Duty vs. Heart

An owl is hooting in the midnight sky; the castle door is wide open as something moves outside underneath the trees. Without thinking first, I walk through the threshold of the castle door outside, trying to find whatever it is that was moving earlier. Out of the corner of my eye, a shadow suddenly moves. I decide to turn and run after it. The grass feels very soft under my bare feet as I follow the shadow onto the path into the flower garden. When I cannot find the shadow anymore, I sit down when I get to the middle of the garden to rest. Resting on the wooden bench, I look up at the beautiful night sky to see the stars are shining very brightly tonight. A rose suddenly appears in front of my face. I look over to the right of me to see who is holding the stem.

"Alexander, what are you doing here? Why in the world are you in my dream right now?"

"I do not know; you tell me," he says holding the rose out to me.

"Thank you, you are very sweet," I say, taking the rose from him.

I realize he is very close to me now. I can feel the heat radiating from his body as a shiver runs down my back. He reaches over to put his arm around me.

"Are you cold?"

"Yeah, I am a little bit," I lie.

'I do not want him to know that I am not actually cold, but shivering because of him and how close he is to me right now.'

"Your friend Lauren told me I was hot. It was awfully nice of her but I do not really like her like that."

"You probably think I am weird for saying this but she is right. You are actually quite hot, hotter than a lot of the boys in our school."

'Oh my goodness?!? Did I just say that out loud?'

He smiles, " I do not think you are weird at all. I think you are sweet, smart, and pretty."

I look up into his eyes as my faces turns red with embarrassment.

"You are way too nice," I say looking down shyly.

He lifts my chin up with his fingers.

"It is true Celeste. I would not lie to you."

He moves closer to me on the bench. I suddenly put my hand up on his chest, but do not have the strength to push him away from me.

"Alexander, there is something you need to know. I am a princess and I am betrothed to someone that I do not know. I do not want to get married but my parents are making me."

He moves even closer then.

"It is okay, I know that you are a princess and about your soon to be marriage."

"What do you mean you already know? How is that even possible?"

Instead of answering, he just keeps moving closer until there is no space between his chest and mine. Our lips are an inch apart now as I think about what it would be like to kiss him. Our breathing is very silent but coming fast as my thoughts run away with me.

"Celeste, I am…"

I suddenly wake up sweating in bed to the sound of my alarm. I look over to see the clock reads seven on the face. I jump out of bed and get dressed in a hurry before heading through the door to my other home to go to school, hoping I am not too late.

* * * *

When I finally get to school and to first period, Lauren is already in her seat waiting on me.

"Hey what is up," I ask.

"I heard Josh came over to your house last night."

"Wow, news really does travel fast around here. He did completely surprise me by stopping by my house."

"Well, what did he want?"

"He wanted to apologize for the way he was acting toward me. He said he was sorry for how he has been treating me lately and asked for me to forgive him."

"Did you forgive him," she ask.

"Of course I did, he is still my friend after all."

"Well that is a relief. At least he will not be acting weird around Damon and you now."

"Yeah about that, Damon and I are just hanging out as friends. You know how I feel about having a boyfriend while I am in school."

"I know, but I just thought if you ever found the right guy then you might change your mind."

"I am not sure, but maybe if that ever does happen then I just might. Plus my mother does not want me to be dating either so it is not like I am allowed to anyways."

"Wait, you saw your parents?"

"Yeah we have been having dinner together for the past couple nights. We got to talking and they both said they do not want me to have a boyfriend."

"Why not though?"

"It is really hard to explain honestly."

"You do know that they cannot stop you from having a boyfriend right? Especially since they are not around a whole lot."

"Yeah. I told them that I did not agree with their reasoning for me not having a boyfriend, so I am going to continue to hangout with Damon as long as I want to."

"Well as long as you are happy then you will have my full support."

"Thanks Lauren," I say before turning back around in my seat.

I glance over to the left of me to see Alexander is already looking and smiling at me.

"What is so funny," I ask him.

"Nothing, I just admire that you have an opinion and are willing to fight for it."

