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

I lay down on my bed and cried myself to sleep.

I had to stand in front of the palace and wave goodbye to the most annoying, arrogant, irritating boy I had ever met. I decided to see it as a big accomplishment if I managed to do this with a smile on my face. It had been bad enough for me to have to curtsy towards him. His facial expression told me that he was still furious and we did not say more to each other than was strictly needed. When they were out of sight I walked to my room. I took out a writing block and a pen and decided to write to my best friend, Lila who had been out of town for the past two months, visiting her cousins. It was school holidays anyways so it did not matter that she was out of town. But right now I desperately needed a friend to write to.
Dearest Lila,
I told you that Prince Durwald was coming to discuss peace, didn’t I? Well, he came, we talked and he went. My conclusion: He’s unbearable. I think people are right, what they say about Durwald having dated all the girls in the school and cheating on half of them. I would not be surprised. And I’m also not surprised that all the girls fell for him. He is the most handsome, good looking boy I have ever seen! That’s probably why he’s so arrogant as well. How have your days been? You better come back soon, I’m missing you!
Lot’s of Love,
Cleopatra

I put the letter in an envelope, sealed it and gave it to one of the maids. I then decided to go out riding. I hadn’t ridden for the past few days and had really missed it; usually I went out riding every day.

When I came back from my ride I was surprised to find my father, waiting for me. He stood up as soon as I entered the palace.
“Cleopatra, Tokitian troops are marching into Dardoland. How is this possible? I thought there would be peace between us!” My father boomed.
“According to the peace treaty, Tokitian troops have the right to be in the country. As long as Tokito is not expanding their army.”
“Why did you agree to that?” My father was furious. “Now Tokito can attack any time and we will not be able to fight back.”
“We can send troops to Tokito, father.” I said softly.
“We need our troops to protect our other borders! The Tokitian army was bigger than ours even before the peace treaty!” I had been trapped. I had agreed that the Tokitian troops would be allowed to be here and that neither of us would expand our armies. But I had not known that the Tokitian army would be bigger than ours in the first place.
“Oh no.” I whispered softly. “He trapped me.”
“Yes, he did! And you were stupid enough to let yourself be trapped!” My father marched out of the room. I was stunned. How had I not seen this coming? I was right about Durwald after all. I had doubted my decision about him the past few days but now I was sure that I had been right. All he had wanted was to make me agree to the Peace Treaty and he had succeeded. Luckily I could say that he had not used his charms to make me agree. No, I suddenly realized, I was stupid enough by myself to agree to it. He hadn’t even needed to seduce me.

I was extremely frustrated, with Durwald, his father, my father, but most of all with me. I spent the rest of the day pacing around the room wondering what I could do. I hated the thought that he had outsmarted me. Suddenly I heard a knock on the door. I went to open it myself. It was the prime-minister.
“Cleopatra,” He said with a serious expression on his face. “I think it is better if you go away for a while. Your father does not wish to see you.”
“What?” I asked shocked. “I do not believe you.” I wanted to walk around him towards my father.
“No Cleopatra, you will not go to see your father. You will pack your things and go to Torntown for a month.” I looked at him, saw in his eyes that he was amused at my reaction. I was furious. Who did he think he was? My mother would tell me this if my father really did not want to see me.
“I don’t believe you.” I repeated.
“I don’t care. Your things are already packed and your carriage is ready. Go now.”
“I will not go without saying goodbye to my parents.”
“We’ll see about that.” He said and pushed me out of the room. Two guards grabbed me. I wanted to scream but could not because they had my mouth covered. Was I being kidnapped by the prime-minister? I wondered. I was pushed into the carriage and the driver rode off. The prime minister went inside with an evil smile on his face. At that moment I was sure I was being kidnapped.

