A Love Ever After

Chapter 20

Hello Beautiful people! Sorry for the wait! I have been so busy with school that I have had no time. I'm also kind of feeing uninspired at the moment :/

I'm extending the writing competition until the end of October because I didn't have enough time to judge the entries. So, if you would still like to enter there is still a chance! I've really enjoyed all of the entries so far!

Enjoy! (I haven't even had a chance to proof read so I apologise for all the mistakes!!)

Chapter 20

The wind seemed to dance around the two men as they stared at each other with such contempt that it was surprising neither of them had looked away. Both were so determined to win the small battle that they didn't even notice the music changing tone and the minutes ticking by.

"Jackson," Andrew began.

"Prince Jackson," he corrected, somehow narrowing his eyes into even slimmer slits.

"You will receive that title from me when you have earned it," Andrew said, shaking his head. "I'd like you to tell me what I just witnessed."

Jackson chucked. "Isn't it obvious? Surely you don't need me to explain what was happening?"

"That's enough fooling around. I want an answer. What were you doing with Miss Arabella?"

Jackson was silent. He looked away from the other man and stared out to the castle grounds. It was snowing, and the wind had really picked up.

"Perhaps you might want to talk if I tell you that what you have done has put both you and Miss Arabella at risk."

"I will soon be king. I am allowed any relationships that I so wish. Elizabeth will be my wife, but I will still have other affairs. You simply cannot expect me to be satisfied with one scrawny girl." Jackson said.

"Let me put it to you in a more simple way." Andrew tone was stern now. "If you choose to marry Elizabeth, you will have no relation to Arabella or any other woman. Is that understood?"

"There is no choice. Our fathers decided this fate when we were young." He replied.

"There has always been a choice. You must know that my sister has no wishes to marry you. If you so choose to go with Arabella, there will be no issue."

"Why would I marry Arabella when I could marry Elizabeth and join two kingdoms together? Arabella will be a mistress to me and Elizabeth will be my wife in name only."

"I don't think you quite understand. If you marry Elizabeth, you will have no interaction with your lover at all." Andrew repeated. He was growing rather frustrated with Jackson's stupidity.

"That is not a matter that you have any influence over. I will be king and can decide on whatever fate that I would like."

"The moment that you commit to being Elizabeth's husband I will send out a perfect suitor to claim Arabella's hand in marriage from her father. He will not refuse when he hears of your plans, and they will be married before you return to your kingdom."

"And who might that suitor be. Her father won't let her marry anyone without a title."

"Then it's a wonderful coincidence that my cousin, Joshua, has a high title and a good name."

Jackson gasped. The smirk that Andrew had been retaining finally slipped onto his lips.

"The moment that you are married Joshua will leave. You have until then to break off the wedding."

With one final glare, Andrew turned around and marched back into the castle. Hopefully, Jackson had the message embedded deep inside of his head.

***

A short while later Jackson strutted back into the castle, his face a blank slate of emotions. His fingers were cold, and his nose red from the icy air outside.

He couldn't even think straight. He was filled with so much anger that he was sure that a gentle shove would cause it to bubble over. And the mess would be unbelievable.

As he looked around his eyes darted straight passed his fiancé. He didn't notice her dancing with another man, or her laughing u at him. He didn't even notice that she was so much happier around anyone other than him.

No, his eyes strayed straight to the women that he was supposed to avoid. But she was so tempting, in her tight, red dress, that he couldn't look away once he had seen her.

A long moment was spent staring at her before he noticed her company. And that was when the anger began to spill out, bursting through the seams.

His old friend Joshua was stood next to her, his hand laid on her arm in a friendly gesture. But Jackson didn't like it at all.

She laughed at something that he said, her lips drawn up in a soft smile. Jackson could almost imagine her laugh floating around the air, like a birds lullaby. But he was too far away to enjoy that pleasant sound.

How could Joshua betray him like this? Jackson had always been pleasant during his visits and had never treated him wrong.

Jackson finally looked at Andrew, who was stood against the wall, watching his every move. He was like a bird of prey, ready to swoop in at any sign of trouble that Jackson would cause. It was an unnerving thought that quickly caused Jackson to lower his gaze.

That's when Jackson left. He walked out of the ballroom and through the castle halls until he finally reached the safety of his own chambers. Only then he yelled out the ager that he had been trying so hard to subdue.

"S-sorry, your highness," a young maid stuttered when she opened the door the screaming prince. Jackson glared at her, and she quickly scattered away, closing the door behind her and leaving him all alone.

In the ideal world, where his father had no control over his life, Jackson would marry Arabella. But that just didn't seem possible.