Before the beginning

A week ago, like all casual days in Randel, King George was sitting on his throne. In front of him were two of his counselors, ready for their daily meetings. A few guards were around as well, like usual. King George comfortably sat down and opened his ears to what they had planned to save their kingdom. Randel wasn't going on well, especially after the queen's death a year ago from natural causes.

"I called out this gathering this very morning for one reason." King George said, linking his hands together, reminding them of who held the power.

"May we know what new reason brings us here, your Majesty?" Counselor Eric said. This man is the typical left-hand person, eager to be the boss. For most of his life, he's tried to win the complete favour of the king to secure his spot in the future succession. With all those years next to His Majesty, no signs of him winning that favour are shown.

"Randel is at its nadir and if we don't take action soon, other realms will take advantage of it." The king started the conversation with the main topic point. He waited for the rush of answers from them since that has been the pattern forever. The king points out the problem and his counselors get the answers to resolve those problems quickly.

"Indeed, Your Majesty. I've also thought about it and have conjured up a plan but I'm not sure about it." Counselor Reggie said. The right-hand person of the king. He's who others trust the most, including the king. He's the first dark-skinned man with a high position in the monarchy. Others stop their climb at being guards and that's it, but Counselor Reggie had his ways and events up to where he is at the moment, breaking those stereotypical chains that prevent others with a dark complexion to have those privileges.

"May we hear about it?" King George sat back to listen to his suggestions.

"Out of all the realms out there, there's only one that can give us the protection and the firmness that Randel needs and it's Greyland." He slowly approached the few steps below the throne which allowed the king to go up to his bejewelled chair. "If we ally with Greyland, no other realm will try to bring a war to Randel. Greyland is known for its victories and solid lands, if we win their trust, we win everything, Your Majesty. And Randel will be back on its feet".

The King placed his right hand on his chin and rubbed it, carefully thinking about the idea of becoming one with Greyland, especially when their King is quite young. He exhaled and stayed quiet for a few seconds before looking at his counselors.

"And how are we supposed to do that, Counselor Reggie? I can't just write to him and ask him for an alliance." King George asked. His obliviousness is part of the reason why his rulership is questioned by his people and the elders.

"It's easy, Your Majesty. All we must do is convince King Nelson to marry Her Highness, the princess. Their marriage will mark both families as one, as much as the realms, which will make it easier for us to form a solid alliance with Greyland."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Marrying off Princess Margaret to King Nelson is the only way to save Randel, if he accepts the offer, then we'll have nothing to worry about, Randel will be safe." Counselor Eric said.

"Why Greyland, aren't there any other realms to have an alliance with?"

"Not as powerful as Greyland, your Majesty." Counselor Eric said.

The king began to worry about the rumors about King Nelson. "But King Francis is known to be quite the executioner, his generation is different from ours, his younger and can hurt Princess Margaret at any moment. She's my only daughter after all."

"Yes, Your Majesty, you're right. To prevent that from happening, we'll have to have a pact with King Francis. He won't touch the princess in any cruel way, and we won't answer with violence." Counselor Reggie shared his solution to something that can't be controlled.

"We can even offer him a small portion of Randel as a gift." Counselor Eric brought himself into the conversation with what seemed like the worst answer to ever give the king.

"I'm not giving away a small portion of my land just for him to marry Princess Margaret." King George strongly disagrees.

"Of course, if you say so, your Majesty." He looked down in disgrace after offending his Majesty.

"I'll write to him tomorrow; the princess will be marrying the King." King George finally confirmed his decision to marry off his only daughter and heiress to the throne. The counselors left the throne room, and King George leaned back a little in relief. The next day, he wrote to King Francis and sent off the letter to Greyland by his messenger. He was hoping for an answer as soon as possible from the King because the Princess was planning on visiting Prince Louis of Tornille, an old friend of Margaret. A tall prince from the southwest.

A lot of people believed that she was already engaged to him since they were young but it's not literal, they're just close. Their friendship is one of the reasons for bringing the two realms together.

