{Disbelief}

                                    

                                          

The man looked down at Aurora and glanced at her crown. He bowed his head, "It was no trouble." Aurora shook her head and put a hand over her heart. "Even so, I'm truly grateful. Charles never knows when to stop." She said as she looks at the doors where Charles was just dragged out from.
The man stayed quiet and Aurora grows awkward with the silence. She wanted to talk to him but she didn't know what to say. However, Aurora would be lying if she said she wasn't a bit intimidated by the man. He seemed very serious.
"What's your name?" She asked. Aurora thought that would be the perfect starter for a conversation. Sadly before the man could even answer, she hears Mary call her from afar.
"Lady Aurora, your parents are looking for you!They're about to announce your brother's engagement. And soon after, they'll announce yours."  Mary said between breaths. Aurora glanced at the man and it seemed like he came into realization with something.
"Did you run all around the castle to try and find me? You know you're too old to being doing that." Aurora rubbed the middle aged woman's back as they began to exit the library. "I am not." Mary disagrees and Aurora chuckles.
"I'll see you in the ballroom, okay? I want to thank you properly." Aurora says, looking at him one last time and he only nods.
The man continued looking at the exit even though the two figures had disappeared. The man had figured out who Aurora was, and he was unsure if he should be content or not. She seemed like a handful to him. They are complete opposites.
➳༻❀✿❀༺➳
"Darling, where have you been! We've been looking all over for you. Can you believe Charles was just kicked out for harassing a woman? I can't believe he would do that." Aurora's mother said as she shakes her head in disappointment.
"I was the woman." Aurora said softly and her mother looked at her with wide eyes. "Are you okay?" Her mother said as she examined Aurora. Aurora flinched slightly when she felt her mother touch her arm where Charles was gripping.
"Yes, I'm fine." Aurora reassured her mother. Queen Eleanor touched her daughter's chin and sighed. "We will never allow him to step in this castle ever again. I would love to imprison him but sadly he's royalty." Aurora's mother rolls her eyes. 
Aurora doesn't know what to respond with, so her mother switches the subject. "I must leave you now. I have to be up in the balcony with your father and brother for the announcements. The rulers of Vaughan are already up there too." Queen Eleanor says and kisses Aurora's cheek before leaving. Aurora felt her anxiety wash over her again. It was almost time for her to meet her fiancé and she was beyond nervous. 
Aurora saw her father take his spot and a servant played the trumpet to get the guest attention. "First off I would like to thank everyone for attending!" Her father announced. Aurora began to drown out her fathers words. Aurora wanted to pay attention but her thoughts didn't let her. They were unstoppable and she wished she could quiet them for just a minute. 
Aurora felt dazed, she felt like she was in her thoughts for hours. Suddenly, she felt a nudge on her shoulder, making her train of thought cease. "Now that Prince Alexander's engagement has been made known. I would like to add that my beautiful daughter, Aurora, has recently been engaged!" Her father says as he made eye contact with her from the balcony.
Aurora took that as her cue to go upstairs. She gripped the railing with all her might, afraid her legs would give out on her. Aurora took a big gulp as she made the top of the stairs.
Her father stuck his arm out for her to take and she didn't hesitate to interlock her arm with his. He led her to where he was standing before. Everyone bowed before her and she looked through the crowd, trying to guess which man could be her future husband. Auroras eyes stopped on the familiar man from the library and she smiled sweetly. The man only firmly nodded in return. 
"I'm sure you've all heard talk about war with the Vaughan's," her father said. Aurora looked around and saw fear in the people's eyes. Who could blame them? Nobody likes war.
"Queen Eleanor and I, rulers of Alderidge, and King Alan and Queen Isabel, rulers of Vaughan, have both came up with a solution to this problem." Auroras father said with pride. Whispers filled the ballroom as the guests wondered what the solution could be. King Gabriel quickly shushed them.
"I have allowed Prince Xavier to marry my daughter, Princess Aurora!" Her father says. The crowd cheers and Aurora looks down at the stairs to see her fiancé. Her breath hitched when she saw the man she met earlier. She wanted to hang her jaw open but she knew it wouldn't be proper.
Xavier stood beside Aurora and her father grinned ear to ear. "From this day forward, our kingdoms will be allies due to Prince Xavier's and Princess Aurora's marriage!" King Gabriel finished and the crowd let out a thunderous cheer. They were so loud, Aurora could've sworn she felt the floor shake.
Aurora looked at Xavier and studied his expression. There was not much to study. The man seemed stoic all the time, just like his parents. "Did you know I was you're fiancé in the library?" Aurora asked, curiosity getting the best of her. 
"I had a guess when I first saw the crown on your head. But I didn't confirm it until your maid came in and called you by your name." Xavier answered honestly.
"Aurora, come down and join us for a few dances!" Alexander interrupts excitedly, not paying much attention to the prince beside his sister. Aurora nods and walks down the stairs, Xavier following closely behind her.
Aurora didn't know why but she felt a change in her attitude. She guessed it was because she was marrying the man that she's heard so many bad things about.
"You're an easy person to read." Xavier says as he starts to walk alongside of her. Aurora furrows her brows, "What do you mean?" She acts clueless. Aurora knew she was an easy person to figure out but she didn't know it would be that easy for him. She just met the man after all.
"I can tell that you're unhappy. You seemed to have expected someone else to be your fiancé." Xavier said as he took Aurora's arms in his so they can begin dancing. "I just didn't expect to be engaged to someone like you." Aurora said, not wanting to make eye contact with her dance partner. Though, she felt his eyes practically burning through her. 
"Someone like me?" Xavier interrogated. Aurora sighed, not comfortable with the idea of sharing the things on her mind. "Yes, the Vaughan's are known to be cruel. Why would I be happy to marry someone like you?" Aurora said with a raised brow.
Xavier laughs sarcastically, "You don't think people say the same thing in my kingdom? We were enemies, until now of course, what makes you think we would say anything good about each other?" Aurora stayed silent, because she knew he was right. She was wrong to judge so harshly.
"Besides, why think of me as such a bad man now? You were fond of me just of few moments ago." He says with the same serious expression, but there was a slight mockery in his tone. His last comment made Aurora's face burn from embarrassment. She glanced up at him and he still had his eyes on her, so she quickly diverted her gaze. 
The music finally stopped and the prince bowed. "You are a wonderful dancer, Princess Aurora."