Bel walked out of her room dressed for breakfast. She had woken up a little too early and had spent a few hours rolling in bed and never going back to sleep.
She held back a yawn as the guards bowed to her. She walked past them and headed for the stairs, her destination was the dining room.
She would have liked to sit this one out as she had done yesterday, but a guard had relayed her father's words, and he had given strict orders that she join them in the dining room.
Should she decline, he would take it to mean she had no intention of eating for the rest of the day. Now he was threatening her with food? What lengths would these people not go to convince her she was in the wrong?
How did the situation get so out of control and out of her hands? It was starting to look like her only option was to give in, and she hated it. Hated that she was put in such a tight spot, hated that her mind was starting to consider what if she married him.