Chapter 82 - Pieces falling into place.

Samantha

I was right about one thing. The moment I moved into the castle, everything changed. Even if the move was only meant to be temporary. The worst rumor making the rounds was that I was pregnant, which was just ridiculous! But I could see how people could think that. My parents and I did move into the castle very suddenly.

That forced all of us to start making the arrangements for the mating ceremony, which fueled the rumors even more. I tried to ignore them as much as possible, but it was becoming difficult. The queen and I spent our mornings together, so she could teach me everything I had to do when I was queen. Adam and I would spend our afternoons walking in the gardens and just talking about everything.

I didn’t want to tell him that all the attention was making me really uncomfortable. I had to get used to it. I was going to be the queen pretty soon, and then I could no longer avoid any of it. Adam and I went to check on the progress at my parents' house every second day, but it wasn’t the distraction I had hoped it would be.

“What if we ran out of things to talk about?!” It was such a random thought that I stopped walking on our way back to the castle. People had slowly grown used to seeing us together and weren’t drumming around us as much anymore. When Adam burst out laughing, I realized I had actually voiced my thoughts out loud! My cheeks turned bright red.

“You should know by now that in this kingdom there is always something to talk about. If we don’t have anything, the gossips will sure as hell provide something!” He laughed, making me giggle as we continued walking on. “Samantha, are you still unsure about us?” Adam frowned and I sighed deeply. It was becoming easier to talk to him, but I still had a lot that was holding me back from opening up completely.

“I know we are destined mates and I know I’m being really silly, but yeah. Don’t you have any reservations?” I frowned, and he seemed to think about it for a moment.

“Nope.” It was a simple and confident answer that surprised me. How could he be so sure about this? It was the most important decision of both our lives! I would become queen of his kingdom. Our children were going to be the heirs to the throne. He must have noted my hesitation as he started to explain why he believed in us so much.

I have to admit that it was strange to find a male that was so confident in something so mythical. Most males I knew weren’t that romantic. They believed in the mate bond, but they didn’t express their feelings so openly. In fact, most males always looked so damn possessive and, in my mind, that wasn’t a good thing! Adam, on the other hand, was a true romantic.

I quickly figured out that he had been planning this moment for a long time. He reminded me of some of the girls in town! I wouldn’t say it out loud, of course, but he did! He had so many plans for the mating ceremony that he was helping us plan most of it. My parents’ home was finally completed a couple of days before the ceremony, but Adam insisted that they stay until after it was all over.

There was an entire week of festivals planned for our mating ceremony and I felt incredibly overwhelmed by it all. All my life, I had imagined just accepting my mate and being marked and that would be that. Now that I was going to become the future queen, things had changed. The queen had slowly started warming up to me while we lived in the castle and things were getting easier as the days passed by.

On the day of the actual ceremony, I felt like running to the hills. It was the queen’s calm voice and reassuring words that finally convinced me it would all be okay. We found common ground while I was staying there. I thought it was because she got to know me better, and I had proven to her that I wasn’t anything like my ancestors, but I couldn’t say for sure.

There had also been a change in the rumors. It was as if the people noted the change in the queen and soon the rumors turned more positive. Since it was clear that I wasn’t pregnant, they also didn’t have much worse to say about me. I finally felt as if I belonged when I stood in front of the mirror looking at myself in the dress the queen and my mom helped me to pick it out.

I looked like a completely different person! I felt different. I no longer wore my old tattered rags, and I hardly ever put on an apron these days. Hell, I hardly ever saw the kitchen! My mating dress was pure white silk and had no frills or strange embroidery. I wanted it to be as simple as possible. The queen was very happy with my choice. The skirt hooped out around my legs and it was so long that you couldn’t even see the delicate heeled sandals I was wearing. Adam had given me a small tiara as a mating day gift and I smiled at my own reflection as I remembered when he gave it to me the day before.

“I love you, Samantha. With all my heart and soul.” His words rang through my thoughts and I smiled. Behind me, my father cleared his throat and when I turned to look at him, my heart ached. His eyes were filled with tears and I knew why. He was losing his little girl. Or at least that was what he told me just a couple of days ago.

“You look like a queen, sweetheart.” He smiled proudly as his eyes filled with tears and I rushed into his arms.