Chapter 3

“Get out of bed, Princess Amelia.” 

Amelia heard a distant voice but the fact that she didn’t want to open her eyes made her sink more into the bed. 

The present day was her wedding day! That thought alone made her pull the blanket over her head and shut her eyes tightly like it could get anymore shut. The sounds of footsteps became more audible as seconds went by.

“No! No! Please don’t come any closer. Please, turn back and leave.”

The young princess pleaded inwardly but luck wasn’t on her side because the door burst opened the next minute. 

From the sound, she could depict that a group of people just filed into her room. 

“Amelia!” Queen Alyssa called sternly. “You shouldn’t be seen in bed by this time. Stand up and let the maids do their job.”

The princess let out a groan as her mother pulled the blanket away off her body.

“Mother!” She whined.

“Be a good girl and let them get you all decked up for your big day.” Queen Alyssa smiled and rubbed her daughter’s cheeks tenderly.

“I don’t want to get married, mother.” Amelia sobbed, snuggling up into her mother’s arms.

The words the prince said to her the previous day came rushing back into her mind. Those words did nothing but confirm her fears. 

She was indeed going into a loveless marriage! 

After the prince left her in the garden, she headed straight to her mother’s chambers to tell her what the prince said to her.

“Prince Andrew doesn’t mean that.” Her mother had replied.

“No!” Amelia exclaimed. “Mother, he hates me already. I can’t do this.”

“I’m sure it’s because you two have not gotten to know each other.”

“Was that how dad was like when you married him?”

“Your maid, Helen, would leave with you tomorrow. I told her to stay with her family today so you might have to get someone else to attend to you for the day till tomorrow.” Queen Alyssa said, obviously avoiding the discussion.

The company of Helen was what Amelia had intended to talk to her mother about. But what the prince told her made her forget the request she initially wanted to make.

“You just avoided the question, mother.” Amelia pointed out. The news of Helen’s company didn’t elate her like it’d have if she had not spoken to the prince.

“I’m sorry, dear. But your wedding is tomorrow.”

~ 

“Oh! My baby!” Queen Alyssa wrapped her hands firmly around her daughter and kissed her temple. “I really can’t help with that.”

Tears trickled down Amelia’s face, which in turned got soaked into the queen’s dress.

Queen Alyssa pulled the princess away from being stuck to her body and dried the tears on her face with her thumb. 

“You’ll be fine, sweetheart. I can assure you that your mother-in-law is a nice woman and she’ll never maltreat you.”

“Can you say the same for the prince?” Amelia sniffed. “I’m marrying him not his mother.”

“Stop worrying, princess. You’ll be fine.” 

“There’s no point in arguing.” Amelia thought and nodded to her mother’s words. “What choice do I have, anyway?”

“I’ll leave you to the maids and the stylists.” She motioned to those ladies, standing at the entrance of the room. 

They all bowed when Amelia looked at them. 

“You guys should get to work. We don’t have much time.”

“Okay, your Majesty.” They chorused to the queen’s instruction.

“Amelia, be good. Huh?” Queen Alyssa kissed her daughter’s cheeks and turned to leave. 

“The guests will be here soon. We need to get her ready before the ceremony starts.” She said to the stylists before she hurried out of the room.

“Your highness,” Amelia raised her head and her eyes darted to meet the gaze of the one who called for her. “We’ve prepared your bath.”

“I’ve taken my bath.” 

Since she could barely sleep all night with the thought of her wedding in mind, she took her bath immediately she saw the day break and then went back to bed to get some sleep which she eventually could not get.

“We need to bath you again.” The maids said and Amelia did nothing but nod slightly. She wasn’t in the mood to argue with them so she stood to her feet and simply followed them to the bathroom. 

When she was fully in, they helped her strip while she immersed herself in the tub which had flowers floating on the water. 

She had no idea when they got that done and could only stare into the space as they got to work. 

While one of them handled the washing of her hair, two other ladies helped in washing her body.

Few minutes later, they were all done and they took little time to get her hair dried. The princess exited the bathroom with the maids trailing behind her.

“Your highness! Over here!” 

She looked up to see a young lady waved a little with a bright smile on her face. 

“You can smile all you want. You’re not the one who’s being married off to an arrogant prince.” Amelia thought as she walked closer to the lady who hurriedly sat her down.

“I’ll take care of your makeover while Willow styles your hair.” She said to Amelia, who glanced at the girl called Willow, standing behind her. 

But she cared less about what they were meant to do. All she wanted was to get out of their sight and get informed that she doesn’t have to get married.

A slight sigh slipped from her mouth as she thought about things she could do to escape getting married to Prince Andrew. 

