His hazel eyes locked onto hers and she instantly felt butterflies in her stomach and her legs felt weak, like they could give out at any second. He was so handsome that her heart skipped a beat and a lump got caught in her throat, so she swallowed hard. She held her breath, as he approached and stood in front of her and he was taller than her by a few inches so she felt intimidated and broke eye contact, looking down at the ground. She got a whiff of his masculine cologne that smelled so good she could almost sigh.

She loved reading romance novels but she had never been boy crazy or had this kind of instant intense attraction to a man before so this feeling was all new to her. He held his hand out and it took Eva's brain a second to process the fact that she was supposed to do something. She lifted her trembling hand and slipped it into his and the feeling of his skin on hers sent a tingle up her spine and made her face flush.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said in his deep voice, bending forward with his eyes locked onto hers as he softly kissed the top of her hand, making her feel like she could melt into a puddle on the floor.

Her father King Hans spoke, breaking her from the trance she was under and said to the crowd, "It is with great pleasure that we formally announce our daughter's engagement to Prince Paulo Aragon of Spain. They will be married tomorrow in the Oslo cathedral at noon."

Prince Paulo, let go of her hand and stood next to Eva as they continued the formalities of the ceremony where people spoke and a choir sang. Her heart was beating fast with adrenaline and she didn't dare turn to look at him. Just standing next to him was making her anxious. Feeling the tingle on her hand from where his hand had touched hers made her face flushed and she couldn't believe this gorgeous man was seriously her fiance.

Eventually the ceremony was over and the trumpets blasted and the choir sang as the Royal family stood and left the stage. When they reached the hallway her father said, "Now that the official announcement has been made, it's tradition for the betrothed couple to go into the abbey room alone to get acquainted with each other," he said, pointing to the room across the hall.

Prince Paulo looked down at her and put out his elbow and she slid her hand into his arm and then he led her across the hallway to the room in silence.

Once they were inside he closed the door behind them and let out an exhale saying, "I'm so fucking glad that's over."

She raised her eyebrows. She had never heard a royal cuss like that before so she wasn't expecting it. They had very strict rules they had to follow and cussing was definitely on the 'DON'T DO' list.

He walked over and plopped down on the sofa with an exhale, slouching down low with his long legs stretched out. He sat there silently with his arms spread across the back of the couch and Eva stood there awkwardly, not sure what to say or do.

"So I guess we're engaged," she said with an awkward laugh, trying to break the silent tension.

"Yeah," he said, rolling his eyes, sitting up and leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees and running both his hands through his hair.

Eva hesitantly sat down on the sofa across from the one he was on, looking around and waiting for him to say something but a couple minutes passed in awkward silence.

He had his head down with his square jaw locked, looking tormented as he raised a hand and ran it through his brown hair.

"So I get the feeling you're not happy about this engagement?" she asked, looking down at her hands that were fidgeting with the diamond bracelet on her wrist.

He raised his head and looked at her like she had three heads.

"No, Of course I'm not happy about it. I'm fucking furious. I'm being forced into this marriage by my parents and it's the last thing I want," he said, taking in a breath and letting it out.

"Same," she sighed, looking down at her hands. She could relate to how he was feeling but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed hearing that he felt the same way.

He leaned back on the couch again, with his arms spread across the back of it and laid his head back and shut his eyes, giving off a clear signal that he was in no mood to talk to anyone, least of all her. They were supposed to be in here getting to know each other better but it was pretty obvious that wasn't going to happen.

After a few minutes of painfully awkward silence there was a knock at the door and the royal page opened it and said, "Prince Paulo. Princess Eva. I'm sorry to disturb you your highnesses. His majesty King Hans has requested for you to join him and the rest of your family in the drawing room."

"Thank you. We'll be on our way," Eva said with a nod as the page stepped back and closed the door again.

Eva stood up and smoothed out her long silky blue dress and took a deep breath as she walked towards the door without a word to her fiance. She led the way down the hall to the drawing room and they walked in silence since she wasn't sure what to say to the prince, especially now that he had said this marriage to her was the last thing he wanted. He also made her nervous and she was afraid she would say or do the wrong thing and embarrass herself.

