Knock knock knock

My eyes cracked open, my throat scratchy and dry as I groaned and sat up. The mirror in the corner of my new room captured my state perfectly... I was a mess.

After Shane had left me to get some rest, I had bursted into tears yet again. Though luckily I managed to keep my sobs contained; nobody wants to hear the cries of a powerless, pathetic queen...

Knock knock knock!

I sighed. "Come in..."

My god my voice sounded terrible.

The door opened to reveal a familiar redhead in the hallway. She showed me a small smile, holding a silver tray in her hands "Morning lass."

"Good morning, Lizza..." I showed her a small smile, before looking down at the tray "What do you have there?"

"Breakfast, for you." She stated as she walked over and placed the food down on my bedside table "The prince knew you probably wouldn't want to eat with him and his father after yesterday, so he requested for it to be brought up here. Luckily the king doesn't want to be 'plagued with your presence', so he had no issues obliging."

I sighed "Of course... Alexei must be pretty embarrassed of me right now."

"What? No of course not, Cindy." Lizza retorted, sitting at the edge of my bed and placing a hand on my shoulder "He feels terrible, he had no idea Albert would blow up to that extent. To be honest, I haven't seen him that upset in a long time."

"He seemed fine to me."

"Trust me if you've been with him as long as I have, you pick up on these things."

I pursed my lips together. I didn't want to imagine how long she had been here... how long she had to defend the prince. How long she had to endure the jabs and sexist comments from the king. How long she had to fight for her rights as a knight, and as a woman.

With all she's likely been through, I shouldn't be the one crying over one bad meet-up.

"Well, thank you for bringing me breakfast. And... for getting me out of there yesterday."

She smiled "I think all of us needed to get out of there. Even Al left almost immediately after we did and hit the training room, to relieve some built up frustration. I would have done the same, if my duty to keep him calm wasn't needed there."

"That's admirable, Lizza. You must care about him a lot." I murmured, which had him smiling sadly.

"Almost as if he were my own brother... that's why it hurts so much to see him carry so much of the burden his father has placed on him. It's too much for a kid like him, even for a prince it's unnecessary."

I placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. It felt like the right thing to do at the time, and she was grateful for it as she wrapped her arms around my back.

"He's lucky to have someone like you..."

"Thank you... I just wish I could do more... for both of you."

My arms tightened "Right now, just being here is enough."

Lizza buried her head in my shoulder, a shaky sigh leaving her lips as she fell silent. Sometimes silence was better... I placed a hand in her hair and looked up, my eyes falling on the meal she had brought for me.

"Hold on... err, Lizza?"

"Hmm?"

"I... don't mean to ruin this moment, but I think you grabbed the wrong tray."

"What?" She pulled away and looked at the meal, brow raised "No I didn't."

"Are you sure? Because there's enough food to feed all the guards! Or, Shane alone, but still. That's a lot!"

Lizza blinked for a moment, her lips slowly curling into a smile as we stared at each other. After a minute she snorted "Oh Cindy, you're so adorable..."

"What? What do you mean by that?"

She never actually told me what she meant...

—-

After we had talked for a little bit, I had asked Lizza where the castle library was - if there even was one at all, and she happily gave me directions. She would have taken me there herself, but a maid had rushed in saying a pair of trainees were throwing punches in the lunch hall so she had to sort it out. She didn't look too pleased about it, which makes me pray for those knights...

Turn right at the third corridor, until you come to a large red door... I repeated the instructions in my head, until I came across the door that had been mentioned. Except it was already opened... Lizza said it would be closed. I raised an eyebrow, but decided not to question it as I entered the room.

My jaw dropped.

This wasn't a library. This was a planet called knowledge!

I gasped in delight as my eyes scanned each shelf, stacked with colourful novels of every genre and language, with leather back covers of all different covers. I had never seen so many books! The library in Beliak only had about twenty to choose from! My fingers brushed against the shelf as I walked along it, wondering where I should look first.

