clothes and jewelries. It was the hugest event in the Kingdom of Qarth, the youngest prince was choosing his bride and all noble families had been invited.
She wasn’t really from one of those but she was here as a helper, making sure that the place remains clean.
Talia was nineteen years old and unlike other children of her age she wasn’t going to school. She lived with her grandmother; she never knew her parents so her grandmother was everything to her. She was sick and she could only work hard to pay her medical bills.
“Stop staring,” Jane the woman who worked in the palace and the woman who had hired her said.
She smiled at her and said, “it’s not every day that I get to see such a thing.”
“Indeed, I wonder whom the prince will choose. He had been looking down lately,” Jane mentioned.
“Is that so? Isn’t it obvious that he will choose Chloe?”
“You never know, the world is full of surprises. Go t the kitchen and bring a jug of water.”
“Okay, I will go now.”
Talia left the hall and began to walk towards the kitchen. On her way she suddenly was attracted by this painting on the wall. For a moment she felt very dizzy and as if she was sleeping she had a strange and bizarre nightmare. The world was spinning and she just needed it to stop.
“Are you okay?” a voice asked and slowly she came back to her senses.
She wasn’t seeing clearly yet but she replied, “I am fine now, thank you. Did I hurt you?”
“No, you didn’t but you were about to fall. Take it easy.”
“I will. Thank you once again, I will take my leave.”
Talia couldn’t look at her savior’s face, she was very embarrassed. She just left and head for the kitchen. She told the kitchen maids what she wanted and they gave her the jug and placed it in one of the trays. She took the tray and headed for the hall.
She found Jane who instructed her to pour water for the ladies that wanted it. Ten minutes later the Queen arrived followed by the prince. It was the first time she was seeing them at such a close range. The prince was such a handsome man, the lady who was going to be his bride would be lucky.
They all paid respect to them and watched them sitting down before they did the same. As a helper she couldn’t sit but just stand as far as she could and wait for any instructions.
“Thank you all for coming in such huge numbers for a happy occasion of our family. I hope you will enjoy and have a great time. As tradition says one of the ladies among you shall be chosen and no one should feel bad about it. Whoever the prince will choose will become his bride, and I hope that you will all respect that,” the Queen explained.
Talia understood this rule very well. Instead of having arranged marriages the princes will be given a chance to pick his bride among all the ladies of the kingdom.
So many surprises had happened of course but everyone knew that the prince was taken by Chloe his childhood lover and friend. It was really pointless to have this ceremony, she thought.
One day she would love to meet a man for herself, fall in love and marry him. To have a normal and happy family was all that she prayed for. How wonderful it would be if her grandmother would be able to see her children.
She looked around and saw how happy all the ladies were. Somehow her gaze found Chloe and she looked very proud of herself. She knew that she was the chosen one, how wonderful she must be feeling at that moment.
She then looked to the front where the Queen and the prince were seated. Her gaze went towards the prince and he looked a bit sad for someone she was seeing for the first time up-close. Was he not happy with the ceremony? What was eating him up really?
“It’s time for the prince to choose his bride. May all the ladies remain seated, the prince will take rounds and he will choose his bride by giving her his ring.”
There was cheer among the people, it was starting already and she couldn’t wait to witness such a great event. She watched as the prince majestically stood from his seat and began to walk through the aisle surrounding the tables. His gaze was a Chloe and she smiled inwardly. Was she going to become the princess?
But the prince passed her and continued the rounds. What was he thinking really? Minutes passed as the prince took his time looking at the ladies; he finished all the ladies that were seated and still he hadn’t removed his ring on his finger.
The prince’s gaze was all of a sudden on her; she looked around and noticed that she was the only one there. He smiled at her and she wondered what was happening. He began to walk towards her, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall. He stopped right in front of her and gave her a smile again.
“I can tell you are fine,” he said and suddenly it hit her.
The voice she recognized it, it belonged to the person who saved her earlier. How was it even possible that it was the prince?
“It was you?” she murmured.
“It was.”
Why was he speaking to her?
“Look at me,” he said and she did.
What was he really thinking?
“I think you need to repay me for the help I gave earlier,” he said.
“How should I do that?” she asked avoiding his gaze.
“You have to save me from all this like I saved you. You think you can do that?”
“I have to pay a debt; how can I help you?”
“That’s more like it. Whatever I’m going to do right now you just needs to say yes and don’t say no, understand?”
“Yes, I do.”
