Two weeks until Levi becomes king.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04OkUrOlDt
 I don’t think I’ve ever been pushed though the castle faster, and trust me, I’ve been pushed through the castle a lot. Malcolm is dragging me through the hallways so fast I feel dizzy, I don’t know how but now I’m being pushed into my room. Rose rushes me towards the dresser and shoves a velvet shirt into my hands. gods I hate velvet. 391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8m7W9uk7Xt
 Before I can complain about the obvious fabric injustice Rose shushes me and tosses the rest of the outfit on my bed before scurrying off to whatever she needs to do.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7qaVHf6Gn4
 The heavy wood door closes with a slam. Rose is the castle hand who has to deal with me most of the time. I stare at the clothes laying on my bed and sigh, royal meals are a pain but I’ll be done for if I skip another. I sigh heavily and glance around the room, it’s more space than I need really but I know damn well Levi has three rooms this size for himself. Rose pounds on the door and I remember how late I already am.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXFXgM9Tqs
 I quickly change and as I move to leave my room Rose rushes back in, looking me up and down to make sure I’m presentable before my crown is shoved on my head for the second time today. I’m assured through the halls and down the stairs towards the dining room of the castle by multiple castle hands who all do their part to make me look less like I just crawled out of a creek and more like a presentable prince of Kire who is only late due to his tutoring sessions.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2eO4rUDxWC
 Only when we get to the huge double doors does the final castle hand finish fidgeting with my hair. Before I can nod at the guards to open the doors, Rose grabs my shoulders and spins me to face her, nodding when she decides I look good. Or at least good enough. Dash has been trailing us the entire time, his fluffy tail wagging behind him.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKvv8wiy5z
 As the doors swing open I place a small, polite smile on my face and walk into the looming room. Heads turn while I make my way to my seat next to my mother, Dash tucking himself under my chair. To his credit, Levi only glares at the dog once before turning his eyes back down to his plate.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ62NS4VxoRi
 “Sorry for being so late, I got caught up in my studies.” I smile brightly at the Pridor king and queen, Queen Anastasia and King Kendric, next to them sits their daughter, Eliza. I haven’t seen her in years, she doesn’t often travel with her parents anymore, children of royals tend to grow out of wanting to travel when they realise how boring the conferences between kingdoms tend to be. She offers me a meek smile as I sit, her hair is fiery red like her mother’s but curly like her fathers. 391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytowKBLz6K
 A castle hand rushes over and piles food onto my plate and pours apple juice into my cup. I’m not meant to drink wine in front of company, considering the result of the royal ball a few months back, but mother doesn’t really care most of the time. I usually make the castle hands let me serve myself but Mother says I shouldn’t in front of company. I can feel Dash squirming at the smell of food, I slip him a piece of meat from my plate. Levi glances at me before returning to his food, weird, he’s usually so much more egotitical.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLs0cuUZmg
  I hardly pay attention to him as I eat, though. Believe it or not, running around and jumping off cliffs makes a prince hungry. I glance up at Eliza, her purple dress having an embroidered crest of Pridor over her heart. She glances up and meets my eyes, I raise an eyebrow at her but her eyes only dart back to her place.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSae68YlrKw
 “Archer, dear, you’ve missed quite a bit while you were…. Engrossed in your studies.” The Queen of Kire tightens her grip on the wineglass in her hand as she tells the blatant lie. 391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv33JDcNsjA
 My father clears his throat while glancing between Levi and Eliza, “yes…. Quite a bit.”391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshOViKI7sM
 The royals all glance between each ther, only  Eliza and Levi looking nervous while the kings and queens all look quite content. I put my fork down.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWu7gRNnWAv
 “...You’re really going to make me say it?” Levi looks at mother and sighs before tuning to me,  “The parents took the initiative to arrange a marriage between Eliza and I.” A beat of silence overtakes the room before I speak up.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30u9Nq28fI
 “Poor Eliza.” 391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZdoECVqOoM
 Levi gives me a blank stare before opening and closing his mouth, like a fish, seeming to remember he can’t yell at me with his giggling future bride watching. Mother looks mortified while father is trying and failing to hide his smile behind a napkin. The Pridor king and queen have a similar reaction as they stifle their own laughs.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD4cxcmwGvm
 “Archie, honey, don’t make fun of your brother.” Queen Amelia, my mother, chides. I just nod and go back to my food. If I’m being truthful I don’t really care who Levi has to marry and I guess Eliza was nice enough when we were kids.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkNMmAPPH6
 The Pridor king clears his throat, “So, Archer, how are your studies going?” 391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3yJGqscD8
 I smile and nod, gesturing to the food in my mouth. In truth, I don’t think I’ve been to a tutoring session in months, everytime i see Ms Kellings in the halls I run the other way. That woman’s like the living dead, I actually don’t know how she’s not dead.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGYZJAapIy
 “Good, good.” King Kendric nods thoughtfully while queen Anastasia whispers something to her daughter, who only nods but doesn’t look up from her food..391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XOBuvjS6z
 “I must say, I’m glad that your companion is still as close as he used to be.” The queen of Pridor gestures to Dash. 391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHikcSZSyjR
 I nod, “Of course.”391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLRd0a8TMq
 We fall into a silence before my father clears his throat, “A toast, to the future of the soon to be weds.” He raises his glass of wine, and the others follow suit. Me? I raise my glass of apple juice.When we finally get excused from the table I run off to my quarters of the castle, calling Dash from his place under the table. I can see the parents watching me as I sprint away, queen Anasasia whispering to her husband while glancing at me as I run off. I sprint up the stairs to my quarters, bursting through the door to flop onto one of the couches in the room, Dash jumping on top of me. I laugh and hug my dog, ruffling his fur as he leaps away and trots to the small indoor courtyard in the heart of the huge room. I’m pretty sure mother only had that put in as an attempt to try and keep me in the castle instead of running around in the woods. I don’t know if she thought her goal was manageable, because it was, and still, isn’t achievable.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTeWgdgmYY9
 I take off my cloak, tossing it carelessly to the side of the room along with my crown, the gold clinking against the wood floor while I stumble over to my dresser to change.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlRfPLN5lWm
 When I finally get to pull off the itchy velvet shirt and shed the other layers of vests before pulling a linen one over my head. I walk to the side table and grin when I spot the tray of pastries left out by Rose, grabbing one and climbing up onto a branch of the tree. I sigh and lay back against the sturdy trunk of the tree. I bite into the sweet pastry and watch Dash run around.391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVw5FpMhjSc
 A quiet but frantic knock on my door breaks the tranquility of the moment. When I open the door Eliza almost trips me over with how fast she rushes in, her face is pale and she looks panicked as she shushes me before finally speaking. 391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXIioamjqX
 “Archer, I need you to listen to me,” Eliza holds my shoulder as she lets a beat of silence pass before speaking in a lower tone, “I can’t marry him, I can’t marry Levi.”391Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Qa5wyqJwX
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