A smile crosses my lips as I look away in embarrassment at his compliment. Luckily Miss Settles chooses now to come into the classroom before Alexander can say anything else to me.

"Today we are going to be working with Por and Para. Will everyone please turn to page two hundred forty eight in your books. We will be doing exercises one and two."

I grab my book from the floor and start working on the Spanish assignment she has just assigned to us. Working diligently, I begin finishing the assignment with a couple minutes to spare. I am just finishing the last question when Lauren taps on my forearm.

"Can you help me with this part? I am completely confused on how to use them in a sentence."

"Por can be used for by, in exchange for, to get, or a duration of time. Para can be used for in order to, for, deadline, or considering that," I explain to her the best I can.

"I guess that makes a lot more sense now, thank you Audrey."

"You are welcome."

"Pssst…"

I look over to Alexander who is trying to get my attention.

"Do you think you can help me with my Spanish?"

"Yeah, do you want me to help you now or later since I know class is almost over?"

"If it is okay with you, I can come over to your house later tonight for some help."

"Yeah, you can come over around five if that is okay with you."

"That works for me, thank you."

"Class, that is all the time we have for today. You may go ahead and pack up your things now."

I grab all of my books up off the floor and leave for second period right after the bell rings. When I sit down at one of the tables in the library, I grab my book and immediately start reading.

"Audrey, do you mind checking all of these books in for me," Miss Swan ask as she carries over a huge stack of books to put on the front desk.

"Absolutely, no problem."

I walk over to the front desk and turn the computer on right away.

'Checking books in and out is not so bad like everyone thinks it is. I happen to find it quite fun actually. You can get to know a little bit about people from what kind of books they read.'

I am just finishing checking in the last book when Miss Swan comes back to the front desk.

"Would you mind putting all of those in the right spots on the shelves as well please?"

"Yeah I can do that."

"Thank you," she says before walking away once again.

I collect all the books on a cart and head over toward the back corner of the shelves. Putting the books away, I begin to feel someone lingering behind me. I turn around and meet a pair of gorgeous brown colored eyes that I recognize almost immediately.

"Hello Celeste."

'There it is again. Why does he insist on using my birth name? Maybe I will just ignore him this time too.'

"Hello Alexander, may I help you with something," I try to ask politely as can be.

"It would be great if you would help me by checking this book out for me," he says motioning to the front desk.

"Yeah I can do that, just follow me."

I reach out to grab the book from him when my hand touches his and sends a shiver through me.

'What in the world was that?'

I look up into his eyes to see if he felt it too and am taken back by the glimmer in his eyes as well as the smile on his face.

'Yep, he definitely felt that as well.'

I quickly scan the book and take a quick glance at it before giving it back to him.

"Well um, here you go," I say, reaching out to hand him the book.

I hold my breath expecting our hands to touch again but to my dismay he is careful not to touch me this time when he takes the book back from me.

"Thank you very much. I look forward to seeing you tonight outside of school."

I watch as he walks away to leave the library before I go back to alphabetizing the books again. Thinking about the book Alexander just checked out is confusing me on what kind of person he is.

'I recognized the book immediately before giving it back because it is a book that I have read multiple times. The book itself is about vampire royalty and falling in love. Usually vampire books are checked out by people who like more dark or mysterious subjects and people who are hopeless romantics tend to check out love stories. So why then would Alexander check out a book that has both subjects in it when he does not seem like either one of those types of people. I guess I can figure it out later.'

The bell for third period rings to put an end to my thoughts as I grab my stuff and head over to government class.

Mr. Heights shows us all a powerpoint on the projector screen over stereotypes as we all take our seats. He quickly passes out a packet of fill-in-the-blank notes as he starts to explain what stereotypes are and give a few examples of popular stereotypes we have today in society. I follow along as best as I can as he continues to talk on the subject of stereotypes. Continuing on, most of the powerpoint seems to deal with us watching Youtube videos so there are not a whole lot of notes we actually have to write on our packets. One of the videos talks about men and their stereotypes toward women while the other video talks about stereotypes toward black people. Both videos are rude and give false information as I watch them in horror. I do not enjoy any of it at all and am so happy to leave the classroom when the bell finally rings for science.

