°•Crypt of The Eternal•°

~Chapter Eight: Ivy~ Monika's P.O.V.

I was woken up by a maid the next morning, and I was very reluctant to get out of bed. The silk sheets comforted me perfectly, and my big fluffy blankets were just the right amount of warmth to stay there for an eternity. She sat on the edge of my bed. "Come now, your highness! Your prince is waiting for you at the entrance of the garden. So get out of bed and get ready for him!"
"But Sadieee~ I don't wannaaaaa~" I pouted. She didn't look amused, and instead of pestering me anymore, she ripped me out of bed by my ankles. I scream, and she shushes me with a quick thump to the top of my head. She then picks out a lovely flowing dress for me, and throws it at my face. I grunt and get up off of the floor as she giggles.
I got dressed, and Sadie fought me over doing my hair and makeup as well. Obviously she was the one who won that fight... But I'll get her later for it. When I got to the garden's gate, Charles was there, waiting patiently for me. "Oh, good morning Monika." He said, with a warm smile. He takes my hand and begins walking with me through the maze of bushes. "Can I tell you something...?" He said, avoiding eye contact with me.
"Of course." I say, curiosity overwhelming me. "Well, I didn't particularly want to come here and meet you. But don't take that as an offense, you're very pretty. It's just that I have problems with going out and doing things since an incident happened..." He explained, in a flustered tone. I laugh until my face turns red and tears stream down my face. He begins yelling at me, but I don't hear anything over my cackling.
"To be completely honest, I wasn't aware that you were coming until the last minute, and I was planning on just sending you back to your homeland... But so far, you seem kinda sweet..." I say, wiping away tears from my laughter. He seemed to be flustered, and kept walking with me through the gardens.
Eventually, we reached a nice sitting area inside a gazebo. There were two white chairs with a table in-between them, and a lovely lunch set out and ready to eat. Charles walked ahead of me so that he could pull my chair out for me to sit. He was a gentleman, I will admit, but I won't fall for him that easily.
The support beams and walls of the gazebo were coated in thick, lucious ivy. The vines were blooming with a fluorescent pink, and seemed to have a lovely glow. We began eating smoked salmon with assorted steamed vegetables on the side as the main course. There were also freshly baked rolls of bread in a basket with strawberry jam beside it. "Charles, what do you do for fun?" I asked.
He thought for a moment before responding with, "Well, I like to draw a bit."
"I see, so you're an artist?" I say, tilting my head to the side. "I'm not very good at it yet, but I think it could potentially be something I look forward to during the day. At least when I'm not tending to my mother and my people." Interesting...
"How is your stay so far?"
"To be honest, it's been a bit awkward between your parents and I..."
"Oh? Why?" I say, curiously.
"Well, your mother told me that if you don't end up marrying me, you'll end up being sent away to a private school to learn how to be lady-like." He said, furrowing his brows.
"WHAT?! I WAS NEVER TOLD THIS!" I shout, and stand up, furious. Charles tries to tell me to calm down, but I sprint off through the maze of garden. When I reach the throne room where Mother and Father were sitting, I scream at them. "YOU NEVER TOLD ME THAT I WAS BEING SENT AWAY TO SOME WEIRD SCHOOL IF I DON'T MARRY THIS SUITOR?!"
My mother sighs, and responds calmly. "Well, if you were at dinner last night, you would've been informed. I have already spoken with your father about this as well."
Ambivalence consumed me, and I felt like bursting into tears and throwing things at the same time. I rushed to my room and slammed the door behind me. Sadie was in my room making my bed, and our eyes met. My face was beat red, and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do in that situation, which angered me even more.
She finished up her cleaning as fast as she could, and left me with a glass of water as well. It looked like she knew why I was upset, which also means she was most likely told not to do anything about it and let me just blow off steam when I found out. There was a soft knock on the door, and I heard Charles. "Hey, I know you're really upset right now, and you probably want to be left alone, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to speak to your parents and try to get things sorted out." I didn't reply, I just sat there on my bed for the rest of the day, upset and alone.
Later that night, I had calmed down quite a bit, and I had ignored everyone. A cold breeze blew through my room, chilling me to the bone. I wrapped myself up in my blankets and looked towards the balcony door, only to see Sin, standing at the doorway. "May I come in?" He asked, and I nodded my head. He walked through the doorway full of bold pride, and triumphantly declared, "I HAVE OFFICIALLY CAUGHT MY OWN KILL." He then raised a dead rat to my face with a childish grin. "See? Awesome right?"
The scent of rot and garbage hit my face, and I gagged, revolted. His grin turned into an offended scowl after I gagged. "How dare you. This fresh meat was caught by me, the runt, SIN! How dare you gag at my trophy?!" He scoffed.
"No, how dare you! You just shoved that revolting thing in my face!" He narrowed his eyes at me, and pulled the corpse away from my face, bringing it to his chest.
"What's going on with you?" He said, in a more serious tone. "Your face is all red, and you look like you've been crying all day."
I sat in silence for a while before answering. I told him everything that had happened up until now. Every detail. He thought for a moment before glaring at me.
"So you're getting all riled up over having to marry a prince that you already like, and there's a little penalty if you don't marry him?! You already like him, so why not just get married and get it over with so that you can praise me for my rat?"
"You really don't get it, do you?!" I shouted at him, flustered. "Marriage is a big thing! And I don't want to just marry anybody! Plus, what if he isn't who he seems to be? He could be a murderer, or worse! And you won't be getting any praise from me for that nasty thing."
He huffed. "Well if you don't want to marry him, but you have to marry someone or else you'll get sent away, then... Why not just marry me?" I stared at him for a bit, face turning red. His face started to have a hint of pink to it as we just sat there in silence about what he had just said. "I- I mean- or I could just kidnap you and take you away from this place..." He said, avoiding eye contact with me.