Bright sun. Empty courtyard.  Clay table with fresh white linen. Custom silk dresses. The title of ‘my lady’ by most individuals.

All these things and more made up my life. They made Elody Bequette the household name of Shivani’s Vineyard that I was.

I sat outside in the empty courtyard, the walls of the Artieran palace around me, the sun beaming down at an angle that didn’t affect my eyes too much. Pristine linen separated the cream-colored table from the assortment of finger foods and glassware. The bottom of my pear colored dress billowed when the wind blew through.

And across from me sat Errol Artieran—my prince, my friend, my fiancé.

His amber eyes searched me, enveloped me, only ever leaving me for seconds at a time. His thin pink lips were always set in a soft smile. He was absolutely content with the thought of marrying me.

For that I hated him. Not hate so strong as to loathe, but it unnerved me that he was so ready to thrust himself into married life. If ever he was nervous, he never showed it, not a line on his face ever wavered out of place. I knew he wasn’t nervous, what reason did he even have to be? His mother, Queen Merissa, had been grooming him for this for years. Sometimes I wondered if his feelings for me were truly his own. He was a prince, this is what princes did. They married so that when they became king, they had a woman to rule by their side and bear children.

I picked up my goblet, the crystals glinting in the sun, and sipped the wine. It took longer than normal to go down, having to pass through all the lumps in my throat. I cleared my throat and spoke. “So you’re okay with an afternoon ceremony?”

Errol nodded. “Of course. Whatever time you like best. Looking back, I don’t really want to wake up early for a morning ceremony. I guess I just wanted to have the whole day being married to you.”

I forced my lips into a smile. “You’ll have the rest of your life to be married to me.”

“That I will,” Errol said. He raised his glass for a toast.

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Reluctantly, I raised mine too.

“To our marriage,” he toasted, clinking glasses with me.

I mumbled the words, and this time swallowed a large gulp. Maybe if I drank enough, I’d pass out in the sun. No, I wasn’t dehydrated enough for that. But still, it was worth a shot.

Errol set his glass back down on the table. “Have you given any thought to what you'd like your current room to be turned into when you move in with me?” he asked.

The blood in my hands retracted, draining to my feet. Honestly, I tried to give as little amount of thought to that as possible. About four months ago, the Queen had recommended I move out of my house and into the palace so I'd get a feel for living in the palace. I had my own room now. But in a little less than a month, I’d move out of that room and into Errol’s. A chill went through me every time someone brought it up. I hadn't been ready to move into the palace four months ago, but I’d gotten used to it since I spent so much time here anyway. But moving into the same room as Errol, I didn't think I’d ever be ready for it.

The blood flowed back into my hands when I spotted Nurse Freda walking over.

“I'm sorry to bother you both, Prince Errol,” she said when she reached us. I'm sure my face read not to be sorry at all. “I need Lady Elody.”

I looked over at Errol.

If he was disappointed about ending the conversation, which he most definitely was, he didn't let it show. “Of course, Nurse Freda.”

I stood up, probably faster than I should have, and without even saying goodbye to Errol, started walking away with Freda. When we were out of earshot I said, “That was painful.”

“It was painful watching, Lady Elody,” Freda said. “You could show a little more excitement when he talks about the marriage, dear.”

“Then I would have to actually be excited.”

Freda sighed. “Remind me why you're not excited,” but I knew she knew the reason.

“Life ends after marriage. I mean look at my mother. She used to have so many adventures. Then she married Father and all she does is sit around and wait for me to get married.”

“I'm sure your mother would be thrilled to know that's all you think she does.”

“You know it's true,” I murmured, trailing my fingers along the wall as we walked.

Nurse Freda looked at me out the side of her eyes. “What kind of adventure are you hoping to find, dear?”

I fiddled with my necklace. “I don't know. One far away where I get to see all these places I've never seen before. New sights, new people. Just… Something not boring like it is here.”

Freda smiled at me. “Why don’t you tell the prince that you’re bored? He’ll liven things up for you.”

I crinkled my nose. “Freda.”

She laughed, and the way the lines on her face branched made me more relaxed. “I'm only joking dear.”

I leaned my head on my hand and looked out one of the windows. “Twenty-two years as a bored virgin. What an accomplishment.”