“Mother tried to escape during her time. You can too.” Her subconscious whispered to her.

“I’m not sure I’d go far if I try it. I bet father has his men everywhere right now.” She thought and continued to fiddle with her fingers, slowly slipping into the world of her thoughts until she became almost oblivious of what the stylists were doing to her.

After what seemed like eternity to Princess Amelia, the ladies got their hands off her and she couldn’t be more thankful. She was beginning to get bored and distraught. 

“All done!” The beautician exclaimed as she clapped her hands, a little bit too excited. 

A maid appeared just right at the corner of Amelia’s room with what seemed to be a tray. Looking closely, Amelia realized it was her wedding attire, the royal ceremonial garment, neatly folded on it.

The beautician instructed the maid to place the tray on the dressing table.

The princess stood up and stretched her two hands apart as the maids helped her get dressed. The undergarments were the first set of clothing they slipped on her body. After ensuring they were firmly secured, other significant pieces of the garment were worn and finally, the exquisite red material, laced with beautiful embroidery designs was placed on it. The dress’ straps were delicately but firmly tied into a knot. 

A belt like strap was clipped around her waist and to finish up her royal bride look, a veil was clipped into her hair. 

Everything suddenly seemed too heavy for the young girl’s body to support. The dress was too silky. She could feel that. 

The maids bowed slightly after they were done and then took few steps backward. Amelia turned to the beautician and the lady grinned at her. 

“It’s an honor to serve you, princess.” She bowed. 

“You might want to see what you look like right now but we’ve got no time. We need to be on our way now.” She stated as she tried to usher the dressed bride out. 

Just when they were about to exit the room, they bumped into Queen Alyssa who was back to call her daughter.

“I thought you guys were taking too…” The queen paused when she saw her daughter. “Oh. My. God! Amelia!” 

“Mother?” The girl whispered.

“You look gorgeous, my love.” Her mother beamed and pulled the young bride into her embrace before kissing her forehead. 

“Thank you, mother.” She forced a smile.

“You should let this down.” The queen said, pulling down the veil that rolled out to cover her daughter’s face, making her view a little bit blur. “And then be on your way. The priest is here.” 

With her two hands placed one on top of the other at the waist region, Amelia trailed behind her mother, who led her through the hall way towards the grand hall that’d be used for the wedding. 

As soon as they got to the top of the stairs that led down to the hall, the queen stopped her. 

“I shouldn’t be entering with you. Your father will be here anytime soon to lead you in.” Amelia nodded in understanding.

Queen Alyssa went ahead to get down the stairs towards the hall. Greeting the royals she came in contact with, she walked up to the seat that seemed to be hers. 

Amelia turned back to see the beauticians chatting, and they glanced at her when they noticed her gaze on them.

“Congratulations, your highness.” They curtsied together as though it was a planned action. Sighing, Amelia nodded and looked away. “We’ll be on our way now.”

She heard their footsteps as they left her standing with her maids, who kept their heads bowed as usual. Helen was still nowhere to be seen. Amelia already guessed the girl wanted to savour her last moments in Astral with her family.

Moments later, Amelia was about to get tired of standing when the king, her father walked up to her. 

“Princess Amelia,” He smiled. “Shall we?” 

She looked down to see his outstretched palm, beckoning to her to grab it so she slipped her hand into his as he led her down the stairs, with the elongated part of the ceremonial attire flowing right behind her as they moved. 

“Welcome the king and princess of Astral kingdom!” 

Amelia flinched when she heard a loud voice right behind her after which a horn was sounded. 

All the important guests seated in the hall stood to their feet when they sighted the two royals at the far end of the hall, walking slowly to the front where Amelia’s groom was standing, right beside the priest. 

“Don’t be nervous, sweetheart.” The king whispered into his daughter’s ear and the girl couldn’t help but nod, unconsciously even before she could stop herself. While one of her hands was in his grip, to avoid falling, she pulled her dress up slightly with the other hand.

Amelia instantly remembered a scene from the book she was reading where the female lead was getting walked down the aisle by her dad. To the female lead, it was a dream come true because she was getting married to someone she loved. 

But to Amelia, it seemed like a dreaded moment.

“I know this isn’t me exactly walking down the aisle but it felt like one and it wasn’t even to meet someone I love. My life now just felt like the exact opposite of everything I’ve fantasized.” She thought.

The young princess snapped back to reality when they stopped walking, and her father released her hand from his grip. The next minute, she realized the king was no longer beside her. 

Instead Prince Andrew was standing right in front of her, waiting patiently for her to hold onto his hand. 

“Here goes nothing.” She breathed and slipped her hand into his as they both walked up to the priest.