My relationship with Josh was going well. I’d seen none of the jealousy that he had so obviously shown on our first night together and things were going well. The sex was good, if not a little boring. I kept on asking him to fuck me the way that I wanted and try different things, but he wasn’t very open to new ideas. It seemed to put him off sometimes how experienced I was, he obviously didn’t expect that on account of me being a locked away princess. But I knew what I wanted, and expected to get it. Josh was a work in progress though, and I was sure I’d be able to open him up. After all, I did get him to fuck me at the top of the mountain, which was very hot.

Things were a little boring at times too. Josh was more likely to want to go out and hunt or play games with his brothers rather than spend time with me. Thankfully I was developing my own friends at the castle and was finding enough things to pass the time. Sometimes I was tempted to flirt with some of the men of the castle, but as much as I wanted to fuck around, I wasn’t going to cheat on Josh and I wasn’t going to put anyone else’s life in danger again like I did with John. I thought about him a lot and how he must have regretted that one night that he let his cock get the better of him.

The wedding plans were in full swing and the ceremony was only a few weeks away. A lot of the events of the day were taken out of my hands, which was frustrating. With such occasions there comes a lot of formal royal procedures and protocols. The venue, procession and ceremony all had to be formal and there was little room for expression and individuality. My father, nor Josh’s, would allow for anything too extravagant. It got to a point where I wasn’t really looking forward to the day. I just felt like a piece of chess on the board, just being used and manoeuvred at other peoples will.

The boredom only intensified over time, at my father’s castle I could go anywhere and everywhere in the castle and enjoy my time between royal duties. I was given some tasks, and controlled a few aspects of castle life. Here, I still felt like a stranger and didn’t have any duties with which to keep busy. I was basically just the wife-to-be of Prince Josh and required to be there for him whenever he required. That wasn’t me, and wasn’t what I wanted from life. I was doing all I could, things would improve with Josh and then he’d slip into his old ways. I was getting increasingly frustrated with being away from the comfort zone of my old castle.

I’d visit as often I could. The ride wasn’t too far, but far enough that I couldn’t go there all the time. I generally spent my time speaking with old friends and pottering around. I saw Max every so often and felt like I kept up my promise of never forgetting him. He was always happy to see me. He’d found a girlfriend in the form of another servant and he seemed happy enough. Maybe moving away was the best thing for him. It made me happy and a little bittersweet. I loved the attention that he used to give me, more attention than I was currently receiving from my husband-to-be.

A month passed and the wedding was getting ever closer. Things had improved somewhat and I was feeling more optimistic about the future. My constant moaning and pestering about the wedding meant I was able to bring a bit more individuality to the proceedings. Josh was spending a bit more time with me and we were getting on quite well. Having fun was still a bit of an issue. Getting him to do anything more than fuck me in the missionary position in the bedroom was a struggle. I had thought after the first two times we fucked that he’d be open to a lot more ideas, but I did question whether he’d be able to satisfy my needs for the rest of my life. I didn’t want to be a lazy royal who would to anything at the king’s command. I had a thirst for a lot more than life. During times it felt as though I was getting less sex than when I was single and locked away in my room.

I’d developed good friendships and the boredom was easing off, even though the temptation was increasing. There were a few guards who had caught my eye and I could have easily fucked them if I wanted to, but I’d managed to resist temptation for now. The wedding was getting ever closer and I needed to get any negative thoughts out of my head. I was obviously just scared and nervous about committing the rest of my life to one man. Josh had shown a few more flashes of jealously, but I hardly had any other interaction with any other men. It was as though he didn’t trust me, maybe he was right not to.

The days ticked down until the wedding day, watching each one tick by with dread. I had made my choice though; I had decided on the easy life and pleasing my father. I had decided to not risk a shot at happiness, and instead have a life of empty luxury with vanilla sex. I had to repeat to myself that it was just nerves. Josh was a great man, he had his faults, everyone does, but I was happy to look past them and to a long and beautiful future with my husband. The night before my wedding we sat down for a meal and I tried my best to look happy, I went to bed early but didn’t sleep. I felt as though I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. This time tomorrow I would have had the wedding that all little girls dream of and I was going to be the happiest princess in all the lands, that’s what I kept repeating to myself.

