VICTORIA'S POV

"That stupid Xeris! How dare he order me to marry him, just like that. He didn't even throw in a 'please'. I mean he's only doing it because he has to, not because he loves me or anything," I grumbled to myself.

"I can't believe I even got excited. It's not like if he doesn't marry me, he won't ever get married. I'm sure he could get any Thanzorian girl to marry him. Heck, That Anugi chick was willing to get rid of me just so she could have him to herself." I grumbled some more.

I had stormed out but didn't know where to go. I knew he would find me easily in the greenery, but I didn't dare leave our apartment for fear of getting lost. I didn't know anyone at all on this ship and Purit and Bulba wouldn't do. I missed Nessa. I could have at least talked to her about this.

I sighed. Even though I had decided to come to the greenery, I didn't exactly go far. I stayed within sight of the entrance, in case he came looking for me. I paced backwards and forwards in front of the entrance for a while, waiting.

No not waiting. I just didn't want to risk getting lost again. Yeah, that was it.

Who am I kidding? I'm shamelessly waiting for him to come after me.

I wasn't sure how long I had been waiting and looking at the door. There was still no sign of him.

That idiot and his pride. Of course he won't come after me.

After one last glance at the door, I decided to head further into the greenery. After a few steps, I heard him call my name. I tried not to get too excited and reminded myself that I was still upset with him. I didn't turn around to look and kept walking.

"Victoria, wait," I could hear he was running to catch up to me.

My stubborn side had me walking at a quicker pace. I couldn't make it too easy for him.

Obviously, catching up to me wasn't hard for him. But how he stopped me is what shocked me. He had wrapped his arms around me and was giving me a back hug.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into my ear.

Was this Xeris? Proud and arrogant Xeris?

I couldn't say anything, I just savoured the feeling of his arms around me. He slowly let go and I almost protested. He then came around to face me and took my hands in his. I didn't say anything because I couldn't trust my mouth, so I just looked at him.

"I was insensitive with how I asked. I know that you will be giving up a lot to be with me. Your freedom to act as you please in the public eye, your dreams of the future, your plans. I didn't really consider this, and it shames me that it took someone else to knock some sense into me," he stepped back and got down on one knee. All I could do was stare at him.

"I am arrogant, and discourteous, and detached sometimes. I like things to go my way, and act out when they do not. You know all there is to know about me, and still decide to tolerate me. I know that it has much to do with the fact that you cannot go anywhere else," he chuckled a little.

"I don't have a ring with me. Rings aren't normally used when asking for a hand in marriage on Thanzor. But if you desire one, I shall have the finest one made for you. What I do have instead, is myself. I offer myself to you. Mind, body and heart. With these meagre offerings, would you consider marrying this prince?"

I hadn't realised that tears were streaming down my face. I sniffed a little and said to him, "but you don't even love me. you're only doing this out of a sense of duty." I wanted him to deny it. I needed him to deny it.

He smiled up at me, "I don't know why it took so long for me to realise it. Maybe because I have never been exposed to it. But I do feel it. I love you, Victoria. I look forward to the time we spend together. Your smile, your laugh, you. You have lifted my burdens. You have shown me what it is to truly live. Every moment with you helps me discover a new piece of myself. I cannot and will not bear to be with anyone that is not you. I love you, Victoria. And as scared as I am to admit it, I want nothing more than to be with you. I'm glad I came on this mission, because it is here that I found not only you, but myself as well. Please marry me."

He loves me?

"You love me?" I had to hear it again.

"Yes, I love you."

My head rose and fell as I nodded, "okay. I'll marry you."

"You'll marry me?" he asked while his smile got bigger.

"I'll marry you." I said as a smile of my own crept to my face.

He loves me!

He stood up and pulled me in for a hug. I admit, I was a little disappointed. I was hoping he would kiss me. He pulled back and looked me in the eyes, his face inches away from mine, "I want so much to kiss you right now, but I fear if I do, I wouldn't be able to pull away."

My breath caught.

He hugged me again, this time even tighter, "I look forward to our wedding night," he whispered to me.

***

Our engagement was announced to everyone not long after. This seemed to encourage the other couples. A lot of them had registered their engagements as well, but their ceremonies would have to take place after Xeris and mine's.

Purit had come in the day after our engagement with three females in yellow. They were trainers as well.

"Purit," I greeted.

He bowed in greeting, "your highness."

"Oh, please don't bow to me, it makes me feel weird." I said to him.

"I fear, that from now on, you will have to get used to it." He said. He then turned to introduce the ladies he had brought with him. I was surprised that Purit had asked to meet in the apartment and not in the training room like we usually did. Nevertheless, I had changed into my training attire and awaited his arrival.

Ugh, I sound like Xeris now.

"This is Drema, Souka and Milda." He introduced them to me, "they will be in charge of preparing you for marriage and life as a princess of Thanzor. They are the absolute best, not only on this ship, but in all of Thanzor. Their presence here was meant solely for this purpose."

So, they predicted that whichever girl the prince was paired with would agree to marry him.

Arrogant much?

"I confidently leave you in their care," he said and left.

So, no training.

"Greetings, your highness," they said in unison.

Freaky.

"Please, sit down," I tried to act like a good host but I had never hosted anyone before. So, I felt and probably looked weird holding out my arm.

They exchanged a look among themselves with knowing smiles.

Why do I already regret this?

