Hope You Enjoy!

Chapter 1

I look in the mirror... It's been so long since I last worn a dress... I smile.

"Today's the day!" I take a deep breath and head downstairs to be greeted by my mom.

"Happy Birthday, dearie, eighteen now huh?" Mom smiles at me. I smile at her as I sat down and began to eat my breakfast on the kitchen table.

"Where's dad?"

"Oh. Your father went out early in the morning today, he told me he had some business to attend to real quick."

"What business?" It was strange, he would usually cancel all his plans on special events like these, "Did he tell you what it was?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Mom!"

"Hehehe~ It's a surprise, my dearest. Now, you should stop by and greet the other folks in the village. I'm sure they'd want to see you on your special day!"

Surprise...? I brush it off and stood up from my chair, "Alright. Thank you for the meal, mom."

"No problem, love you!"

"Love you too." I walked outside and strolled around the village, the markets were selling fruits and veggies, animals and crops, the usual things. I see my close friend, Nico, helping a farmer bring his chickens into the cages. He's a ginger who's a few months older than me. He's currently a guard at training.

"Hey, Nico! Being helpful for once I see?" I grin and I walk up to him.

"Hey! I'm pretty helpful most of the time, oh, and happy birthday, Myra!" Nico smiles back at me.

"Oh, hello. How are you, young one?" The farmer smiles at me, "I heard you turned eighteen today."

"Yep, eighteen." I smile.

"Well, happy birthday m' lady. And I'd like to thank your friend for helping me."

"You're welcome, sir." Nico removes the gloves he had on and throws them in a small bin on top of one of the chicken crates, "Watcha wanna do today, birthday girl?"

"Ah— Well, I was wondering if we could go to Arkaley village, see Aiden."

Aiden is another close of mine, I've known him since we were little. He could be a huge grump sometimes, but I know he's really sweet and caring on the inside. Though he lives in another village closeby, and his father is the lord also. He has a twin sister named Amy. Well, Aiden and Amy are very popular since they are known to be very problematic, especially Amy. But here's a little secret, I have a crush on him. I think I'm pretty good at hiding it though, right?

"Seriously, Aiden? You know how I feel about him." Nico whines, "He's gonna probably be mean towards me, again!"

"No he won't, not on my birthday that is! Come on, let's go!"

"Fine."

"Why'd you bring the cat with you?" Aiden asks, leaning against a tree, arms crossed.

"I-I'm not a cat!" Nico groans and glares at Aiden, "Shut up, jerk!"

"Hey! Don't cause any arguments, okay? I just want to have some fun!" I puff out my cheeks.

"You're turning red," Aiden stands up straight and looks down at me, "But sure, kid."

"I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Oh, right~ You're an adult now." Aiden chuckles and walks up to me, he ruffles my hair messy.

"Hey, my hair!"

"Okay, what do you guys want to do now?" Nico asks.

"My mom says I'm not allowed to explore outside of the borders till I'm eighteen. We should—"

"Hold up—?! Are you crazy, Myra?! You know it's dangerous outside of Arkaley and Aroonshire! You could get lost, or hurt!"

"Chill out, kitty. The outside world isn't that bad. Just some bears and foxes. Not much." Aiden puts his arm around Nico, "We'll be fine, she'll be fine."

"... Fine, but we—"

"Myra!" I hear a man call my name, I look around and see one of dad's close guards, "Your father wants to see you and Aiden."

"Huh— Why Aiden?" Nico looks at the man, confused.

"Yeah, what did I do this time?" Aiden crossed his arms.

"Let's find out. Uhm... See you around, Nico?" I give Nico an awkward smile.

"Ehm— Sure?" He shrugs, "I'm going to be at the guard tower near the gateway if you need me."

"Right."

As Aiden and I entered my house, I saw my father on the sofa, drinking from a mug, the drink still seemed to be hot as I could see smoke sizzling out of the cup. He looks up and smiles,

"Good morning Myra and Aiden."

"Hello dad. You called us?" My father nods and points at the other sofa across from us.

"Have a seat." Aiden and I sit on the sofa and my father puts his drink down, and clears his throat, "You two have been really close since you were little, haven't you?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, I met up with Aiden's parents, Abraham and Hollow, and we've come to an agreement that it's time for you guys to get engaged."

"...What?!"

"Since you're finally an adult, Myra, you're able to marry Aiden now. Aiden's parents and your mother and I have been talking about this for a year now."

"Wait dad— you can't be—" I get annoyed and clenched my fist, "Are you serious?! You can't just arrange a marriage for us without Aiden and I even knowing! I mean, Aiden is a great guy... But this is also too sudden, I just turned eighteen!"

"Calm down. You guys seem to be a perfect match, and you're going to have to deal with these arrangements. It's a normal thing, okay?" Father chuckles, "Abraham and Hollow had an arranged marriage. So did your mother and I. You guys will be fine."

"..." Aiden scoffs and looks away, "When is the wedding...?"

"We're planning to have the wedding in about... five or six months?" Father sighs and stands up, "I'm heading out but I have something to give you, Myra."

"Huh? What is it?" I give out my hand and my father gives me a necklace, emerald in the middle, with two golden petals, "A necklace?" I put it on.

"It's a special necklace. It belonged to my grandmother. I want you to have it."

"Oh, thank you, dad."

"No problem, kiddo. I should get going now. See you two." Father kisses me on the forehead and leaves the house. I see Aiden stand up and also leave, I follow him.