The Princess's Forced Choice

KAELIA'S POV

The air in my father’s study was thick with the scent of old parchment, burning wax, and the looming threat of war. Dust danced in the shafts of sunlight pouring through the tall windows, but the warmth of the day did not reach me. My father, the King of Eldoria, stood behind his massive oak desk. He rested his knuckles on a sprawling map of our kingdom, his eyes locked on mine.

"You will marry King Draven," he said.

The words dropped like a stone into the quiet room. My breath caught in my throat. The name itself felt like a curse, a cold weight settling heavy in my chest. I stared at him, waiting for the punchline, waiting for the familiar warmth of his smile to return. But his face remained an unmoving mask of royal duty.

"Dad, you are joking, right?" I forced a dry laugh, though my hands began to tremble. "Why would I ever marry King Draven?"

King Draven was our enemy. He was dangerous. He was ruthless. I had never seen his face, but the terrifying stories echoed through the castle halls. Maids whispered about a king who ruled his lands with an iron fist and a heart of ice. He left nothing but ash and blood in his wake.

"I cannot marry Draven," I said, my voice thick with rising desperation. "Not now. Not ever."

"You do not have a choice in this matter," my father stated. His tone left no room for argument. "My decision stands final. I am not asking for your permission, Kaelia. I am giving you a direct order."

"But dad, I cannot believe you are willing to sacrifice me to that monster!" I took a step forward, slamming my palms onto the edge of his desk. "How could you? I am your daughter. Why are you treating me this way?"

My father did not flinch. He met my uncompromising gaze with a hardened stare. "This is not about you, Kaelia. It is about our nation. It is about Eldoria, and it is about our people. If it means I have to sacrifice one person for the greater good of others, I will do it. Even if that person is my own flesh and blood."

"But dad—"

"You are a princess," he cut me off, his voice rising in volume. "You should know that you have a duty to your people. This is the price royalty has to pay. We do not live for ourselves. We live for the kingdom. I beg you to understand that right now, your nation needs you."

I stared at the man standing across from me. He looked like my father, but he spoke like a stranger. My childhood dreams of a marriage built on love, of finding a partner who would see me as an equal, died in that very room. The fantasy shattered into a million jagged pieces under his unrelenting gaze. I wished I was just an ordinary girl. Maybe then I could live my life the way I wanted, free from the suffocating chains of this crown.

"I need some time to think about this," I whispered, turning on my heel. I marched toward the heavy wooden doors.

"Time is a luxury we do not have!" he screamed after me. "It needs to be quick, Kaelia! Draven will not spare us if we do not form this alliance!"

I shut the door behind me, cutting off his warnings. I retreated to my chambers, my boots clicking against the stone floors of the corridor. A heavy sob rose in my throat, choking my breath, but I forced it down. I swallowed the bitter taste of betrayal. Tears were a weakness I could not afford. Tears were a luxury for a girl who still had a future. I would not cry. Crying would change nothing.

If I was to be traded away to a monster like a piece of livestock, I would at least have one last night of freedom. I refused to sit in my room and wait for my end.

I pushed open the door to my chambers and immediately turned back around. "Mirel!" I called out.

Mirel rushed down the hall, her apron fluttering. She was my personal maid, but more importantly, she was my only true friend. We had grown up together, sharing secrets in the castle gardens since we were little girls.

"Come on, Mirel," I said, grabbing her wrist. "We are going out."

"But your highness..." she started, her eyes wide with panic.

"Do not call me that. We are best friends."

"Okay, princess," she corrected herself, searching my face. "Are you okay?"

She already knew. The servants always knew everything before the official announcements were made. She knew about my impending marriage to Draven.

"I am fine," I said, forcing a grin that did not reach my eyes. "You do not need to worry about me. Now come on, let us go have some fun." I dragged her down the servant stairs, heading straight for the stables.

"You know, you are strange," Mirel noted, struggling to keep up with my long strides. "If any other princess were in your place, she would be weeping in her bed right now. But you just want to have fun."

"I am not other girls, Mirel," I reminded her as we pushed open the heavy stable doors. The smell of hay and damp earth filled the air. "Why should I worry and cry when it will change nothing? Instead of mourning a fate I cannot escape, I would rather just go have fun."

"You are crazy, princess," she muttered under her breath.

I let out a hollow laugh. "Let us grab the horses."

I did not wait for the stable boy. I saddled my own horse, moving with practiced speed, and swung myself up. Mirel scrambled onto her mare, still muttering complaints.

We galloped out of the castle gates and straight into the dense, dark woods surrounding the estate. The night air was crisp and biting. The wind whipped against my face, tangling my hair. For a brief, fleeting moment, the rush of the ride acted as a temporary balm for the fire burning in my soul. I pushed my horse faster, ignoring the danger of the uneven forest floor. My parents would be furious if they knew I had sneaked out, but I did not care.

