HIDDEN MYSTERY

FREYA Pov

All my life, I've been running, trying to escape the life that was my fate. A life that was stifling as much as it was demanding.

Full of rules and regulations, I probably never understood or bothered to understand.

I'm the princess of Pretoria, can you believe it? Most days, I scoff and shrug it off as though it is merely in my thoughts.

My parents died when I was just ten years old, and from then on, I decided that I wanted nothing to do with the throne that killed my parents.

I grew up with my grandfather, the King - a strict, no-nonsense ruler who dedicated his life to controlling my life.

I feared him and trusted him because, despite everything, he was my only remaining true family member. And he always said that whatever he did was to protect and prepare me, not harm me.

Whatever that even meant.

They say women of our lineage can do magic, and I won't lie. I experienced my fair share of it as a child, but I stopped practicing after I lost my parents.

I haven't practiced magic in over twenty-something years, and my grandfather still doesn't know I had it.

However, on my eighteenth birthday, just when I thought my life would never get better, my grandfather walked into my room with the best news ever.

"You're going to America. You will attend college in a different city." He said in that thick, bearded accent that was only native to Pretorian citizens.

"Really?" My face lit up unexpectedly. His face screwed up in a frown, and I realized that I was supposed to be sad about it.

"Oh no!" I declared. "That's so sad." My expression faltered into my best pretendful frown.

"Yes. For a second, I thought you were happy about it," he gruffed.

"Not at all, grandfather. I am extremely sad about it. I just... I will miss you so much. These walls, this Palace, my best friends."

"Would you like to delay your trip a few more days?" His eyes lit up.

"No!" I yelled, clearly giving myself away, and my grandfather cocked his eyebrows at me in awe.

"I...I wouldn't want to be late for, um, school activities. It could be bad for my grades. Which school is it?" I asked.

"New York State University," he replied, and I felt a smile creep up my face.

That was my dream university. I knew every single thing there was to know about NYU, and it didn't even matter to me that I had not applied and he had used his connections to get me in.

All that mattered to me in that moment was that I was leaving the place I had been caged in for many years.

"That's a good school."

I pouted because a great part of me said he was not buying my sadness, and so, he sighed.

"Hmm! I see." He murmured and got off my bed, leaving a deep hole in the space his large body had sunk into.

"I'll have your head maid start packing your things." He said in a firm tone and turned to leave.

As soon as the door shut behind him, I let out a deep sigh of relief, but the door shot open again, and he stared at me as though he had forgotten to say something.

But changed his mind and closed the door again.

Suddenly, I felt guilty. The pain in his eyes reminded me of a lion losing its pride. I knew that my grandfather had given himself to loving and caring for me, even though I did not quite agree with his methods, I knew he loved me.

My nanny had walked into my bedroom later that day with a smile on her face and whispered to me, "He knows. He doesn't want to let you go." She muttered when I told her how well I had acted.

"He loves you. But college would be a much safer place for you," She had advised.

I couldn't disagree with her then, and not now, after several years had passed and my life had turned out great.

New York State University was everything I hoped it would be. It was even more, and the few years I spent there had brought me so much bliss and normality. I was extremely sad when it was over.

However, I was grateful for the memories. In my time there, I found a best friend in my roommate, Linda, and reconnected with my childhood crush, George Sinclair.

George is still a very handsome man, and he hasn't changed a bit since university. My roommate, Linda, is still my best friend, and I love her.

Meanwhile, George and I got married, despite my grandfather's opposition, as he had reservations about George being in my life.

"He is not the right person for you, Freya! "You are a princess!" He yelled over the phone six months ago, on the night I called to announce our engagement.

"But he does not know that! He is a normal person who loves me for who I am," I responded.

"But you are not a normal person, Freya!" He thundered angrily, and it hit me - a stony reminder of the person I was trying so hard not to be.

The girl whose life was expected so much of her. For many years, I had struggled, locked behind the Palace walls for safety from a danger I was certain did not even exist.

Nobody knew I had magic, and there was no one against me. Years had passed since the last war. But my grandfather was more keen on putting the weight of ruling the kingdom on me, so he did not care about my ambitions or desires.

I didn't want to rule.

And so, in my newly found defiance, I replied coldly, "You can't control me anymore, grandpa."

That was it, that was the moment I silenced my grandfather.

Silence hummed over the phone before he finally spoke again, "You must observe the Pretoria customary marriage procedures. No consummation of your marriage until after one year."

"Fine, I'll do it." I was so certain that George loved me enough, and it would not be a problem.

We got married, and just like I suspected, he agreed to wait for me until after one year.

But maybe I was asking for too much.