princess ♢ royal au | fin

[fairy tale]

fair·y tale
/ˈferē tāl/
noun.

》a children's story about magical and imaginary beings and lands《

》stories told to give children hope and to give adults a break from reality《

♢

Ethan soon left to give you time to adjust to your new surroundings, saying that he'll be available for whatever you needed. You sat on the very edge of the bed --well, your bed-- and chewed on your lip in frustration. This sucked. Being married off to a ten-year old? You'd heard of things like this happening before, but you'd never imagined that your parents would let it happen to you. A knock came at your door, and you stood up with a groan to go answer it.

As you opened the door, the always-perky face of Princess Amy came into view, and she greeted you cheerily. "Hello, Lady Y/N. Are you hungry?"

"Ah not really, thank you, Lady Amy." You didn't meet her eyes, knowing that she was to be your sister-in-law, and even though that sounded fun, her brother didn't. You were sure he was a fine little boy, but that was the problem, he was a little boy.

"Okay, well my bedroom is two doors down on the left if you need anything from me."

"Thank you."

Amy suddenly threw her arms around you, squeezing you tightly to her in a comforting hug. "I'm here for you." She said quietly before pulling away, taking both of your hands in hers.

You could only give her a smile and a nod, overwhelmed by her kindness. She cast you one last look before retreating down the hall and around the corner. Amy was wonderful, but you really wanted to explore some of the castle by yourself. So you closed your door and locked it behind you, then set out in the opposite direction of Amy, you didn't need her worrying about you any more than she already does. The castle seemed to be even bigger than it looked, endless corridors and doors and places to look at. You weren't sure if you'd be able to venture into all of them in your lifetime.

In the middle of the second floor was a large room with huge glass doors leading into it. You peered in through the clean glass to see bookshelves as far as the eyes could see, books along every one of them. To your delight, the door was unlocked, and you turned the handle to step inside. Your fingers flitted along the spines of the books, eyes scanning for an interesting title. Finally you found one and took it off the shelf to fin a place to sit and read it. In the very back corner of the seemingly empty library was a small nook with a cushioned seat tucked nearly out of sight.

Sitting down in it, you slipped off your heels to bring your feet up into the chair and curl up in the comfortable upholstery. Maybe if you tried hard enough, you wouldn't be found and could join the characters in this fantastical world and never have to face your marital issues. If only. But for now, you allowed yourself to become enveloped in their problems and dramas because they seemed far less real to you than your own.

You didn't know how long had passed, it could've been minutes, hours, days, years, lifetimes. It didn't matter, because nothing seemed to matter now. Until your name being called throughout the library brought you back to Earth. Gizmonia, specifically. The library in the castle of Gizmonia, to be even more specific. Pressing your body further against the chair, you willed to become invisible and for the searcher to never discover you.

"My Lady Y/N?" The soft voice weaved around the shelves and reached your ears with a gentle lilt through the syllables.

The quiet footsteps drew closer until the unimposing form of your butler met your gaze. He smiled gently at your position in the chair, hand clasped politely behind his back as he bowed to you. "My Lady, I've been asked to fetch you for dinner. You've been invited to dine with the Young Prince Leopold in his quarters."