Chapter 51: Princess Catherine

Running away was my plan after coming to the capital. I thought it was the only way I could come close to living the kind of life I would have back in my world.

It backfired on me horribly. While running away I met the man that proposed to me and would be marrying in less than 24 hours.

Al was still waiting expectantly for me to answer. I couldn't bear to lift my head and look at him but I could at least try to be somewhat honest.

"I wanted to be normal. Get a job. Fall in love. Have a family. Being a princess was never part of the plan."

"…would you have fallen in love with me if I wasn't a prince? Once we leave Annalaias, I won't be one anymore. We'll just be Al and Katie."

My head snapped up then. His expression was unfathomable so I had no idea what he was really thinking.

If I hadn't come here…if I had met Al back home…would I have fallen in love with him? The idea was preposterous.

For one, he never would have noticed the plain Katie Pullman. Plus he was lazy, childish, and had more mood swings than a teenage girl. No, I wouldn't have fallen in love with him.

"Why are you asking me this?"

Al gazed into the fire, brooding.

"No particular reason. But I…I couldn't bear it if you hate me after all is said and done. You are the most important person to me, Katie. Nothing else matters as long as you're happy and by my side."

It was on the tip of my tongue to say that I could never stay with him because he was meant for someone else but I couldn't do it.

I had nothing else to say so we both ended up staring at the fire for a long time in silence.

The heat from the fire burned my eyes after a while and I had a hard time keeping them open. All thoughts had drained out of my head and I was warm and sleepy.

Al noticed when I started nodding off. He gave me a soft half smile before he scooped up my blanket-burrito-self in his arms.

"What're you doi—" I couldn't even finish my slurred sentence because I let out a big yawn.

"Carrying you to bed so your feet don't get cold on the stone floor. Be good. Tomorrow will be a long day for both of us," he said gently.

Al crossed the room and delicately set me on the bed and tucked the covers around me.

I wanted to say thanks but it got cut off by another yawn. I think he knew what I meant though.

He smiled at me tiredly. "Good night, Katie. Sleep well."

"Night," I mumbled before turning over and burying my face in the pillow.

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***

Al was right about it being a long day. I was woken before the crack of dawn to start getting ready. I was oiled, scrubbed, perfumed, and prodded long before I was truly awake.

The maids spent more than three hours getting me ready between bathing, hairstyling, caking on makeup, and stuffing me into the dress.

Because the dress was so difficult to maneuver in, it took me thirty minutes to get from my quarters to the hallway outside the cathedral. The maids took that into account so we left with time to spare.

I stood uncomfortably in that hallway for a long, long time with the dress weighing me down before I heard the music that was my cue.

Everyone stood and looked at me as I entered. I recognized one face in thirty but none of these people were my friends.

Abby. If I had to get married, she should have been here. She would've been my maid of honor but they didn't even have the concept of bridesmaids here.

I walked down the infinitely long red carpet to the makeshift altar alone to meet Al and the priest at the front.

He looked every bit the handsome prince in his white wedding outfit with the red sash but I couldn't muster a single emotion other than nerves.

If I tripped and fell in front of all these people, I might be executed for embarrassing the royal family. My focus had to be entirely on walking from point A to point B.

However, my anxious panic-filled brain still registered that Al was beaming at me for all he was worth.

He actually looked like a groom was supposed to look on their wedding day. I filed that can of worms away for later.

Left, right, left, right. That was all I had to do. Walk, walk, walk.

By the time I made it to the front all the eyes on me were burning a hole in my back and I felt like I was going to fall over from my heavy dress being supported by nothing but tiny stilettos but Al took my gloved hand as practiced and I regained equilibrium.

I barely registered everything the priest was saying but I managed to say my bit without difficulty. Goodness knows I had rehearsed it enough times.

Once we finished the vows we turned towards everyone with our clasped hands raised, as the tradition went in this country, and I noticed a few different gazes from the front rows of the audience.

The countess was overjoyed. Mariela looked conflicted. Duke Orla gnashed his teeth. Everything I had been dreading was over. I was officially married.

When we signed the register I became Catherine Arabella McLeod.

A tiny part of my brain flickered with the thought that if this had been my world, my driver's license would have read Katrina McLeod once I did the name change paperwork. Why I even thought of that at a time like this was beyond me.

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