I take my packet of notes out when I sit down and get started on it right away.

"Class, we will be working with moles today. If fifteen grams of Copper (ll) Chloride reacts with twenty grams of Sodium Nitrate, how much Sodium Chloride can be formed," Mr. Matthews asks as he stands in front of the classroom.

After working the problem out on my paper, I raise my hand to give him the answer to the problem.

"Yes Audrey?"

"Thirteen grams of Sodium Chloride," I reply.

"That is correct. Now if eleven point three grams of Sodium Chloride are formed in the previous reaction instead of thirteen, what is the percentage yield of this reaction?"

Using my calculator, I easily calculate the problem on my paper then raise my hand once again. I feel bad for the ones in the class who have trouble calculating the problems.

"Yes Audrey," Mr. Matthews ask.

"Is it eighty six point nine percent," I ask smiling.

"That is correct. Alright now let us say I start a reaction with forty grams of Magnesium and an excess of nitric acid, how many grams of hydrogen gas will I produce?"

This time when I raise my hand, Mr. Matthews just smiles at me.

"I am sure you have the right answer to my question but I would like someone else to try to give it a shot."

His eyes scan the room waiting on someone to volunteer to answer the question. When no one does, he sighs.

"The answer is three point three grams. This is how you get the answer," he says, turning around to show us how to do it on the board.

He continues on question after question showing us how to do the work for all of them when the bell rings twenty questions later. I pack my things up and am excited to finally go to lunch.

When I sit down at our table, I immediately see that Lauren is upset about something because she is not smiling at all.

"What is wrong Lauren," I ask with concern in my voice.

"It is just that I finally got the courage to up and go ask Alexander out and he said he is already taken."

My heart seems to shatter as her words finally register.

'Alexander is taken? Why does it bother me so much that he is not available?'

I put my hand to my chest as a slow dark hollow feeling crepts up on me.

'Why am I affected by him so much? How is it I did not even know Lauren likes him?'

"Wait, what? I did not even know you liked Alexander that much. You never said anything about liking him, just that he is super hot."

"Well he is and that is why I thought of asking him out. I did not realize that he would already have a girlfriend because he is still new here."

"So he does have a girlfriend then?"

"I am not completely sure."

"What do you mean exactly," I ask with confusion.

"I asked him out and he said he is already into someone else. He said her name is Celeste and that she is everything to him. Do you know anyone by that name here because I sure do not."

The hollow feeling in my chest immediately disintegrates as I try to find the right words to say to my friend.

'It is not like I am the girl he is talking about; there are plenty of girls with the name Celeste, right? What am I supposed to say back to her after hearing that?'

"No I do not," I lie with ease.

Stephanie speaks up as she sits down at the table to join us.

"I am sorry he is taken. I bet the girl he likes is not even pretty."

I realize she must have heard the rest of the conversation as she was walking over to sit with us. Hearing her words for some reason seems to hit me and hurt my feelings a little.

'What if I am the girl he likes after all? He always seems so nice when I talk to him and he did ask for my help with homework tonight. Plus there is also the fact that I do not know anyone else in our school with the name Celeste other than myself. What would the girls say if they knew my birth name? Would they think I am the girl and hate me?'

"Are you okay Audrey?"

I look up at the girls as they pull me out of my thoughts.

"Um yeah, I was just thinking that it is too bad that he is taken."

The girls both nod in agreement before starting up another conversation away from the Alexander topic. I look over three tables down to see Alexander is sitting by himself again. The only difference this time is that he is looking straight at me like he just heard every single word of my conversation with the girls. I find myself entranced by his eyes and cannot seem to look away. He smiles and winks at me making my face start to turn a shade of red. I turn back around and try to pay attention as well as I can to what the girls are saying.

'Could I possibly be the one he likes? If I am then what will Lauren do if she finds out? What am I going to do about it? I am supposed to be betrothed by some royal descendant according to my parents. Tonight I guess I will ask my parents to see my future husband because I cannot wait any longer.'

"Hey girls," Daniel says sitting down with us.

