The Princess Swap

9.

“But you are,” He said, voice low in the wind. He stared at me as one would a person causing them strife. An unidentifiable emotion flitted across his face. He saw his misfortune in me. I saw the bane of my wish in him.

“I am not your problem, Zion,” I answered in a voice softer than his. “If anyone is a problem to the other, then you are my problem. You’ve done nothing but cause me headache since meeting you. The stupid stunt you pulled at breakfast –“

The girls rushed to us.

“Are you fighting with him?” Raven asked.

“And both of you!” I turned to them with the rage of my anger. “What are you doing here. I said you couldn’t come.” They didn’t look the least bit bothered or guilty. Jordyn shrugged. She shrugged as if what I said didn’t matter. It pained me to my bone; this brazen disregard. Where was the respect for the Princess?

“We figured Prince Zion wouldn’t mind. Do you, Your Highness?” Jordyn blinked big brown eyes at him, speaking in an entirely different voice than she had used inside the room. We all turned to him. He had his eyes on me, his lips parted and brows lifted in that menacing way.

“Whatever,” He growled, stalking away from us, his anger lighting up the air.

“See? You don’t have to be sour about it. He doesn’t mind. Why should you?” Jordyn followed after him.

Why should you?

Did people expect the Princess not to have a mind of her own? No, that couldn’t be. She’d once been described as ‘a born leader.’ She started a lot of initiatives to benefit smaller packs around her this year. A person without a mind of their own wouldn’t do that.

“It’s no big deal, Ari. We know you want alone time with your Prince. But you should know we’re only doing this for you. We don’t want you embarrassing yourself while alone with him.” Raven had the guts to look sheepish and proud at the same time, thinking she was what – saving her friend from embarrassment?

“I’ve been engaged to this man all my life and you think you have to save me from embarrassing myself with him?” I needed someone to make it make sense. If the Princess was shy around him, surely it didn’t give her friends the right to be so interfering and downright rude.

“You never know what to say to him. Don’t worry, Jordyn isn’t trying to take him from you. We’re trying to help you. You just have to trust us,” She replied before flouncing off.

I stood there for a second, wondering just – what? I didn’t know people could be so interfering. I never met anyone who didn’t understand boundaries and how they worked. Even though I repeatedly cautioned Ryker from acting like a domineering figure in my life, he knew better than to butt into issues when asked to stay out.

Trust us.

Even as I trudged towards where they congregated, I could hear Jordyn’s giggle. She had a hand on his shoulder which he flicked off. For his part, he seemed to be as annoyed with her laughter and whatever joke she told as I was with all of them.

“I – my Lord. Pardon me. We were told to expect you and your Princess. We only made provisions for a small vessel.” He growled as the small, weather-beaten man with sparse hair explained. “I – if you can wait a little, we can provide something to fit you all.”

“I’m sure they can make space for themselves anyhow.” He scoffed, stepping into a small, wooden canoe.

The man shuffled on his feet. Zion and the fishing gears already took up most of the space in the canoe

“If one of you can paddle, then it may carry the four of you without needing me.”

Thanks to the cretins surrounding me, I wasn’t excited for my first fishing trip. Instead, I felt dread from having to be sandwiched between them. The issue of never learning how to swim started to bug me. I never went into a river, except to wash my clothes at the bank.

“They’ll paddle.” The Prince turned his face away. He sat on one side while the rest of us sat facing him. Jordyn had tried to sit beside him but he gave her one quelling look that sent her scampering away.

“He’ll paddle,” I said to the man. “Better to use those muscles for something useful,” I muttered under my breath. I took a deep breath, held and pushed out slowly to stop the tingling sensation climbing up my arms and running around my back.

The canoe had been undocked. The running water pushing us forward while the fisherman stood scratching his head. The girls that were meant to save me from awkwardness and embarrassment gave the Prince a wide berth, pressing into my side.

“He would have done the job if you didn’t bring the chatterboxes you call friends.” He turned away from the river and tossed me the paddle. He tossed it at me and between trying to get it not to smack into my face and replying, I lost my footing.

Raven tried to catch a hold of me. But she couldn’t. Her hands reached for the space I occupied a few seconds prior and grasped at thin air as I plummeted.

For a second, I heard nothing. Felt nothing. Then cold hands seized my lungs. Panic slammed into me with the force of a tornado. I flayed about but the more I threw my arms, the harder fear squeezed my heart. I opened my mouth to call for help and got a mouthful of water.

It could have been a minute. It could have been an hour. But it felt like an eternity during which I was sure I would die.

