Given or Earned | ONC2021

Prologue

Thank you @chaikovskiy very much for the wonderful cover. I love it. Good luck with your books! Wishing you all the best!

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"I'm sorry for your loss." said someone I didn't even know.

"Thank you." I said.

I was at my parents funeral. I didn't even have any tears left to cry as they all went out the moment I got the call announcing that they have been involved in a car accident.

Through my tears, I prayed for them to be alright.

An hour later, I got another phone call saying they died. Then, the tears just fell uncontrollably.

Now, I was left with no tears. My eyes were so dry. Everywhere, I heard people pitying me, but I didn't really want their pity. At least I wasn't alone there. My grandma was next to me. Today onwards, I was going to live with her.

I haven't met this grandmother before as we lived far away from her, but I hope I would like her house as that was the place I would be living in for who knows how long. The only think I know about it is that it is located in the countryside, so at least I was going to be able to get some fresh air.

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When we were in front of the house, I saw what a small nice looking house it was. After looking at it for a little longer and meeting Max, grandma's dog, we entered. I was greeted by a cosy-looking couch with a table and some chairs in the middle of the room.

"The table and chairs were made by your grandfather from an old oak tree."

"Oh, really?" I said.

There were some shelves above the fireplace full of pictures with my grandma and probably my grandpa, my parents when they got married, but there was also a picture of my parents holding me in their arms. I think I was about two months old at that time. In the far back, the view out of the glass door was amazing and I knew I was going to love being out in the nature, I would recreate myself and hopefully, get back on track after the sad days I had.

"There is the kitchen. I don't think you will go there much as we have chef Claude to make food and Kale to bring it. That door leads to my room, if you ever need something. Now let's go up the stairs to see your room and your bathroom. I also have my own bathroom which is accessible from my bedroom. Now, go go. "

"Okay." I said, looking forward to seeing how the room is.

Entering the room, I saw a large bed, a brown wardrobe and a bookcase with a lot of books. There was a desk as well with a laptop on it. The walls were white and they had some posters with animals. The ceiling was black and had stars and planets drawn on it so you could feel like you were in space. On another desk, there was a huge television. The bathroom was wonderful too, with a big bath tub, a sink with mirror and the toilet, of course. Everything was in a light blue tone so I loved it very much.

"I love them."

"I'm glad to hear that. Let's go down to eat. You must be hungry."

Going down, I heard my grandma shouting "Kale, we'll have dinner."

And then a voice responded "Yes ma'am."

Ten minutes later, a brown-haired boy came with two trays of food. He didn't look much older than myself and he wasn't really bad looking either, but I wasn't really in the mood for a relationship. After giving us the trays, he was heading back, but stopped before exiting. He looked towards my direction, but didn't say anything. I was wondering if he wanted to say something or was just checking if my grandma was satisfied with the food. Being too hungry, I didn't think any further and just started eating.

Tasting the food, I noticed that it had a really nice flavour. 'I think I'm going to like it here. ' I thought.

"Eileen. I have to tell you something."

"What is it grandma?"

"I don' t think you will enjoy hearing this, but I think it is better for you to know it from the start. You are promised to the prince for marriage. Six months from now, you will marry him."

"What? But I don't even know him. How can I just marry him? What if I don't like him?"

"It is complicated. I will explain everything another time. You will like him. And if you don't, you will have to start liking him. Consider him your Prince Charming."

"I don't know if he can compare to Prince Charming. I never wanted to marry into the Royal family. And I don't want a forced marriage. I want to meet a person and fall in love slowly."

"It is what it is. In two days we will go to the castle and introduce yourself to the Royal family. Please don't embarrass me!"

"Yes, grandma."