It was obvious he wasn't in a hurry to talk to her either. She glanced over at him and he was looking straight ahead with his jaw locked tight and a stern expression on his face. She wondered if he ever smiled or if he was always this unpleasant.

She opened the door to the formal drawing room and her Mom and the Queen of Spain were sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace sipping wine and discussing wedding plans, the two Kings were deep in conversation about trade and armies. Her brother Kristoff was talking to Paulo's two sisters and he had a big smile on his face and seemed to be enjoying the conversation. His face brightened when he saw them come in.

Kristoff came over and shook Paulo's hand and said "It's good to see you again. I was just telling one of my good friends the other day about the last time I went to Spain and what a good time I had playing polo. I'm up for a rematch whenever you are. Maybe you won't beat me this time."

"Not likely," Princess Isadora said, smiling at Kristoff. "No one ever beats my brother at polo."

Kristoff scoffed lightheartedly and said, "There's always a first time for everything."

Paulo smiled, "Well we can have a rematch anytime you're ready. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other now that you're going to be my brother-in-law."

It was weird to hear him call Kristoff his brother-in-law considering they couldn't even talk to each other. It made their marriage sound real instead of like the nightmare it really was. Unfortunately there was no waking up from this nightmare. The reality was, she was getting married tomorrow to this stranger and she would be moving to Spain with him and leaving her entire life here behind.

She would be leaving everything and everyone she had ever known and moving to a country she had never been to before with this man that couldn't say more than a few words to her. That thought made her suddenly feel anxious and she looked over at Paulo and wondered what kind of man he was.

Was he kind or cruel? Did he have a sense of humor and adventure or was he boring and dull? Would they have anything in common? Would he be easy to talk to? From her first impression of him she couldn't help but wonder if she would be so miserable that she would consider running away and living on the streets rather than staying with him.

Kristoff looked at Eva and then asked Paulo, "So how are you getting along with my sister so far?"

Eva narrowed her eyes at her twin brother. Did he really have to ask that question? This was already awkward enough the way it was.

"Ummm. Honestly we haven't talked much. We're both pissed off about being forced into this marriage. Neither of us wants it."

Kristoff patted his shoulder and said, "Well I guess you're both going to have to try to make the best of this bad situation you've found yourselves in. What other choice do you really have? All of the paperwork has already been signed."

Paulo looked over at Eva, taking a breath in and letting it out. "Yeah," he grumbled. "What other choice do we have?" he asked, tipping back his drink and downing the rest of it.

He was right. She didn't have a choice about this marriage and neither did he, no matter how much neither of them wanted it. She wanted to marry someone she loved. She didn't want to be forced to vow to spend the rest of her life with this stranger she knew nothing about. He could be a deranged psychopath for all she knew. She felt tempted to run away to show her family that forcing their daughter to marry a stranger for power and financial gain was barbaric and outdated.

That wasn't an option either though because where would she go? She didn't know anyone that wasn't connected to the royal family. Even if she did, she was a famous princess. It's not like she could hide. She would be instantly recognized by everyone on the street and it would only be a matter of time before she was brought back to the castle by security.

She had no choice but to marry him. Thinking about it made her eyes burn with tears and she couldn't bear to stand there and talk about it anymore. She walked across the room, over to the grand piano in the corner and sat down on the stool and started playing. She had been taking piano lessons since she was five years old.

It was one of her many talents. Her family had been preparing her since she was born to be a perfect, well-rounded, smart, articulate, talented, beautiful woman. The perfect wife for any King. Sometimes it felt like she was more of a product than a person.

She had taken lessons in foreign languages, horseback riding, painting, sculpture, piano, ballet and ballroom dancing, giving speeches, political studies, finance and royal etiquette. All of this was to prep her for her role as a future queen because Queens were responsible for entertaining and impressing diplomats from other countries.

Playing the piano helped relieve some of the stress she was feeling and she raised her head and noticed Paulo walking off with her brother alone and she wondered what they were talking about now.