Okay, C... C... ah hah!

My eyes lit up as the books beginning with C came into view. Though, since none of them had a clear title on the cover I couldn't really tell whether they were what I was looking for or not. My eyebrows creased as I went to pull a thick looking book from the shelf.

A pair of eyes were found behind it.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

I jumped back in alarm, my back crashing into a shelf behind me which loosened a few books from their places. They came tumbling down with me in their way. I was going to get hit!

"Look out!"

Suddenly a shadow of a person loomed over me, their hands slamming on the shelf as they shielded me from the falling books. I could hear the impact on each one on their back, but they remained still and quiet. After a moment the falling books had stopped, and the person stepped away to reveal a handsome face.

"I'm sorry I scared you, miss." He apologised, as if he hadn't had a bunch of heavy novels falling on him "That was improper of me."

I gasped "Oh no, not at all. You saved my butt, after all. A-Are you okay?"

"Of course!" The male grinned, running a hand through his abnormally white hair "A bit of heavy knowledge never hurt anyone."

I stifled a snort with my hand "Oh my God... that was awful."

He pouted "Awww why you gotta beat me down like that?"

"Sorry, but I never tell lies."

"Ouch."

We laughed slightly, and after a moment I held out my hand for him to shake "I'm Cindy, by the way. Cindy Livius."

The male grinned and took my hand in his pale one "It's a pleasure, m'lady."

...

"And you are...?" I asked expectantly, which caused his face to redden slightly from embarrassment.

"O-Oh, right!" He cleared his throat and bowed respectfully "I am André Philip Charoice II, at your service."

"Charoice?" I repeated his last name, before gasping. He had the same last name as the prince "Does that mean you're a—"

"Oh no, no, I'm not a prince - well technically I am, but I have no claim to the throne." He waved his hands frantically, a sheepish smile on his face "You see I'm the son of the king's brother, Prince Alphonse. Which technically doesn't make me any less of a prince, but it also means I won't be sitting on the throne anytime soon. That honour goes to my little cousin Alexei. Bit of a mouthful, right?"

"Very," I blinked, trying to wrap my head around the hierarchy, before curtsying respectfully "But still, I apologise for causing you trouble, m'lord."

"Oh, stop that, it was no trouble at all." André scoffed in dismissal, his playful grin never leaving his face "What were you looking for anyway, before I ever so rudely interrupted you?"

I shrugged. I already liked him a great deal more than his cousin, but I wasn't so easy to trust him completely. He was royalty, after all. "Oh just some cookbooks, I figured I would look through them since I have no idea what kind of foods are made in Roseya."

"Oh, are you new here?" He asked curiously "Now that I think about it, I haven't seen you around before..."

"That's because I came here from Belliak yesterday," I smiled, though it was only halfhearted "So it's no surprise you haven't seen me."

"Belliak? That's strange... did you by chance come here with Alexei's bride?"

My face fell at the reminder. I let out a nervous sigh, my head bowing slightly as I clasped my hands together "A-Actually..."

"Actually, that is my bride."

André and I turned our heads, to find the mentioned red-eyed boy a few feet away, leaning his shoulder against a bookcase "Elizabeth said you might be here..." his eyes traveled to André "I see you've already met my moronic cousin."

"Moronic?!" The boy stuttered, but he wasn't mad for long as his features morphed into shock, and he pointed to me with wide eyes "Wait, this is your fiancé?!"

"That's what I was going to tell you..." I murmured. André sent me an apologetic glance.

"This is the one uncle Albert disapproved of?" He questioned with a frown "What for? She's a sweetheart."

I blushed slightly.

"Well unfortunately being a sweetheart isn't enough for him," The younger prince retorted as he walked over to us. His tone had become harsher, for some reason "And what would you know about the requirements of ruling a kingdom, André?"

"I know enough." André shrugged "I may need it. You never know whether or not a beautiful princess will show up for me to sweep off her feet."

