Destined Love by Marline (i can read book club txt) 📕

“Apparently we cannot communicate which each other so I suggest we let our children do the peace talks instead.”
“Our children

? Are you out of your mind? What do they

know about politics?”
“I have taught my daughter enough about politics to be able to have a peace talk. I trust you have done the same with your son.”
“Of course I have taught my son about politics. Fine, we will meet each other next week, next to the River Lianna around midday.”
“All right, we will be there.”
Messengers had been riding back and forth the whole day carrying letters from one king to the other. But at last the two kings had reached an agreement. I was to do the peace talks.
I had heard of King Luperd’s son. He was arrogant, selfish, unmannered but extremely good-looking. I did not look forewords to meeting him. Without even asking me, my father had proposed to let me do the talking. He was right about the fact that I was able to do it but I wasn’t sure if I could talk to this annoying young man. At that moment my father came in the room.
“Cleo, we need to discuss the art of having a peace talk.” I sighed. We had gone over this already during my lessons in ‘How To Be A Good Queen.’ But I understood why we needed to cover it again so I followed my father into his study and listened to his lecture. I had always found my father’s study a solemn place. It had a big wooden desk in the middle and rows of bookshelves along the sides. There was a large window with boring gray curtains and outside I could see the garden which was nudging me invitingly with every blow of wind I could see going through the trees. The books all looked boring and dull but my father cherished them and cared for them as if they were his children. It was no surprise that my mind was somewhere else when we were going over the peace talks. I was wondering about Durwald, King Luperd’s son. Was he really as good looking as people said he was? Apparently he had seduced many girls, and he was said to be a born player. But I wasn’t worried, however hard he tried, he would not

