Tasty crisp bacon hung loosely from my mouth as I mumbled the only thing that came to mind:

“Huh?”

His expression quickly changed to befuddlement, but only for a moment, with his grin returning as he looked me up and down slowly.

“Well, there doesn’t appear to be much up top, so I’m pleased to see your best assets lay elsewhere.” He waved his hand absentmindedly, “Besides, moving forward you expect to be seen and not heard anyway!”

I turned to everyone in the family and screamed, “Caffeine! I need caffeine!”

I turned back to the living, breathing cliché in front of me and jerked my hand away. “Sorry to disappoint, but I have no plans on marrying anytime soon, especially you!”

His mouth dropped open like I had just slapped him in the face. His beautiful blue eyes continued to look me over and I suddenly felt very naked again. I wrapped my arms around my exposed stomach, turned partially away from him and averted my gaze sheepishly before asking,

“Who are you anyway?”

A realization seemed to hit him as he slapped himself on the forehead.

“Of course! Your rejection of myself and my status is born out of pure ignorance!” He bowed slightly in a polite gesture, “I am Prince Chadwick the 127th of the house of Chaddington. First born of Chadwick the 126th, glory be his Name, and heir to the Crown and Kingdom of Monera!”

He stood up straighter than should have been possible, as if reciting that gibberish was the best part of his day. I was also certain he found excuses to say it frequently.

Wait… back up again?

“I’m sorry, so your name is Chad, and you are a ‘Chad’?” I tried hard to stifle my laughter.

He raised an eyebrow in a puzzled expression.

“You can hear me, yes? Understand me?” He looked around to the family questioningly. “Everyone else heard my perfectly enunciated introduction, yes?” He turned back to his entourage of guards, who all vigorously started bobbing their heads and choruses of “Yes! Yes!” started streaming from them. He whirled back to me, still the picture of confusion and I finally lost it. I doubled over and started laughing so hard my sides hurt.

You’re a Chad! Oh, that’s just so perfect!

I wiped tears from my eyes then straightened back up and attempted to collect myself. He obviously expected me to do something to acknowledge how important he was, so the ball was in my court. I had always been terribly socially awkward but, despite being a stuck-up ass, he was still very pretty. I blushed a bit and quickly looked away as I reluctantly offered him my hand in greeting.

“Hi Chad, I’m Amelia,” I said awkwardly.

“It’s Chadwick, my dear lady, Prince Chadwick” he corrected, and that stupid smile returned to his face as he grasped my outstretched hand.

But not to shake it. To kiss it. I jerked it back again in surprise.

Seriously?

His face again shifted to a look of bewilderment, but this time with a hint of anger. He was obviously not used to this type of interaction with someone.

“Now see here, my lady! I am making a concerted effort to put my best foot forward while courting you this fine morning! None of this is required of myself, given the difference in our stations! I am being more than charming! I am downright alluring!”

The heads of the soldiers behind him continued to bob up and down in staunch agreement.

He dramatically closed his eyes and ran his fingers back through his hair as he said, “I know our sudden engagement may be confusing for you as I know I create feelings in others that they themselves don’t understand.”

I rolled my eyes in response.

Wow.

There was no way he had just said that. And with a straight face and everything.

He then snapped his eyes back open, and his tone was again demanding. “Regardless, you will allow me to seal our engagement with a kiss of your hand and parade you about to my kingdom as my wife and you will do so graciously, with a smile on your face and no objections!”

Before I realized what was happening, I had reached out and slapped him hard across his face. My hand went numb from the impact and the right side of his perfect porcelain colored face now had a crimson-colored palm shaped welt appearing on it.

I felt myself being yanked back as a dozen hands and arms pulled me away from the prince and the entire family put themselves between the two of us. Everyone started talking and shouting at once in my defense.

“We’re so sorry your Highness!”

“She’s new to this area!”

“She doesn’t understand our customs!”

“You have just overwhelmed her with your wonderful and magnanimous royal presence!”

Chad just stood there frozen, holding a hand up to his stinging cheek. He was probably experiencing a lot of firsts today. His guards, oddly, hadn’t moved from behind him, despite my assault on the royal pain in my ass.

Finally, Chad started speaking again, but just muttering to himself and pacing back and forth, “I don’t understand. It’s my destiny to be connected with the shooting star! To find out it was a beautiful woman, I knew this destiny must have meant that she is to be mine!” He finally turned back to address me again, “Why do you resist and act this way?”

