Chapter Two

"Can't I bring Rupes?" Tamzin asked as she scooped her small dog up in her arms. Rupes had been a gift for her fourteenth birthday from her father and the two grew to be very close.

"That will be up to your future husband," Tamzin's mother, the Queen Gemma, said as she continued to help her daughter pack. Rupes, the small and reliable pug, sat on his owner's bed and watched with fascination as Tamzin packed grand and beautiful dresses.

"I don't wear these dresses," Tamzin said as she stuck her tongue out at the offensive fabric. "Their weather is different from ours?"

"It is primarily warm here, but in Thurston territory, it is warm and then cold at different times of the year. You will see snow." Gemma smiled at her daughter as she finished placing the last dress in the trunk. "You will also learn how to ride a horse."

Tamzin smiled, but her conversation with her father about the imperative nature of her engagement to William made her feel nervous. Thom had been right; William was nothing like her. He was hardhearted and serious and never had fun. Her father assured her he was handsome, with his thick and curly brown hair and bright blue eyes and full lips, but what use was a handsome husband if he didn't talk much?

"Your father, brother, and I will be coming with you to the drop off point to sign the agreement with William's father. Your ladies in waiting may come, if you so desire, but William may not allow you to take them with you," Gemma warned as she watched her daughter stare absentmindedly at her clothes. "It was something I never thought I would need to warn you about, but Tamzin, darling, not all husbands are kind."

"If he is such a troll, then why must I marry him?" Tamzin asked as she pushed her brown hair out of her face and across her shoulder. She wore a simple white lace dress with short sleeves and a long skirt. Her country abhorred corsets and encouraged the natural female form, which Tamzin was blessed with.

"Because you are the crowned princess, my darling. You are beautiful, funny, and intelligent. He will love you, I promise," Gemma smiled at Tamzin as she touched her face lightly. "Your father didn't love me right away either."

Tamzin rolled her eyes as she shut her trunk and watched as her ladies in waiting rushed into her bedroom. Lucy, Tamzin's blonde best friend, led the pack and collapsed dramatically on Tamzin's bed.

"Your future husband is a babe," she said with an eager smile. "Too bad he looks so foul."

"How do you know what he looks like?" Tamzin asked before she looked at her mother.

"His portrait was being brought in," Tamzin's other best friend and lady-in-waiting, Kendall said. Kendall was much meeker than Lucy, and had an ethereal hair of curls and brown eyes, like Tamzin. "He is handsome," Kendall flustered.

Tamzin only had two ladies in waiting, but she wouldn't have changed it. The two girls were her best friends and confidantes. What more did a girl need?

"Your majesty" Lucy addressed Gemma. "Does Tamzin get an allowance as the future Queen of Thurston territory?"

"Tamzin will be able to buy pretty dresses, if that's what you're asking," Gemma smiled at her daughter and her friends. She prayed that William would be kind enough to allow Tamzin to keep her ladies and dog. "We should be leaving soon."

Tamzin's stomach dropped like a stone and she bit her lip to hold her composure. A girl like her dreamed about her wedding and the man she would marry, but she never actually expected to be travelling and living an entire three days journey away from her family. Gemma noticed Tamzin's nervousness and hugged her lightly. She couldn't say much to her to soothe her nerves, but just Gemma's presence would help her daughter.

"There's one more thing," Gemma said as she took out a medium sized box. She opened it in front of Tamzin to reveal a lovely, but modest crown. Tamzin smiled when she saw it, and she reached out to take the crown laced with sapphires and placed it gently on her head. "Now you look like a real princess."

Tamzin smiled at her mother before she took her into her arms. Only in front of her mother, as her ladies had left a short while ago, Tamzin let her tears fall onto her mother's shoulder.

"It won't be so bad. He will fall in love with you and soon, you will be married and have children. You will only miss us for a short while, darling," Gemma said as she kissed her daughter's hair. "We can always come visit."