be able to seduce me. I hoped.
“Cleopatra, are you listening to anything I’m saying?” I suddenly heard my father’s booming voice.
“Sorry father, I was thinking about the peace talks.”
“Hmm. Well, to have a good peace talk you should..” And my father was off again, teaching me everything he knew about peace talks.
The week flew past, I had lessons in ‘how to have a good peace talk’ everyday and by the end of the week, I was even dreaming about it. I knew my father’s study inside out and, out of boredom I had counted the number of books on the bookshelves more than once. I had also memorized the pattern of the carpet and knew exactly when the guards outside changed shifts. I had been seriously bored. The day before the dreaded peace talk I decided to go riding. I had had enough of the stuffy study and the palace where everybody seemed nervous and jittery. I needed some freedom. My father warned me not to go too far because the enemy wasn’t very far away. I obediently said yes, and walked towards the stables. The hallway was long and one side of it was completely made out of glass. My shoes clicked on the marbled floors and I knew that if I started running, people would hear me and scold me, because I wasn’t allowed to run inside. But I did it anyways, I was too tempted to go outside. When I arrived, surprisingly without being caught, my horse, Starfright, was there waiting for me. He looked up and whined. I walked over to him and he nuzzled his head against my pocket, as if he knew I had a treat for him. I laughed.
“You smart horse. Yes, yes, I have a treat for you.” I got out an apple and gave it to him. He ate it delighted and I pet his dark black coat. Afterwards I started saddling him. When I was done, I got on my horse and was off. After sitting in the palace the whole week, it was great to feel the wind rush through my hair. I was happy that there was a forest attached to the palace and I hoped I didn’t meet anyone I knew because the clothes I was wearing weren’t exactly presentable. I walked slowly through the open forest. The soggy leaves under my horse’s legs muffled the sound of it walking and I felt completely at peace. I came to a big open field and noticed that the grass looked green and healthy. It had rained a lot the past few days and I had not had the possibility to go outside. I kicked Starfright softly and he immediately responded. I raced over the field, enjoying every moment of it. I did not hear the horse hooves which were right behind me until I slowed down. I held in the reigns and looked around. My breath stopped in my throat and my head started spinning because behind me I saw the most handsome boy I had ever seen. He was sitting on a shiny black mare and looked like he was born on horseback. He was wearing a shirt without sleeves and dirty shorts. He had dark blond hair, was tanned and had beautiful brown eyes. Because his shirt had no sleeves, I saw that he had strong, muscular arms. He was perfect.
“You ride well.” He complemented me. I could barely speak and if I didn’t have as much experience in horse riding as I did, I would have surely fallen off. But I managed to say “Thanks” and at the same time I sure didn’t have to worry about being seduced by Durwald anymore because I was already completely, head over heels in love with this perfect being.
“You want to race?” He asked me playfully.
“Sure.” I answered.
“Ok, until that tree over there.” He pointed in the distance to a big oak tree with huge branches. I nodded, spurred my horse on and off we went. I think we arrived around the same time, I wasn’t sure, I had been observing him throughout the whole race and actually, I just didn’t care. Because I would allow this person to beat me anytime.
Suddenly I reminded myself of the fact that I was a princess. I was immediately sure that I did not want him to know this. If he asked for my name I would say it was Cleo. Only my parents and my friends called me that.
I looked over at the boy next to me and he was grinning naughtily.
“I won!”
“That’s unfair, my horse was already tired!” I defended myself and the horse.
He laughed. “Yeah, right.”
I smiled admittedly. “All right, you won.”
“I’m Nathan.” The boy suddenly introduced himself.
“I’m Cleo.” I answered, happy that I had been smart enough to be prepared and not say my full name. I hoped he wasn’t suspicious.
“Do you live here?” He asked.
“Yes. Do you?”
“No, I’m here to visit my grandfather.”
By now we had both told our horses to walk and we were going back towards the forest.
“So, where did you learn to ride so well?” He asked me.
“I don’t actually know. I’ve been riding since I can remember. How about you?”
“Same.” He said, grinning.
“So where do you live if you don’t live here?” I asked.
“I live in Tokito. I understand that there will be peace talks between Tokito and Dardoland tomorrow.”
“Yes. I hope they will not declare war on each other.” I pretended not to know anything about the peace talks. But actually it was up to me if they declared war on each other or not.
“I trust our prince will do a very good job in keeping the peace. As long as Princess Cleopatra doesn’t cause any trouble, everything will go fine.”
“Why do you think Cleopatra will cause any trouble?” I shot at him.
“She seems like such a stuck up person.”
“Well, I haven’t heard too many good things about Durwald either.” I defended Cleopatra, myself.
“Like?” He pulled up an eyebrow.
“I’ve heard he’s seduced practically every girl in his school and that he has cheated on half of them as well.”
“That’s a rumor.” Nathan said, sounding extremely sure of himself.
“You shouldn’t judge Cleopatra before you’ve even met her.”
“Have you met her?” He asked me. Up till now I had not lied to him. I decided that this was not a good time to start.
“Yes, actually, I have.” I answered him in a tone as if I wanted to say: “hah, in your face!” I noticed that I was getting worked up and decided that this was a good time to go home.
“I have to go now.” I said. I had to admit, I desperately wanted to see him again. I didn’t want to sound too desperate though, and therefore did not ask if we could meet a second time.
“Goodbye.” He said.
I turned my horse around and trotted through the forest towards my house. I had to force myself not to look back at him.
When I arrived at the palace, the servant was waiting to take my horse. “Your father is waiting for you.” He said to me. I could guess that my father wasn’t too happy. I rushed up to my father’s study and knocked on the door. Anxious I waited for his reply. When he replied I opened the door and found that my feeling had been right.
“Cleopatra, where have you been? Do you know what time it is?”
“I met somebody in the forest. We just talked a little.” I defended myself.
“You talked to a stranger?” My father roared. I knew I wasn’t supposed to and looked down. I wasn’t going to say I was sorry because that would be a lie.
“Eat your supper and go to bed.” My father was furious. “It’s a day before the peace talks! What goes on in your mind?” I didn’t say anything.
“Dismissed.” I walked towards the kitchen where my food stood, ate and went up to my room. There, I took out my diary and wrote about what had happened. I didn’t even know a person like Nathan existed! He was so absolutely perfect. Well, except for the fact that he thought I was a stuck up snob. I decided to go to sleep because the next day I would need all the patience I could get.

I woke up and looked out the window. It was a beautiful day. Too beautiful for the big task that stood before me. I went downstairs, ate breakfast and was then told to go to my father’s study. He then went through the whole process about having a peace talk once more. I wanted to tell him that I already knew the whole process by heart but decided that I better let him speak, especially after last night. My father concluded with: “Go get dressed.”
I went upstairs and fell down on the bed.
Suddenly a servant knocked on the door.
“Yes.” I told her to come in. She walked towards my cupboard and got out one