"I doubt you would be capable of that, cousin."

"Harsh."

I pressed myself further into the bookshelf, hoping I could escape from this awkward conversation soon. The tension was high; it was obvious they weren't on the best terms. They were total opposites... one was short, and the other tall. One was expressive while the other was aloof... heck, even their appearance opposed the other. Alexei had dark hair and red eyes, while André possessed white hair and blue eyes... they were basically created to disagree... After a moment, Alexei sighed and turned to me "Anyway, Cynthia, please come with me so I can escort you to your tutor."

I tilted my head "My what?"

"Your tutor. For your etiquette classes."

"You're giving her etiquette lessons now?!" André suddenly became angry "Her manners are fine, or did your daddy not like them either?!"

"It is none of you concern," my hand was snatched by the younger male, and before I knew it I was being dragged out of the library. It was strange, Alexei became so much colder when he talked to André... he seemed to be that way with his family in general, from what I had seen, anyway... He was so much tenser here than he was in Belliak...

"Stupid bastard..." the boy muttered "Thinks he knows about royalty more than me just because he's older... Just wait until I'm king, maybe that'll get him to shut up..."

Oh gosh... Was he...

I shook my head. I shouldn't be worrying about his feelings or relationship with his family. He didn't care about how I felt, or how far away I'd be from my family... I don't care. I don't care about Alexei Charoice.

—-

"Miss Livius!"

A ruler slammed down onto my book, causing me to jolt up with wide eyes. My tutor, Mrs. Tula glared down at me through her circular glasses, which rested on her pointed nose as she scoffed loudly.

"I do hope you are paying attention, girl." She jeered "I doubt your fiancé would appreciate a lousy wife."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Why would I care what he appreciated? If there's a specific way he wanted me to act, why doesn't he teach me himself? This woman's lectures were so boring, I couldn't concentrate. I just kept zoning out and thinking about the flower fields I used to run in at home... when I looked outside the window here, all I could see was white... I sighed and sat up straight.

"My apologies, ma'am... I guess I'm just a tiny bit homesick."

"A lady does not look to the past, only to the future where they work to become a perfect wife." Mrs. Tula scolded "I suggest you do the same, and put in extra effort. Roseya shall not accept a queen that lives in the clouds, do you understand me?"

"Yes..."

Her ruler once again slammed onto my desk "Yes what?!"

"Y-Yes ma'am!" I squeaked out, my head dipping down to stare at my book as soon as she turned away.

I want to go home...

"Good. As I was saying. A lady must be proud, obedient, she must have poyes, she must not be anything less than perfection..."

I scribbled down notes as she went along, and I had become so accustomed to it that I had gone into autopilot and dazed off while my hand moved on its own. I thought about mother, and father, and the regulars at my bakery. Mr. Den and all the shop owners at the market. The palace guards that helped me carry ingredients every now and then. Heck, I'd even begun to think about King Elias... He was a benevolent ruler, and I had taken that for granted. For now I was stuck with the horrible King Albert and his stone faced son in Roseya. They were as cold as their kingdom, even to their own family if they didn't hold a claim to the throne.

This is why I hate royals... if you're even a little bit weaker they'll squish you like a bug, or disregard you completely. I didn't want to be queen... I didn't want to be one of them...

After another hour of lectures, my lesson with Mrs. Tula ended. I had scurried out of there as respectively as possible, my head down to avoid eye contact with anyone. I had tutors before back in Belliak, to teach me basic things I'd need in life like reading and writing. But none of them were as extreme and strict as she was. Once again I felt small... I felt like I didn't belong in Roseya.

At this rate, there's no way I was going to survive.

"Cindy?"

I gasped and turned, my glossy eyes catching the light of the window slightly as I saw the same unique hair coloured Prince I met in the library. He was wearing different clothes, ones that looked fit for hunting, but that didn't mean I couldn't recognise him "A-André?"