I said nothing, just stared daggers back at him, while feeling my stomach twist at the same time. Admittedly this interaction was filled with a lot of firsts for me too, and not just because he was a prince. Back home, I didn’t get a lot of boy/girl interactions. I was also very much a “home body” and didn’t make much effort to spend time with people. Speaking with boys was something that made my hands inexplicably sweat and I could never look them in the eye. Instead, I would find some excuse to make the ground extremely interesting.

Especially when they were pretty.

And as much of a “Chad” as he was, he was still obnoxiously pretty.

Despite nearing the end of my teenage year, I had never once been asked by a boy to a party or a dance. I had never held a boy’s hand or been kissed…

And now this man-child had not only held my hand a couple of times already, but he had also attempted to kiss it!

Not only that, but he had claimed, not only were we destined to be together, but that I was his. Like I was a trophy.

Or worse, property.

I shook my head in frustration. Just who did he think he was? Of course, I already knew the answer. He was a prince and next in line for the throne. Probably hadn’t heard the word “no” more than a few times in his life. Still, that was no excuse for his behavior and assumptions on my future.

Edward finally stepped in and said his first words since our initial interaction last night.

“Your Highness, please. The girl is still in shock from her ordeal and the day has just dawned. Let us please get back to our breakfast and make her more presentable to greet you properly at a better time and place?”

Chad seemed to ponder this request before finally making his decision.

“Very well. I will be at the Inn, settling in and awaiting Amelia’s humble apology,” he eyed me for a minute before returning his attention to Edward, “along with her acceptance of our engagement and her destiny as my wife!”

With that he spun on his heel and marched out of the house, slamming the door behind him. Except for me, everyone exhaled a breath they had been holding for Goddess knew how long.

Catherine turned to me, “Are you alright, dear?”

She grasped my hand that had slapped Chad and held my face in the other. She sighed for a moment, “I don’t know what you’re used to where you’re from, but it’s clear we need to explain our culture before you get yourself in any further trouble!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We all sat down again at the kitchen table and eagerly started diving into the feast before us, attempting to push recent events with Chad to the back of our minds. Despite how awkward the morning had been, the excitement in the air was palpable and all of the children had thrown aside any ladylike etiquette and were eating in a hungered frenzy.

After we all got some food in our systems, Catherine started to explain, “Amelia, my dear, before you go any further in this world, there is something you must understand about being a woman here. We have no standing in this land. From your interactions with Prince Chadwick, I would guess you are used to having a voice.” She seemed to smile a bit before adding, “And vigor.”

She stopped for a moment to allow many of the younger girls at the table their giggling, as I was sure they remembered me slapping Chad into next week. Ash was also amused.

I nodded at Catherine’s comment. I guess now was as good a time as any to share a bit of who I was and where I came from. “My mother was a member of my world’s army.” I smiled as her face floated into memory, “She was strong and beautiful. Dad never stood a chance.” I looked at Catherine and Edward and, for the first time, noticed the similarities between them and my parents. Mom had been military her entire life, and instilled in me, not only that I should stand up for myself, but also stand up for others who couldn’t. “I learned from her early on not to take crap from anybody, so I guess you could say I got my backbone from her.”

I glanced down at my left hand while I let the painful memories of Mom surface. It was still a tad fuzzy feeling, like I had slept on it and the blood was finally returning. My eyes then traveled up my hand to my arm, reminding me that I wasn’t my weaker self any longer. My arms were nice and toned, not exactly body builder definition, but I felt I should be able to swing around a sword without much effort.

Catherine smiled, “She sounds wonderful.”

I nodded again, “She was. She passed away in a military operation a few years ago… I miss her every day.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, love.” She reached over and lovingly stroked the head of one of her daughters next to her. “I can’t imagine leaving my babies to fend for themselves at such a young age. I can only begin to guess how hard that must have been for you.”

I inhaled deeply, wanting to move on. I guess I wasn’t as ready as I thought to revisit the past. “But yes, in my world, women struggle there too. Not as much as it sounds like you deal with, but the concept isn’t alien to me.”

Catherine nodded along with my acknowledgement, “Yes, as I was saying, a proposal and betrothal upon first meeting the prince isn’t that outlandish seeming to anyone else in the realm. A woman’s role, after all, is to marry and bear healthy children, presumably sons.” She shrugged helplessly. “It is just the way of things. And the prettier you are,” and she looked me over, “and healthier you look, the more desirable you will be.” She got an embarrassed look on her face, “Forgive me for saying dear, but you look like you could give my childbearing a run for everything it’s worth!”

At this, Edward grinned heavily again, but with a mouthful of food for extra measure. He now looked like a chipmunk that had discovered his prized nut stash during wintertime. Give him credit, the man knew what he had.

