[h2]Marabella[/h2]

Bella sat out in the garden, in her secret spot, it’s where she had been most of the morning. Her thoughts were on the Gala, the guests, and most of all the suitors. Needless to say, she wasn’t happy about this whole situation one bit. She had even made it clear to her father and sisters how she felt about marrying a complete stranger. Her sisters had agreed with her, but their father gave them no say in the matter. It seemed he had crushed her dream of finding her true love, and it made her heart ache. 

Though she would do this for her father and for the sake of the kingdom, no matter how much she disliked it and how much it hurt. As Bella sat in the garden, she tried to calm herself by singing softly. As she sang, birds flew into the area to listen and sing along, followed by a fox kit who curled up in her lap as its parent sat close by. She pet the kit as she sang and even brought her tail up and curled it around the kit. When she ended her song, she looked down at the fox kit, giving him a weak smile. 

To which he gave a whine, causing her to pull him close to her and give a small sigh. “It’s okay, Basil.” she whispered as she hugged the kit close. She then leaned down and kissed the top of his head. As she straightened back up, her ears twitched as she heard footsteps approaching. There was only one that knew of this spot, her handmaiden. She sighed as she heard the handmaiden’s voice ring out. “Lady Marabella.” she called out to her as she came into view. “I know……. It’s time.” she said sadly, as her ears laid back. 

Bella picked up Basil and hugged him, burying her face in his fur before gently setting him on the ground and giving him a scratch on the head. “I’ll try to make it back some time later.” she told him. She then took her feet and allowed her handmaiden to take her back into the castle to get bathed and ready for the Gala. Once in her room, the servants placed her into a bath and scrubbed her clean. “Come now milady. Don’t look so glum.” one spoke to her. “This is for the good of the kingdom.” they continued. 

Bella knew they were right, but couldn’t bring herself to give a return answer. She was then helped out of the bath, dried off and dressed in a royal purple gown and her hair was put half up. Another came over and placed a red rose in her hair, they had done nothing to hide her ears as she normally did. So, she took it upon herself to pin them down and hide them within her hair. She didn’t want to stand out anymore than she already did with her purple eyes. Once that was done, she was led to the main hall to greet the guest and suitors where she forced a smile upon her lips.