"I know, I know. I'm just nervous," Tamzin said as she quickly collected herself and brushed the tears away from her eyes. "Will you be at my wedding?"

"Of course we will!" Gemma said as she took Tamzin's hand. "It's alright, Tam. Everything will be okay."

"Your last night as a free man!" Garrett called out as he handed Will a beer. "Your bride will be here in the morning!"

"You're more excited than I am," Will said dryly before he drank a swig of his beer. Garrett had snuck him out to the brothel for one last hurrah before he would be married. Though men were allowed to seek company outside the marriage, (though it was frowned upon!) Will wasn't interested in finding a mistress. At least not right away. "Maybe you should marry her."

"If she is as beautiful as everyone says she is, I may take you up on your offer," Garrett smiled as he finished his beer when his usual came over to him. "My lady," he grinned as he kissed her hand. "Don't wait up for me."

Will nodded as the other women in the brothel flanked him. He enjoyed the physicality of the women, but that's where it ended. He rarely spoke to them. These women offered Will no comfort or stability; he mounted one of them and then that was the end of it. The woman he slept with the most was his first: a slightly older woman name Francesca.

Will felt Francesca place her hands on his shoulders and dipped her long red hair over his head. He cracked a small smile, but it wasn't from joy of seeing her. He was only excited that he would have sex again.

"Francesca," Will greeted casually as she took his hand and had him stand up. She didn't say anything, only smiled as she led him through the connecting corridors to her back room. The brothels were simple; a room with a bed and nothing else. When they were alone, Will pushed her lightly on the bed and watched as Francesca spread her legs.

"How are you, dear prince?" Francesca asked as Will began to untie his breeches and un-tuck his shirt. "The Kingdom is thrilled that you will be getting married."

"Well, no one cares what I think," Will said as he came to lay in between her legs. Francesca smiled as he slid inside of her smoothly. He never kissed Francesca when they had these trysts, as if to keep the lines between them completely intact. Will couldn't even bring himself to look at her properly as he thrust inside of her a few times. She was warm and slick, all he needed, but he felt absolutely no need or desire to try and make her feel good.

A few minutes passed and Will pulled himself out to come onto her stomach. He rolled off her as Francesca laughed and cleaned herself off with the long bits of her dress.

"I think you'll make whatshername very happy," Francesca said as she tried to cuddle against Will, but he rebuffed her. He sat up and laced his breeches back up.

"Her name is Tamzin," he continued as he ran a hand through his thick hair to force the curls back down. "Princess Tamzin of the Roth territory."

"Marrying the daughter's enemy. Sounds romantic," Francesca said with a yellowed smile. "I suppose it could be worst."

"I'm marrying the enemy's daughter and I don't know her. It is worst," Will grumbled as he began to put himself together again. He handed Francesca two gold coins and was going to leave, but she stopped him.

"Will you still come visit me, Prince?" She asked almost earnestly as she tucked her hair behind her ear. She almost looked innocent to Will, but he would never let her know this.

"I don't know, honestly," Will answered as he stood awkwardly by the door. It was like this was an ending to a nonexistent relationship. "I suppose it's whether or not I like my new bride."

"You should be kind to her. It's very difficult to move so far from home," Francesca said absentmindedly as she adjusted her dress. Will nodded to her and finally left the room. The corridors were filled with smoke from the den and silently, Will left the brothel through the back door.

The air was crisp and cool. Will could feel summer changing into fall, and with that brought change to his own life. In the morning, he would be meeting his future wife and the thought left his throat dry. How would he be able to sleep tonight? How could Garrett and his father be so casual about this? Tomorrow, his father would literally sign his life over to a girl and the kin of his enemy.

The streets were quiet, except for a random drunk man every now and then. Will walked back to his palace and found the guards that were on break playing guards.

"A pretty princess to warm the prince's bed. I'm sure he will find some way to complain about it," the first soldier said as he took another card. "Tamzin is her name. It sounds exotic."

"Sounds like the name of a woman who is a beast in bed," the second soldier snorted as he eyed his cards warily. "Do you think our prince likes men? The thought of being around the girl sends him to a tantrum."

