The Divorced Queen

Chapter 2

Tanhya

I was 14 years old when I was chosen to be the future queen of Cerus.

My parents, lower ranking nobles of the kingdom, were thrilled for such an honor to be bestowed upon the family. I was one of the few noble's daughters that were around Crown Prince Osric's age, so that's why I was considered. I was 2 years his junior. The King and Queen had taken a liking to me from events my family and I attended at the palace and thought I was the best candidate.

There was a lot of work involved with the King and Queen's duties, so future consorts had to be selected at a young age in order for there to be enough time to train them. That way, they weren't overwhelmed when they eventually took on the role.

Initially, I was beyond excited to be chosen. That out of all the young girls that could have been selected I was the one. A girl with nothing particularly interesting about her and who'd lived a relatively uneventful life, was now suddenly being thrust into royalty. It was surreal. 

I became a topic of discussion in the kingdom. My friends told me how they were jealous of me. All the attention inflated my ego. I thought I was on my way to live a fairy tale life as Queen. If only I knew what was truly waiting for me.

After I was selected my familys status was changed to high ranking and  I was immediately sent to live at the palace to start my studies. I was occasionally allowed to go home to see my family. The King and Queen welcomed me with open arms and were kind and encouraging. However, Prince Osric, my fiance-to-be, was hostile towards me. Right from the start he let me me know he did not approve of me as his fiance.

I was hurt and confused at the same time. I'd had a massive crush on Osric at the time, much like any other girl in the kingdom. His rejection completely threw me off. It wasn't that I expected him to be head over heels in love with me, I just hadn't expected him to hate me.

The King and Queen told me to pay no mind to him and that he was just being 'difficult'. I didn't quite know how to feel about that but they reassured me and that he would come around eventually.

Despite Osrics' feelings, he did what was expected of him in treating me as the crown princess. He was polite and well mannered when he addressed me in front of his parents and at events. However, in private he avoided me completely. He was just going along with it because of his parents.

Whilst I was upset, I couldn't dwell much on it. Aside from being Osrics' fiance I still had my Queens' studies to also focus on. The King and Queen were expecting a lot from me and so were my parents. I had to do my best and excel in my studies. Become a queen they would be proud of. Perhaps then, even 'he' would notice me.

I worked and studied hard. It was difficult, I made many mistakes but eventually I improved. All my teachers praised me for my efforts. I even received praise from the king and queen and my parents for my good progress.

Though, my studies were going well, emotionally and mentally things weren't so good. In time I saw that life in the palace was not as exciting as I thought it would be. It was....... lonely. My studies took up a large amount of my time I barely had any time outside of them. But I didn't have much to do when I wasn't studying either.

The King and Queen were there for me and it was their support that encouraged me to go on. However, they were always so busy with their own duties. I also only got to go home once in a while so I rarely saw my parents and my childhood friends. Then there was Osric who didn't even want to talk to me. There was no one else I could make friends with in the castle. So in the end, all I had were my studies.

It was after some time of having lived in the castle that I discovered the extent of Osrics behavior. I had always wondered why he hated me so much. I thought maybe he already had a lover that he couldn't be with. Osric wasn't only rude to me but to his parents as well. He didn't have a very good relationship with them, especially with the King whom he argued with on several occasions. Perhaps he was taking out his frustrations with his parents on me. I didn't know.