The Prince's Wedding

11. Gratitude.

It's crazy.
I'm crazy!

But at this point, I'm ready to do anything to prove to him that he's wrong. The school is important, not just to me but to the kingdom.
And with that thought in mind, I walk past the Prince and head for the door.

"You really think you're going to walk all the way there just to prove a silly point?" I hear him say with laughter and I just keep walking.

"I was a commoner. I grew up walking to everywhere I had to go." I say, walking down the hallway and I hear Prince Alexander following me from behind with fast, angry steps.

"Fine!" He yells as I walk into the castle grounds, drawing stares from everyone that can hear him.
"Walk!"

"I will."

"This won't change anything! If I want that school down, it's coming down!" He yells and this time I stop and turn to him.

"And I'm the one trying to prove a silly point? Why can't you see how much this means to your people? I'm practically begging to help them!"

"I forbid you to leave this castle, Melissa."  This, he says through gritted teeth and I take a deep breath, turn around and keep walking towards the gate, more determined than I was.

When I get to the gate however, the guards keep it locked and they stare at me with furrowed brows, almost as if they're expecting me to walk back into the castle.
To succumb to Prince Alexander like they have.
To not put them in a difficult situation.

"Open the gate." I say as confident as I can and they just exchange looks, but they don't budge.
Fine.
Let's try this again.

"I'm going to be queen of this kingdom, inevitably. And I've got a good memory of faces. Now open the gate."

And for a few seconds, they say nothing. Then one of them bows,
"Yes, Your Highness." He says and they unlock the gates, then open it to let me pass. And as I cross the threshold, a part of me wants to turn back to the Prince, to give him a chance to agree with me and end this argument.
But I just keep walking.

And with every turn, with every pair of eyes that sets on me, I'm greeted with bows and curtsies. That's when it dawns on me that this is my first time of actually leaving the castle ever since King Russel's burial...
So when I finally get to the school, the kids come rushing like magnets, warming my heart with every cheer and familiar face.

And when it's finally time to close up, I'm greeted with two horses and a guard outside, waiting for me.

******

ALEXANDER

The school was one of the biggest obstacles that I couldn't exactly handle ever since my father died...
I wanted it destroyed the minute I realized Melissa was the teacher. Not entirely because I wanted to be vengeful or petty, but also because I didn't want the expectations from the people.
Their urgent need to see what I would do with it simply because I was betrothed to the teacher...so I wanted it gone.

But then the Ball happened, and Melissa had said those impressive facts about our laws and it dawned on me that the kingdom would prosper in a lot of ways if everyone shared the knowledge she had.
And just like that, I decided to keep it.
I just needed time to figure out how to tell her without giving her any ideas, because no matter how much she wants to....she can't be the teacher for long.

But then she overheard Jonah and made a big display of her stubbornness by insisting on walking there and I couldn't stop myself from daring her.
From pushing her.
From getting angry at her.