Josh – The wedding day

The day of my wedding and a proud day for my family. I had got myself a princess and it would be a great trophy to have on my arm for the rest of my days. Bella was quite boisterous, but had calmed down a bit in the last few months at the castle. She was finally getting it into her head about the proper way she should be doing things. It was exhausting sometimes, but she was the best fit for me in my situation. Hopefully she’d deliver some boys to me so I could carry on the family name.

She’d tried to mess around with the wedding, and got her way with a few little things. The family tried to give her enough things to keep her quiet, but it was always a battle. The wedding was meant to be a royal occasion and everything had to be done in the royal way, she didn’t get that. Spending time in the taverns, playing games or being with my brothers was always tough as she would often want me to be spending time with her. I did wonder about her getting fed up with life at the castle, but I was the best man that she could have married in her circumstances, she didn’t really have any other options.

It was a great day and the sun was shining. All the kings from the nearby kingdoms were there. This was the kind of day where rivalries are put aside and an amnesty is declared over the day. I was just about to marry a beautiful bride and have the most beautiful princess in the land as my wife. I was going to make everyone else jealous having this woman on my arm. And with a woman as gorgeous as her, she was going to make me some beautiful baby boys. I walked down the alter in anticipation of Bella doing the same, and the excitement rose within me. Bella’s father was sat down in the church and he looked like a proud man, so was I. He looked weak and there were rumours that his army weren’t happy with his actions. I wondered if that was my one shot at being a king, as Isaac was first in line to my father’s throne. Bella didn’t want him to walk her down the aisle, she wanted to do it by herself, no-one really knew why, but it was one of those decisions we let her have.

The church was beautiful and the sun was shining through the stained glass windows, painting the building in a multitude of different colours. Everyone took their positions and took their proper place. The church was full of the most important members of the lands and outside it seemed like the whole village had come to witness the event. The church was attached to the castle and that’s where Bella had been getting changed, ready for her big day. We all waited patiently for her arrival as the ceremony was just about to get underway. I seemed to have been waiting a lifetime and was getting quite impatient with her tardiness. It was at that moment that the chief guard for the castle broke protocol and walked down the aisle of the church and approached me. I nervously anticipated what I was just about to say, as I knew it wasn’t going to be good news. Hopefully the delay wasn’t going to be too long, I thought. The reality was going to be a lot worse than that.

“The princess is refusing to come out of her room” said the guard. I could feel the rage burning up inside of me. Here I was in front of all my friends, my family and the most important people in the land and my bride-to-be was failing to show. I marched back up the alter, trying to keep a composed face as though nothing was wrong. I made my way to the room where she was meant to be getting changed into her wedding dress. She had got everyone to leave and locked herself in the room. I knocked heavily on the door, trying to contain my rage. “Bella, we can talk about this” I said, desperate for her to open the door. She didn’t, and I was getting increasingly frustrated.

By this stage I was banging the door and the anger continued to rise. There was still no answer from the other side, but listening through the door I could hear that there was someone behind the door. “Bella, open the door or I’ll knock it down” I said, reaching the end of my patience. “3 . . . 2 . . . 1” I said, ready to act, still not opening the door to me. I stepped back from the door, ready to kick the door through. I took one step forward and rammed my boot as hard as I could at the lock on the door. Splinters flew off the door as the door flung open. Inside I saw the princess not in her wedding dress, but in casual clothing and a packed bag.

“What the hell are you doing? We’re just about to get married!” I exclaimed. Bella just was frozen there in silence.

“I need to leave” she said, without any explanation as to why she had to go. Everyone important in the land was waiting in the church and here was Bella not even going to turn up. That was embarrassment beyond compare.

“You can’t do this” I said, desperate to not be made a show of in front of everyone. At that moment Bella made a dart for the exit, I tried to grab her arm, but she slipped past me.

She ran through the castle and I could barely keep up, I kept demanding her to come back, but she wouldn’t listen. The anger had reached fever pitch. “Get back her now you fucking bitch“ I said furiously. I could see that she was heading towards the stables. My large, awkward body couldn’t keep up with her running through these tight and windy castle halls. When I eventually made it to the stables, Bella had climbed upon her horse and had untied the animal ready for travel.

