"Patrick Harper!"

The yell startled me awake, my body shooting up as my eyes opened, looking around in a blind panic. I turned my head towards where I had heard the sound come from, freezing up when I saw Mother standing there, basically fuming. I felt the blood rush from my face, fear spiking through me.

"Why weren't you at dinner?!"

Shit. I looked at the clock on my nightstand, seeing it was well past eight. I slept through dinner. A sinking feeling fell in the pit of my stomach, knowing I was about to get a lecture. I looked back at Mother, but didn't meet her eyes. At least Father wasn't here as well.

"I-I'm sorry, I-"

"Overslept? On the first day when our guests are here? You are marrying one of them, Patrick! Now you've gone and made a fool of yourself. How do you think that makes us look because you're lazy? I heard from a servant that you didn't even know what to do when the Zolvans arrived!" Mother said, her voice getting louder and louder with every sentence. 

I began to shake, not knowing what to say or how to react. Yes, I overslept, and I shouldn't have. Surely they understood, though? I was tired, I was grieving still. Mother clearly didn't understand. I wondered if they had talked behind my back with the Zolvans at all. 

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I promise-"

"Oh shut up! We all know you don't try any harder." That hurt. I shut my mouth, knowing that nothing I could say would change her view of me. My lip began to tremble, my hands beginning to shake. I couldn't bring myself to say anything in retort.

Mother stared at me, her angry brown eyes making me terrified. She knew she had made her mark though. Not saying any more, Mother turned and walked out the door, leaving me alone.

I slowly crawled out of bed, making my way to my bathroom. I stepped inside, going over and splashing water on my face in an attempt to keep myself calm. After drying my face, I changed into something much more comfortable, not planning on leaving my room for the rest of the night. More than likely, I just going to sleep more. The thought seemed extremely appealing. 

I had just sat down on my bed when there was a knock on the door. I groaned, climbing out and going over to the door, silently hoping it wasn't Mother again, or even Father. The last thing I needed was another lecture from either of them. I opened the door, surprised to see Marie standing there, in quite the revealing nightdress. 

It wasn't too revealing, but it was definitely showing more skin than I was used to seeing on someone else. I adverted my eyes, not quite sure how to be appropriate. Did she want me to look? I wasn't going to. 

"You weren't at dinner," she said, her voice monotone. I looked back at her face, meeting her pretty eyes.

"I know."

"Are you always so dry? Do you even have a personality?" She reached up and waved in front of my face. "Are you even alive in there?"

I pressed my lips into a firm line, feeling more annoyed than anything. I didn't like Marie. Not yet, at least. I had time to warm up to her, but so far, she was starting to piss me off. 

"No, I don't have a personality, I'm a droid devoid of life," I responded sarcastically, rolling my eyes. I didn't really care if I offended her. My mind was still reeling from what Mother had said to me earlier; not to mention, I was tired and hungry. 

Marie didn't seem to care about my attitude, her lips lifting into a sly smirk. It looked scarily like her brother's. "So you have an attitude. Is that all I should know?"

"Did you come here for something actually worth my time, or are you wasting the minutes I could be using to sleep?" I sassed, crossing my arms over my chest. Marie snorted, running a hand through her brown hair as she looked at me.

"I should have expected you're an angry short guy."

"I'm not short."

"Then why am I looking down at you when I'm not even wearing heels?" I narrowed my eyes at her, giving her a dangerous look, though it was somewhat teasing. Marie just smirked back at me, then walked away, the sounds of her footsteps disappearing down the hall.

I wasn't so sure what to think of what she said to me. Was she teasing, or did she mean to hurt my feelings? I couldn't tell, and it made me nervous. I had to try to at least get along with Marie. I was marrying her.

The thought of marriage made me feel extremely nervous. I didn't want to get married. I always thought I'd be able to leave the palace when I was old enough; move away and find something I wanted to do with my life, settle down with someone of my choosing. That dream had been ripped away from me. I even had a bit of a plan. Go to school possibly, try my hand at dating. I had it way better off than a lot of people in Rithian; I shouldn't be complaining.

I went back to bed, feeling a weight of hopelessness sinking into the pit of my stomach. 

I was woken up the next morning for breakfast, dragged down to the dining hall. Marie and Leyton were there, though I didn't talk much with them. They both attempted to make conversation with me, but I was too tired and emotionally drained to respond. I earned glares from Mother and Father for it, and for barely touching my pancakes. 

Next I was dragged off to the library by a maid; apparently I was starting tutoring to make sure I could actually run the kingdom and not turn it into a dumpster fire. 

I walked into the library, the large room still somewhat taking my breath away. It had always mesmerized me. Bookshelves lined the walls, going up two stories high. Tables were set in the middle for studying and reading. If you wanted relaxation, there was a reading nook on the balcony of the second story with a few sofas that were actually quite comfortable. 

Tutoring dragged on and on, the palace tutor, Eric, trying to keep me awake the whole time, but it was rather difficult. The material was beyond boring, most of it being stuff I had already learned from Celia, or figured out myself. I would sometimes sit in on her tutoring lessons when I was little, wanting to see what my big sister was doing. 

I eventually lost track of time, until I was told I could go. I glanced at the clock as I walked out of the room, seeing it was five in the afternoon. That long tutoring? If every day was going to be like that, I might just go insane. 

It felt like I couldn't walk straight on the way back to my room. I was so tired, so exhausted, so . . . drained. I didn't notice someone coming towards me, until I felt hands on my shoulders.

"Are you drunk?" I looked up, seeing Leyton's hazel eyes gazing down at me. He was tall, much taller than Marie, and me. I had to crane my neck up to look at him.

"No."

"High?"

"No."

"Then why are you stumbling all over the hallway?" he asked, that classic smirk on his lips. I gave him an uninterested look before glaring at the floor. 

"I'm tired," I responded, still not looking at him anymore. He kept his hands on my shoulders, probably afraid I would fall over if he let go.

"Excuses excuses."

"Oh my god, I'm not a fucking junkie," I groaned, shoving past Leyton and continuing down the hall at a much faster and cleaner pace.

"Whoooaaaa," he said, dragging out the word. "No need to get snappy, I'm just pulling your leg. Though, are you sure you aren't an alcoholic?"

He was following me. "I'm not even old enough to drink."

"Well that never stopped anybody, did it?" I whirled around quickly, swinging my fist at where I thought Leyton would be. He wasn't there, turns out he was to the side of me. I glared at him, trying to act like I didn't just punch air. He gave me a look of amusement, laughing a little.

"You're cute."

"Fuck off." 

I turned and continued storming my way down the hall, hearing Leyton's laughter in the distance. I didn't understand why he was joking with me like this, I had only known him for a day. Though, I had to admit, it was a little fun. I was almost to my room, and it didn't sound like he was following me anymore.

"Make sure to get some rest so you know where to punch next time!" he called after me as I reached the door to my room.

I flipped him off as I went into my room, slamming the door behind me.