Chapter 42 - There's Something Wrong

“I think we should get married. As soon as possible.” The Prince told her one afternoon.

He had insisted that he had something important to talk to her about and so they were having tea in the library. The place where Eleanor had taken refuge since she was brought to the castle. Apparently, this was just one of six, so it made Eleanor feel a little better about staying. The library had two floors and every inch of the walls were covered in books. Eleanor didn’t care what they were about. Just as long as she could pretend like she wasn’t living the life she currently was, then she would be fine.

Eleanor leaned back in her chair, the Prince opposite to her, with a coffee table between them. She took a sip of the herbal tea the maids served them. “I’d rather not.”

Arthur snarled. “This isn’t up for debate. You live with me now, so getting married was obviously coming.”

Eleanor sighed. “I know. But that does not mean I’m looking forward to it. And what’s the rush? It's not like I can run away. I’m trapped in this castle. I’d definitely get lost if I try to leave and that sounds like a lot of wasted energy to me.”

For the past couple of days, Eleanor noticed that Arthur was kind of on edge. He seemed jumpy and irritable. She wondered what it was about but she didn’t care enough to ask. Once it didn’t affect her, and it seemed like it didn’t, then Eleanor could go about her life just fine.

“Eleanor. This isn’t a joke.” Arthur rubbed his temples.

“I’m well aware of that. I already live here, so what’s the rush? At least let me know how to walk for five minutes without getting lost before you rush to get me into wedlock.”

“It’s not that simple Eleanor. It’s not something that can be pushed off.” She could see his resolve slipping. His under eyes looked dark and even though he was properly groomed, she could see the frays in his appearance. Something heavy was weighing him down. Driving him crazy.

“Then explain it to me. What’s the urgency with us getting married?”

“There are bigger things in the works, Eleanor. I don’t have time to have a back-and-forth with you. Us getting married would just make everything easier. The country needs to know that their Prince has secured a wife that is able to be the proper support for him.”

Eleanor had forgotten that marrying Arthur would mean that she would be the next Queen. As someone who was idle for most of their life, being the ruler of a country definitely did not smell like Eleanor’s cup of tea.

“I can guarantee that no one in this country gives a crap if you’re married or not. It’s not like you’ll actually do anything. All you’ll have to do is sit and look pretty.” Eleanor scoffed. She bent down to pick up one of the finger foods that was resting on the table but Arthur shot up from his chair.

“Can’t you ever take what I’m saying seriously?!” he bellowed. His chest rose and fell with exasperation.

Eleanor froze. Goosebumps passed over her skin. She knew that he was stressed about something but never thought that he would shout at her. If this were any other person then Eleanor would have shouted back, but she held her tongue.

“I didn’t come here for your opinion. I came here to tell you. We are getting married. Before the end of the week.”

With that, he stormed out of the library, leaving Eleanor alone and confused.

“Wow,” she let out a breath. “What was that about? Is he seriously thinking of getting married before the end of the week?”

Eleanor sank back into her chair. She thought that she would have had more time but she guessed that marrying her would fix whatever problem the Prince was having. And so soon.

If they did, then it would help Eleanor to permanently forget about the past couple of months. Once she married the Prince then she would be putting all of that behind her. She would be a Princess and then eventually a Queen.

The only thing that Eleanor had to worry about was making sure that the greedy Tudors did not try to take control of her family and their assets. It was the only plausible reason why they were so desperate to get her to marry Arthur. And since Eleanor was going to be the head of the Louis family once her parents decided to pass it on to her, it gave her some hope, but Arthur was going to be the King after all.

“Enough of this.” Eleanor shooed away any thoughts of marriage. She didn’t want the last few days she had free thinking about marriage. She would worry about it when it was actually happening.

Aside from the Prince, Eleanor slowly began to notice that everyone in the castle was on edge. There was this air of anxiousness. All the maids seemed to be jumpy and everyone seemed to be in a hurry. The teams of maids that were assigned to her, were very skittish and when she asked them if something was wrong, they shut her down.

“Everything is fine, Miss Eleanor. Don’t waste your time worrying about us.” the head maid told her.

She got no more answers from anyone after that. It was beginning to freak Eleanor out. She would walk around and see the panicked and stressed expressions of the officials that visited the castle or of the guards patrolling the halls.

No one wanted to tell her what was going on, so she just went along with it. The library became her second home and she would either spend her time there or have a heap of books on her bed and read them.

One night, when she was sure everyone else was sleeping, she was up reading. Earlier that day she had discovered a book on astronomy and could not help herself since she never finished the one she had bought for herself. The book was dense and just downright confusing, but she promised that this time she would try.

Oil lamps burned around the room, giving the place enough light for her to see. She could feel a headache coming on and knew that she would have to go to bed soon before it became something worse.

A sudden gust of wind caught her attention. Eleanor was sure she had closed her window for the night. So when she looked over to see if it was, a heavy sense of dread settled in her stomach. She froze, the book in her hands slowly slipped from her fingers.

Something Rowan told her a while ago suddenly came back to her.

*”...They would easily take your life just because they don’t like that you are a noble.”*

A figure stood in front of her window, staring at her silently. Eleanor's heart fell into her stomach. Was this really it? Has someone come to kill her? And a few days before her wedding too.

Eleanor almost laughed at the thought. Was this really what she was thinking about right now? Shouldn't she be pleading for her life? Yeah no, Eleanor doesn't beg for anything.

The person took a step forward and Eleanor immediately scrambled off of her bed. Her legs barely holding her up. She was not sure she would even hear anything they said because her heart was beating too loudly. She tried to think of something to say but she came up empty. Eleanor could try to get to her door, but she was sure the person was faster than her.

The person took another step and another gust of wind burst through her window. But wind carried smells, and when it reacher Eleanor smelled something very familiar.

“Eleanor,” They called, and all the tension in her body melted.

“Rowan.”