Our so called 'training sessions' comprised of me being taught etiquette, Thanzorian politics and matters of the bedroom. The latter being the most unnerving and uncomfortable for me. Each of the trainers was in charge of one of these things. Drema, the Thanzorian politics, Souka, etiquette and Milda the bedroom matters. I caught on quickly with the etiquette and politics portion of my lessons. I was a pretty quick learner and it wasn't too far from the things I had seen in movies such as Princess Diaries.

What I found most challenging was what Milda taught me. The basics such as my hygiene, I got. When she started talks of how to please Xeris in bed, I could barely look her in the face for the first week of our lessons. The girls of course, found my antics hilarious. As I had earlier discovered, I was a naturally friendly person and got along quite well with them.

"Your highness, you cannot shy away from such matters. You are to face them in no more than a month. Is it not better you are prepared than surprised when the time comes?" Milda cooed.

"Okay, okay, I'll take it seriously. What were you saying again?" I asked.

"I was saying, you should be more flexible in your hips, like this," she demonstrated while straddling Drema. "Men like it when you..." she continued showing me how 'it' was done.

She taught me how to kiss him, how to properly kiss him. She talked about it while Drema and Souka demonstrated. I was thankful for the lessons, but often wondered if they had to be so... thorough.

She showed me tricks that were passed down to her by her mother. Her mother was also a 'trainer'. She taught me on how to maximise both of our pleasure. However, she said I could only start after the first night. The first night was dedicated to him doing whatever he wanted. Apparently, it would give me the courage to attempt a few of the tricks she had passed on to me.

Xeris had long moved out of our apartment and was assigned temporary quarters. It was not advised to sleep in the same bed as your fiancé before the wedding.

I wonder why they let us sleep together before.

I missed his constant presence around me.

When my lessons ended, I used the free time to explore the ship. I couldn't bring myself to go to the greenery because it was all I had seen for over a year. I started with the familiar places. I first went to Bulba's department. It was huge. I soon discovered that every department was huge. I mean, catering to over forty million people was no easy feat. Getting to each department too, took quite some time as well. They were spaced far apart. This made me wonder exactly how large this space craft was.

Xeris had assigned two guards to me, Atoma and Adima. They followed me everywhere and felt like my shadows. They served to show my status, because apparently, my black clothing wasn't enough. They also served as my guides. Good thing too, because I would have been lost without them. Navigating the hallways made me feel like I was in a maze.

I made sure to interact with the people I met in the Bulba's department and ask questions about how it worked. I found that their perspectives differed from Bulba's. I decided to continue learning about the other departments in this way, getting both the normal workers' perspectives and the department head's perspectives. I spent two days exploring Bulba's department and would have stayed longer but decided to go to the next department.

The next department I went to was Purit's department. I met my three trainers there and chatted away with them before proceeding to Purit's office. Everyone else just stared at us as we talked. I asked Purit why and he told me that it was because I was as good as royalty now. They were both awed and intimidated by my presence.

It still hadn't sunk in that I would be a princess soon. But as I spent more time walking around, it slowly did. Everyone was respectful and bowed in my presence. I had trouble getting used to the bowing. I wasn't used to being treated like this. I went next to command and met Santhi and his team, then the kitchen. I spent three days in the kitchen, purely because they always brought me delicious food to try out. I found the strength to pull myself away from the kitchen and then went to the cleaning and maintenance department.

I hadn't really thought about how the apartment always looked clean even though I didn't do any cleaning or how my clean clothes never seemed to run out. However, when they explained the technology behind this, I could understand most of it. I decided to go next to the security department and Atoma and Adima were more than eager to show me the way. They showed me around like proper tour guides would. I could tell how proud they were of their department.

I had purposefully left visiting the other participants for last because they were so many of them. I had just visited 43 of the different sections over the past weeks, spending longer in sections where I found people that were easy to talk to. I couldn't believe how lucky I was. I was abducted and chosen as the prince's partner. Out of twenty million girls, I was chosen. This made me feel special and helped in boosting my confidence. The constant interaction with different people as well proved to me that there was nothing to be afraid of. Besides, I wasn't the same girl I was before I was abducted.

A part of me, a very small part of me, felt that things were going too well. How could a person be so lucky?

As the wedding date drew closer, the excitement on the ship escalated. Everywhere I went, all people could talk about was the upcoming royal wedding. A wedding I hadn't partaken in planning. Not that I knew anything about planning a wedding. My only job was to show up looking pretty.

I couldn't help getting more anxious as the date drew nearer. I would have mini panic attacks here and there questioning if I was truly ready to get married at such a young age and having not seen Xeris since he left our apartment wasn't helping either.

I needed him.

The dress they were making for me was finally complete. It came two days before the wedding. Drema, Souka and Milda helped me put it on. They had combined both Thanzorian and Earthian (can't believe I'm saying this now too) styles. I wasn't too sure when they came up with this idea, but looking at the dress now, I was glad I took the risk.

It was absolutely beautiful. Its wasn't a pure white, but had accents of green in it when I moved. The skirt fell in what looked like petals of sheer green and white. The corset was white with little green gems glittering in calculated positions. It had a little train, nothing too long or too short. It left my shoulders and arms bare. A true princess dress. With it came an emerald neckless and matching earrings and tiara.

The girls wouldn't let me see what I looked like in the mirror and only allowed me to try on the dress to make sure it fit perfectly. Soon, the rehearsal began. I was excited to see Xeris after such a long time, but to my disappointment, he couldn't make it. Drema filled in for him as he was still attending to some matters. After practicing the dance that resembled the waltz, I was no longer needed. I headed for my apartment, Atoma and Adima behind me. They bowed and left me at the door?

I wentto bed angry that night.