𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇. enhypen

seven

"A DATE?!" JIHYE BLANCHED.

It seemed as of lately, Jihye was told things at the very last minute.

First, it had been the sudden announcement from her Father that she was to be betrothed to another born Royal of one of the Four Kingdoms. There wasn't much she could do to refuse at that moment and by the manner her Father had brought up the topic, Jihye had assumed it was going to take place somewhere in the far future.

Then however, it was the rushed arrival of said Princes at their Kingdom two weeks ago. Jihye had nearly passed out of panic when she saw carriages with the Kingdom's Royal Crests parked outside in the courtyard. It felt as if everything had slipped out of her hands and her life was no longer hers for her to choose what to do with it anymore.

And now, it was abrupt news that a date with the North Prince had been planned without her knowledge. Once again, she had no say in the manner. Jihye was starting to believe she was only a marionette in her Father's plans, being pulled by strings as she was used for display but never allowed to speak of her disdain. Even with her Father's agreement to call everything off if she didn't desire to marry at the end of their stay, Jihye now recognized that it could've been a simple tactic by her Father to momentarily quiet down all her complaints. She felt as though she had been betrayed and stabbed in the back.

Jihye wondered what her past ancestors had done in their lifespans for her to have such an unmerciful fate as this. And the fact that there were thousands of people in her Kingdom that would kill to have the same Royal status as her made her feel like a faulfinding child. Her Father always told her to be grateful for her stature as his only inheritor, to have the divine right to become the future Queen of the East Kingdom. But a curse was all it was.

She never got to meet her mother, but if Jihye did she was sure her mother would have never forced her to an arranged marriage like her Father was doing. In moments like these was when Jihye wished her Mother hadn't died the way she did.

Sojung studied the Princess for a moment before giving her a firm nod. "Yes, that is what I said, Princess. Are you still drowsy? Do you need an extra cup of tea to wake you up?"

"No, I'm wide awake." Jihye spoke with uncharacteristic bitterness. She breathed deeply to steady her speeding heart and swallowed her peevishness to ask her following question. "Why didn't anyone tell me of this yesterday?"

Sojung quirks her head to the side, recalling what she had heard. "Well, It was proposed by the North Prince to your Father late in the afternoon yesterday."

Jihye's pokes the inside of her cheek with her tongue. The North Prince? He hadn't even batted his eyes in her direction at all, and now he was arranging a little rendezvous with her?

"A butler was sent to tell you of this but they weren't able to find you until they spotted you spending your afternoon with your guests. They decided it was best to give you some time alone."

Jihye crosses her arms. "But I still didn't hear anything after coming to my room."

"The butler must have left the epistle written by your Father on your bureau somewhere..." Sojung walks to where Jihye's bureau stood in her large room, she sifts through the many books and sheets of paper that lay on it and surely she managed to spot what she was looking for. "Here it is!"

Sojung lifts an envelope closed with bright red wax that had been unmistakably stamped by the King's signet ring.

"I could've sworn that wasn't there before." Jihye mumbled a bit sheepishly. She stretches out her hand. "Let me see it."