"Are you alright?" The boy asked as he approached, placing a gloved hand on his belt as he gazed down at me in concern "How was your lesson?"

My eyes lowered as I held my upper arms, letting out a small sigh. The hallway had become colder, all of a sudden "Not great... my tutor already doesn't like me, and I can see why... I'm not fit to be a 'lady', and I'm certainly not fit to be queen... she shouldn't waste her time with me..."

"Woah, woah, what's with the self doubt?" André asked with a small laugh, his hair sweeping over his eyes as he tilted his head to the side "It's only been the first day, you can't just say you can't do it pretty much from the get go. I mean sure, I don't agree with how you're being treated and how Alexei is forcing you into doing this stuff, but I'm not going to deny that I prefer you as a queen than any status climber out there."

"How can you tell I'm not..."

"I just can." He shrugged with a wink. His hand glided through his silky white hair as he spoke "Trust me, you're stronger than you think, princess. And when this is all over, you'll either be the best queen Roseya ever saw, or you'll just not be what we're looking for and be sent back home to Belliak. Either way it's a win."

"What would happen to Roseya if that happened?" What was I saying? I didn't give a damn about what would happen to this kingdom..

"Albert will make a choice. I don't know what it will be, but it would have to be the best choice for the kingdom... even if that means dethroning his son and making someone more worthy and experienced his successor."

"Oh..." my head lowered. Alexei? Dethroned? I wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. "I see."

"Yeah but you wouldn't have to worry about that, right? You'd be home after all." André began to walk down the hall "Come. Walk with me."

I raised an eyebrow, but complied and skipped after him "You know, you're a lot different to your cousin..."

"That's because I wasn't pressured by the responsibilities of ruling as early as he was."  His eyes saddened slightly "Alexei was never given the freedom I had- which isn't a lot, so that's basically saying he had no childhood. He was bound to become what he is today, poor kid... He's even being forced to plan his own wedding."

"Aren't I supposed to help with that?"

"Do you want to help with it?"

"...No. I don't want to plan the day my freedom is taken away."

"I doubt Alexei does either." André placed a hand on my shoulder to stop us walking "Us royals have our duties that were laid out for us even before we left the womb, they're what we're born for. Alexei's no different, so don't blame all of this on him. I don't think he likes it anymore than you do."

"O-Okay..." I stuttered, and he chuckled before lightly patting me on the head.

"Good, now enough about that. Why don't we get those cookbooks you were searching for?"

—-

Alexei sat in his office, a hand to his temple as he stared down at his stack of paperwork. There was so much to do regarding his queen and position. He was honest with himself; he wanted nothing more than to rip up the papers and go horseback riding. But he would never hear the end of it from his father if he did that... he couldn't catch a break.

He scoffed and slammed a hand down on his desk, standing from his chair as he began to pace around the room "This is ridiculous... if the old man wants this done, why can't he do it himself? I don't even know what half of this nonsense means!"

The boy was irritated. Towards the marriage. Towards his father. Towards André. And most of all towards himself. How could he let himself slip into jealousy when he saw Cindy with him. It's not like it mattered what relationship would grow between them; she was bound to him Alexei... but seeing Cindy with someone closer to her age, and smiling at him...

Gah, what the heck! It didn't matter. He was just annoyed about other things, and decided to take it out on André... He didn't even think of Cindy as anything but a poor soul stuck in a trap set by his father. If she wanted to make friends to make her stay more bearable, he should be fine with that! It would most likely make her more submissive towards their marriage, anyway.

"Umm... your highness?"

Al nearly tripped over his own feet.

"Can't you see I'm—" he turned, only to see the refreshing face of his aide poking through the crack of his door. He didn't even hear it open. The boy cleared his throat and straightened, fiddling with the cuffs of his white dress shirt "Yes, what is it Elizabeth...?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow, but shook her head and opened the doors fully to show the papers in her hand "Nothing exciting, I'm afraid. Just more things to sign."

