Reasons

Katie pulled back, her eyes widening in surprise. The Queen’s smile remained, expecting Katie to just go with it. The princess glanced at Alexander. He didn’t look surprised at all. Was she the only one who didn’t know? Realizing the casual expression on her face was broken, she promptly corrected it and plastered on a smile.

“The official announcement will be three days from now so you have time to warm up to each other until then,” ,” the Queen turned to the King of Anatolia, dismissing the topic then and there. “Come Alaster, I must show you the book you requested to see!” Her aunt waved goodbye, dragging the King of Anatolia away, leaving her and Alexander alone.

Alexander crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head in disbelief. “They’re oddly casual.”

“That would be good, isn’t it?” she faced him. “At least they still have their friendly side intact. It’s rather refreshing, in my opinion.”

“That aside, you really didn’t know anything, huh?”

Katie gasped. “I thought I didn’t make it too obvious.”

Alexander leaned closer to her, his hands akimbo. “Are you kidding? You may think you’re a master at masking your emotions, judging by what seems to be six months of training, but you’re… really not.”

Katie felt a thorn stab her chest but it wasn’t a new emotion she couldn’t manage. However, her silence and downcast gaze gave Alexander everything he needed to know about what she could be feeling.

“So why aren’t you fighting it?” he asked.

Katie looked up. “What?”

Alexander rolled his eyes. “The engagement. This isn’t the ancient times where you can’t speak up. So why didn’t you?” Alexander let out a sharp exhale, giving Katie a once-over. “Although, you seem like the kind of girl who just doesn’t go against anyone.”

Alright! That’s it! Katie clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and answered. “I considered that we both have our reasons… and of course, our kingdoms were most definitely put into consideration. Also, I don’t think that’s true,” Katie returned Alexander’s gaze, surprising him at how intense it was. “After all, if there’s anyone here who doesn’t rebel against authority, it’s you.”

A glint of something red flashed in Katie’s eyes but was gone instantly. Alexander averted his gaze and fixed his posture to mask whatever he was feeling, the words of the princess still ringing clear in his ears. He clenched his fists, an inexplicable anger rising from the bottom of his gut. Those eyes of hers were definitely not normal.

It was almost as if… she could see through the deepest parts of myself. Alexander thought to himself.

And yet… why was he angry? Was that all? Alexander gulped, realizing the mixture of emotions building up in his chest. That wasn’t just it. There was anger, discomfort… and fear.

“Uh, why don’t we… go somewhere…?” Katie muttered inquiringly; the eyes that seemed to bore into his soul now gone.

Alexander subtly shook his head no in an attempt to act calm. “Actually, I want to check out your gallery.”

“Oh, then I’ll-”

“No need,” Alexander interrupted before Katie could offer to accompany him, absent-mindedly stepping back to distance himself from her. “I’m also here for research purposes so it will probably take a while. I’ll head to the library as soon as my father and the Queen finish what they wanted to discuss.”

“I see,” Katie muttered; a hint of relief, mixed with disappointment in her voice. “Then, I’ll be on my way.”

Alexander nodded, spun on his heel and left without excusing himself. As he walked away, he heard the distinct sound of heels hitting against the polished, parquet floor going further away as well. He faced Katie’s general direction and watched her walk up the stairs to the floor above. From behind, the princess looked weak and vulnerable. The dangerous aura from earlier was gone. It was almost as if it never existed. Was Alexander simply imagining it? Alexander cussed under his breath, balling his hands into fists to stop them from trembling.

…

That night, Katie was surprised to hear a knock from her door. It was a single, heavy knock so she thought she was simply imagining it. Still, she stared intently at her door as if waiting for whoever knocked to knock again.

“Your Highness?”

Katie shot up from her bed and rushed to her door to open it. One of the Anatolian bodyguards stood outside her door, greeting her with a stiff bow. For a split second, Katie widened her eyes in surprise. It had been a while since she was greeted so formally.

“King Alaster wishes to speak to you, Your Highness,” the guard said, smiling warmly.

Katie couldn’t help but smile back. “Of course,” she replied. “Where is he waiting for me?”

“Please follow me.”

Katie nodded and followed the guard to where the King awaited her. As they walked, she measured up the guard before her. He was tall and scarily muscular. She heard that the people of Anatolia were academics so she imagined them to be the opposite of the man before her. She chided herself for thinking in such a generalized way.

After walking in silence for a minute, Katie realized the guard was navigating the famous maze-like halls of the palace with ease. That, in and of itself, was impressive. Aelysia was, and sort of still is, a kingdom of warriors so they were very active when it came to wars. In fact, they conquered quite a lot of land because of it. However, this also meant they created a lot of enemies. Hence, the palace was constructed in such a way to confuse enemies should they manage to get into the palace… nothing much had changed in a couple millennia. Knowing that some of the rooms and panels in the palace can still trigger traps, Katie stuck to studying the palace through blueprints.

“How well do you know your palace, Your Highness?”the guard asked.

“Not much,” Katie admitted. “The palace of Aelysia is famous for having booby-traps so wandering around it is discouraged. I have been studying through blueprints but those things are insufficient.”

The guard laughed. “I imagine that may be so,” he stopped in front of a door and stepped aside. “The King is waiting for you inside, Your Highness.”

Katie curtsied as gracefully as she could to the guard and made sure to thank him before opening the door. Inside was the King of Anatolia, sitting on a leather chair behind an oak desk. Katie greeted the king, plastering on a bright smile as she gently closed the door behind her. She could feel the king’s disapproval of her. Now, she was certain that the amiable smile he gave earlier was for the Queen only.

“Sit, Princess Katie,” the king waved at the wooden chair in front of his desk.

Katie walked as elegantly as she could in the hopes to impress the king but there were no changes in his expression. When she sat, the king leaned closer to her, resting his head on his lightly clasped hands. She could feel him studying her, looking for every flaw.

“First of all, Princess Katie, I am not against this political marriage between our kingdoms. In fact, I think it’s a great step to ensuring respect for each other’s kingdoms,” the King muttered, unmoving. “If you were to ask me, hating on each other for their own beliefs is simply ridiculous. However…”

Katie could feel her heart race, hammering against her chest. She surreptitiously took deep breaths to calm herself before answering. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“I don’t think you’re a good match for Alexander,” the King leaned back on his chair. “And frankly, what I am worried most is your ability to rule a kingdom. You have been training for it yes, but it’s such a short amount of time compared to how long Alexander had been training. I was confident the Crown Princess was Princess Courtney so I agreed to the proposal but it seems I was mistaken.”

Katie bit the inside of her cheek. Everything the king said was true. Objectively, no one would think she can rule a kingdom given how little she trained so far. Yet, she knew she still had time to learn. Every word the king said were words she heard ever since she came to the palace. Everyone favored her cousin over her. She didn’t blame them for it. They were right, after all. She worked hard to at least earn a little respect from the staff but she was not stupid enough to think she changed their opinion of her even just a little bit.

She felt her chest ache intensely but she chose to bear the pain, keeping her expression as stoic as possible. “Is there any way I can change your mind, sir?”

The king mulled over her question for a bit. He picked up one of the papers on his desk and glanced at it before answering. “Your tutors have told me you have a steep learning curve,” the king straightened his posture. “Very well. You will have plenty of time to prove me wrong during the engagement festivities. I trust you will not let me down.”

The king stretched out his hand for a handshake. Katie firmly shook his hand and they both rose to their feet.

“Good night, Princess Katie… and good luck,” King Alaster muttered.