Page 9 of A Royal Promise
“What big words could we put in it?”
“Hmm…” Bri looked around thoughtfully. “I remember part of a speech said they ‘do so solemnly swear.’ Maybe we could use that?”
“I like it.” Drew wrote down what they’d said so far in his best handwriting. His tutor would be proud. He nodded at the paper once he finished. “Now, what age should we say we will marry each other if we’re still single?”
“Thirty should be good. That’s ancient, right?”
“Right,” Drew replied, already writing it down.
“We should also give it an official name. The Marriage Pact.”
“That’s perfect. Now, we need another big word to make it sound extra professional.” Drew tapped his chin with the end of the marker. “Maybe we could use a silly word like forevermore or henceforth.”
“Henceforth it is.” She raised her plastic cup of sweet tea into the air. He mirrored her motion, and they clinked their glasses before downing the refreshment.
Drew wrote the final line and then signed his name at the bottom before passing the marker to Bri. She signed her full name underneath his, and then they read over the agreement together.
We, Andrew Henry Archibald Whitaker and Brielle Margaret Elizabeth Clairmont, do so solemnly swear to marry each other if we are both still single by the age of thirty or if one (or both) of our parents tries to force us into an arranged marriage.
This agreement shall henceforth be referred to as The Marriage Pact.
Signed,
Andrew Henry Archibald Whitaker and Brielle Margaret Elizabeth Clairmont
“It looks very official. You did a good job.” She slung her arm around his shoulder, and his cheeks warmed at the touch.
“Thank you,” he squeaked out. Turning to her, he added, “Should we seal it with a pinky promise?”
Her eyes went wide. “That would make it the most official thingever. We never break a pinky promise.”
Drew extended his pinky toward her. “Then let’s promise each other right here and now that we’ll marry each other under any of those conditions. Or…if we ever actually fall in love.” He added the last sentence with a shrug, trying to look casual despite the pounding of his heart.
“I pinky promise,” Bri said, wrapping her dainty finger around his.
“I pinky promise.”
Bri stood, smoothing the top of her dress and folding the blanket she’d been using. “I should get back to the ballroom before my parents realize I’m missing.”
Drew let her step down the ladder first as he carefully folded the marriage pact and then tucked it into his pocket. When he landed on the grass, he dropped to his knee and slipped Bri’s shoes back on her feet for her.
She smiled down at him, and he hopped up, offering his arm. He escorted her back to the ballroom, and just before she slipped behind the door, Bri popped her head back around. “Drew?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for being my best friend.”
He stepped forward and pulled her in for a hug. “Thanks for being mine,” he whispered.
Drew had recently started giving bear hugs to those he was close to. Everyone thought it was the way he felt the most loved, but only he knew the truth behind those embraces—he wanted a reason to hold Bri in his arms as often as possible.
Without another word, she disappeared behind the door. Drew walked to a nearby bench, where he rested until his parents found him.
“There you are.” His mother pulled him to his feet and wrapped an arm around him. “Are you ready to head home?”
Drew nodded and followed them outside to the car.
They went to bed when they arrived back home two hours later. When he was sure everyone would be asleep, he tiptoed down the hall and into his father’s office, softly closing the door behind him. Drew hurried over to his father’s desk and set the pact down before opening the top drawer. He located the king’s official seal in the secret compartment in the back of the drawerand took it out. He wanted to make this piece of paper as legally binding as possible.
