royally arranged

Ring [chapter 37]

With your back propped up on the wooden headboard of the huge bed you and Shoto shared, you shut your eyes in a gentle manner. Dinner had just ended, and saying things were tense would've been an understatement. It was like an all-out war.

Touya was spitting curse words every second due to the fact he was arranged to marry some princess he didn't even know the name of. He refused going to the other palace, so the princess was being shipped here just like you had been. The only difference between you and the new princess was the fact Shoto didn't have any romantic affairs going on with anybody else. It wasn't really a problem for you to be thrown into the mix.

Of course, it was a different circumstance for Touya. He was already dating Diana, somebody he had planned on potentially marrying, and that was way more than enough to throw everything off. On top of that, what adult would want to be arranged to marry someone by their own father?

Along with that information, your brother's and favorite maids' stay was shortened. They were leaving in the morning due to some sort of issue at the other palace.

And things couldn't get any worse, right? Wrong. So very wrong.

Wedding plans would start being ran by you and Shoto tomorrow. The chaos would ensue, and you would have to get everything down within a certain time frame. Now, yes, you did actually like the idea of marrying Shoto now that you had time to actually get to know him. However, when you weren't allowed to do things on your own time, you got pissed.

"You can take your bath now if you'd like," Shoto said while emerging from the doors of your bathroom, hair still damp and a pair of shorts covering his lower half. "I've finished."

A sigh escaped your lips as you looked at the male, "I'll take mine in the morning. I'm not in the mood for it."

Shoto simply nodded. He walked over to his dresser, opening the drawer and pulling out a book. Specifically the one he had taken from the library a couple hours ago. He sat down on the bed in the spot directly next to you, dropping the book down onto your lap.

Raking his fingers through his hair and pushing it out of his face, he gave you a small smile, "Can you read that to me?"

A smile etched its way on your own features as you picked up the book. Patting your lap, you gestured for Shoto to lay his head down on it, "Sure thing, prince Shoto."

A deep chuckle came from the male in return. He laid down on the bed, delicately placing the back of his head across your thighs. The hair he had just pushed out of his face ended up falling straight back into his eyes, making you laugh while using one of your hands to push the hair away.

"Thank you, my queen."

Butterflies started to flutter around in your stomach quickly, filling up the space in your stomach. They were having an absolute field day.

You opened up the book to the first page, seeing the author's dedication page which you had crossed out the original name and replaced it with your own. That had been done to just about all the books you really liked. It was a nice feeling to think you were the person an author dedicated their book to, even if it was fake.

You skipped ahead to the prologue, reading over the words with a firm voice and making sure to not skip over any words. About every five minutes, you flipped a page to read what was on the other side with Shoto still laying his head on your lap and silently listening to the words flow so easily from your mouth.

"Why did he do that?" Shoto asked after having being silent for almost an hour. You had just finished reading one chapter, flipping the page to the next one where a new chapter began.

You let out a soft laugh, "You'll see. It'll all make sense in the end. I promise."

Shoto nodded his head with a lighthearted sigh. He shut his eyes lightly, taking in steady breaths while debating in his mind wether or not now would be a good time to do the thing he'd been wanting to do for a while now. You seemed happy, Shoto himself was definitely happy and there wasn't really anything that was distracting the two of you. Maybe...

With a final decision, the male abruptly sat up and scooted out of the bed. His sudden movement did scare the living hell out of you, but the only thing you did was flinch. Screaming would've alerted somebody, and you weren't even in any danger.

His movements were steady, and the determination in his eyes proved that he had a goal, and Shoto wasn't going to stop until he reached it.

Opening the drawer to the beside table he claimed, the male stuck his hand in and pulled a small box out. He climbed back onto the bed, plopping down in front of you with an uneasy smile. Shoto opened the box up to show a beautiful ring with a few diamonds engraved into its design.

"I know it is already set in stone that we are to get married, but that was solely our fathers' doings," Shoto looked away from the box and up into your eyes, "However, I've grown to like you— no love you as a person and not just the princess my father arranged for me to marry. I want to marry you, so...

y/n l/n, will you marry me, Shoto Todoroki?"

Your breath caught in your throat as your eyes darted between Shoto's face and the ring. Tears started to form in the corner of your eyes as you felt them sting and the water pool. All it would take is one blink and then you'd be crying.

Slowly nodding your head, your used your right hand to cup one of Shoto's cheeks, "Yes. Of course I will!"

Gently grabbing your left hand, Shoto took the ring out of the box and placed it onto your ring finger in a delicate sort of manner. Once making sure the ring fit properly and that it was secure, Shoto lifted your hand to his mouth. His soft lifts pressed a tender kiss on the back of your hand, and when he released it you didn't hesitate to launch at him and give him one on the lips.

A warm feeling erupted in your chest as his lips molded into your own. They were soft, just like they always were. Just as you had liked them. One of your hands still cupped his cheek while the other was messing with his hair. Shoto had one on the small of your back, pulling your closer while the other on your neck while his thumb rubbed over the skin behind your earlobe.

The two of you loved each other more than you thought you ever would, and not a single ounce of regret lingered in the air. In all your life you would've never expected this to happen, but you were glad. You'd found the love of your life without even looking, and quite honestly it was one of the best feelings in the world.

There was a heavy hesitance, but Shoto eventually pulled away from you. He wore a genuine smile while he kept his hands placed in the same spots. Licking his bottom lip, he averted his gaze from yours, "I love you. More than anything in this whole damn world."

Returning the smile, you untangled your fingers from his hair, "I'm glad my feelings are reciprocated."

A silence was ensued, but it was a comfortable one. Something that would happen every once in a while where you'd just want to sit there and stare at the others features, taking them in for all their glory.

The mood, however, was ruined when Diana came rushing into the room. A panicked look was on her face as she looked in between the two of you. Her breathing was quick and heavy, and her eyes were widened. She didn't pay any attention to the position the two of you were in, because she quite frankly didn't care in that moment.

"Diana?" you tilted your head to the side, moving away from Shoto so you could get off the bed, "Is something the matter?"

"King Enji—" her words were breathless, "He's collapsed."