Olivia's P.O.V
Two months later
I had spent the last two months doing the work I had before. I made tea for the queen, which she was asking for quite often as of late; cleaned bedrooms, accepts for Jordan's which Mary had pulled some strings for someone else to do; and helped with the dishes. While doing all of my tasks, I found myself lost in my own thoughts often. What will happen when I leave? Will Mary and Thomàs forget about me? Will I like my new home? Will Jordan miss me? Did Jordan ever even love me? Countless thoughts and questions constantly swirled in my head.
Finally though, the time had arrived. I would be moving in two days and I was filled with nervousness but also excitement. My packing had been completed within my free time and I managed to keep everything to one bag seeing as I had very little belongings.
The castle was bustling with movement for the upcoming wedding which was also in two days. My father and I were planning on leaving directly after the ceremony. He told me that he understood if I didn't want to go to the wedding, but, with him being fairly close with the king, he was expected to go. I was glad that he was understanding of my situation and not mad at me for breaking the rules.
That night would be the dress rehearsal. Mary, me, and some other servants were washing the fine dishes in preparation for the rehearsal dinner. When we finished, we carried them out to the table to set them up. Everyone was to be arriving within the hour and all the servants were expected to serve them.
All of the guests slowly trickled in and started to receive instructions from a short, bald man. They were each placed in assigned seats with the king at one end of the table and an empty seat for Jordan. That led me to question: Where is Jordan?
About thirty minutes, and five glasses of tea for the queen, later, Jordan came strolling down the stairs in a pair of blue jeans, a black band t shirt, and converses. He had his hair styled in that signature bedhead that looked so good on him. His appearance radiated that he did not care that he was late for his own wedding rehearsal dinner.
As he was walking in, his eyes caught mine for a very brief moment. In that moment I could have sworn he gave me the smallest hint of a smile, but it was gone before I could confirm.
He took his seat, which was right next to his future wife, and just stared at his father, as if challenging him. They kept this staring battle up for several minutes until Jordan finally slunk back in his chair, defeated. Jordan's fiance reached over and grabbed his hand which he immediately pulled away from as if it were on fire. She attempted one more time and, after he pulled away violently again, gave up. At least I thought she did, until I saw her move her hand to his thigh as she whispered something in his ear. His whole body tensed up, but seemed to begrudgingly relax after awhile. He then signalled for a glass of wine, which was immediately brought out.
The sight made my heart hurt, so I looked away and to the other people at the table. There were about twenty people in total, made up of nobles and royalty. The short, bald man then spoke, interrupting my thoughts. He started to tell people what to do and what to say. I soon tuned out of the boring instructions, only focusing if I was pointed at or talked to.
Jordan's P.O.V - earlier
I was running late for my rehearsal ceremony, but I didn't care. It's not like I wanted this wedding in the first place. Katerina had gone down awhile ago, intending to kiss up to my parents. She still annoyed me constantly by trying to fire all of the servants, constantly complaining, and having no sense of personal boundaries. She was constantly hanging off of me and trying to kiss me. I would manage to pry her off of me and tell her to stop, but she complained that I wasn't devoted to her enough. I'm being forced into a marriage with someone I don't love and I'm not devoted... I wonder why?
Ignoring the neatly laid out suit on my bed, I went into my dresser to grab some jeans and a t shirt. I put them on, taking my time, and then slipped on some converse. I slowly walked down the stairs and into the dining room where all of the guests were waiting. I looked around, finding no one of interest, until my eyes landed on a certain someone. I locked eyes with Olivia for as brief a moment as I could manage and smiled slightly to myself. She's as beautiful as ever.
I saw down at the only open chair at the end of the table, right next to Katerina. As soon as I sat down, she grabbed my hand. I pulled away, having her touch. She grabbed my hand again and I repeated my action. I then felt her hand to to rest on my thigh. I immediately tensed up. I don't like this at all.
Before I could pull away again, she leaned in close to me and whispered, "You may not like me that much, but I am going to be your wife in two days whether you like it or not. Besides, we wouldn't want dear old dad getting mad at you now would we?"
Her comment made me think about Olivia and why I was going through with all of this. I forced myself to relax into her touch. She smiled at me, knowing she had won. I signalled one of the servers for a glass of wine. I downed the glass quickly as I thought about all of the ways out of this marriage. I'm gonna need a lot of alcohol to get through tonight.