I look up from my thoughts to see the guys all join us now at the table.

"Hey what is up," I ask.

"Missing you," Damon says, wrapping his arms around me in a hug.

I gently pull away from his hold, hoping not to disappoint him too much but there is no way I can continue on with this charade any longer when I like someone else and am betrothed to another.

"Damon you are so sweet but there is something that I need to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

I look around the table to notice that everyone has suddenly stopped their conversations to stop and stare at Damon and me.

"Um, nevermind. I will just tell you in seventh period."

"Okay, works for me."

I breathe a sigh of relief as everyone starts their conversations again about their plans for this weekend. I zone out trapped in my thoughts about Alexander once again until I hear someone mention the word party.

"Wait, what was that about a party," I ask.

"I am having a party at my house again this weekend."

"Another party Adam? I feel like that is all you ever do on weekends," I respond.

"Well you know me, they do not call me a party animal for nothing."

The table erupts in laughter at Adams' comment just as the bell unfortunately rings for sixth period. My good mood completely vanishes as I sit down in my Pre-Calculus class. Usually I have no problem with math but this year has been the absolute worst. This week we are working on double and half angle formulas. Today is our big test using all the formulas we have learned so far and plugging them into the equations.

"Alright, you have all of this class period to work on and finish the test. Once you are done, you will need to work on something else or read quietly while everyone else is finishing up."

Mr. West walks down the desk aisles handing out the test packets and making sure we are not going to cheat. I grab my unit circle and calculator to get to work right away. Once he goes back and sits down at his desk, everyone is already working on their test. The problems on the test seem sort of easy but the hard part of it is trying to decide which formula to use for each equation. Twenty minutes later I am looking back over my test before turning it into the tray and sitting back down in my seat. My thoughts begin to run away immediately as I sit down.

'What am I going to tell Damon next period? He is sweet but I am supposed to be betrothed to someone that I do not know. Even if I was not betrothed, it seems that I cannot get Alexander out of my head which is just as bad. Maybe this will make it easier now for me to end this fake relationship or whatever this is between us. I just hope he understands no matter what I say to him.'

I open my book and try not to think about Alexander or Damon for the rest of the period until the bell rings. When I walk into seventh period, Damon is already sitting in his seat, waiting for me. He looks up and smiles at me as I sit down in my seat in front of him.

"Hey, so what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Well I saw my parents yesterday for the first time in awhile and told them about how I have been doing since the last time I saw them. When I mentioned you, they were not happy at all and were a little upset to be honest."

"How come?"

"Well it seems that I am not supposed to be dating anyone because they want me to have an arranged marriage I guess. Crazy, right?"

"Yeah it sounds completely crazy. So what does this mean for us exactly? Can we not date then?"

"Well I do not like the idea of an arranged marriage; I am too young and I would rather get to pick who I get to spend the rest of my life with, so I am not going to go along with it."

"So then we can still date?"

"Honestly Damon, I do not want a boyfriend right now but that does not mean I want to stop hanging out with you. I really like spending time with you and all our friends," I say trying to not upset him.

"I really like spending time with you too. I was going to ask you to be my date to the party but maybe we should just go as friends with everything going on now."

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea."

"So why do your parents want you to get married all of a sudden?"

"I have no idea, it is complicated and I do not want to get into it if that is okay with you."

"Yeah that is okay and for the record, I still like you," he says smiling.

"I still like you too."

I smile back at him before turning around in my seat to focus on the front of the classroom.

"Class, I would like you to copy down the grammar notes that are on the board before reading pages one through thirty in 'Things Change'."

I grab my notebook out and quickly copy the grammar notes down then immediately begin reading our book for the class. I have already read 'Things Change' when we first got the book in the library, but I know it will not hurt to read it once again.

I am on page twenty one when the bell finally rings at the end of the day to go home. When I grab my things and go to leave, I suddenly feel someone grab my elbow to stop me. I turn around to come face to face with Alexander, causing me to drop my books all on the floor by the sudden butterflies in my stomach.

"Is this a habit of yours," he asks laughing while he bends to pick up my books.

"No, I usually do not drop my books this much."

