Prologue~ The Power of Love~An arranged marriage to... wait, don't I know you?

I walked back to the castle, feeling a bit dirty and wanting a shower. Gillian was waiting for me in the entrance hall. He bowed slightly and said, “Your things have been brought to your room, Katie. Do you wish to view your living quarters?”

I smiled at his choice of words and said, “Sure.”

He smiled pleasantly back and headed towards the staircase. Beckoning for me to follow, he started to climb. Apprehensively I trailed behind. I stopped counting the stairs after a hundred and five.

We then walked down a short hallway and he stopped in front of a set of double doors. “This is your room, Katie. I hope you will find it comfortable. If you need anything, Prince Andrew will be right next door.”

My stomach jumped nervously at the thought of Andrew being one room down, but I nodded and Gillian let as I pushed open the doors.

The most beautiful room I had ever laid eyes on fell before me. The main colors were deep blood-red (my favorite color) and gold. The bed had a canopy of red hangings and the carpeted floor was mainly gold. On all of the dressers and drawers of chestnut wood were pictures of me and my friends, dating all the way back to when I was five years old. There were gorgeous furnishings, all matching, in front of a 61-inch flat screen TV. Underneath the TV were assorted XBOX and Wii games. Beyond the TV and couches was a balcony overlooking a section of the gorgeous, clear lake, the mountains, and the stables. The view was magnificent.

I opened a door leading into what was either a bathroom or my closet. White marble and gold trimmings hit my eyes: bathroom. It was bigger than my bedroom at home, with a Jacuzzi, separate bathtub, shower, toilet, and sink. All of my toiletries were put into the cupboards and on the sink.

I went back into the other room and opened the door, which, not surprisingly, was my walk-in closet. It was half the size of my bedroom and filled to the brim with not only my clothes I had gotten from my mother for my birthday, but also new clothes I had never seen before and about fifty different dresses of all different colors and designs: long, short, ruffled, straight, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple, white, black, brown, gold, silver… you name it, it was there.

I grabbed an older pair of hip-hugging jeans and one of my new blue tank tops, plus socks, underwear, etc. and went into the bathroom to take a shower. After twenty minutes of bliss I stepped out and changed. I put gel into my hair to make it crimp and added a little mascara and eyeliner. Then, I went into my bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. It threatened to engulf me, it was so comfortable. Now, I had time to think about what Andrew had said.

Obviously, he knew me from somewhere. And he had said, “I thought I meant a little more to her than that.” So maybe he was an ex-boyfriend from long ago? Nah, I squashed that thought immediately. I remember all of my boyfriends, and none of them were heir to the throne of a country. Although that would have made things a whole lot easier. Ok… so maybe an old friend that moved away?

At this point, I remembered vaguely of a black-haired twelve year old that had lived down the street from me. Drew, I think his name was. Short for… I gasped. That’s who he was.

Wait a minute… Naireeva! That’s where I had heard the name. Not from some stupid history lesson. A flashback came to me… I was sitting on a couch in a big house, with a black-haired twelve-year-old sitting next to me, almost crying. “I’m moving.”

“Cool, next door? ‘Cuz their house is up for sale and it would be awe-”

“No.”

“What do you mean, no?”

“I mean, no, I’m moving somewhere else.”

“Where then?” I barely whispered.

The pain on his face was only too obvious when he said, “Naireeva.”

“Where’s Naireeva?”

“Europe.”

“Oh my god…” I murmured to myself. It was him.

I looked around the room for the picture I knew I had of him when he was ten, a couple of months after I had met him. It took me a while, but I found it. He looked young, with a mop of crazy, black hair and, although he was laughing with his eyes closed, I knew it was him. Andrew.

Caitlyn's bedroom in the castle.