To Love a Stranger
"I had expected that you would forget our agreement, I am so glad that you haven't" the blonde-haired man said as he sipped a glass of wine.
"I did not Lauren, our agreement still stands… Aurora, my first daughter would be marrying Alexander Arthur, your second son" King Damien said. "Their union is indeed a great thing for our families and the entire clan"
The three younger men who bore a striking resemblance to one another sat at a side of the court sipped glasses of wine as well all smiling. They all had dark brown hair and blue eyes.
"Cheers to a new beginning" Lauren, the blonde man said and raised his glass.
"Cheers" The king raised his own glass as well.
"Your majesty" A foreign voice echoed in the room and all five pairs of eyes turned to see who it was.
There stood Aurora dressed in a glorious blue gown that matched her red wavy hair and ruby jewellery. She was fully adorned with heavy makeup and looked essentially exquisite. Aurora feigned a charming smile at the people seated.
A younger long-haired male between the other two men flashed a charming smile at her.
"I present my first daughter, Princess Aurora Elroy of the spellbinding clan" The king announced as Aurora gracefully descended from the stairs. She walked to the midst of the men where a seat was reserved specially for her.
"I must say. Princess Aurora has grown into a beautiful young lady" Lauren said and took another sip of his wine.
Aurora kept her feigned smile intact as she brewing with annoyance inside. Everything had happened so fast.
She had known the Arthurs for a long time, and known Alexander as a very badly-behaved boy at that time. He wasn't some gentleman and she had never liked him in any way. Worse, his majesty had never mentioned the agreement about any marriage proposal. These people had announced their arrival to the king just the night before and she had only been informed this morning. How in the world was she going to be married to someone she didn't even know? This was simply outrageous!
"I think we should let them get to know one another" Lauren suggested; the king nodded in agreement.
"Okay then, Alexander…" King Damien called and the young handsome long-haired male in the middle stood up bowing slightly.
"Yes, your majesty" he answered in his deep voice.
Aurora looked at him, he had really changed in the past eight years.
"Let Aurora show you round the palace; you should talk to one another before the engagement ceremony"
Engagement! Aurora almost exploded, there was going to be an engagement ceremony right away? They were not even giving this a second thought?
"Okay, your majesty" Alexander stood upright and approached Aurora, taking her hand and planting a small kiss on it. His brothers who he was sitting close to earlier smiled mischievously.
"Shall we, my lady?" he asked giving off a charming smile.
She looked at him and while maintaining her fake smile, nodded.
He held her hand gentlemanly and together they left the king's court.
Aurora walked slowly and uncomfortably as her eyes constantly darted to the man before her. He was handsome- yes, but that wasn't the only thing she desired in a man. When she was little, she had secretly wished to fall in love and have her own family- a family that would be better than the one she had lived with all her life. Perhaps, destiny had other plans.
"You are not very happy with this whole thing, are you? I can see it, you don't want to be in this situation" His voice awoke her from her contemplation.
She looked at him unsure of what to say. But then taking a deep breath, she started to speak.
"What reason do I have to be happy about this? Tell me. You…I don't know you. Yes-we might have bumped into one another as children and teenagers but the fact remains that you and I are complete strangers"
Alexander kept quiet, keenly listening to her.
"And what if I don't like this marriage? What if I am not comfortable with you? It doesn't matter…" Aurora took a deep breath trying to control her emotions but it was useless "That's right…it doesn't matter, because you're free to do whatever you wish; you could have hundreds of concubines, you can choose not to love me. I'm the one at a loss here, it's me taking the risk here…" she took another deep breath.
"I just can't believe that after everything I have sacrificed for this family, all I am worth is this…" she finally said and stared at the blue eyes of the male before her.
Oh goodness! What did she say?
Aurora swallowed hard and turned to walk away in guilt. But then she felt his hands hold her back.
"Wait" he said. She turned to him, then lowered her head avoiding his eyes. He spoke maturely and passionately "Look, I can't say I understand you, because I know I can never do. I can never feel the way you feel right now"
"You know ever since I was little, I never liked to take responsibility for someone. I never wanted to care for anyone, not even my own family" Alexander came closer. "But I want you to know that I'm not a bad person, and even if it means that you'll be the first person I'll care for, I cannot allow you to be unhappy in my custody"
Aurora gulped hard and finally found the courage to look at him as he continued.
"Yes, we're strangers. We were never told that one day we would have to get used to one another, to support one another, to love one another…" Alexander folded his arms "But we can try. I wouldn't harm you and I'll make sure you don't regret it"
The two of them were lost in one another's gazes, they had never felt such attachment towards any other stranger…
Then, Aurora whispered to the blue eyed male before her.
"How can I ever trust you?"