It only took a few days for the Zolvan princess to arrive. Mother and Father instructed me to wait outside for her arrival. They must have been off; I had been waiting outside for at least a half an hour.

The cold wind stung my cheeks and ears, my hands shoved as deep into the pockets of my coat as they could go. I should've brought gloves and a hat. Sometimes I underestimated the cold weather of Rithian. 

I was tempted to go back inside and wait there, watch through a window until I saw the car pull up. The thought disappeared quickly, deciding to bear the cold instead. At least it wasn't snowing.

The courtyard of the Rithian palace was rather large. A beautiful fountain rested in the middle of a circular paved pathway, made strictly for cars. One road went directly up to the front of the palace; another went off to the left, towards the garage. The pathway on the right was significantly smaller, meant for people and not vehicles, which lead around the palace to the gardens in the back. In the warmer seasons, the fountain would be full of trickling water, flowers lining the paths on either side. Trees would cover the roads in beautiful shade, providing a relief from the hot sun. Instead of that beauty, the courtyard was lined with snow, the trees and plants dead. Slush lined the edges of the roads, making it look dirty.

I heard something in the distance, immediately straightening my posture. A car topped the hill that led to the palace, stopping in front of the brilliant dark gates. In a matter of seconds, the gates opened, the car driving forward, going around the fountain and stopping in front of me. I held my breath, watching as a dark haired man stepped out from the driver's seat, walking around and opening the back seat door that faced me.

I watched as a tall, handsome, dark haired man stepped out of the car. His wavy hair surrounded his face, going down to right between his ears and chin. Bright hazel eyes made contact with my own, his full lips curving into something of a smirk. His slightly tanned skin seemed lighter against the contrast of the snow. I stared into his eyes, wondering why he looked slightly familiar. But he wasn't Marie. Where was she?

The woman in question stepped out of the car next. She was shorter than the man, but just as stunning. Her wavy brown hair fell down around her, stopping somewhere near the middle of her back. Emerald green eyes stared at me, her head tilting as she stared at me, seeming to be surveying me. 

"I thought Rithian would be warmer," Marie spoke, glancing over at the man, who I presumed to be her brother. They looked quite similar. 

I opened my mouth to respond, but Marie seemed to not want an answer, walking up to me, then walking inside. I watched her go inside over my shoulder, confused on what to do. The man walked up to me, the smirk still resting on his lips.

"Are you going to stand there and gawk or follow her?" he asked, a teasing tone to his voice. I flushed, quickly turning and going inside the palace.

Marie stood in the foyer, looking like she had been waiting for me. I walked up to her, smiling awkwardly. What was I supposed to do now? 

"Patrick, right?" she asked, and I nodded in response. Her brow furrowed, tilting her head again. "Do you not talk or something?"

"Marie! Don't be rude." The man's voice cut in before I could say anything. I pursed my lips, watching Marie glare at him with her beautiful eyes.

"Have you heard him talk, Leyton? If Dad would have told me I was getting married to-"

"I can talk," I cut in quickly, looking between Marie and the man, whose name was Leyton, according to Marie. Both of them looked at me, seemingly shocked. I resisted the urge to flinch under both of their gazes. I wasn't sure how to feel about the two of them.

Marie didn't say anything, simply just staring at me. I didn't know what else to say, biting my bottom lip between my teeth. What was I supposed to do? Marie was fiancé technically, I was betrothed to her. The thought made a nauseous feeling return to the pit of my stomach, something that had been there ever since the funeral.

"Your Highness?" A voice behind me asked. I turned, seeing a servant with his hands full of the Zolvan's bags. "I need to know where Prince Leyton and Princess Marie's belongings will go."

"Oh, right. Uh, let me show you to your rooms," I said quickly. I rushed to the staircase, making my way up and through the halls.

It seemed like Leyton was staying, and I was confused on why. Mother and Father hadn't told me that a Zolvan prince would be staying as well. Was he the heir? I couldn't remember for the life of me. I didn't know much about Zolva, other that we were enemies.

I glanced behind me, making sure the three were still following me. Marie's room had been shown to me earlier; I knew where it was. I would have to scrounge up a room for Leyton, though. 

