Emery: A Prince's Adventure

My great-grandfather was a very close friend of the previous king of England. They'd known each other since they were kids; that's one of the reasons why they were close. When they were in their sixties, they made an agreement between friends that the first daughter born in my family would be engaged to the first son born to the royals. 

Unfortunately, my grandfather was born, which continued the agreement. While they thought that my grandmother would be having a girl, they were mistaken. My father was born, and as a result of his love for my mother, I showed up. 

Would I consider it fate or misery? The agreement was made in the twentieth century, so it was highly unlikely to not have a single daughter born until me. Other girls wouldn't be complaining—seriously, being engaged to a royal right after you were born—that's a fairy tale. 

But am I made for Emery? 

Emma

"What?!" I ask, without realizing the tone of my voice. The whole restaurant becomes quiet and looks at me. I immediately cover my face with my hand, embarrassed. As I mutter curses under my breath, I start to look back up at my mother, seeing her lips curve up into a smile.

''You heard me, sweetheart," she replies, taking a bite of her salmon. Her brown eyes look straight at me, and I feel like poking them due to the anger I'm feeling. My mind can't seem to take the pressure I'm feeling at the moment.

''What does that even mean?'' I groan, rubbing my temples as I start to feel stress radiating. 

I can't seem to forget the words she said minutes ago. She told me that I am engaged to a well-known prince of England. Not only that, but she also said that I have been engaged ever since I came out of her tummy and took my first breath of fresh air. My mother could be insane; she might need to be admitted to the hospital and get things checked out, but I know that's not it.

"Emma, what's so shocking about it? You're twenty-five this year. You don't have a boyfriend, you are beautiful, available, so you shall get married. It's destined for you. Other girls would be dying to marry a prince. I really didn't expect a reaction like yours," she says, shaking her head in disagreement.

I furrow my eyebrows, not really believing her. ''I don't want to get married, mother. I'm twenty-five, single, beautiful, but not available. There's nothing that you can do to force me because I have control over my own life," I reply with a smile on my face, trying to calm myself down.

To my surprise, she starts to chuckle, which confuses me. I keep looking at her, seeking answers, but she seems calm and prepared for everything, which terrifies me. What if she planned everything out yesterday before meeting me? This could be a disaster.

''You simply don't understand, child. Your great-grandfather made the agreement with the previous king of England. Do you know how important this is? Royalty takes such things very seriously; they don't fool around," she continues before taking a sip of water.

''No. This is not happening. I have a life, mum. I managed to take over dad's restaurant and make it successful after graduation, so you're not going to take that away from me. Marriage is very off-topic. We shall not talk about this again if you don't want to upset me," I say, groaning.

My life can't be destroyed with marriage. This is too much for me to handle. Sometimes, I can't even take care of myself, and she wants me to marry royalty? That's very insane. I know I've been single ever since my first love broke my heart back in high school, but that's not why I don't want to get married. I really don't want to fall in love again. Not yet.

''Sweetheart, this isn't my choice. It was made before your father was even born. There's surely not an option for you." She breaks the silence, causing me to groan once more. She's really starting to piss me off.

When it comes to temper, I'm not very good at handling it. My family knows that about me. They say that it comes from mum, but she disagrees. Almost everything about my personality comes from Mum, but I look just like my dad, except for my eyes. I have Mum's eyes—brown eyes all the way, people.

Mum and Dad divorced when I was fifteen. They weren't very good at solving problems. Dad also said that they weren't compatible anymore, and if they stayed together, it might scar deeply. Apart from their divorce, they are still close friends.

''Don't you want me to marry someone I love?'' I ask, causing her to stop talking. Her eyes are looking straight into mine, and I see regret before she blinks it away.

Tears appear in her eyes, making me lean back in my chair. She breathes out, smiling down before looking back up at me. "Just like your father and I," she mutters under her breath but still loud enough for me to hear.

"Exactly."

She holds my hand on the table, ''That's exactly what I want for you, Emma. I want you to marry the man you love, the man you will plan your future with, the man that you will fight for. I want what's best for you, honey. Marrying the prince is definitely not one of them, but there's no other option for you." She rubs the back of my hand with her thumb, trying to soothe me down.

