6 (:

‘You really are making me mad’ was all I could say when my horse didn’t catch up with Arthur’s horse.

A year had passed since I had met my family. I knew all my brothers and sisters well but the only one I talk to was Arthur, the only one who understood my fancy for drama.

Weeks after the meeting day I started having classes, in dads study, I practiced, again, horse riding and most of all; I meet people.  Almost everyone in the kingdom knew me just a few were my enemies and most of them were my friends. After a month of being here I started re-practicing something…

Fighting.

All types of fighting; with swords, hand to hand, on horse, with crude weapons, with guns and magic fighting.

That last was the trickiest because I really didn’t know it existed at the start. All everyone would say to me was ‘your eyes gives you power’ with a knowing voice, some of them would simple stroke my cheek like if they were giving me comfort. After sometime I discovered that the eye color did matter in this place.

The people with honey-brown eyes could control earth. The people with the light blue eyes could control air. The ones with the reddish eyes could control fire. The ones with the green eyes could control water. The ones with the brown eyes could do… nothing.

Then the dark blue eyes, my eyes. I could do everything; earth, air, fire, water and mind. My only problem was that I needed to be trained and there were only a few who actually knew how to do it. That’s why my power was still wild, except for the mind. I discovered in one of my castle rounds that I could easily train my mind power by myself.

I gave a little sigh. Then I looked left and right in case anyone was looking. Just as quickly I put my hand on the horses head and whispered encouraging words. The horses eyes seeming to grow twice their size as he heard my voice in his head.

The horse started to go twice as fast and soon I had caught up with Arthur. He gave me a very disapproving look.

‘That’s not fair’ was all he said. I gave him a smug smile.

We kept going till we reached the forest. He gave me a questioning look and then pointed to the trees, he asking me if I wanted to go in. And like most days I said yes.

‘We better leave the horses here’ an alarm went off in my head; this meant he wanted to talk to me. I looked at him from heads to toes trying to find out what was wrong. I got off the horse and started to follow him.

We walked for half an hour and just as I started to get worried he spun around and looked at me with troubled eyes.

‘You can tell me’ was all I said.

‘It is not about me’ he looked down ‘It is about you’

All I did was to lean on the nearest tree. I looked around. All you could see were trees and a little flower now and then, In close inspection there was a trail, the trail we had come.

‘A year ago you came here and you were just fourteen years old. You were very mature and intelligent’ he started ‘you are nearly fifteen years now and one of the most wanted people of all the kingdoms’

I gave him a smile. He was right; I was the most wanted, many people wanted to marry me and the other part would just love to kill me. I tried not to scowl.

‘You will be fifteen soon and there is something you need to know’ he seemed speechless for just a moment ‘we keep old costumes and one of those says that you need to …’ the last part was too low for me to hear.

‘I didn’t hear it’ I said. My curiosity was awake now.

He gave me look that said he didn’t really wanted to say that.

‘You need to marry someone before you turn sixteen’ He said in a rush ‘This year you must meet man who wants to marry you and then, a month before your birthday you must decided’

He looked at me waiting for me to say something.

Rage filled every single cell on my body. A metallic taste was in my mouth and my hands were looking for something to hit. I turned around and started hitting the tree was leaning before. When I grew tired I drew back and looked at Arthur.

‘I’m a princess’ my voice was low and dangerous. Arthur took a step back when he heard my voice ‘I control all the elements, I have learn to master one of them by myself, I am one of the best fighters in the kingdoms, I am the best spy of all and I am treated like and object?’

Arthur just stared at me. And like that another thought struck me.

‘Marianna and Elizabeth are not married, are they?’As soon as the question leaved my mouth the answer was clear. They were married.

Haven’t I seen them with a man following, talking, laughing, eating, and kissing them?

‘You have to wear a nice dress tonight’ Arthur said out of nowhere.

‘Why?’ I was still angry but not enough to shout at him.

‘There is a ball tonight, is a way of showing that you have to start picking someone now’ He was the old confident man I knew.

‘Are you married?’ I asked.

His face turned gentle all of the sudden and he looked older.

‘Yes, I am, dear sister’

‘Who?’

‘Charlotte’ And then again his face turned gentle

I felt completely stupid. I had lived for one year in that place and I really had never realized that everyone was married except for me and John. I looked at Arthur fingers and saw the ring. I felt stupider still.

I sat down rained of all energy.

‘Do I have to?’ my voice sounded like the small girl I was. He seemed startled to hear me talk like that.

‘You have faced an army of men, you have been in places that have no right to exist outside nightmares, you are one of the most beautiful woman in all the kingdoms and you are afraid of getting married?’ I gave a small nod. I hugged my legs and started thinking that that was one way of putting what I felt. ‘What are you afraid of specially?

‘Lose my freedom’ I said.

He gave a short shaky laugh.

‘You won’t lose your freedom’ he said ‘look at charlotte; she is completely happy and free’

‘That freedom you are talking about is yours to give or take’ I said. And all of sudden I felt strong. ‘You are twenty-one years old and you still don’t know what freedom is’

He seemed to sense the change in me. And his features turned hard and cold.

‘You are just fourteen and you are telling me what I should know?’ his voice matched his face.

‘I have live more than you. I have passed through things you could have never endure and on top of all I was taught a different way’

We regarded each other with hateful expressions. A smile started to play on the corner of his lips.

‘You have quite modesty’ was all he said.

And with that my bad mood was gone.

‘Let’s go. I need to tell dad I won’t marry so soon’ I said with a really big smile.

‘Please tell me you won’t start a fight’

‘Who? Me? Start a fight? You must be kidding me’ I tried to make my voice sound as innocent as it could.

‘Yes, you’ he started chuckling ‘by the way, there are going to be loads of kids looking at you today, next week… and on and on till you get married’

I tried to wipe off the scowl that was forming on my face.

‘That has an easy solution: I’ll break their necks’ but then I wondered; was it so bad? I really like boys looking at me and wanting me for them. I always said no but it was still a good feeling to feel wanted.

Yes, it was that bad. I answered myself remembering that these boys weren’t there just to look or doing their job, those boys wanted to marry me.

He just shook his head and started walking towards the castle.