"How are you two getting along?"
"Fine", I say.
She clasps her hands together.
"Good, Ariana, the King and his son will be staying in the castle for a few days while negotiations continue. I expect you to be welcoming towards prince Darien while I negotiate with his father. Is that understood?"
I nod while shooting a sideways glare at Darien, who is smirking. King Mason offers my mother his arm and they walk off together. My eyes move around the room, to all the people who seem to have doubled since I arrived. My breathing speeds up and my claustrophobia begins kicking in.
"Are you okay?" Darien asks, all traces of his smirk gone. He lays a hand on my arm.
"Fine, " I say, shaking him off. "I just need some air."
I weave through the thickening crowd and run past the guards towards the garden outside. I gulp down air as soon as I'm outside. Leaning against the stone wall, I struggle to steady my breathing.
"You know, a princess shouldn't be outside alone."
I jump at the sound of Darien's voice.
"Especially alone," he finishes leaning against the wall a few feet away from me.
"You have claustrophobia?" he questions looking at his fingernails.
I nod, while still breathing heavily. "Is it that obvious?"
"Well, you did just run straight out of the ballroom like your life depended on it," he remarks.
I sigh. "You know, if you're going to be staying here for a few days, we should at least be civil with each other."
He feigns shock. "You mean I'm not being civil?"
Despite my breathing, I find myself biting back a smile.
YOU ARE READING
RULE (Completed)
Adventure"You are queen now, start acting like it." Ariana has waited her entire life to become queen and rule her country. But things prove to be much more difficult than she ever thought they would be. After the death of her beloved father, her mother sudd...
