royally arranged

Packing [chapter 2]

"I— What the— This is too much," Nikos paced back and forwards in your room, pulling at his hair as he tried to calm himself down. He was in a panicked state, his breaths unsteady.

"You think that, but which one of us is being sent away against their will?" you asked with a bit of attitude, shoving some more dresses in a suit case. You were only taking the ones your mom had made you or the ones the maids had gifted you secretly on holidays.

"Right. I'm sorry," Nikos apologized, stopping his pacing and walking over to you. He sat down criss-cross in front of you, evening out his breathing to the best of his abilities. "Do you want me to help you pack?"

"I want to stay here with you. This isn't fair," you answered, forcefully pushing the lid of the suitcase closed and pushing it away from you. You grabbed another one and opened it up, moving on to pack up your corsets, "This has to be some sort of sick joke. It wouldn't just— There's no way this is true. It's all just a bad nightmare."

"Lady y/n," Mealonie slipped into your room, Emily following closely behind her. They both wore worried faces, seeming to have already heard the news.

The two ladies rushed to your side, enveloping you in a tight hug. They both had tears running down their faces as they pressed you further into their bodies.

"We heard the news," Emily sniffled, pulling away from you with a saddened expression, "Stuff travels fast in this palace. I am so sorry."

Mealonie still held you close. She had been there for you since you were a baby, basically being your second mom. She and your actual mom had gotten along well before a certain incident. Your mother found Mealonie trustworthy and kind, allowing the maid to be near you and be a friend for you.

It was comforting, especially since you were rarely allowed outside of castle grounds.

You hugged her back just as tight. You heard strangled sobs come out of her mouth, the maid practically gasping for air as she cried like a baby. Mealonie didn't want to let go. She felt as if you would disappear if she let go.

"Mealonie, I need to finish packing," you told her in a hushed tone, slowly loosening your grip on her. Mealonie reluctantly did the same, tears staining her face.

"Do you need any help lady y/n?" Mealonie asked with a shaky voice, trying to compose herself and fulfill her duties as your maid.

"No, thank you," you offered a weak smile, turning your attention back to packing your stuff. You took in a deep inhale, a shaky exhale coming out in return. You threw your corsets in the case in a somewhat neat manner, not necessarily caring how unorganized it was.

Nikos was super upset. You were the only person, he was permitted to see, that kept him company. Apart from your mom, who was no longer there, you kept him happy. It was like his father was purposefully taking away everything that has any sort of positive meaning to him.

"I'm gonna end up with a good villain origin story if he keeps this up," Nikos mumbled to himself, flopping down on your bed with an annoyed huff.

"I don't like this. Not one bit," Emily stated, wiping away her remaining tears, "You're still just a kid! You shouldn't have to get married yet, you shouldn't even be having to think about marriage."

You let out a dry laugh, emotionless eyes looking around the room at everyone else, "I'm sorry."

Nikos looked at you with obvious confusion, "Sorry about what? This is all dad's fault. It always is. He's a stupid piece of trash that happened to inherit the throne."

"I should've fought harder. Maybe then he would've let me stay with you," you admitted. "Now if you could please leave, I would like to go to bed."

Nikos sat still on your bed, though he did watch the maids leave without question. That was their job, and even if they were your friends, you were their boss above all else. They couldn't protest.

"Can we have one final sleepover?" Nikos looked up at you with pleading eyes. This might be the last time he ever sees his sister again, and he didn't want to waist any time he had left.

You looked at him with a sad smile, taking pity on the poor boy. He was suffering from too much stress, especially as young as he was. He had just barely turned ten...

"Yeah," you nodded your head, "Go take a bath and get changed. I'm sure our maids have already run the water for our baths."

Nikkos nodded before getting up and leaving the room. You grabbed a night gown your father provided you with, making your way to the bathroom.

You slipped off your clothes after getting into the bathroom, letting some tears that you were holding back fall down your face freely. You dipped your toe into the water, sliding the rest of your body in when you felt it was a good temperature.

You closed your eyes, letting the water envelope your body and all the questions you had been pushing away came forth.

Why me?

Couldn't they have chosen a different way to make peace with one another?

How did the person you were forced to marry feel about this?

Is this punishment for that one time I broke the vase and blamed it on Nikos?

"Y/n! You done yet?" your younger brother called from the other side of the door, calmly knocking on the wood. Time had flown by quickly, twenty minutes already having passed.

"Give me a few minutes!" you called back out in repsonse, grabbing your towel to dry yourself off along with slipping on your night gown quickly.

You opened the door to your bedroom (which was connected to the bathroom), your eyes immediately landing on Nikos who sat on your bed reading a book. He looked up when hearing the door open setting the book aside and eyes lighting up when he saw you emerge from the doors.

"We should go to sleep," Nikos spoke in a soft voice, trying to be considerate of you and your current thoughts and emotions, "You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow, and will probably need as much sleep as you can get.

"I thank you for that, but are you sure you don't want to stay up a bit longer?" you asked, making your way to your bed slowly.

"It's alright. You're always there for me, the least I can do before you leave is be there for you," he replied with a genuine smile, getting up from your bed be going to the lanterns.

He blew them out, being mindful to leave one on so you could still somewhat see. He crawled back into the bed, yanking a blanket out from under your bed before tucking himself in.

"Good night," you said to Nikos after yawning, facing your brother with tired eyes.

"Good night y/n," Nikos offered a smile, dropping it when you closed you eyes.

He was going to miss you more than anything on he world.