Page 4 of Enchanted Kingdom
I climbed down and again cursed him mentally for making me get up even earlier than I usually did. I planted my foot firmly on the ground and spun toward him, hands on my hips.
“Marry me.”
My eyes tried to leave my head. It was far too early in the day for proposals. A woman should at least be allowed tea before such audacity. I forgot for a moment we should be whispering.“Excuse me?Have you lost your mind?”
“Marry me today. So you don’t have to go to the castle.”
I let out a long breath. “It’s not as if I’m going to be forced to wed one of the crown princes and we both know it. A woman from Nerede is there as simply a place holder. So they can tout that they invited all levels of the kingdom and feel all the better about themselves for it. There’s no way either prince isn’t marrying another Enchanted anyway.”
“Jorah.”
“William.”
“Don’tWilliamme, Jorah. You know the castle is swimming with Enchanted. Don’t go.”
For a split second, I seriously considered his offer. It wasn’t the first time he had offered to marry me. The first time had been two years ago. I had still been reeling from my father’s death. And if that alone hadn’t been reason enough to politely decline, I had also never felt completely enamored with him.
It was true he was nice enough to look at with his light brown hair and brown eyes. Plus, his broad shoulders were toned and tan from days spent working the produce fields with his father, but our relationship of sorts was never supposed to take a turn for the serious. He helped distract me and pull me out of my grief while I provided arms for him to get lost in. It had been an agreement sprinkled in stolen moments we had both been content with, until one day he thought he found himself in love.
Love.
I would be inclined to not believe in it at all, were it not for my parents and their relationship. And blast that relationship, because it made me not want to settle. I, too, wanted something like I’d seen my mother and father have. And though I cared for Will, it was never like that. Never that...intense.Will was fun and kind and a good listener. But I, ever the fool, expected the earth-shattering variety of love instead.
So once it became clear our feelings were on two different levels after the second proposal, we parted ways. Two years ago. I hadn’t yet married and neither had he. I hadn’t even seen a glimpse of him in months, until now. Until I got the letter.
“Will, I can’t marry you.”
He pulled at his hair that looked a few weeks past needing a cut. “Why not? Can’t you see I’m trying to protect you?”
I placed a hand on his shoulder. Being around him was difficult now, so I tried my best to avoid it. Will would always be a friend, but when your friend had also been a lover, that line became tricky to navigate. “I do. I know that. And it’s not just me being stubborn in wanting what my parents had either. I’m fairly certain if we were to wed now, both of us would be in trouble with the royal guard. I had to explicitly state my marital status months ago when filing the paperwork for the drawing. Which you know I was forced to do, by the way.”
“So tell them it was a rekindling of our relationship that happened fast these past few months. Tell them whatever you need to. Just don’t go. We can elope instead.”
I found myself adamantly shaking my head while putting my hands out in a shrug. “I can’t, Will. As much as I loathe the castle and the princes, I can’t do that to you. Or put any of the shopkeepers at risk of prying eyes.” I let out a long sigh. “And we can’t just get married to save me a trip to the castle either.”
Will threw his hands in the air, also no longer speaking quietly. “They killedyour father, Jorah. And we are all supposed to just send our eligible women to the castle unchaperoned? Because the crown demands it?!”
I shrugged. “You don’t think I’m just as disgusted as you are? Do you want me to say I’m scared here? Fine. I’m scared, Will. I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go anywhere near the people responsible for... ” My words trailed off as the tears burned my eyes. “I know what magic does, okay? And I know what I’ve lost. I’ll never forget it.” I took a deep breath. “I’m scared and beyond irritated and your offer is tempting, Will. But marrying you just to avoid a trip to the castle is not a good way to begin a sham of a marriage. I may be selfish, but even I am notthatselfish.”
“It wouldn’thaveto be a sham,” Will closed his eyes, “but you just don’twantto marry me.”
Yes, there is that.Why did he always make me repeatedly rip his heart out? “Will. I respect you enough to want you to find someone who does love you. Someone who loves you in the way I am too broken to.”
He stepped forward. “You aren’t broken, Jorah.”
I shook my head and scooted back. Giving in to his touch was too easy, but also too cruel anymore. “We all are, Will. Don’t kid yourself. Thank you for offering, but I cannot accept. And I can’t decline the invite from our king either. I’d likely be sent to the jail for a time and that would hurt business at the bakery for months. Not just because of my absence, but because of the scandal. So I will go and wear a stupid dress. So they feel better about themselves even though all of us know they don’t really care. In a few days when I return home, you’ll see that it wasn’t worth the offer anyway.”
He closed his eyes a moment as if in pain. “I cannot wait for you forever.”
I turned toward the ladder. “I never expected you to, nor do I want you to. Pine for someone worthy of your affections. We had fun, Will, but this is done.”
I climbed back up the ladder and into my room to get ready for the day. Why couldn’t I have just said yes? What was so wrong with Will that I didn’t,couldn’t, love him?
The day my father died, my heart had cracked so hard I wasn’t sure I was capable of caring for another man that much. I wouldn’t allow it, if for no other reason than self-preservation.
* * *
“You’re stomping like a child,”Mother scolded.