"For how brave he is on the battlefield, he doesn't show it anywhere else. Did you see the Princess' portrait being delivered today? She is stunning and they say she wants to bring her ladies in waiting," the first soldier continued as Will silently grabbed his sword and unsheathed it.

Quickly, he pressed the blade against the soldier's throat.

"Apparently I whine and show no bravery, yet it is your throat with a blade up against it," Will scowled as he pressed the blade tighter against his skin. "Speaking ill of the prince can be problematic, can't it?"

"I am sorry, your grace," the soldier nearly cried out as Will pushed him into the stone wall.

"I would also appreciate it if you didn't speak so informally about my bride and her talents in the bedroom," Will continued before he took the blade from the soldier's throat and tossed him back his sword. "You need to be more aware of your surroundings."

As he walked away, Will smiled to himself. He knew one day that he would be a good King to his people. He stealthily walked into his palace where he saw the portrait the soldiers were talking about. The smiling face of Tamzin Roth, dressed in a lilac dress with a grand crown perched on a head covered with brown curls. He took a deep breath, happy to know that she was at least beautiful. It was hard to tell, but she also appeared to have kind eyes.

Will knew that paintings were meant to make the royals look better than they really were, but something told him that Tamzin was as beautiful as she was depicted. However, Will had met more beautiful princesses before and they all knew how beautiful they were. Arrogance wasn't a trait he desired in a wife that he would be stuck with for his life. He did take Francesca's words to heart. He shouldn't be so difficult on her, as she was uprooting her entire life. As much as Will despised the idea of getting married, Tamzin was the one that was moving and leaving everyone she loved behind.

"So that's her? She is a babe," Garrett said as he stumbled through the palace front doors. "Too beautiful for you," he slurred as he came to stand next to Will. "Can you stop complaining about your marriage now?"

"If I stopped complaining, I wouldn't be the me that you love like a brother," Will smirked as he turned to look back at Tamzin's portrait. "She is lovely."

"Lovely? That gorgeous face is going to be beneath you on the bed for the rest of your life. Try to sound more upbeat about it," Garrett said as he swung his arm around Will's shoulders. "You'll have to tell me how she is."

"That's disrespectful," Will rebuked as both men began to walk towards their respective bedrooms. "Please don't talk that way around her."

"Oh, you care enough about her opinion now?" Garrett asked as Will helped him up the stairs. "The ale was better than usual today," he laughed as Will stumbled with his weight on the staircase.

"I know Tamzin's father already told her about my less than stellar reaction to the news that I would be marrying her," Will explained to Garrett, who was nearly passed out on his shoulder.

"Can we talk about this in the morning?" Garrett asked as Will propped him up against his door. Garrett's blond hair was mussed and covered in sweat and smoke form the brothel.

"Will you be lucid enough to come with me tomorrow to receive her?"

"Like I would miss this," Garrett laughed as he opened the door to his bedroom. "Get some sleep tonight, Prince William."

Will rolled his eyes at his best friend and began to walk to the end of the corridor to his own bedroom. A shared "bathroom" (which was literally where they kept the tub) connected the Princess' chambers to his. Will knew this would be his last night to truly sleep alone. When he and Tamzin would be married, and thus sharing a bed, the couple would be moved to the upper level, which was more private.

Though Tamzin was exquisite, Will was still unsure about his upcoming nuptials. Nothing would anger him more if she was just some silly, young girl who couldn't offer him anything. He was going to be King and he didn't need a dumb little girl to look after. Why didn't his father ask him what kind of woman he wanted to marry? A serious and studious person like himself. A girl that didn't grin like an idiot in a portrait. Someone that wasn't like Tamzin Roth.

Will set his jaw and opened his bedroom door. On his left was a dim candle still lit, which he blew out quickly. In the darkness of his bedroom, Will crawled into his bed and under the covers. It was like he was waiting to go to his death sentence in the morning.