I started thinking about being married to Prince Chad and being an item he expected to wait on him hand and foot, only called on when he needed something from me, like cleaning or cooking. I’m sure, as a prince, he had people for those things, but I was sure he’d find an excuse to call on me for wifely duties as well.

Well, the joke was on him. Unless he wanted Pop-tarts every meal, he was in for a surprise. I was a terrible cook.

My mind further wandered, and I started to think of what other wifely duties he would expect from me. I felt my stomach turn and brushed the thoughts away quickly.

“Now our family dynamic is a bit peculiar,” Catherine continued. “As a woman, I face the same evils as most, but my bloodline rarely bears a man an heir, so our fate is rarely better than a concubine’s. A man is openly encouraged to have relations with other women for a son if they decide to pair with a descendant of the Goddess.”

I immediately looked appalled and shot my eyes over to Edward. Catherine caught my glance and quickly came to his defense.

“My Edward is much different!”

She lovingly stroked the side of his face before tweaking his chin good-naturedly.

“Despite his position as my husband, and the pressures he has faced from others to take another woman, he has stayed steadfast.” She looked back over at her girls, Noelle specifically, and added, “if only others could find such a happy fate.” Her eyes were now distant and very sad.

As the father, Edward was their face and representative. Within the family dynamic however, he was well aware of his position. His wife was headstrong and capable sure, but he seemed more than content to support her and his daughters, through hell or high water. Catherine also was more than willing to support Edward’s patriarch position in their family to the public eye. They were a perfect match.

Not that Edward wasn’t capable in his own right.

Despite his wife’s teasing last night, he actually was a very intelligent man, with a head for business. His job was resource management for the town. He kept the books for materials on construction projects or repairs of buildings within the village. This was a role that the Magos family had maintained in Bronzemead for generations, as his father had passed this responsibility on to him. He was also good with his hands, an excellent craftsman.

These factors made him a man of decent standing within Bronzemead. He had used this influence toward courting Catherine, with her consent, and they had then wed. Until the birth of Ash years later, he had no doubt faced pressure from his peers to take another wife.

I then glanced over at the elephant in the room: Ash.

As a male descendent of the Goddess, I could only imagine the weight of expectations on his small shoulders. Did his parents have lofty expectations for him as the only son that could carry on the Magos name? The birth of Ash probably gave Edward a reprieve from his peers, but only if Ash fulfilled his duty and produced heirs of his own. I felt a tinge of sadness for him as he looked up from poking some leftovers on his plate and caught my gaze.

His eyes were also a light blue, like the prince’s. But they were softer and kinder. Looking into them not only gave me butterflies, but also gave me a sense of warmth and calm. They were so welcoming…

I shook my head a bit to break away from my reverie and, getting back on track with the conversation, I asked, “So what are we going to do about Chad? I’m not going to marry him and I’m certainly not going to apologize!”

Catherine grinned, “Yes, what are we going to do about our dear Prince? He’s made quite the impression on you, hasn’t he?” She winked again, almost in approval of my previous actions and added, “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ve made one on him as well!”

Knowing I wasn’t going to be able to put off dealing with Chad for as long as I had hoped, I suddenly lost my appetite.

Taking advantage in the pause in conversation, Ash slowly raised his hand to speak.

“How about we just tell the prince that, as an extension of the Goddess, she has a greater purpose to address takes priority over any normal expectations he’d have for her as his wife.”

He again blushed, possibly at the thought of what happened after wedded bliss began. The idea also floated through my mind of myself and Chad roaming off to some private room in the palace to begin life as his trophy wife and again almost threw up.

Catherine tilted her head, pondering the idea. “Not the worst excuse we could use, and it wouldn’t take too much extra embellishment to make it realistic. But while he may accept any explanation we give him to delay now,” she warned, “he will not leave your side until you are wed or a convincing alternative has presented itself. A man like that, once he sets his mind to it, is not used to being told no.”

I groaned loudly and rolled my eyes skyward. What had the Goddess gotten me into? Why couldn’t I have been satisfied with a gaming character that looked like a hideous troll or a hunchback? And if what Catherine said was true about women and their place in this world, I might be frequently fighting off other potential suitors with a stick.

A devilish smile flashed across my face as I allowed myself the mental imagery of tormenting Chad.

Yes, with a sharp, pointy stick.

Noelle stood, “Well if we aren’t going to be able to avoid Prince Chadwick, we may as well hurry up and get that interaction over with!”

She brushed at invisible crumbs on the front of her dress and made her way over to me.

