I really hated this dress. Who looked at a piece of cloth and thought 'let's make this body tight'. Don't get me started on how much I'm struggling to breathe right now. I really wanted to wear platform heels, but I couldn't since Alyona had said it was very 'royal like'. During the practices I had almost rolled my ankle a good fifty times.

There was really no use hating myself over this situation. I just had to face it head on. My knives and weapons were securely hidden under the dress. If there was one thing I was glad about, it was that I could keep my trusty throwing knives.

The place smelt disgusting, but it could be expected with a two-hundred-year-old building. Mould was starting to grow on the corners. There weren't that many windows so that would explain the terrible smell. I had spent the past few weeks studying about our royal family, especially the princess of Sandshore. I had to learn how to sit properly and use the several different pieces of cutlery. Who needed 3 different spoons, forks and such for different foods? One of each was more than enough.

I took a deep breathe in then started to walk over to where Chevy had been waiting for me. We had known each other for over six years. My father had introduced us to each other when we had a mission to find a golden gun at the mayor's house. Chevy knew all the tips and tricks to get inside including all the blind spots around the property. He was the best known spy of the underworld. No one compared to him, not even the paid government ones.

Chevy and I haven't spoken much about what brought us to bossman and this life in the underworld, but my father had touched on about a past that haunts him. I never wanted to pry on his private life, and I figured he would tell me if he wanted to. No one knew what he looked apart from the few blond locks that showed from under his hat and this blue eyes. He was slim and his arms were a little muscular.

I hated how much my heels echoed as I walked across the hallway and around the corner, facing Chevy. His mouth hung open and his eyes were wide. Heat flushed to my cheeks. If it wasn't for this mission, I wouldn't have exposed what I looked like to anyone I worked with, but this had to be the rare occasion. "Okay Chevy, you can stop gawking now. I can't seriously be that beautiful that you need to stare at me like I'm a supermodel." A sigh escaped my lips, and I rolled my eyes.

"Sorry, uh, sorry." Chevys said, averting his gaze to the ground. "It's just that you are so beautiful. You... You uh, look exactly like the princess, ma'am."

I huffed and crossed my arms. "Ma'am makes me feel like I'm ninety years old. Don't call me that again." It wasn't like I was lying; I truly hated the word with a fiery passion. I picked up the dress and walked past Chevy.

"If you're going to act like the princess, you need to start speaking politely you know," Chevy said, opening the carriage door for me.

There were so many things I could have said to him at this moment, but I bite the majority of them back. "While I appreciate your concern, do your job. Thank you." Quickly, I stepped into the carriage and sat down.

As soon as he closed that door, I regret everything. I really wondered how the princess could sit in this dark as hell carriage without seeing anything that's going on inside. One would assume that the windows were tinted and not outright blackout. The only source of light came from the tiny lamp hanging from the ceiling and even then, I couldn't see a single thing in here. The seat was so hard I felt like I was sitting on concrete but even then, concrete would be more comfortable than this. Didn't the royal family hear about cushions and support? My wooden dining chair was more comfortable than this.

I tugged at my dress and sighed. Boredom had already set in. There was literally nothing to do in this carriage except probably sleep so that's what I decided to do.

– –

The Carriage jerked sharply to the right, waking me up from my sleep. I would have to make a note to slap Chevy the next time I see him after this mission. The door had unlocked, and the direct sunlight blinded me for a couple seconds.

"My lady, we have arrived," Chevy said, looking right at me. He raised his hand out towards me.

My heart stopped as I realised we had reached Frostbourne and the chilly air kissed my arms as I took his hand. The cold weather was my haven. As soon as I stepped out, I saw several people standing there. Two men in armor stood by the entrance door and two more stood behind the royal family. A tall man with grey hair stood there with a smile on his face, a large blue and gold crown sat on top of his head, there were wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. A black-haired woman who was a head shorter than the King was stood next to the man. On the other side of her was a tall, thin, muscular man who sported gelled back hair, blue eyes and a slight smile. The muscular man looked annoyed and unapproachable.

"Princess Layla of Sandshore, welcome to our humble kingdom," the elderly man beamed. "We are so happy to see you."

"Your royal highness–" I curtseyed and smiled. "--It is an honor to be here upon your humble abroad." I had to fight an eyeroll. How could people talk like this?

