 ꓅ꆂꐇꏸꑛ ꓅ꑛꍟ ꌚꀗꐟ  ᵃ ʳᵉʸˡᵒ ᵃᵘ

Chapter Eleven  The Ring Of Stone

That evening the kingdom celebrated the end of the games and the engagement of Rey and Ben with a huge feast.

Rey sat at her usual place with Finn, Poe and Ben. But instead of sitting next to Finn like she usually did... of course Ben had wanted her to sit next to him.

"So where should we go for our honeymoon, sweetheart?" Ben asked flirtatiously.

"I don't want to go anywhere with you," she replied.

"So you want to go straight to bed, no adventures first?" he asked, he managed not to smile as he said it, but his eyes gave him away.

"Sure as long as you sleep in the stables with my horse," she replied.

"I do like horses," he answered.

"Uh you're so infuriating," she slammed her fist on the table.

"Maybe I should go... I'm sensing a lot of tension," Finn said.

"You'll have to get used to me because like it or not you're stuck with me," Ben replied, ignoring Finn's statement.

"Well I don't like it," she replied.

"Why?" he asked.

"You drive me crazy, you're so arrogant...you're always showing off," she replied.

"I know you think that you don't need anyone, it's easy to say that if you've never been alone. My father was fighting in the war, my mother was a diplomat busy trying to keep the peace and I was alone. Doing everything by yourself isn't as nice as it might seem," he replied.

"I may be the princess, but I know how it feels to be alone too. As king and queen my parents were always busy and I was left with a nursemaid that didn't love me. Being stuck with someone who doesn't care about you is just as bad if not worse than being alone," she replied. "She scolded me for every little thing I did, she controlled every second of my life."

"But that's where you're wrong. I do care about you, and I wouldn't control you. I know you think I just want to marry you for the throne and because of your beauty, but I don't want the throne. As for beauty I can't deny it, but there's more to you than that. I see in you not just a future wife but a companion, a friend. I know you don't want to get married, but as the only daughter of the king you will have to marry someone," he replied.

"You don't understand and you never will. It's not that I don't want to get married, it's that I want to fall in love. I can't imagine spending my life with someone I don't love," she replied.

"If I could I would free you of our betrothal. I promise I would, but it's not in my power. Our fate is written in stone," he replied.

"Perhaps that is what you believe, but I believe that we can change our fates... I can change my fate," she replied and she turned to leave.

~~

Rey hurried down the hall to her room. She grabbed her bag and began filling it with her things. She would rather live alone in the forest than be forced into marrying him.

True he was handsome, fun and strong; but he was so arrogant and annoying. And he didn't seem to understand that she didn't want him to give her things to prove his love, she wanted him to give her his heart. She wanted him to say I love you, and show her that he really did. He was so worried about making himself look good to her that he didn't compliment her or whisper words of affection that weren't sprinkled with smugness.

All three of them didn't seem to understand that while she enjoyed boyish activities, she was still a girl. She wanted romance, she didn't want their smug flirting and bragging and bribing, she wanted a romantic man who would take her for private walks and kiss her tenderly when he knew that was what she wanted. She did want someone to share adventures with, but she also wanted someone who made her feel vulnerable enough that she could speak her true heart. She wanted someone who made her feel comfortable enough to cry without being treated like she was weak. None of them could give her that.