"It is dangerous out here in the dark!" Mirel shouted from behind me, her voice barely carrying over the pounding hooves. "We need to go back!"

I ignored her frantic warnings and urged my horse forward. "I am going to be married off soon!" I yelled back over my shoulder. "Maybe I will never be able to do this again! Just stay quiet and ride with me!"

Seeing that I would not listen, she finally gave up and followed my lead. She knew my stubbornness all too well.

We rode deep into the heart of the forest until the sound of running water cut through the silence. We reached a secluded stream, hidden away from the prying eyes of the royal court by a thick canopy of ancient trees. I pulled back on the reins and jumped down from my horse before it even came to a full stop.

"You are such a tomboy!" Mirel yelled as I ran straight toward the water.

I chuckled. It was a well-known rule in Eldoria that women were not supposed to handle weapons or act like men. But I had spent years secretly practicing swordplay in the abandoned courtyards. I went hunting in the woods until my father grew tired of punishing me and simply turned a blind eye. This untamed liberty, the dirt under my fingernails and the wind in my hair, was my true home.

I reached the edge of the stream. Without a second thought, I stripped off my heavy royal garments. I let the thick velvet and restrictive corsets drop to the forest floor. I stood naked in the cool night air, shivering as the breeze brushed over my bare skin. It felt like a final act of rebellion. A desperate way to reclaim my own body before it was handed over to a stranger.

I dove straight into the icy water.

The freezing temperature shocked my system, washing away the suffocating weight of my father's words.

"How can you swim naked?" Mirel shrieked from the bank, covering her eyes. "You are a princess! What if someone sees you? I have never met anyone as crazy as you!"

"Come on, Mirel!" I treaded water, laughing at her scandalized expression. "Do not be a spoil-sport! Just get into the water!"

Mirel looked around the dark forest, her eyes darting between the shadows to make sure no one was watching. After a moment of hesitation, she stripped off her simple maid's dress and jumped into the stream with a loud splash.

We swam for a long time. We let the cold water numb our worries until the moon climbed high into the sky. By the time we dried off and dressed, it was pitch black. We rode back to the palace in silence and sneaked in through the servant's entrance like a pair of common thieves.

We tiptoed down the corridor and slipped into my chambers.

The moment the heavy door clicked shut behind us, a voice cut through the dark.

"Where have you been?"

I flinched. Mirel gasped and dropped a step behind me.

My mother, the Queen, was sitting in the corner armchair. She never came to my chambers. She always sent a maid to fetch me.

I racked my brain for a believable excuse. I could not tell her I had sneaked out to swim naked in the woods. I glanced at Mirel, but my friend was frozen in terror.

"I know you sneaked out again," my mother said, stepping into the candlelight. Her voice was sharp, fueled by genuine fear. "How could you be so careless? What if something happened to you? What if Draven's scouts captured you in the woods?" She turned her fierce glare toward my maid. "And you. You are supposed to stop the princess from sneaking out. How could you encourage this behavior?"

I saw the fury burning in my mother’s eyes. I immediately stepped forward, putting myself between her and my best friend.

"It is not her fault," I said, holding my ground. "It is mine. I forced her to come with me. She argued against it, but I gave her no choice."

My mother stared at me, her chest heaving with lingering panic. But as she looked into my eyes, her anger slowly bled away. She sighed, a long, exhausted sound. She knew my stubbornness. She knew no one could talk me out of a bad idea once my mind was set.

"You are so reckless," she muttered. She reached out and pulled my ear playfully, unable to stay furious with me on my last night home.

The following morning, the cold light of day washed away the remaining illusions of my freedom. The decision had solidified in my mind. The rebellion of the night before felt like a distant dream.

I walked back down the stone corridors and entered my father’s chambers. The guards closed the doors behind me, leaving us alone in the quiet room. My heart felt like a block of lead in my chest.

My father looked up from his desk. "Kaelia. Have you thought about it? Did you make your decision?"

I stood tall, keeping my chin lifted. I would not show him my fear. "I have made my decision, dad. I will marry King Draven."

He stopped moving. He looked at me for a long moment before a sad, guilty smile touched his lips. The mask of the uncompromising king slipped, revealing a tired father.

"I am sorry, Kaelia," he said softly. "I have to choose the nation over my child."

"It is fine, dad," I replied, though the words tasted like ash. "You are a king. You need to make hard decisions sometimes. You do not have to feel guilty. I understand the burden of your crown."

"Thank you," he muttered, stepping around the desk to gently pat my hair.

I looked at the map on his desk, tracing the borders of Eldoria and Drakenford with my eyes. The countdown to the end of my life as Kaelia of Eldoria had officially begun.

His hand dropped from my hair. He took a step back, and his final words sealed my fate.

"You need to get your things ready, Kaelia. You are to leave for Drakenford the day after tomorrow."