Something gripped my waist, making me try to scream again, and pulled me up. I gasped and this time, I didn’t take in a mouthful of water. I spluttered when my head came above water, coughing out a mouthful of water.

My body got dragged out, my legs still kicking, my heart still racing.

And when my heart calmed, when I felt solid ground beneath me, I stood. My dress dripped, it felt too heavy. God only knew where my hat had gone. I saw the canoe-man get the girls, dragging the canoe back to dock. We hadn’t even gotten anywhere yet. Not at all.

They came off the canoe, their eyes wide. I couldn’t tell if it was surprise that made their jaws drop. I wasn’t sure if Jordyn covered her face to hold a laugh at my sorry state or she felt second-hand mortification for me. But I did know one thing.

“I knew you would make this a disaster. I didn’t think you could make it such a big one.”

My hands struck out before my mind caught up.

“Ariana!” One of the girls exclaimed. Raven. Jordyn's eyes turned twice their original size.

I turned, marching back to the castle, taking the only route I knew. The long route. All the while, I cursed the Prince to hell and back, wished all the deadly plagues on him and held myself back from crying.

I had been at the door of death more times than I cared to count. Starving with my mother. Abandoned by my father. Flogged by my alpha. I had knocked on death’s door quite a lot. For a second there, it felt like the door would open. All because of one stupid, arrogant prince that made me want to claw out my eyes after clawing out his.

Xavier didn’t make me this mad. And he threw all my washed clothes into mud once. He set my hair on fire twice. He made up lies and ‘reported' them to my alpha countless times. Xavier did not make me this mad.

Zion sent fury churning in my stomach.

I had no power compared to Xavier. With Zion, I was supposed to be an equal.

The girls sat at the foot of the castle, their hands wrapped around them as I approached, shivering. The wet clothes clung to me, still dipping. When I got closer, they stood. A guard hurried to me, placing a jacket around my shoulders. His words were lost on me and his jacket did not stop my shiver. It wasn’t caused by my dripping clothes.

No, the anger boiling me from inside kept me warm. The anger boiling me from inside made me shiver.

“Why did you do that? He won’t marry you now. The wedding would be cancelled. How can you be so reckless? Your mother has put in a lot of work to make this a success and now you’ve made him angry –“ Jordyn's fired off questions into my face. Her voice faded out of my hearing. A slight buzz started up in my ears and drowned out her words.

I still had water in my ears.

“I’m talking to you.” She grabbed my hand to stop me as I walked past her.

I stopped.

She had clean nails, like the Queen’s. Her hair had no strand out of place. She sat with her back as stiff as a board, a smile as perfect as our Queen’s. If I were to compare her to the Princess, I would say she seemed more like the present queen than the future queen did.

I turned to her.

“I asked you not to come.” It was the only thing I could think of.

I wish I could be Princess Ariana. She speaks and people listen. She has power, influence.

Those were my thoughts. My wish.

She speaks and people listen.

“I told you not to come and you didn’t listen.” She let go of me. Did I look as angry as I felt? Did she see how hard I held myself from causing a scene around the guards gathering closer?

“What has come over you today? You know we did that for you –“

“If you want to do something for me, Jordyn, it will be to listen.”

I dripped all over the finely polished ground of the castle’s entrance. I dripped up the stairs. I dripped all over the red rug, all the way to the Princess’ room.

I met Beta Callan in the hallway and not even him could make me feel any better.

“Princess Ariana – what happened? Are you alright?” His brows scrunched as he hurried to me.

“Thank you, Beta. I will take it from here.” Marcella emerged from the Princess’ room. She reflected the anger I felt. Her eyes were red enough, lips pursed and walk jerky as she stepped out of the room, her extravagant gown trailing after her.

“I just heard that you slapped the Prince.” Her words were nothing more than the growl of her wolf.

“I am dripping wet,” I answered, rather than confirm or deny. “Why is it the Prince you worry about when I look like a drowned dog?” I stepped closer to her, keeping my eyes on hers.

“And you didn’t apologize,” She said, eyes flashing. From the red of her wolf to her hazel ones.

“If you don’t know what happened, then I’ll tell you. He threw paddles at me and toppled me into the river.”

She said nothing then. Her eyes fixed on an angry red, her lips pursed and chin quivering as she stared at me like I had done the unthinkable. Perhaps no one thought to hit the Prince, but my palm itched to do it again. And then ten times more.

“I almost drowned,” I finished.

“You will write him a note of apology. He may not like to receive it so be prepared to apologize at the dinner table today –“

“I almost drowned,” I repeated.

“You’ve been swimming since you were seven years old! What has possessed you, Ariana? First you –“

“Why does no one listen when I speak?”