“Bella, we can talk about this” I said.

“No we can’t, I can’t marry you. You’re boring and life is boring here, I can’t do it” she said dismissively. Clearly this was broken, never to be fixed. The fury running through my blood was palpable.

“If you leave now, you’ll forever regret it, and I will have my revenge!” I said. There was a blank expression from Bella, with a tap of her hand the horse was off galloping away. I knew that I could catch her on my horse in a matter of minutes, but it was pointless, she was gone and I planned to make her pay. I didn’t know how, but I was full of hate.

Bella – The escape

My horse was in full gallop, the sun was shining, the wind was blowing through my hair and I felt alive. There was no turning back now, both literally and metaphorically. I was riding back home and there was nothing that was going to stop me. The future may have been full of doubt, but I felt excited. Feeling that I just avoided the worst decision of my life, I shouldn’t have been anywhere near that aisle. My horse couldn’t go any faster and I was excited to be getting back. In that moment I couldn’t care what anyone what thought, or what was going to happen next. I was just delighted that I was able to get away.

The ecstasy of my departure had subsided somewhat by the time I had reached the castle, and the questions started to creep into my head. I was thinking about my father and the awkward position I had put him in at the castle, he was probably already on his way back. I knew that when he turned up that he’d be furious and would probably have some severe punishment for me, maybe even banish me from the castle. For such a public embarrassment, there would have to be some sort of symbolic apology. I’d put my father in a difficult position, but he had put me in one my whole life.

I had to leave; I wasn’t going to spend my whole life being bored with a man who I wasn’t even sure I loved. Too many people do that in this life, and that was not going to be me. Right now my only regret was saying ‘yes’ to his marriage proposal, I should have been true to myself right then. At that moment, Josh seemed so nice. Over the last few months I had started to see glimpses of anger and contempt. It was like his true personality was breaking to the surface and the man I had seen for so long wasn’t the true Josh. His threat of revenge seemed like a genuine one, he looked furious and there is no way a proud prince could handle that kind of public embarrassment.

I got to the drawbridge and the guard controlling it gave me a quizzical look as though he couldn’t believe that it was me. Eventually the bridge came down and I rode into the castle, everyone that was in there was giving looks and whispering to themselves. I could understand why, the last thing they were expecting to see today would have been me riding through the castle on my own. I was greeted by some of the heads of staff, and told them what was going on. I eventually did the only thing I wanted to do, I headed up to my room, which had still been untouched since the day I had left, and just lay down on my bed.

I kept expecting to hear a commotion from the castle, expecting my father’s return to the castle and accepting my fate of the repercussions of what I had just done. I kept waiting and waiting but his arrival didn’t come. I was unbelievably tired and fell asleep on my bed; it was nice to be home. I was expecting to be rudely awoken at one point, but for now, I was enjoying my little slice of tranquillity which was my bedroom. I kept pondering what I was going to do with the rest of my life, but I couldn’t really judge that until my father’s return.

I woke up extremely early, the sun had yet to creep over the horizon, and the air was fresh and clear. The castle was virtually silent with only the sound of the watching guards to be heard. I made my way up one of the towers to have a look over the landscape and was greeted by one of the watching guards. I asked him if my father had returned to the castle when I was asleep, and he confirmed that no-one had entered the castle since I arrived. That was odd, as soon as dawn broke I sent one of the guard’s to Josh’s castle to bring back news of what my father was still doing there.

The atmosphere in the castle was eerie and a little bit awkward, as no-one really knew what was going on, or what would happen next. I was in charge for now, but it certainly wasn’t going to feel like that when my father returned. I was getting impatient for the messenger, but eventually he arrived with news about what transpired at the castle after I had left. I was told that my father had left Josh’s castle about two hours after I did after giving his apologies, he was meant to be riding straight home but hadn’t turned up. I wondered where he had travelled to, and why he hadn’t come straight back. I was worried about him. I was worried about me. I was worried about the castle. Everyone was in the dark about what was going on.