※

In Greyland, the King has finally received the letter written by the King of Randel, he opened the letter which was inscribed,

"Unto his Majesty, King Francis of Greyland,

I, King George Crossbourgh of Randel, would like to propose an offer to you, our realms are known to be both powerful and defined, together we would be the strongest and with that in mind, I'm offering you an arrangement.

It will be my pleasure for you to marry my daughter, Princess Margaret Crossbourgh. She's as delightful, alluring, charming, and lovely as you can imagine. I only have one condition to this engagement, my daughter in your arms should not be hurt, nor deceived, neither should my land suffer any circumstances, and in return, you'll have my complete loyalty and Randel's.

Hope to hear from you as soon as possible, hopefully with good news.

King George Crossburgh of Randel".

King Francis closed the letter and chuckled, he lightly smiled and picked up a sheet of paper and his quill. He began to write down his answer and called out his messenger to send it straight to Randel. What that envelope held was the start of either an uncomfortable situation or a memorable event.

"Francis?" The Queen Dowager shouted as she stormed into his study. Queen Grace Nelson is the widower of Greyland. She's responsible for Francis' hazel-coloured hair and strong character. Her attitude isn't unnoticeable to others, she's the mother no child would wish for anybody else in terms of presence.

"Mother." King Francis calmly said.

"I just heard that you got a letter from the King of Randel yesterday asking about marriage." She gently sits on the golden sofa, her thighs glued to each other with her hands on them.

"Yes Mother, King George asked me to marry his daughter, the Princess." He leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms.

"I hope you said no, son. Randel is a ridiculous realm, you know it, he's only asking you this to get your alliance."

"I know that Randel is stumbling, I'm not stupid Mother."

Queen Grace rapidly got up, not showing her excitement about what he had said. The possibilities of him saying yes were slim to none.

"I said yes." Her expression immediately changed, and her anger began to show. She calmed herself a little before she went ahead to talk.

"What do you mean by that, how could you have said yes?" She lifted her voice more and more as she said those words. Francis got up from his chair and went to his mother.

"Calm down, Mother."

"How can I possibly calm down, Francis? That princess has never been seen before, she's been hidden for years. Nobody knows what she looks like except for the people in Randel, she can be unsightly or vicious."

He walked around his study, his hands behind his back. The queen followed him around as she discussed her issues.

"We don't know anything about her. She can't simply be the next Queen of Greyland."

"Mother, I'm marrying the Princess and it's final. She can be callous for all I care." He tried to make himself something to drink while listening to his mother's resonant voice.

"Why are you doing this, Francis?"

"Don't you get it, Mother? Greyland is despicably known for being an evil land, people don't even bother coming here or even looking for war. When was the last time we met the outside world, Mother? People fear us and of course, it's a good thing but it's also a bad thing, but suddenly, out of nowhere, I receive a letter from the King of Randel, another realm, asking me to marry his only daughter. Marriage, Mother, marriage. And on top of that, we get to have an alliance." He then sipped the glass of drink in his hand, feeling accomplished. She stood there, not having any other words to say to him. "Get ready Mother, your daughter-in-law, the soon-to-be queen will be heading to Greyland in a few days."

The Queen Dowager stormed out of the study, vexed. She went to her room and asked for her Court lady, Randa. She entered immediately after hearing the alarming voice of the queen.

"Your Highness?" Randa said as she bowed.

"The king is going to get married soon, inform everyone you need to and tell them to also spread the word. This palace is going to be noisy for the days to come. Maybe even years." Randa first noticed the tiredness in her master's voice rather than the news itself.

"Yes! Immediately. - Would you like some tea, your Highness?" Grace heavily sighed as she threw herself onto the bed, not answering.

"Tea it is." She bowed and left the room to fetch a cup of tea in the kitchen.

"This boy is going to be the death of me." She whispered to herself after Randa left her presence.

※

On the other side of the world, King George was about to get the answer he's been waiting for. One of the guards entered with the letter after being allowed to get in.