We rode the whole day and the whole day I was begging the driver to let me out. We stopped at a restaurant so that I could use the restroom and get something to drink. I decided that this was my perfect escape plan. If the bathroom had a window. I walked towards the bathroom, hoping, praying that it did have a window. When I entered the bathroom I was flooded by a wave of disappointment. The only window there was too small to exit. Suddenly I realized that I had been smart enough to take my make-up case from the carriage. I had told the driver that a princess always needed to look her best. I took the lipstick out of the case and climbed on the toilet seat.
“HELP ME! I’M BEING KIDNAPPED BY THE PRIME MINISTER. PRINCESS CLEOPATRA.” I wondered if anybody would believe me but at least it was a cry for help. I opened the bathroom expectantly; maybe the driver was too far away to see me. But he was standing right outside the door. He gave me an icy cold glare and then pushed me back towards the carriage. It felt horrible to be back in the carriage, bumping up and down, only being able to stare at the unknown. There was no landmark that I recognized and the driver didn’t say a word. I sat there for another three hours, looking out the window, wondering where we were going. And for the first time that day I felt hopeless. Tears spilled down my cheeks. I did not want to cry, I wanted to be brave so that I would be able to face being somewhere without anybody I knew and with no idea what would happen in my future. I sighed.

It was already dark when the carriage finally stopped. I wondered if I could escape if I opened the door now and ran for it but a man was already walking towards the door to open it. He helped me out and pushed me towards a boat. What were they going to do, bring me to some deserted island? I had not expected that they were actually going to do that. The boat ride was not long and without anything other than my suitcases I was left on the island. From what I could see in the dark, the island had some palm trees and some dense bush. It looked terrifying. I wondered if there were any other people on the island but after a quick walk around, I came to the conclusion that there weren’t. I was completely alone. I opened my suitcases to see what was inside. To my surprise they were filled with canned goods. There were also matches so I could start a fire. There was even a pan! This wouldn’t be so bad, I concluded, it would be just like on a camping trip. Except for the fact that I always knew how long a camping trip took and I had no idea how long this would take. I looked around for some dry branches and leaves, found some and started a fire. I was surprised how good it went. I placed some stones around the fire and rested the pan on top. With a can opener (which was also in the bag) I opened one of the cans and emptied the contents into the pan. Before long it was warm and I took a bite. At that point I realized that I had no water. The sea around me was undrinkable, even though it looked inviting. I finished my food and decided to look around. I took a few steps but then thought of all the dangerous animals there could possibly be. I changed my mind and lay down on the sand. I did not know if I should keep the fire going or not. If I did leave it on, animals might be scared to go near. But what if animals actually enjoyed the warmth? I had no idea what to do but didn’t have very long to think about it because I fell into a troubled sleep.

I woke up with a crow next to my head. I had no idea where I was, was completely disoriented but had an uneasy feeling. I sat up and looked around. I saw a sea stretch out for miles ahead of me. The sun was coming up and its rays were reflecting on the water. It was an absolutely beautiful sight. I would have enjoyed it if I had felt safer. I turned my head and looked at the dense bush behind me. My mouth was dry and my lips were cracked. I wondered if there was any fresh water there. I decided I would need to find out someday and stood up. A waterfall of sand fell from my hair and my dress. Slowly I walked towards the edge of the jungle. I was scared of seeing wild animals. I suddenly realized that there was a possibility that I might get killed in the next few weeks. I decided not to think about it and pushed it to the back of my mind. I took a few steps, pushing branches and leaves out of the way, looking at the muddy floor if there was any signs of snakes, spiders or any other creatures. I blindly pushed a way deeper and deeper into the jungle. Then I touched something that did not feel like a branch. I screamed when I looked up and saw what it was. A big, fat snake was lying on a branch, looking down at me as if he enjoyed seeing my reaction. Then it got up lazily and looked like it was going to bite me. I don’t remember having ever run so fast in my life. I ran until I could run no more but still did not want to slow down. Was it behind me? Where there more animals like that here? The only good thing about the encounter with the snake was that I could now hear running water. I did not know the way back, did not know how deep I was in the rainforest. I decided to walk towards the water. It was a small stream that, as far as I could see from here, led to a small lake. I put the tip of my finger in the water and tasted it. Good, it was sweet. But was it drinkable? Would I die of water poisoning or something? I did not care that I was making up