"Of course. Anything to have your lovely presence here in Frostbourne. Please, come in. We wouldn't watch you to catch a cold," the King said, his smile still plastered on his face.

"You are most amiable, your highness. Thank you," I forced out. If being overly nice was a competition this king and myself would get a gold medal. I really wished we could skip to the good part where I kill the damn prince and go about my day.

The two guards by the door opened the big wooden door. The King and Queen both entered first, the younger man had held back now walking beside me. I really had to fight the urge to turn and look at the man beside me.

"We hope the journey wasn't too long," the Queen said. I didn't expect her to be so soft spoken yet sound commanding too.

Nothing had prepared me for that question, so I had to pull out something random from my ass. "Oh, your Highness, no journey is too long if it's too come to your humble abroad." Speaking this politely was not in my bones and I was really trying to not slip a few curses.

We had to walk through three whole doors before we got into the castle. The floor through each door was different. Those doors must have been really heavy, but the guards seemed to open the flawlessly. Somehow, the air was a lot fresher inside then it was outside. I didn't know how it was possible, but it was. The hallway was a lot larger than normal houses ones. Lanterns hang every couple of feet on each side of the walls. A large blue rug laid across the floor as far as the eye could see. A navy heraldic flag with a few symbols hung on the walls. We really seemed to be walking for a long time before we even reached a room.

I really hated the sound of my heels echoing. The sound made me really uncomfortable, and my feet were already hurting from them. After what felt like a billion years, we reached an arched doorframe where the king and queen had turned right into.

"After you," the prince said beside me. I looked towards him in time to catch a genuine smile coming from him and his arm held out towards the entrance of the room.

"Thank you." I curtseyed and walked into the room.

Frostbourne wasn't a very warm place, but the interior of the royal family's palace really screamed it. Their sofas were classics made with leather, only three cushions rested on each sofa. A large navy fur rug took up most of the room with little of the hard wood floor showing underneath. A rectangular mahogany table sat in the middle of the room. Paintings and embroidery artwork were neatly placed around the wall. Curtains that matched the colour of the rug were pulled open to expose the large rectangular window.

We had taken a seat on the sofa's where there was a short silence. The words from my training kept repeating themselves. 'Speak only when spoken to.' I straightened my posture, resting my hands on my knees and smiled. This was going to be a long meeting.

"I really think this marriage will benefit both our kingdoms," the Queen had said, breaking the silence.

"Mother," the prince growled. "Not now."

"Then when sweetheart? You are of age and this wonderful young woman has come this way to meet you. Her parents have agreed to this." If looks could kill, the prince would be dead from the queen's icy stare.

The prince shifted a little in his seat and stared down at his knees. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought he didn't want to get married and neither did I right now, but I had to play this role.

"Please don't take what my son says seriously. He hasn't been in the best of moods lately," the queen said in her soft spoken tone again, a big smile appeared on her face.

"We all have our bad days your highness. I understand," I said as politely as I could. Deep down I wanted to just slap the prince, but I couldn't.

"Princess Layla, please enlighten me, what do you do in your free time?" the prince asked as he turned to face me on the sofa.

I smiled once again. This question was easy to answer since the princess and I had similar interests. "I do enjoy reading a good book most days, but I also love learning about weapons and how to use them. Self defense is essential especially in times like these."

The prince raised an eyebrow, leaning his head into his hand, his elbow resting in his knee. "Do you know your way around swords, princess?"

"Of course I do. I've been reading about them since I was a young girl," I replied, looking past the prince, noticing a few swords hung on the wall by the door in the form of an x on either side. "What about you, sir?"

"I'm quite a boring person, princess. My hobbies only include swords," the prince answered. "Books aren't my thing to be completely honest with you, but I do love food."

The prince had the personality of a cardboard cutout. No wonder he was still single. All the women probably ran off when they found out he wasn't marriage material but a playboy. Just a man for them to have a one night fling with.

"Who knows, maybe we can broaden each other's knowledge about swords, your majesty," I said, giving a slight nod.

It went silent again. I really wondered if the others had felt awkward during the silence or if it was just me.

"We have business to attend to but we trust our son to give you a grand tour of our lovely castle. I assume you have only seen our ballroom but not the rest of our castle. You are in good hands," the king announced then stood up along with his wife.