Upon reaching the room, I opened the door, stepping aside to let them enter first. The servant entered first, setting Marie's things down. Marie entered next, looking around. It was a typical guest room, the rest of the guest rooms looked the same.

"It's plain," Marie commented boredly, making me tempted to roll my eyes. She better not always act so stuck up. I stepped inside the room after Leyton, glancing around myself.

"It's a regular guest room."

"Well, that shouldn't matter, I'll be spending most of my time with you, right?" she said, smiling sweetly at me. I felt like throwing up in my mouth at her words. I needed my personal space, there was no way she was spending nights with me for a long time.

Instead of commenting, I simply smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck. Leyton turned to me, the intense gaze of his hazel eyes nearly taking my breath away. I couldn't help but stare. I didn't know Zolvans were so beautiful.

"Are you staring at my brother?" Marie's voice cut me out of my daze, my head snapping to look at her. The servant was standing awkwardly with Leyton's things, looking a little confused. I didn't blame him.

"Huh?" I responded, suddenly confused. I had been staring, but why did she say it like that? Leyton was silent, that smirk still on his face. I couldn't tell if it was an amused smirk or something else.

"Whatever. Where's Leyton's room?" Marie asked, her words sending me into a slight panic. Where were the other guest rooms? I should know this, but I didn't. I only knew about half of the palace layout, despite having lived here my whole life.

I left the room, leading the group down the hall yet again. The only empty room I could think of was Celia's old room. It had been emptied, replaced with the regular guest room furniture. I wasn't so sure about giving a prince from another country my dead sister's room, but I didn't really know where the other unoccupied guest rooms were.

I approached the door, the area in the hallway being incredibly familiar to me. The memories of running to Celia's room multiple times, no matter the time of day, hit me like a ton of bricks. I shoved the feelings down, opening the door and walking inside.

Seeing Celia's room plain and empty gave me an almost unbearable heartache. The pictures that used to be on the walls were gone, her furniture gone and replaced with the plain, regular guest room furniture. The closet was empty, the room just felt empty. Deprived of life. 

Tears were building up in my eyes, but I suppressed them, not daring to let myself cry in front of them. The servant set Leyton's things down in the room, bowing to me before making his exit. I turned to the Zolvans, watching them look around the room.

"This is my room?" Leyton asked, looking back at me. I nodded, unable to meet his eyes this time. Marie was staring at me, making me feel a little uncomfortable.

"Yes. I didn't realize you were staying as well, so it wasn't really prepared for you," I said. Leyton nodded, the corners of his mouth lifting up into a small smile.

"That's alright, I know it was unexpected." He still didn't give me a reason why he was here, which made me a little worried. 

Marie had been silent, though her eyes never left my body. It was making me more and more uncomfortable by the second. I was on the brink of tears, feeling incredibly overwhelmed. 

"I'll leave you two to get settled. Uh, dinner is at seven, I'll see you then," I told them, then quickly left the room. Celia's old room wasn't far from mine, and I was extremely grateful for that. 

I rushed into my room, shutting the door behind me right before the dam broke. Tears began streaming down my face as sobs wracked my chest. I slumped against the door, sliding down it until I was curled up against it. My body trembled as I cried, my forehead resting on my knees.

Everything had changed in a matter of a week. Celia was dead, I was becoming king in a matter of months, and I now had a fiancé that I didn't want. It all made me feel sick and tired. Mother and Father still despised me with a burning passion; probably even more now because they had to make their bastard son king. The thought made a painful sob escape my lips.

It wasn't the first time I had felt trapped in my life, the feeling appeared often. Mother and Father did their best to hide me from the rest of the kingdom. Now, they couldn't. How was the kingdom reacting to all of this? They definitely knew by now of everything that had conspired in the past few days. Now I had the whole of Rithian's view of me to worry about as well.

I stood up, walking over to my bed and laying down on top of the soft mattress. I slipped my shoes off, but didn't bother taking my coat or dress clothes off. My eyes slipped shut, exhaustion washing over me quickly. In a matter of minutes, I fell into a fitful sleep.