"Your Majesty." The guard said as he handed in the envelope to the king.

He took it from the guard and immediately opened it. He released a sigh of relief as he saw what was written. He couldn't believe what was said in the letter and asked for his counselors to his study. They rushed in a few minutes after being called.

"Your Majesty? "Counselor Reggie and Eric said at the same time, as they bowed to him.

"The King of Greyland has agreed to marry the princess." He handed the letter to the first person who reached out to it, which was Eric.

"Great news, Your Majesty." Counselor Eric said, delighted by what he was reading.

"Does the princess know?" Counselor Reggie interrupted the happy moment both the king and Eric were sharing.

"Not yet, I'm about to inform her."

After the counselors left the palace to announce the news to the board members and elders, Margaret's father came to look for her. At that time, she was in the garden singing with the birds, running around in the good weather. She returned to the palace and met her father's dim eyes, looking at her. She followed him to his study, where he tells her she was about to get married to the feared King of Greyland.

"I'm - Engaged!" She said to Rose in her room after realizing where her future was headed.

A few hours later, the word had been spread all around the land, and everybody now knew about the engagement. Most people caught up quickly about the real reason she was getting married to Francis. It was to save Randel, to form an alliance with Greyland. Others thought she was sold off to him, a repulsive thing to say about the royal family. She was still not over the fact that she was going to get married, she was only twenty-two. She was finally leaving the palace to meet Prince Louis but instead, she was affianced.

"Did you hear about the princess' engagement?" A citizen said to another citizen while walking at the market with her basket secured in her crook.

"Right? I was shocked when I heard about this union. And on top of everything, it's to the young king of Greyland."

"Amazing." They both laughed it off as they continued shopping for their provisions at the market.

Next to them was Margaret's best friend, who was eavesdropping. After she heard about the news, she immediately came to the palace to demand an explanation from Margaret. The Princess was heading to the stables when she intersected with her in the hallway.

"Princess Margaret Lilith Crossburgh, how could you?" Her best friend said, screaming a few steps away in front of her with the maids walking behind her and Rose, next to her.

"Charlotte Moonlight, to what do I owe this pleasure of seeing you?" Margaret gracefully said to her, reminding her of where she is. The palace. She got closer and stopped right in front of the princess.

"You're getting married?" She lowered her voice since it was echoey but she was still angered.

"I am! Excited?" She jokingly asked.

"Excited? Are you serious?" She looked around and noticed the maids that were there the whole time. She lowered her voice. "How do you expect me to be excited?"

Margaret started walking, while Charlotte continued to talk. Rose stayed a little behind, allowing Charlotte to walk next to the princess.

"Why didn't you tell me? I had to hear it from ladies outside, aren't I, your best friend? I feel betrayed, Princess." She pouted, showing her feelings about this.

"I knew about it not too long ago, how could I have told you? I'm getting married to King Francis - Oh, by the way, do you know what he looks like? I've only heard rumors about him, nothing else."

"I don't know but let's hope he's charming." She chuckled at her words.

"Yes, let's hope so," Margaret said, laughing restlessly. The maids behind them unnoticeably shared a smile at what the two ladies were discussing.

They finally arrived at the stable to see Margaret's horse. Her name is Lili, a symbol of innocence, purity, and beauty just like her. She was named after Margaret's late grandmother, Lilith. They don't go on journeys a lot since she's been deprived of leaving the castle but in a few days they'll be traveling far away from Randel and so she had to see her. Margaret slightly rubbed her hands on Lili's back as she moved her head forward to eat from Rose's hand. The princess wished she could feed the horse herself but as much as she wanted to, her behaviour as a princess prevented her to do so. She must be clean and well mannered.

"I hope we'll be fine." She said to Lili. Charlotte noticed how uneasy she felt, and it struck her. She won't be seeing Margaret anymore since she'll be leaving to stay with her future husband. Lili then neighed back at her owner and got closer as Margaret laid her head on her.