My Fiancée Hates Me

It was finally the third day of the festival.

"Cut!"

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked the screenwriter.

"...Lady Arielle, do you not notice where your hands are?"

I looked up above me and saw that my hands were both on the male lead's mouth.

This was the scene where the cursed Princess would receive a kiss from the lips of her Prince to break the spell. This was the second to last scene where I would have to appear apart from the wedding scene. I had messed up this scene at least twenty times because I did not want to kiss the male lead.

I quickly removed my hands.

"I am very sorry...I keep on subconsciously blocking his lips," I said as I lowered my head slightly.

"We were the ones in need of your help," the screenwriter said.

I was playing the role of the Princess. The original actress had fell off the stage during the rehearsal and was deemed unable to continue by her doctor.

I thought it was a shame since I loved the show on the first day. The lines were rather so simple that I happened to remember all of the lines. Unfortunately, that brought this situation upon myself. "Just think of me as your lover when we do the scene," the male lead said.

I have not even done such an intimate scene with my lover yet.

Garett accompanied me through the rehearsals. He seemed to be rather in touch with the script from how his eyes never left the pages.

I had changed into a long dark rose colored dress and had my makeup and hair braided prettily with small white flowers, but he has yet to say anything. I am not even sure if he has seen me in this outfit yet since we started.

Suddenly, Prince Erik appeared.

"Sorry, I am late," Prince Erik said.

"What is Prince Erik here for?" I asked the male lead.

"...I am actually the sub-lead. His Highness is the real lead of this play. I filled in for the first day because His Highness was busy that day."

Wait...what?

"Am I to do this play with him?" I asked as I grabbed the male sub-lead's collar. "Does this include all of the action scenes and the kiss scene?"

"Y-Yes...I thought you were aware," he replied.

"...I quit," I said as I pulled the crown off my head.

"Please do not say that!" the male sub-lead said as he grabbed my shoulders.

"I refuse!" I said once more.

"...Do you really hate me that much?" Prince Erik asked.

"As I said before, I would like to avoid misunderstandings..."

"It's fine, Arielle," Garett said with a smile. I was slightly taken aback by how professional it seemed. He was back to his Librarian smile days. Garett suddenly wrapped his arm around my waist. He never shows public affection like this. "You can share your romantic scenes with His Highness."

Is it really alright to act this bold in front of His Highness?

Actually, this is the first interaction that I have seen between the two of them since my jump to the past...They are really quite similar when put in the same room.

What am I doing?

I am marveling at the fact that these cousins are finally interacting with each other rather than be worried about my former fiancé and my current lover talking to each other.... "...Um, Garett?"

"...I will forgive any sweet nothings that you say to each other...as long as you repeat them all when we are alone," Garett whispered in my ears before letting me go.

My ears were my sensitive point. I felt my body shiver slightly from the slight brush of warm air over my ears.

Was this his way of showing jealousy, marking his territory, or both?

"...How wonderful it is to be her first man then," Prince Erik said.

Come again?

"It is all about being her last that determines if you were meant to be a stepping stone for something better," Garett said curtly.

G-Garett...

"The dream of every young lady is to marry a Prince. An attainable dream is always better than second best," Prince Erik said with the brightest smile I had ever seen before.

"That is wrong...Every young girl's dream is to become a princess. The dream of a woman is to become Queen with or without a husband. If you can only boast about your pedigree, does that not mean that you fail in all other aspects as a man and as a person?" Garett asked.

I could only smile bitterly from the awkward situation.

The play was going under its well quite well despite there one being one rehearsal with the actual male lead.

The first scene had me change into a light blue ball gown dress with my hair tied high up into a ponytail and dance with Prince Erik who only goes by the name of Prince in the story.

"...My fiancée dances well," Prince Erik whispered.

"...I do not deserve your praise, Your Highness," I said in a cold tone. "As your former fiancée, I should be able to do this much."

"My fiancée hates me for much some reason...Could I ask why?" Prince Erik asked.

"Do you go up to all of the people that hate you and ask them why they feel that way towards you, Your Highness?" I asked.

"Only the really pretty ones..."

Our dance ended there and we parted from each other. Princess Aura is to run away afterwards. She is caught by the Prince just outside the ball.

The curse placed on the Princess makes her fall into deep sleep one hour past midnight until six in the evening. Her parents had been very strict of her and had not allowed her to leave her room out of worry that she would hurt herself. The Princess wanted to experience the ball her siblings enjoyed one night while her parents' vision on her were light on today of all days.

"...When can I see you again?" [Prince]

"This will be the first and last time, Kind Sir. I must be going home now." [Princess Aura]

"Why make it our last? I believe it was fate that intertwined us today." [Prince]

Prince Erik was supposed to hug me right after saying that.

Instead, I kicked his shin and made him fall to his knees on reflex when he came close to me.

The audience was rather shocked at my improv. I was too...I just wanted to avoid a scene where we would hug. I did not mean to kick him in the shin.

"...I only came for a night out. You must not get involved with a dangerous woman like me. You might just get cursed." [Princess Aura]

"I am a Prince. There is no kind of danger that I cannot handle." [Prince]

"Get me the ingredients I require..." [Princess Aura]

Princess Aura did not believe in true love. She believed that she would have better chances at breaking the curse off on her own through potions. However, her curse prevented her from gathering ingredients herself. She would ask the Prince to fetch her ingredients thinking that he would use his people at his disposal. What Prince really did was retrieve all of the materials himself no matter if it meant that he would have to fight off packs of wolves or monsters in the forest.

Princess Aura would remain unknown to the situation since Prince would always return to her unharmed at the same time and tell her various stories from his adventures. She eventually grew fond of him as well but was unaware of what to call what that feeling was.

One day, Prince came back with serious injuries and did not come at the arranged meeting time.

Princess Aura decided to go around the castle the next day and was informed that Prince was gravely injured from trying to get the last ingredient to her potion by himself. From the servants, she learned that all of Prince's ventures were done by himself and that all of his injuries were hidden well underneath his clothes.

Princess Aura then visits Prince's sickbed.

"...How could you enter such perilous areas without your guards or any worry for your safety? You could have any woman in this kingdom, yet you choose a woman who is unable to witness the sun. There is no bigger buffoon than you." [Princess Aura]

I suddenly stopped. The next words I was supposed to say were: 'I do not like you...I love you. If I were to benefit from your pain, I would rather sleep forever'.

I cannot say that I love him to Prince Erik.

The audience soon became worried.

Even if this is a play, I cannot say it. If I do, it will no longer be an act anymore...

My tears naturally fell from my eyes.

"...If I were to benefit from your pain, I would rather sleep forever...There is no meaning to seeing the sun without you underneath it with me. This curse of mine is only mine to bear alone...I am sorry for everything, my dear Prince. I hope that you will forget about me and fall in love with someone new." [Princess Aura]

That is my deepest wish...

I exited the scene to get my makeup touched up and prepare for the next scene.

Princess Aura is then to release the hand of her injured Prince and returns to the castle in order to inform them to stop Prince from ever seeing her again as she chooses to sleep forever and let the curse kill her in her sleep.

The Prince wakes up from his deep sleep in three days to find Princess Aura. He was stopped at the front gates by her trusted Knights. Prince would then fight against the Knights and go up into Princess Auras room where he would give the kiss that would break the spell.

It seems that Garett argued on my behalf behind the scenes to change the scene where I would get kissed into the scene where I would just receive the potion that would break my spell.

Thank you, Garett...

I wonder if it is okay to change the script even more so after so many things were already changed...Princess Aura was supposed to be a lovely selfish girl. She changed into someone with a strong personality and a person with a guilty heart.00000000000