He smiled at her again and moved away from her. Since she was standing against the wall, there was a little chance that anyone heard their conversation since they were whispering.To her surprise the prince removed his golden ring with a ruby in the middle from his finger and he took her hand and he slid it on her finger.Even though she had an idea what was happening but to really watch it happen was the craziest thing she was seeing. The ring felt heavy on her finger. How was she qualified to wear such a ring on her?The prince kissed her hand and just like that while she was still in shock he said, “mother, this is the lady I am choosing for my bride.”She looked at him and then to the queen who didn’t seem to be in shock. She smiled at her son and stood up.“Bring her here,” she said.“Remember not to talk too much. You promised.”“I will remember that.”She followed the
“The car is waiting for you, we should leave.”“Will I be returning tonight?”“No, you will return tomorrow in the morning; the courtesy of the Queen.”“I should thank her then.”“I will pass that to her, right now we need to leave.”She left with Jane and the car was waiting for her. They showed her respect which felt very weird considering the fact that she was waiting tables just an hour ago. There were still guests in the palace and there were staring at her.For a moment she thought she heard what they were talking about which was very hilarious. She shook her head and entered the car. The car drove off and she watched as she left the palace with two more cars shielding the one, she was in. her life suddenly changed and she needed answers.Prince Neal didn’t love her, so why did he resort to this instead of just marrying Chloe?An hour later the car drove in
“Fine, take a seat if it’s going to last.”Neal sat down and she did after she put the flowers in a vase of water.“Tomorrow go on a date with me.”“I have never heard of a date before the wedding. You finally have time?”“Yes, I do have time and I would love to know you better before we tie the knot.”“Too late for that but I would love to if it means leaving the palace walls.”“You are getting tired already?”“Trust me its suffocating.”“You will get used to it.”“So where will we be going for the date?”“That’s a secret.”“Should I be wearing these clothes again?”“Don’t worry about that. I will take care of it.”“Hope you will do. It’s time, wouldn’t want to keep your mother waiting.”“I heard
He was so handsome she regretted spouting so much nonsense to him. She felt jealousy that he held someone so dear in his heart and yet he was marrying her just to spite her. Being used by him was just painful and she could only just vent out on him.“You are tired, return to your room now,” he said.“Goodnight,” she said and turned her back on him.She knew he was angry and she was very sorry about it but she was glad that she said it or else she won’t be able to sleep well that night.She entered her room and removed the evening dress she wore that night and changed into her night wear. The moon was shining so brightly in the night sky and she couldn’t leave her room but just admire it through the window.She looked at the moon and began to meditate the words her nana told her the night she saw her. The more she said them the more she felt very calm. After that she crawled into her bed and slept.&n
“Aren’t you going to pick one?”“Just choose what you think will be good,” she said.Neal after a long consideration picked a black slim cell with a nice rear and front camera. While he paid for it, she was busy looking at the phone covers. She had always wanted to have a matching cover with her boyfriend if she ever had one. Now that she skipped from a boyfriend to a husband, will she have her dream fulfilled?“What’s on your mind?” he asked her.“Can you buy that for me?” she asked looking at the covers.Neal smiled and asked the sales attendant for the covers.“You want matching covers?”She couldn’t answer that question at all, she felt very embarrassed.“I will buy them for you,” he said and paid for them.When the phone got registered as well as the SIM card, the attendant put the cover on and she was happy. Neal took his phon
Neal was still a university student at the capital biggest university. He was in his third year. It was the royal family’s tradition for every prince to marry before he turns twenty-one years of age. The ceremony was arriving for him to choose his bride and the only person he could choose was Chloe. He had promised to make her his in front of everyone. Make everyone bow to her and respect her.A week before the ceremony he decided to surprise her at her house. He didn’t call in advance and just went there. What he wasn’t expecting was to see his girlfriend and best friend making out as if it was normal. He was speechless and couldn’t confront them at all.The only thing he could do was simply to withdraw and act as if he never saw it. He planned to trample on the promise he made and make sure that she suffers the most humiliation she could ever get in her life. She stomped on his heart and he was going to do this same too.As if everythin
“So, it’s true, now you can’t even defend yourself. I saw you with my own eyes and couldn’t ask you at all. I wanted you to feel the same pain I did when I found out about you two. Just leave me alone Chloe.I will not tell anyone about it to show you some respect because of our past affection but from now on please stay away from me as possible. I have a wife I need to care about.”“Don’t do this to me Neal, please. I’m sorry, it just happened.”“I don’t care how it happened really. I just want you out of my sight or else I will tell every media outlet there about you and see whether you can walk holding your head high,” he threatened her.Chloe wiped away her tears and withdrew from the class. He slapped the book on the table and closed her eyes. It was really painful; he loves her but he just couldn’t do anything about it now.“Neal!” Jasper his other
Her son kept avoiding Talia so she had to threaten him so that he could spend some time with her. If left alone for too long, she didn’t know what the end would be like.She left her hall and went to where her husband and king were.“Did the Priestess left?”“Yes, she did.”“So, it’s finally happening?”“Yes, it is.”“For the first time our son did something good.”“Yes, he did. Do you think we should tell him?”“No, we mustn’t. They should be able to talk it out themselves. Let us not interfere and let the kids settle this among themselves.”“That is true my love. Let’s wait and see where it will lead us. I have to take the beads out now. You should rest early; it will be a very long day tomorrow.”“It will be. It’s been so long since we had a huge event like this.”&ldq