Alexei sighed, straining himself so it wouldn't turn into a groan "Put them on my desk..."

Lizza bowed slightly and silently moved across the room, tapping the stack on the desk to even it out before placing them down flatly. She glanced at the young boy from the corner of her eye, noticing he had not moved an inch. She looked back down and thought for a moment.

"... You know, I saw Cindy with André on the way here. They look comfortable around—"

A pair of hands slammed down onto the desk "What?!"

The woman straightened, her eyes meeting the wide ones of the Prince "Your... cousin was talking to Cindy - at least that's what I saw. I think they were heading towards the library again."

"Well why didn't you say so?!" The boy began marching towards the door "Slippery bastard... just wait until I—"

"Alexei wait!" Lizza blocked the door before he got to it, spreading her arms to form a wall "What's got you worked up? This could be good for her; having friends in the castle other than Shane and myself. Don't you want her to feel at home?"

"Of course, just not with him."

The knight stuck her hip out to prevent him from squeezing past "Why not? André's generally a nice person, and he has quite a lot of free time so Cindy can hang out with him without him being dragged off to his duties."

Alexei growled and stepped back, glaring at her in the eyes "Which makes him a perfect agent for my father to ruin our wedding!"

The room fell silent. Lizza blinked once... twice... three times before scrunching up her freckled nose in complete disbelief.

"Pardon me if this is completely out of line, but that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard you say. You're acting like a child right now." She stated confidently, which had the prince's jaw dropping almost completely to the floor.

"I am not!"

"Yes you are. When I came in here you were pacing almost to the point of your boots wearing out, and now this?" She gestured to his jealousy driven state "Shouldn't you be happy? Just last night you were beating yourself up not giving that girl the freedom she deserves, and now you're stomping out of your office when she's made friends with someone you don't like? You can't keep controlling her like this, Al."

Alexei flinched at the nickname and lowered his gaze, jaw tight "I'm not controlling her..."

"Maybe not intentionally, but you being selfish like this won't do her or you any good." Lizza sighed "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned this to you. But as a prince and as Cindy's fiancé, you should support her so she becomes more comfortable in Roseya, not keep her to yourself like she's some toy."

When she finished, Alexei's fists clenched so tight they had become far whiter than his natural skin tone... he was resisting the urge to fight back - resisting acting like the child she was accusing him of being. He hated these big sister talks of hers, because she was always right, and he felt less superior... but at the same time, they had stopped him from doing something stupid. Like now.

He let out a long, composed sigh and turned, walking back over to his desk and sitting down in the chair far too large for him "I have work to do..."

Lizza felt a pang in her chest after hearing him once again sounding like an adult. But, it had to happen, whether they liked it or not "Very well... I'll leave you to—"

"No!" Vulnerability flashed through his eyes as he leaned forward, making her freeze in his spot "You... don't need to leave me, Lizza... company might be appreciated right now..."

A small, sad smile graced the redhead's lips as she made her way to his side, and reached over to gently clasp his shoulder.

"I can do that, then. If that's what you wish."

Although it was small and quick, she swore she saw his lips twitch slightly as he turned back to his desk. He picked up his quill and began to read over the paperwork, his lip between his teeth.

"So..." He muttered while writing his name in fancy spiralling writing "I assume Cindy's tutoring lesson was over if she was wandering the halls."

"Oh, that was today?" Lizza raised an eyebrow "You waste no time, do you? Who did you assign to her, anyway?"

"Mila Tula."

"That hag?!" She spluttered "Why her?! She's the worst!"

"She was the only one available on such short notice!" Alexei defended "I'll give the position to someone less critical on a later date."

"If Cindy survives..."

"She will." Al paused "Unless Tula doesn't like her."

"But that's impossible, everyone loves Cindy!"

"Yes! Yes, of course..."

.

.

.

"Right?"