We enjoy the silence, remembering the memories of growing up and spending time with our loved ones. I know, deep inside, Mum never wanted to let Dad go, and it's the same for him. But if you truly love someone, you'll let them go when it's right for the sake of each other's happiness.

''I don't want to marry someone I don't know,'' I say, and she nods, agreeing. ''I'll either run away and leave the country so that they'll never find me, or I'll come and see you,'' I add, making her laugh.

I immediately stand up, walking towards her before wrapping my arms around her neck and pulling her close for a hug. She rubs my back, trying to soothe me and make me feel that everything will be alright. Everything will be fine. Nothing will prevent me from living the life I planned.

"I love you, Mum," I whisper in her ear.

''I love you more," she replies, pecking my cheek. I head toward the cashier to settle the bill and glance at her one last time. She's looking at me with a small smile. No mother would want to see sadness in their child's eyes, but sometimes it's too difficult.

I walk down the street, but I can't seem to forget about the things she said. I furrow my eyebrows, remembering that she didn't mention his name, so I can't search his name online. That's the only way I could find out more about him, like how he looks—if he's beautiful, I might reconsider.

Excuse me, what? I thought. I am not that cheap! I will not go for someone just because he's good-looking...but that might be an excellent first reason. Then again, he could be handsome but hot-tempered, like me. If we're both hot-tempered, things will fall apart—even the castle's roof.

I push the door open to my restaurant, and I am greeted by many people enjoying their meals. I smile at Jace, a very close friend of mine ever since he started working here. He's been good at giving me advice, especially when it comes to men. I'm not the only one that is interested in men; he is too.

''How was it with your mother?" he asks, resting his elbow on the counter.

With a deep sigh, I turn to look at him. "It's awful. It would be better if I hadn't gone," I reply, making him chuckle. Maybe we can trade places. He can take my spot and get married while I stay here, enjoying the life that I've always wanted.

''Sorry to hear that, baby girl, but what happened?'' He raises an eyebrow.

We both sit down at the nearest table as he continues to look at me, concerned. He takes both of my hands; trying to get me to speak because everything will be fine. ''I'm engaged,'' I mutter, which causes his eyes to widen, not quite believing what he heard.

''Engaged as in engaged to be married?'' He blinks a few times.

''Yes, silly.'' I chuckle.

He looks down at my hand, trying to search for the engagement ring, but I quickly raise both of my hands up, showing him that there's definitely no ring. Then, he continues to furrow his eyebrows in confusion, probably thinking that I'm insane and creating a fake engagement with an invisible man. ''Who are you engaged to? Is he hot? Handsome? Fuckable?'' His grin widens.

I roll my eyes, expecting his answers already.

''I don't know!'' I reply.

Jace furrows his eyebrows a bit more, his light blue eyes almost squinting. ''Are you saying that you don't know if he's hot or not? Girl, then you shouldn't marry him. What if he's old or a pervert, or a pedophile? That's never safe. I won't be there to protect you, sunshine.'' He raises his index finger before shaking it sideways.

''I mean, I don't know, Jace. My mum told me that I'm engaged to royalty. How crazy does that sound? She didn't even tell me his name, so we can't really search his name for pictures. I'm clueless.'' I shrug, making a sad puppy face.

''Whoa, wait a minute. You're engaged to a royalty?'' His eyes widen with surprise. Then, he stands up, overreacting, before sitting down once more; but that's Jace, you got to love him. ''Damn, Emma. Go for it! He's royalty; what more do you want?'' He winks.

''That's exactly what I don't want. Marrying royalty is pretty cool in Disney movies, but it seems impossible and weird in real life. I'm a normal city girl who doesn't know shit about royalty. Besides, this could all be a joke. I don't know what to think." I lean my head against the seat, sighing deeply, ''What if he thinks that I'm ugly?'' I add.

''What if he's ugly?'' Jace questions.

