Carousel

"I thought you were coming tomorrow," the man said.

My heart pounded faster, and I temporarily lost the ability to speak.

"I... who...?"

"Princess Karina? Getting here was fine, right?"

"Who... who are you?"

He stared down at me, puzzled. "Of course, you know why you're here. Didn't your parents tell you?"

"My parents? They didn't tell me anything..."

"Surely they did, or you wouldn't be here. And you were supposed to come with your tutor. She was going to deliver the message for your parents, was she not?"

"She didn't tell me anything," I said in a small voice. "Well... she told me that my parents had something to tell me, but I didn't believe her because she always uses that excuse to get to to go to lessons."

He sighed exasperatedly and shook his head. "You should have listened."

"I'm sorry... I guess I should be going back home, then," I said, ashamed. I started getting up but the man waved me back down again. I was not used to taking orders from people, but I obeyed, intimidated by this man.

"No no, your highness. You can stay, I will send a message to your parents that you have arrived here safely."

"But... why am I here?"

He sighed once more. "I will explain. You are here for an arranged marriage, to my son." He pointed to the portrait of the boy. "I have planned it with your parents and we came to an agreement that you should get married to Anthony, my son, of course. We thought that you would get along well with him, along with your future sister-in-law, Paige. You are to stay for twenty days to befriend them."

The thought of arranged marriage didn't take me as much of a surprise. I was a princess, and at seventeen years old, I was expected to get married in the next few years. My parents had been through it, and my grandparents. It was nothing new to me. But I was still confused.

"But where am I?"

"You are in New York City, a place far away from your kingdom," he answered.

"I don't know where that is. And, if I am to be married to your son, are you of royalty? You must be, I am sorry for not showing the proper respect, Your Majesty," I said, afraid that he put me down as disrespectful.

"I am not of royalty, and you may address me as Mr. Parks. The reason you were arranged to be married to my son is because of a lack of royalty in your world. I own a large corporation, and together with your family we can start an even larger business."

"I still don't understand how I got here, Mr. Parks." As confusing as this situation was, I was starting to understand it a bit.

"I don't understand it either. I had this carousel built for Paige, as she loves horses, and when she used it, she was transported into your kingdom, by a lake, if I remember correctly."

At that moment, the two dark-haired siblings walked into the room.

"She's here already?" asked the tall boy. I assumed that this was Anthony - he was the one in the portrait.

"Yes, she seemed to have arrived early," his father answered.

Paige, the girl, was standing quietly in the background, observing me. She was the type to stand in the background, a listener, while her brother was the center of attention with his beautiful smiles.

Anthony smiled at me, completely relaxed even in the presence of a princess. Maybe that was the way things were around here.

"Welcome, Karina, it's nice to meet you," he said. I couldn't tell if he was being sincere or not.

I looked up into his light gray eyes, wondering if I could trust him.