Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 23

Astoria’s chauffeur arrived twenty minutes later, and when she was back at the palace and in the comfort of her room, she threw her bag on the floor and fell on the bed.

‘Man, I’m tired. What a long day it has been.’

She got under the soft blanket, closing her eyes. There was a knock on the door, and she groaned.

‘I just got back from the academy and want to take a nap in peace. Is that too much to ask?’

“Come in,” she exclaimed rather reluctantly.

The elf came in, a smirk on her face as she saw that the princess was in a sleeping position.

“How was your day back at the academy, Nexi?” she asked.

Astoria sat up and took off her school blazer.

“Not too bad. I actually had a great day. I’m just tired, though,” she replied, giving her blazer to the elf who placed it in a hanger inside the princess’ dresser.

“I know you’re about to sleep,” the elf began, “but your father is requesting to see you. He is waiting for you in the throne hall.”

She got out of bed, curious about what the king wanted to say to her. The elf told her that she would prepare something for her to eat in the mean time. She could take her nap after eating and taking her medication.

“Thank you, Keya.”

She left the elf in her room and headed for the throne hall. On the way, she browsed through the different paintings that were plastered on the wall. Some paintings were of family portraits, others were illustrations of the Goddess.

Other paintings portrayed a variety of mythical creatures. She arrived at the throne hall and spotted the king having a discussion with the royal messenger. She waited for him to finish his conversation with the messenger.

“My child, come here,” he said, signaling her to go to him with his finger.

She walked towards him and watched as he dismissed the messenger. She noticed a stack of paper on top of the large table by the corner of the throne hall.

“Father,” she said, looking back at the king, “Keya said you needed to see me.”

Her father took a seat at the large table and beckoned her to do the same. She sat beside him, her hands settled on her lap.

“I hope your first day back at the academy was not bad. Anyway, I understand that this is not the best time to tell you this,” he began, “but I’m afraid I have to.”

“What is it, father?”

“So, I acknowledge that you probably don’t remember your engagement to Kuba Yashiro, the fox spirit.”

“My engagement? I’m engaged?”

She did not anticipate this.

‘What engagement? And with a fox spirit? A kitsune?’

“Yes, you are going to get married next year. It’s an arranged marriage.”

“An arranged marriage, father?”

She could not believe what this man was speaking.

“Yes, you have to go spend time with him and his family this weekend. It’s going to be the third meeting this year. You will be leaving on Friday morning,” the king said.

“But, what about the academy? Won’t I miss out on important school work?”

Her father smiled, stroking her blue-black hair.

“I’ve already discussed with the headmaster of the academy to give you special leave, and the academy will give you the notes on whatever work you’ve missed. Moreover,” he pointed to the stack of paper she had noticed earlier.

“Take this.”

He moved the stack of paper towards her. It looked heavy, and she began flipping through the pages. The pages had important information that she had to know about the Kuba family. She looked up from the paper and looked at the king.

“I did not tell them about your amnesia for a good reason. I’ve tried to hold back this meeting between you and them, but unfortunately, they really want to have you come over. You were actually supposed to go to them a week ago. Still, then you had your incident, which left you bedridden for a while. Then you woke up with amnesia, making the stay with them quite difficult.”

She nodded, understanding the situation a little. She was, however, very uncomfortable at the thought of spending time with a family of foxes, and she was engaged to one of them.

‘As if I didn’t think my life would get more complicated, this man tells me about an engagement with a kitsune.’

She sighed, a pout on her face. The king noticed her discomfort and placed his hand on top of hers.

“I’m sorry, my child,” he said, understanding how his daughter was feeling.

“I know that you are in no position to stay with them for the weekend. I can’t even travel with you because they only want you there, and I have a convention to attend.”

The king had a sad expression on his face. He knew his daughter was in no position to go through this, and that was why he had tried to postpone this visit as much as possible. Still, the Kuba family insisted they spend time with their daughter-in-law this weekend.

“I’m sorry, father. I’m not trying to seem like I’m unhappy about this whole engagement deal, but please remind me why I’m engaged to a fox spirit?”

The king leaned back on his seat, clasping his hands together.

“It is a marriage of convenience, my child. This is to strengthen the Kingdom of Ashen and the Kingdom of Chesropis,” he responded.

She nodded but just had to ask one more thing that was bugging her.

“Father, did I agree to this marriage of convenience?”

He remained silent for about a minute.

“Yes,” he replied, “it is a tradition of Ashen to marry off one of its daughters to another Kingdom to build the kingdom’s economy and strengthen its international relations.”

“And is my sister also engaged?”

“No,” he answered, “she’s not, and neither is your brother.”

“And why is that?”

She was curious why Nexi was the only one engaged while her siblings were not. Was it to discard her because she was weak and, therefore, of no use to this kingdom? Is there an ulterior motive behind her engagement, or was it indeed just a marriage of convenience?

“Naida will take over the throne next year and is compelled to marry a Water Folk a year or so later. As for your brother, he said he is impassive to marriage and instead wants to pursue a career in animal forensic science.”

“Then what if I want to travel and not get married? What if I’m not interested in this arranged marriage?”

It was not like she was serious about her desire for traveling, but she just wanted to know if there was a way of stopping or breaking off this marriage. The king sighed deeply and stood up.

“I’m sorry, my child, but this arranged marriage was signed and sealed more than ten years ago between us families.”

“That’s not fair,” she said, pouting.

He crouched beside her chair, looking up at her with a look of understanding.

“I know, my child. I assure you that the Kuba family is a well-respected royal family, and they are lovely people. The family has two sons and one daughter. The daughter is twenty years old, and she really likes you. You also get along pretty well with Yashiro.”

Astoria did not care whether the family was respected, the marriage was approved years ago, or she got along with the kitsune. She just did not find it fair for the princess to marry a man for convenience.

‘What about Nexi’s happiness and her wanting to marry someone she actually loved? Is her father just disregarding that because he does not care about what happens to her as his youngest daughter?’

She had some idea that this kind of marriage would exist in this world, but she had no idea that she would be involved in one. Well, she was not involved, but Nexi was, and for the time being, she was Nexi.

“The papers have all the information you need to know about the Kuba family and your future partner. Make sure you memorise as much information as possible so that they do not become aware of your amnesia.”

With those words, the king left her. She stared in muted silence at the king’s throne in the throne hall, utterly perplexed at her new predicament.

‘If I’m leaving on Friday, then that means I have a day to memorise all this? What am I, a robot? I can’t remember all this!’

She trudged to her room, rubbing the sleep she now desperately wanted. Sitting down on the bed, the stack of paper in her hand, she groaned into her pillow.

‘Goodness gracious! I certainly did not sign up for this when I yearned to be saved!’