Florence gasped, jolting up from her bed with a frighten start. A trembling hand reached up to touch her face, collecting tear drops on the pad of her finger. Her hand pushes stray curls from her face as she inhaled a shaky breath. The dream felt real to Florence, her lungs still burn from what felt like lack of oxygen. She moved slowly, tossing the heavy blankets back and sliding out of bed. Her bare feet collided with the hardwood floor, shuttering at the cool sensation at her feet. She grabbed a silk rob that lay hanging at the back of her vanity chair, sliding her hands into the arms of the robe. Hugging the robe to her chest, she grabbed the lone candle that was sitting on her desk and ventured towards her en-suite balcony.

The flustered princess placed her candle on the railing on the balcony as she stared out into the night sky. The sky was a pinkish orange, the colors swirling in a beautiful pattern as the morning sun rose. Her head fell back her eyes fluttering close as she inhaled deeply as the cold air filled her lungs before exhaling as a pillowy white air escaped her lips. The dream felt as if it had a viper hold onto her heart, causing her head to drop with tension. Florence didn't know what to do. On one hand, she can tell the king and the future new king but if the dream doesn't happen — she's crazy and making things up. If this dream did come true and she stops it — she's accused of witchcraft or even a traitor and would probably be sentenced to death. And the alternate to that is if the dream is real and she decided not to stop it — her new husband dies and her newfound kingdom gets taken over by murders.

Princess Florence fluttered her eyes open, her gaze traveling to the water lapping at the dock. Her eyes moved to the guard tower that was situated towards the far left corner of the dock, her eyebrows furrow in confusion at the empty guards' tower. Her eyes moved to the second tower situated to the far right, also empty. Where could they possibly be? Her eyes moved with a sense of urgency, waiting for any movement from either towers. A sense of relief washed over her body as she seen movement suddenly from the left tower, her shoulders dropping as the tension left her body.

"Unable to find rest my lady?" A deep voice called to her. A startled gasp fell from her lips as her head swiveled to the left, a balcony was across from her — holding her future husband. "I cannot. I have found myself plagued with nightmares, your majesty." She says, pivoting on her heels to face him. "Please do call me Enzo, we are to be wed and run a kingdom together." The man responded, his thick accent slurring his words slightly. "If that it so, please call me Florence." She said with a bow of a head and a gentle smile. Enzo was not an unattractive man, Florence could admit that to herself.

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When he courted her, he towered over her frame. She stood about five foot five, which would make the man stand at a comfortable six foot four. A mop of dark auburn curls sat on top of his head, his hair rested at his earlobes. His hair would usually slicked back neatly from what she could remember but in this moment his curls looked as if he continuously ran his fingers through his hair. His skin was laiteuse, dark freckles only covered his nose and just under his eyes. He had green orbs with rings of silver closer to the pupil of his eyes. His lips were just the perfect size with a pink tint to them. It suits him well. His nose was perfectly straight with a strong jawline. Florence could remember the feel of his muscles under her hand when he offered his arm to her on a stroll once at her kingdom.

"You say you found yourself plagued with nightmares, which is odd I do say so myself Florence for I have also been plagued with terrible nightmares." He revealed, walking towards the railing of balcony. "How unfortunate, I do hope our lack of sleep does not disturb our nuptials." Florence teased lightly, also approaching the railing of her balcony. The couple stood face to face, the distance between them was enough to keep each other out of reach but close enough where they did not have to shout at each other. "I know it will not." He says, chuckling as he crossed his arms chest. "Florence, I am happy to have this private moment with you. I did want to speak to you about our arranged marriage." He stared, his voice rumbling deeply.

Florence did not know what to expect Enzo to say, but she's witnessed an arranged marriage before. Her parents. And it was not a happy one. They married purely for duty —a duty to the crown. Florence's maternal and paternal grandparents arranged the couple to marry and merge their two small kingdoms into one — which was known now as the kingdom of Kitaran.

Her father did not love her mother and would often cheat with chamber maids. Her mother was no saint, especially when Florence caught her coming from the garden one day — smoothing her dress as a royal guard stumbled ungracefully behind her, tucking his shirt into his trousers. There was no love, just duty and if that was what Enzo was going to say — she was not expecting anything less from the future king.

So Florence waited, to see how he would seal their fate.