"Are you sure? That is the second or third time you have dropped your books when I try to get your attention."

"Maybe it is just you then, because those are the only times I have done it. I do not know why, but it is like you are suddenly there in front of me every time."

"That is good to know, I will remember to approach you more slowly then instead of scaring you right away again. So what I wanted to ask you was if we are still on for tonight."

"Yes we are, five o'clock at my house tonight. I will see you there."

I reach my hands out to accept my books back from him but then instantly jump as his now empty hand caresses my cheek out of nowhere.

"See you later," he says before walking out of the room leaving me all alone.

'What in the world was that all about? I reach up to touch my cheek where Alexander's hand had just been. What is going on with me? His touch was so soft and gentle. Why did he look at me with such admiration in his smile? Does he like me or am I just seeing things now? If his hands are that soft on my cheek, I wonder what it would be like to be in his arms completely? Why am I thinking about his touch all of a sudden and the fact that I enjoyed it so much? Do I want it to happen again? I really need to get out of here and home where I can think more rationally all by myself.'

I grasp my books more tightly and head out to my car to go home. When I finally get home, I throw my school stuff in my room and abruptly start picking up the house so it will look decent for when Alexander comes over tonight to do homework. I am just about done cleaning when I hear a creaking noise out of nowhere. Looking up, I see Charles standing on the stairs suddenly.

"I am sorry to scare you princess but your parents would like to have a word with you," he says motioning me to follow him up the stairs.

"Um thank you. Charles can I ask you a quick question?"

"Absolutely miss."

"Is this the first time you have come from Andalucia through the attic?"

"No miss, I have been here many times before at your parents request to watch over you."

"Oh well thank you then for watching over me throughout the years," I say smiling.

He smiles back, "you are most welcome. It is a pleasure to serve and help you."

I turn to take the steps two at a time to keep up with him when the doorbell sounds instantly, stopping me in my tracks. I tread back down the steps before looking back at Charles.

"Do you think you could tell my parents that I will be a little late?"

"Miss Dragomir, a princess is always prompt and on time to all events including meetings with her parents. This is very disappointing and I do not approve of you being late. They said it was important to talk to you."

"Charles I do understand that this is not princess behavior but I promised a fellow student I would help them with their homework. Please apologize on my behalf. I promise to be there as soon as possible."

"Very well then princess. I will see you later on."

I watch as he walks back up the stairs to go to the place he calls home.

I turn toward the front door and open it to reveal Alexander. He is standing on the porch smiling with his arms full of school books.

"Come on in. We can sit down at the dining room table to work on the homework. Do you want some help with those books?"

"No I am okay. Thank you though."

He walks in and goes straight for the dining room to gently set his books down on the table. I shut the door behind me and follow him into the dining room.

"Do you want something to drink or anything?"

"No, I am okay. Thank you very much though."

"Okay, we should probably go ahead and start then."

We sit down in the chairs to get started on our Spanish homework. After what seems like hours of studying in quiet, I finally break the silence.

"So what do you not understand about the assignment? Every single one of these answers is correct."

"Actually, I understand all of the homework. To be honest I am fluent in Spanish and do not need any help for the class."

'Wait, what? Is he being serious right now? I thought he sounded so articulate when he read the dialogue in class.'

"Wait, so if you are fluent in Spanish then why did you ask me for help?"

"I wanted to spend some time together and get to know you some more without your friends always being around," he says with a guilty look on his face.

"All you had to do was say so and you are right about my friends always being around. I am sorry I made you feel like you had to come up with an excuse to hangout with me. How about we just sit and talk instead of working on all of this school stuff?"

"That sounds perfect."

I smile, "so what would you like to know about me?"

"What do you like to do in your spare time?"

"I love to read a lot when I have the time for it."

"I actually may have noticed that at school. I do not think there is a single time that I have not seen you with a book."

"What do you mean?"

"Everytime I see you in class you are reading and when you are not, even then you have a book on you at all times."

"So you are watching me then?"

His face slightly turns red.

"No, I just happen to pay attention to the little things you do when I am around you."

