After a couple of hours, she heard someone making their way towards her. She looked to her left and saw Lex. Her breathing hitched, and she willed herself to calm down. She was too nervous, and she wasn't really even sure why.
"Hey," he said, coming up to stand next to her. He looked down at her writing, and before she knew it, she was closing the book and pulling it against her chest.
"Hey," she said back, clutching the book tightly. It was a little ridiculous, but her journal entries were private. The only person she let look was Mara, mostly because she'd written poems about her before. "I thought you weren't supposed to see me for a few days?"
"Yeah, well, that's just an old tradition. I'm not really one to follow all the rules," he said, smiling.
"Yeah, I can tell," she said.
"Is that so," he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She nodded, looking straight ahead.
"So have you changed your mind," he asked.
"What? No, of course not. What makes you say that?"
"Nothing really, just curious."
They stood in silence for a few minutes. For some reason, it didn't feel like it did before. Aria was pretty sure that it was because she was hiding something. She hoped that he couldn't tell.
"Why did you want us to come here," she asked.
"What?"
"Why did you convince the Terra to send us here? Why did you want us to come here, to your kingdom?"
"Well, I'd heard the stories—people from below the ground. But honestly, it was mostly because I was curious. It's not every day that people crawl out of the ground beneath your feet," he said, leaning against the railing, his arms crossed over his chest.
"So...curiosity?"
"Pretty much."
It didn't seem like a good enough reason, but she chose not to say that.
"You must have been pretty disappointed," she said, thinking back to how awful they had looked when they had first arrived.
"I was," he said. "At first."
"And now?" She peeked up at him. He was already looking at her.
"Now I'm slightly less disappointed," he said, fighting a smile.
"You're a jackass," she said, but she was fighting a smile too.
"And you? Were you disappointed?"
"Not at all. In fact, it's the exact opposite of what I was expecting. Which is a good thing. Really good," she said blushing.
"I'm glad you feel that way."
She didn't know what to say to that.
"Is something wrong," he asked.
"No-no," she said quickly. Too quickly. She didn't want to seem guilty, but based on the way he was looking at her..."I mean, I'm just nervous about the wedding."
"Why," he asked, presumably buying it. And it wasn't a total lie. She was nervous.
"I guess it's because I don't really know what to expect," she said.
"It's nothing to worry yourself over," he said. "Just a ceremony."
Right. Just a ceremony. And our whole lives.
He must've been thinking the same thing.
"If it's the marriage you're worried about...I won't...I mean, I hope you know that I'd never force you to do anything you don't want to do. You can continue living like this as you have been. I'm not going to expect you to be at my side all the time or something. Yeah, you'll be married to me, but your life will still be your own. You know that, right," he asked.
He seemed a little nervous; she'd never seen him nervous before. It was humbling.
"I know," she said, smiling at him. "But thank you for saying that."
He nodded.
"Well, I've got a few things to take care of, so...I'll leave you to it."
He walked past her, and she watched him go. Yeah, this was an arranged marriage, but she could have done a lot worse.
Chapter 13
The next night, Aria's nerves were at an all-time high. Even though Lex had reassured her that she wouldn't have to do anything she didn't want to, the idea of marrying him made her so anxious she'd barely slept the night before.
Tomorrow, she’d get married. Tomorrow, she’d be the queen.
They were having a party that night. Everyone was chatting excitedly about the wedding, even her friends. Tables were set up in the open meadow just past the garden. There was quite a crowd.
She and Mara made their way to one of the tables. Peter and Brent were playing some sort of drinking game.
"Aria," Peter yelled, "Want a drink? It's been forever!"
Aria and Mara shared a cup. It burned her throat and lit her stomach on fire. Most of their friends were already pretty drunk.
After a while, Aria began to feel a little buzzed and a lot more relaxed than she had been since coming here. She contemplated asking Brent to save her a cup for the morning. But she figured she should probably be sober for her own wedding.
They sat around, under the night sky. Everything just felt so right to Aria at that moment. This is what their lives should be like. They should be getting drunk together, having fun. Not worrying about dying or being killed, like they had been the past few months.
People got up to dance, and Aria was surprised when she saw Grace and Lex at the group's center. And even though they looked different from one another in some ways, Aria could see how they were the same. The spark in their eyes, the grace with which they moved, the sharp angles of their jaws, the way they both commanded attention without having to ask for it.
Aria watched them from afar. They were so different from the people they usually were. Tonight they were carefree, happy even. Like two young adults and not two people who led a kingdom.
Grace looked up and found Aria staring, so she quickly looked away and started a conversation with Mara. A few seconds later, she felt someone sit down next to her. She turned to see Lex. Grace right behind him.
"Wanna dance," Grace asked, looking at Mara.
Mara looked a little surprised, but she readily agreed.
"So, having fun," Lex asked, a sloppy smile on his face.
Aria looked at him. His cheeks were flushed.
