12 years later

~Corrin

I sat stiffly in my throne, my gaze sweeping lazily across the room as I awaited my guests. The room buzzed with the quiet murmurs of servants as they rushed to set some final preparations.

Any time now, a caravan from Tarka was due to arrive with a few officials and one of their princesses. My soon-to-be bride. The whole process had been rushed—mostly on their part—after the Dark Lord's latest show of savagery.

It's ruffled the feathers of all the lesser kingdoms and sent them on a spree to form as many alliances as possible, lest they be his next victims. I, myself had no need to resort to such desperate measures. As it stands, my kingdom has grown to be one of the most powerful of our time. Rivaled only by the Dark Lord's himself and the likes of that wretched king, Aurelian's. 

No. I don't need an alliance. But I did have my own interests in the matter. And there's also the added bonus of getting those pesky advisors off my back. I swear they've been bothering me with talks of marriage and siring an heir ever since I've first ascended the throne.

Not to mention the satisfaction of having Tarka beg at my feet. I couldn't help but grin at the thought. It wasn't too long ago that those snobby pricks were sneering at me with their upturned noses. 

My kingdom, Aella, was infamous for our refusal to follow the Laws of Anima as well as our open views and practice of magic. All of these painted us as degenerates in the eyes of, well, pretty much everyone. We had once been a well-respected nation but after my ancestors had officially announced our breaking apart from the religion, all of that changed. Everyone thought that Aella would have crumbled with no aid from the surrounding kingdoms nor the blessings of Anima, but we proved them all wrong. We rose, we conquered and we thrived. Now, it was my turn to act all superior as they came running to us with their tails between their legs.

But I do wonder which of their heirs they deemed 'worthless' enough to suffer the fate of being my bride. Surely it would be one of their princesses—not that I'd have minded either way but they're still far too conservative to have even considered anything else. That doesn't help narrow it down though. Last I heard, they were expecting their ninth daughter. And I know they have at least six sons. Had I not known better, I'd have sworn they were really just a bunch of horny rabbits.

 I hope whoever I marry isn't expecting to have that many children or they're in for a whole lotta disappointment. I was pulled out of my thoughts when, at last, the doors to my throne room flew open. 

Hugo, a member of my royal court and second in command, lead the group of Tarkans inside.

"Your Majesty. Announcing the arrival of Her Royal Higness. Lilliana Lorelei Liberty Godfrey, Princess of Tarka."

I suppressed a smirk as I allowed my gaze to sweep over the entourage. Of course, this was all just a formality we put up with for outsiders. I can't say I cared too much for titles. I may be king but I don't need to be reminded of it every second. On any given day my people, including the servants and commons folk, would usually just call me by name, or at most 'sir'. 

I consider myself to be one with the people and made sure they were always reminded as such.

"You Tarkans sure like to take your time, huh?" I said as my sight landed on the princess.

"My apologies, Your Majesty. The journey was more tedious than anticipated. But it is my pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." She said, back straight and head held high. A tight smile stretched across her face as she met my gaze dead on. Huh. I think I might actually like this girl. 

"The pleasure is all mine, my dear." I replied smoothly as I tried to get a proper read on her.

She was beautiful, of course—all the princesses of Tarka were—, but there was something a little off about her. Something I couldn't quite place yet. I took my time to admire her raven-black hair and stark green eyes. She had a slender but toned figure and was considerably tall for a Tarkan woman.

"Ahem" My gaze shot towards the old bat who stared at me in contempt.

"Allow me to introduce myself, your Majesty." The man said as he bowed low, somehow not conveying an ounce of respect. "I am Lord Decibal. Royal Equerry to the princess. Perhaps it is time we discuss the matters of the alliance?"

I hate him already. I don't know what the princess thinks of him, but as soon as we're married, that man is getting fired. Meaning I'll have to put up with him for a whole week. Great.

But it doesn't mean I'm going to interact with him. Turning back to the princess, I smiled shortly as I stood and offered her my arm.

"I think I'd fancy a stroll at the moment. Would you like to join me, Princess? I'd be delighted to offer you a tour of the castle."

"I'd love to, Your Majesty." She replied, not sparing a glance at her equerry as she joined me at my side. She mustn't feel so strongly about him after all. Maybe I can convince her to fire him now.

"Thank heavens!" She exhaled as soon as we stepped out of the room, leaving behind all our servants. "That dreadful crone has been breathing down my neck for the past few hours."

I looked at her in mild shock as her whole personality seemed to change. 

"So... Where are you showing me first, Corrin?"

I was thrown of by the sudden lack of... decorum. I could already tell that the girl was bold. It's what led me to believe that the two of us could get along in the first place. But this change in behavior had been rather unexpected and I'm not sure yet if it makes things better or worse.

At my lack of response, the girl faltered and looked to me in panic.

"I-I'm sorry. Was that not... I was told that you hated formalities."

"Who told you that?" I questioned, genuinely curious about how the girl could have come by such information. After all, Tarkans don't make it a habit to interact with any one from Aella. 

"We-well my friend. She's from here, I think. Or at least, she grew up here. She's told me a lot about Aella." Was it just my imagination or did the princess's face heat up when she mentioned her friend. Interesting.

"She grew up here? And now she lives in Tarka?"

It's not that what she was saying was impossible. Aella is a pretty diverse kingdom, home to people from all over the continent—even Tarka. Every now and then, there are those who wish to return to their land of birth but due to Aella's disreputability, they're forced to sneak around. So for a princess to know such information is... unheard of to say the least.

"Yeah. But I'm the only one she's ever told about it. She would have gotten deported otherwise."

Just as I'd thought, then.

"Your turning out to be quite the curiosity, princess." I said and we finally continued walking.

"Call me Lilly. And is that good or  bad?"

"That is... yet to be determined. But at the moment, I think it's leaning towards good. One thing though."

"Yeah?"

"Decibal has got to go."

"Oh! Hell yeah! I don't want to spend another second with that obsolete man if I don't have to."

"You're speaking my language. I don't suppose that the rest of your family are quite as... laid-back as you?"

The snort that escaped her was anything from graceful and she was obviously struggling to refrain from bursting out in laughter.

"I'll take that as a no then." I smirked. "How did I get so lucky, I wonder, to get the best princess as my soon-to-be bride."

She blushed again, a pretty pink that stained her pale cheeks and spread down her neck.

"You know, my family would argue that I'm the worst."

"Nonsense! They obviously wouldn't know true beauty if it hit them in the face. You, my dear, are a true work of art." I said, pulling her hand up to my face to lightly kiss her knuckles.

"Are you trying to seduce me, Corrin?" she giggled.

"That depends. Is it working?"

"That is... yet to be determined." She answered, stealing my line from earlier. "But at the moment, you're doing a fine job. I say we finish our tour and see what happens next." She winked before skipping on ahead of me.

Maybe this marriage thing won't be so bad after all.