I laugh, "do not worry, I meant it as a joke. You are right though, I do read a lot. So what do you like to do in your spare time?"

"To be honest, I like to write. I probably write as much as you read."

"That is awesome. What do you write?"

"I like to write my thoughts, hopes, and dreams down in a journal. I know it sounds girly but I believe that if I write them down it gives me something more concrete to focus on and achieve in my life."

"No, that is not girly at all. I think it is positively smart and wonderful."

He smiles, "next question, what is your favorite food?"

"That is an easy one. My favorite food is pepperoni pizza."

"No way, that is my favorite."

"That is actually very probable that we like the same food."

"Really? I think it means we may be more alike than we think."

"You really think we have a lot in common?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Okay, favorite color?"

"That would be red."

"Hah, mine is pink."

"Hey pink is a lighter form of red."

"True, but pink is more bright and girly than the color red."

"Hence, that is why it is your favorite."

I furry my eyebrows in confusion.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You said it yourself; pink is more bright and girly. You are a bright person and are always happy when I see you. You could make the saddest person happy just by talking to you for a while. For the girly part, I know you try to be tough in front of others, but I can tell there is a soft and genuine person under the harder shell exterior of your personality. Those who are closer to you already know who you really are."

'Wow, that is not at all what I thought he was going to say. What do I say to that? How is it that I just met him a while ago and he already read me better than most of my friends.'

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable with my answer."

"No, not at all. I was just surprised by what you said. No one has ever said anything like that to me before in my life."

"You are most welcome."

We sit there staring into each other's eyes with smiles on our faces.

'Could I really be into someone so suddenly? Is it possible to know from the very start if someone is right for you?'

I clear my head of my thoughts as I try to continue on the conversation.

"What are your hopes and dreams for yourself, if I may ask?"

"I want to do good in my life. I want to make a difference and be remembered for something great. There are also smaller goals in my life like finding my other half and starting a family of my own eventually, but that is all for the future."

"This is going to sound crazy, but I dream of the same thing. We are young now, but as life goes on it is nice to have these small goals to look forward to and achieve hopefully."

"Okay my turn, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?"

"Well I would want to go somewhere I could relax and enjoy my time like a tropical place maybe. Sitting in the sun on a white sandy beach while I read a good book sounds very heavenly. How about you?"

"It is not so much the destination as it is the company. I could go anywhere in the world as long as my other half and love is right there to accompany me along the way. Any adventure with her will be worth it wherever we go together."

I look down to notice his hand laying on top of mine as it sits on the dining room table top.

'How did I not notice that he is holding my hand? Am I really that absorbed in this conversation?'

"That is definitely the sweetest thing I have heard. You are such a romantic, any girl would be lucky to be with you," I say as I look down at the ground, trying to hide the blush on my face.

"Even you?"

My eyes shoot up in surprise to look up at his face. The genuine smile on his face leaves me breathless as I answer him back.

"Yes, even me."

He leans closer to me to whisper right by my ear.

"Really?"

I can feel my face turn a whole new shade of red as I open my mouth and say the next words.

"Yes really."

He slightly pulls back and looks up into my eyes as I realize we are merely inches apart now. A shiver runs down my spine as I imagine melting into his arms as he kisses me forever. My eyes scan over to the side to catch a glimpse of the clock on the wall.

"Oh no," I gasp as I swiftly pull back from him.

"Alexander I wish we could stay here and talk some more, but I promised my parents I would meet them for dinner tonight and I am running late already."

"It is okay. I should be going anyways."

I watch as he gets up from the table and makes his way toward the front door. I pick up his books from the table and follow after him to the living room to give him his stack of books. He switches them to one arm, he uses his free hand to pick up my hand and bring it up to his lips to kiss the back of it like a gentleman.

"Until tomorrow."

I stand there watching him get into his car and leaving my house in wonder. When I finally come to and shut the front door, I sit down on the living room couch instead of heading out for dinner right away. I ponder what just happened between Alexander and I in the dining room.

'He wants to spend time with me while he gets to know me.'

I rub the back of my hand lightly as I recall the feeling of his lips.

