{Betrayal}

                                    

                                          
The rest of the morning went by quick and it was finally Auroras favorite part of the day. The afternoon. She had most of the afternoon to herself and she would always just spend her time in the garden. Aurora loved how the sun felt on her and how the wind brushed against her skin, cooling her from the heat.
As she walked down the rocky path, she overheard a couple of gardeners say something. Aurora's ears perked up. She liked hearing the servants gossiping since she didn't really have friends.
"Have you heard about the Vaughan Kingdom?" The male servant fails to whisper. His female coworker looks at him with wide eyes and urges him to continue.
"Supposedly they're threatening to start a war with us." He says and the woman rolls her eyes at him. "That's old news. I heard that they're going to attend the ball." The woman says as she pulls out a few weeds.
This shocked Aurora. There's been rumor of wars for years but she would never guess why the Vaughan's would attend  her fathers ball. Both kingdoms almost cut contact due to troubles with resources, trading, and land.
Aurora debated asking the servants about the topic, and she came to the conclusion that she wouldn't be able to sleep at night if she didn't figure out where they got their information from. She walked on the grass, slightly lifting her dress so she wouldn't get it too dirty. Aurora cleared her throat to get their attention and they quickly jump up. "Princess Aurora!" The woman says and they bow their heads. 
"Where did you hear that?" Aurora asks. The servants exchange looks, both waiting for the other to answer. The woman nudges the man and he hesitates to speak. "You don't have to be scared," Aurora laughs. Everyone was scared of royalty even if there was no reason to be. 
"W-we heard it from another servant, but they said they heard it from the council members." He says nervously.  Aurora nods slowly and decides to question them further. "Is there anything else you've heard?" 
"Yes. We also heard that not only are King Alan and Queen Isabel are coming, but their son too!" He whisper yells as if he's telling a secret. Aurora gapes and quickly thanks them for their time.
Every time they've spoke of the rival kingdom, their son was never mentioned because supposedly he wants nothing to do with the Kingdom of Alderidge. He was known to be cold and rude. So hearing that he was also coming shocked Aurora. "Should I ask my parents about this?" Aurora thought.
She started to head towards the throne room. Aurora  wanted to know if the rumors were true. She knew the war rumors were true so why would the rulers of Vaughan attend the ball? The two kingdoms hated each other, so why would the rulers meet? Aurora couldn't wrap her head around the idea.
She arrives quickly, as she was speed walking, and walks into the room. She bows immediately when her father and mother sees her. King Gabriel smiles, "This is a surprise visit."
"Is it true the Vaughan family are coming to the ball?" Aurora says, wasting no time. She couldn't help but feel anxious. The whole kingdom was scared of them. The Vaughans were known to be cruel, after all.
The king and queens smiles fade away quickly. They stayed silent for a moment and Aurora grew impatient with every passing second. "It's true." King Gabriel simply states. She frowns and looks at Queen Eleanor, seeing if her mother would add anything.
Her mother looks at her father and sighs, "I think we should tell her, Gabriel." Aurora lifts an eyebrow and looks back at her father. "Tell me what?" She questions. Her father looked defeated.
"We decided that it is time for you to get married." Her father says slowly. Aurora slightly relaxes and chuckles awkwardly. She knew she would have to get married one day so she didn't despise the idea. "Oh... Well it was bound to happen someday, but what does that have to do with the Vaughan Family?" Aurora asked, unaware of what was about to happen.
"Dear, I don't think you understand. You're going to marry Xavier, Prince of Vaughan." Her mother says, in a sad tone. Aurora felt as if her world was crashing down. She shook her head, "No. Why would you-." she couldn't even finish her sentence out of shock. 
"We had no choice. You know they wanted to go to war and we couldn't. We needed to bring peace somehow." King Gabriel says quickly. Aurora looked at her father in disgust and swallowed the knot in her throat. "So you used me as some sort of peace treaty?" 
"We didn't want to do it." Queen Eleanor says, tearing up. Her mother felt bad for her daughter but there was nothing she could do.
Aurora shook her head again, "But you did." Aurora was almost speechless. She didn't know if she wanted to cry, scream, or just run. How could her parents do such a thing?
"Have you not heard about the Vaughan's! They're evil. They're kingdom is in shambles! How can you do this to me?" Aurora wanted to continue but she heard heavy footsteps behind her.
"What is all this yelling about?" Her brother, Alexander says with a concerned look. Aurora looks at him, tears threatening to fall out of her eyes. "Did you know about this? Did you know they arranged for me to marry Prince Xavier?" Aurora asked, feeling betrayed.
"They did what! Why would you do such a thing?" Alexander whipped his head towards the king and queen. The king rubbed his temple and sighed, "It was the only way to escape war."
"You must call it off!" Alexander defends the miserable girl beside him. King Gabriel scoffs, "That would be declaring war! I would expect you to understand since you will be king soon, Alexander!" The king said rather harshly. Alexander stayed quiet and Aurora could only thank him with her eyes for trying to help her.
"I don't want to do it." Aurora says, quietly. Her father breathes heavily through his nose and slams his hand against the table in front of him. The loud smack makes everyone in the room flinch. "You have no choice! You're getting married and that's the end of the discussion." King Gabriel says and begins to wave her off. Aurora felt worthless. She knew nothing would be able to convince her father.
"Yes, father." She said emotionless as she turned her heels and walked out of the room.