They both left the room followed closely by two guards. Something inside me didn't want to be left alone with the prince but I had my weapons concealed so it wasn't a big issue.

"Alright ma'am, first stop, our library room," the prince said as he stood up swiftly, holding his hand over towards me.

"Command the way, and I shall faithfully follow suit," I said, taking his hand which felt warm in mine then stood up slowly.

The prince had walked ahead, and I found myself following him even though he had a quick pace and a little skip to his step. We reached a long set of stairs which seems to go all the way to heaven. There had to be a good five hundred or more stairs. I kind of wished there was an elevator at this castle but there wasn't any. A navy rug ran up across the middle of the staircase.

I reached out and held onto the metal railing then took a step forward. My feet were already killing me from these stiletto's. It took everything in me not to fall.

"My lady, please, hold onto my arm. I would hate for you to hurt yourself on my expense." The prince held his hand out once again with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, your majesty. You are very amiable." I smiled again, taking his hand.

After what felt like an eternity, we finally reached the next floor up. The prince had let go of my hand as soon as we reached the top. My heart was racing, and it had felt as if I had run a marathon across the entire country. The stairs reminded me of when I was seventeen and my father made me use the stair climber machine at our gym. I used to hate that thing with a fiery passion. Anytime I was made to use it, I felt like I was dying. I'd rather the treadmill any day of the week.

Another navy rug ran down the hallway with more lanterns and a dozen heraldic flags invaded the stone walls as far as the eye could see. As a child I could see myself getting lost in a castle this huge. The corridor seemed never-ending. As we approached a large, frosted glass door, two guards awaited on either side, staring straight again. When they noticed the prince, they straightened their posture then opened the door.

"After you, your highness" The prince bowed and held his arm out, palm open upwards towards the large room.

He was sweet. I'll give him that. He definitely had a way with words, but I wasn't falling for it. I forced a smile again then walked into the room. The strong scent of lavender instantly invaded my senses. The room was absolutely beautiful. Roses sat in vases on the three tables, one below the window, and two others spread evenly through the middle of the room. White painted wooden shelves filled with hundreds if not thousands of books along the walls of the entire large room, floor to ceiling. There was no carpet in this room thankfully, just wooden flooring. A cream coloured one seater sofa sat at the corner which looked like a comfortable spot to just sit and read.

"This is our library, princess. It also doubles up as a study room when we are in dire need of some peace and quiet," the prince said from behind me, making me almost jump out of my skin.

I took a deep breathe in and closes my eyes for a couple seconds. If I didn't have to act like the princess, I would slap that man into oblivion. "I have a feeling I will quite enjoy it here."

– –

A few hundred rooms later, we found ourselves out the back between two large pillars, overlooking the large backyard. A handful of soldiers were spread out training.

"I'm usually out there training with them but lately my parents have forbidden me from such activities," the prince said in almost a whisper, staring out at the yard.

"Why's that?" I asked, turning to face him.

He bit his bottom lip a little and sighed. "My parents say it'll bring a bad name to the family if I go out to gatherings in scars and cuts. Swords and fighting are the only two things I love, and they want to take that away from me because I'm too noble to do such work."

"I'm sorry," I said lowly, staring out at the fighting soldiers again. I honestly had little to no idea what to say except apologise.

"You know, you wouldn't be my first choice and you certainly wouldn't be my pick if you were the last girl on earth. The only reason I agree to this is for the benefit of our kingdom," the prince had said again in almost a whisper.

A silence fell between us as we watched the men fighting with swords out on the grass, the cool air softly kissing our skin. The comfort didn't last long before I felt a hand on my lower back. I looked from the corner of my eye to see the prince's arm reached behind me. My heart stopped for a few seconds waiting for his next move.

Slowly but surely, his hand went lower and lower until it was on my ass. I kept still, staring ahead. Pain set in when he squeezed my rear end and that's when I broke character upon instinct. My hand had a mind of its own when it struck the princes cheek.

The prince looked like he was going to kill me where I stood. "Bitch," he said, grabbing me by the neck and holding me against the pillar.

He was damn strong, and I was struggling to breathe. The first rule I was taught was to not anger a royal man and I had just broken that very simple rule.