'He is so sweet and kind. Is it possible that he may like me or am I imagining things?'

"Miss Dragomir, your parents would like to speak with you now."

I jump up off the couch and look up from the floor in surprise.

"I am sorry about the delay Charles. I am coming."

I quickly take the steps up to the attic to head home as Charles follows closely behind me.

* * * *

"They are waiting for you in there," he says, pointing to the door leading to the grand dining room.

I walk over to enter through the door and sure enough, my parents are already sitting down at the table.

"I am very sorry I am so late," I say, immediately taking a seat across from them.

"What took you so long," my father ask with a disapproving look on his face.

"I was helping the new student from school with his Spanish homework until he confessed he did not need any help. We got to talking and I lost track of time."

"Well that was nice of you to volunteer your time to help someone even if they did not need it. Is this the same new student you mentioned earlier, what was his name?"

"Yes he is the same one. His name is Alexander."

"What did you two talk about then, since he did not need your help?"

"Oh just regular conversation stuff I guess."

"Like?"

'Why are my parents so suddenly interested in the people I hang out with? Why do they want to know what Alexander and I talked about?'

"We talked about our favorite colors and food, our hopes and dreams; it was really nice. He is super sweet and we have a lot in common."

"Well that sounds very nice dear, I hope you had fun then."

"Wait, so you are not mad that I am super late to dinner?"

My mother smiles.

"No we are not mad, just please do not make it a habit."

"Of course mother, now what did you two want to talk to me about?"

"The annual ball is this coming Friday. We would like you to come early so we can help you prepare and get ready."

"Okay , who all is going to be coming to this ball?"

"We have invited the surrounding royal families, townspeople, and of course we sent out a special invitation for your betrothed."

"So I am going to meet the guy you want me to marry this Friday?"

'Are we really going to discuss this again? How many times do I have to tell them that I do not want to get married yet. I am a senior in high school, how am I supposed to marry someone at such an early time in my life? This is unacceptable.'

"Yes he has already confirmed that he will be here and he is looking very forward to meeting you."

"I know that you two want what is best for me, but I do not think that an arranged marriage is the solution. I am only eighteen and still in school. Is there any way we can just forget the whole thing and figure out a different solution?"

My father looks at my mother and shakes his head no. I watch as my mother bows her head in defeat before looking back up at me with guilt in her eyes.

"This is not about you Celeste, you are a princess and as a princess you have to make sacrifices for your country. This marriage will happen one way or another and it is time you understood your role in this world. Now let us not bother discussing anything else, the food is bound to get cold."

The waiters then appear right on cue carrying covered metal trays. They lay them in the middle of the table and lift the lids to reveal my favorite food.

"You guys had them make pizza," I ask as the waiters bow then disappear back through the doors.

"Of course, we know you love pizza and we wanted to serve your favorite food on the day we give you the good news."

'Good news, seriously? They call my life coming to an end by an arranged marriage good news? They are completely out of their minds if they think I am going to let this go by, but I guess it is better to just eat and not ruin this moment with my parents.'

"Thank you."

My eyes sparkle in delight as I grab a couple pieces and begin eating. The pizza tastes so cheesy and delicious with all the pepperoni on it. When we all finish eating, I excuse myself and head back up the grand staircase. Usually it would be great to stay and talk to my parents but after the news of my betrothed, I am rather exhausted and want some alone time instead. Lying back on my bed, I start to think of Alexander.

'He is pleasant to be around, and he is glorious to look at all the time. Not to mention the fact that he actually wants to get to know me on a deeper level. I mean Lauren did tell me that he likes someone named Celeste, could it possibly be me? Could I be the one he actually likes? If I am right then what will Lauren say about it? If it is true then what am I going to do about the whole arranged marriage thing? Do I tell him or not? Do I even want to do as my parents say and get married to a complete stranger all for the good of the country? Maybe I am just being crazy, thinking a guy like Alexander could like a girl like me. I should probably just forget about the possibility of him and I to focus on my duties as princess of Andalucia.'

My head is so consumed with thoughts of right and wrong that they collide. Eventually I am too tired to think about anything anymore and gently fall asleep.