1 Arrive In A Foreign Kingdom

"I'm here on behalf of His Highness Prince Nicien Vamieres. Greetings to the Princess of Linolia!"

The loud greeting of an Esriven official and the sound of the carriage being pulled over aroused Princess Rizelle Verona from her short yet troubled sleep.

Opening her eyes, she realized that she was having yet another nightmare. Since she left her kingdom, Linolia, five days ago; nightmares stole her every sleep.

Who would be able to sleep in peace while they were on their way to marry someone whom they had never met before? On top of that, the man was someone with a horrible reputation!

Rubbing her eyes, the Princess took a peek of the outside by slightly pulling the curtain of the carriage window to the side. She saw the official from her kingdom who served as the envoy for the alliance marriage talking with the official from Esriven who came here on behalf of her husband-to-be.

On behalf.

Rizelle wasn't surprised that the so-called mysterious Prince didn't show up to welcome her himself. It's good that she didn't have any expectations, to begin with.

"Expectations are there to be let down," she mumbled to herself and looked at her personal maid, Fina, who was sitting beside her. The maid was still sleeping soundly and the scene made the Princess chuckle.

"She complained about not being able to have a good sleep yet here she is," Rizelle Verona remarked and placed her hand on Fina's shoulder to give her a shake. "Fina, wake up. We've arrived."

Lazily opening her eyes, Fina appeared to be startled by the lightness that suddenly met her eyes. "It's already morning?" She asked, sleepy and confused.

"It's not just that," Rizelle Verona replied with an amusing smile. "We have also reached the capital of Esriven. We will reach the palace in no time."

"Already?" As if she didn't believe in her Princess, Fina quickly rolled the curtain to the side and glanced at the outdoors where she saw the two officials talking. "We're really here. Why did we arrive so soon?"

Princess Rizelle giggled when she heard her maid. "Didn't you complain about the long-distance? I thought you will be happy that we have finally arrived."

"You know I don't mean it, Your Highness," Fina frowned. "We've arrived and that means you will soon meet that Prince who is surrounded by bad rumors. I'm worried about you."

Hearing the nature of the situation she was in, a smile slipped a bit from Rizelle's beautiful face. "Don't be. No matter how worse he is, I'm still the Princess of Linolia who is here for the alliance marriage proposed by the King of Esriven. He won't be able to do anything to me."

"But Princess, do you really think this man you're supposed to marry, will even care about the King's order?" Fina asked, cautiously and in a low voice. "You heard the rumors. Prince Nicien Vamieres might be the nephew of the King but... he engages himself in an intense power struggle with the King.

"Even King Hamon of Esriven sees him as a threat to his throne but... why did the King want you to marry his nephew if they are not on good terms?"

The Princess heard the sound of the carriage moving and she understood that they were now on their way to the palace. She didn't show it but... it added the pressure she was feeling throughout her way to this foreign kingdom.

"How will I know that, Fina?" She finally responded to her maid's question and sighed. "King Hamon Caderin of Esriven might not be on good terms with his nephew but everyone says that the King loves his older sister a lot. His older sister, the Supreme Princess is the mother of Prince Nicien. So, maybe the Princess asked for this.

"Besides, Fina, I'm not interested in the power struggles between the royal family members. So, let's arrive there and live a quiet life. No matter what happens, I can just stay away from Prince Nicien. Our marriage is for the sake of our two kingdoms anyway."

Fina laughed at her Princess's words. "That's so like you, Princess. I'm so glad that you're still the same." She stared at Rizelle with a bright smile, making her sigh.

"I'm only 18, too young to change," Rizelle Verona jokingly said and let out a breath. "My father and my brother are very worried. I should at least live a good life here so that they will be able to be at ease."

Fina nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, Your Highness. No matter what, I will be with you."

Princess Rizelle smiled when she recalled how Fina stubbornly insisted to go with her when she agreed to fulfill the alliance marriage. Though she wasn't so sure herself, she was glad that she at least had Fina. She wasn't a fool to not know that life in a powerful and vast kingdom like Esriven will be so different from her small kingdom.

Nevertheless, she promised to not change. No matter how hard it would be, she was adamant to fulfill her promise.

Around two hours had passed when the Princess's carriage crossed the main gate of the Esriven royal palace. As Prince Nicien, her husband-to-be was a son of the Supreme Princess and not the King, Rizelle knew that he won't be residing in the main palace. However, she was surprised when she noticed that the door to the main palace was just a few steps away.

Will she be greeting King Hamon first?

While she was in a state of confusion, the door to her carriage was opened by Vincent, one of the most skilled members of the Linolia Royal Guards whom her father assigned as her personal guard right before she left Linolia. With his help, Rizelle got off the carriage and stood before the huge main palace of Esriven.

The main palace alone might even be bigger than the whole royal palace of Linolia and the Princess was in awe! Esriven was surely magnificent compared to her small kingdom!

"His Majesty and everyone else is currently having a daily court meeting and I was instructed to escort you there," the official from Esriven who came to escort her said to Princess Rizelle in a respectful tone. "This way, Your Highness."

She will be meeting the King and the officials right away?! This wasn't what Rizelle expected!

Did that mean... Prince Nicien Vamieres was in the royal court too?

After trying her best to calm down her nerves, Rizelle nodded at the official who lead the way to the royal court which was located inside the main palace.

Now, there really was no going back.....