“Come Amelia, you may not wish to impress the prince, but you will at least be presentable!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I could not have been more uncomfortable.

Walking towards the inn, I tugged at the choker around my neck nervously. Why I would have thought dressing up for the prince would have involved something different than a simple girly dress the girls all wore was hilarious in hindsight.

Noelle had me dress in the largest and longest dress they could find in the house. It felt of a simple cotton blend and was a very pale sunflower yellow, so pale that you could only see the yellow shade in just the right amount of light. It still barely came down to my shins, so Noelle paired it with some of Edward’s clunky brown leather work boots that went just high enough to not leave any of my lower legs exposed.

I had insisted on wearing a belt, so one had been borrowed from Edward. It was one of the few things oversized instead of undersized, so it was still ridiculous looking, but at least the dress was tamed a little. The dress was designed to be loose fitting up top, but I still filled it generously. It was designed with short sleeves, leaving most of my arms still exposed. Underneath, I was wearing one of Catherine’s corsets to attempt to control my ample chest. I still wasn’t used to my new boobs, but the corset just made me more uncomfortable than if I had skipped it.

The only item I was wearing that I liked was the choker they loaned me as an accessory. It was a simple black leather strap with a large onyx fastened at its center. It was truly a nice piece and complemented the rest of my features. Still, it wasn’t something I was used to wearing, so I tugged at it frequently.

Noelle had dressed in a modest maid’s outfit, complete with a head ribbon and apron. I considered it modest because it at least extended past her knees and not just barely past her hips like most sexy French maid outfits I was familiar with for costumes back home. It also lacked a plunging neckline to show off her cleavage. Despite the outfit not showing off excessive skin, she was wearing an under bust corset on the outside, giving her an alluring look regardless.

Like myself and her mother, Noelle also was not lacking in the boob department. She might have even been comparable to me! Being a descendant of the Goddess gave her similar physical perks to myself, but considering what kind of men they attracted, it felt more like a curse.

She was dressed this way, I found out, because she was the head tavern maiden at the inn we were now headed towards. This vocation, on top of the outfit and her nice body, made her very popular with all the men in Bronzemead. How she hadn’t been forced into wedlock yet, I had no idea.

I found out she was 24 years old and each of her siblings was a year younger than each another. Edward and Catherine had been productive when they were younger. Ash was the square middle of nine, which left him at 20, and their youngest, Anya, was 16. Despite the younger ages of the last couple of daughters, the lineage of the Goddess had still blessed them physically, and they didn’t look as young as they actually were.

Again, blessing or a curse, Goddess?

I had told Noelle and Catherine my age as they helped dress me, drawing only skeptical raised eyebrows. It was decided that my body definitely did not belong to a 17-year-old, ironic considering how some of Catherine’s daughters also looked. But I was absolutely not ready to be in my 20’s yet, so 19 it was. Ash was more than a little pleased to hear he got to be older than me, if only by a little.

Thinking of Ash, I glanced over at him in his attire for the day.

He apparently also worked at the tavern but was also outfitted in a similarly styled maid. When asked why, I got a mixture of answers: his sisters and other tavern maidens thought it was adorable, the tavern didn’t have a butler outfit in his size, and the patrons at the bar thought it was hilarious to trick visitors to the town. His fairer features had him fit right in with the other tavern girls.

None of these answers really felt solid, but Ash only mildly complained before going along with it in the beginning. Now, he was used to it. Even when not working, he was frequently forced to cross dress and have his hair styled by his doting siblings.

The girls had loved my canvas of hair and delighted in the task of styling it for my meeting with the prince. My hair had been done up in a thick, over the shoulder braid identical to Noelle’s for the occasion. To complete his look, Ash also had an identical braid, courtesy of the younger sisters.

“It’s great extra practice for them!” Catherine had said.

Noelle and Ash accompanied me to the town square and the combined inn and tavern at its heart. The square had a nice fountain at its center, with a ring of various buildings and shops encircling it. At what could only have been called the head of the circle was our destination: the dual-purpose building, “Every Man’s Wish.” With Noelle working as one of the prominent tavern girls there, it felt appropriately named.

It was a large wooden building that looked worn and had seen better days. There were a few windows up the front of the building, but other than that it was non-descript. It wasn’t even painted! Still, it somehow invoked a comforting feeling when you looked at it.

As we approached the Wish, Noelle and Ash paused and looked to me. I exhaled as heavily as the corset would allow and then nodded.

“Ready.”

We started walking towards the doorway and, right when I put my hand on the door to pull it open, a crash and a commotion was heard inside, followed by Chad’s loud voice.

“I saw her first! She’s mine!”