I laugh, realizing that's true. I don't know what he looks like, and he surely doesn't know what I look like. We could both be normal people who might like each other, or we might end up hating each other and never want to talk about anything. He could be a crazy lunatic, or he a sweetheart; it's all possible.

''Baby girl, Emma, you're the most beautiful friend I've ever had. I swear you could make a gay guy straight, except for me, obviously. You have everything you ever wanted here in New York, but maybe you should try and meet him. He could be one in a million?'' He sits beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close, giving me support.

''You friendzoned me, Jace.'' I look up at his blue eyes.

The both of us end up laughing, and deep inside, I know that Jace is right. If it's true that I've been engaged to this royal man ever since I was born, I should just go and see how things turn out. If he's a lunatic or something awful, I'll leave and never look back. I either never meet my so-called-fiancé and live in regret or confirm things.

Who knows? He might be really lovely, and we might have each other's backs.

''You might be right,'' I mutter.

Jace playfully punches me on the arm, ''What are you talking about, sunshine? I'm always right.'' He chuckles before standing up, ''Look, unlike you, I actually work here, and I need to get back before something goes wrong.'' He pats my shoulder and disappears into the kitchen, leaving me here, thinking about my life.

''Boss, you got a phone call!'' One of my employees shouts from behind, causing me to quickly run towards the back to take the call.

After work, I am just chilling in the living room, watching my favorite TV show. It was quite a day at the restaurant. Weekends are usually busier, so that explains the number of customers. I've been dedicated to my dad's restaurant ever since I graduated because when I was younger, he told me that it would be mine one day.

If I worked hard enough.

I guess I did work hard enough because if I didn't, I wouldn't be here, running the restaurant. It's quite thrilling, running a family business. I once thought about becoming a cardiologist, but who be here to run the business?

''Hi, Dad,'' I say after hearing him answer the call.

''Hey, princess. How are you? Is everything okay?" he asks, making me smile—I've missed him. The last time I saw him was last Christmas. We've both been busy, and he moved to San Diego a couple of years ago, so it's hard for us to make time to see each other.

''I'm good, how are you?'' I feel tears in my eyes, making me press my lips into a thin line to prevent myself from crying. For no reason, I really feel like crying and telling him everything that has been going on, but I don't want him to worry.

''The usual, sweetheart," he answers and keeps quiet for a few seconds, ''I know there's something wrong, Emma. You can tell me anything. You and me against the world, remember?''

My lips curve up into a smile as I wipe away the tears that have fallen, ''I had lunch with Mum today, and she told me that your grandfather was a really close friend with the previous king. Because they wanted their friendship to last, they made an agreement," I say, hearing him sigh on the other end. He probably wasn't expecting me to find out.

''It's not like that, Emma.''

''How long were you going to keep it a secret, Dad?'' I ask.

''It was never a secret. Some people say that you were destined to marry the next king in line because ever since the agreement, you were the only first daughter born, and he was the first son born. They have always had a son—it's highly unexpected for them to have a first daughter born.'' He continues, ''The agreement was made centuries ago, but an agreement with royalty is very respected.''

I breathe out. "I've never had a choice, have I? You would never walk down the aisle with me towards the man I love, but towards a man I barely know—would you still consider that destiny? What happened to you and me against the world, Dad?'' Tears are streaming down my cheeks as I swallow the nonexistent lump in my throat.

''I'm so sorry, princess. This is one of the reasons why I didn't want you to know," he replies.

''You couldn't keep it from me forever," I mutter under my breath.

''I love you, Emma. I was only trying to protect your feelings. I wanted you to be a girl with hopes and dreams instead of a girl who knows that she'll never have a choice for her own future because it was decided before she was even born. I was only protecting my little girl," he says. Somehow, I understand. He's only trying to make me believe that I'll actually have a normal life—a life where I can choose where I stay, what I'll be, and who I'll end up with, but that has turned into memories. Memories that I don't intend on remembering. Maybe they were right; being an adult is much more difficult than I thought it would be. I wanted to grow up fast to own everything, earn anything, be something, but I can't seem to believe that it's all decided.

''I love you too, Dad," I reply, ending the call before sighing deeply and watching the rain through the glass window.