How could he do this to me? Calisandra thought. She didn’t want to get married, well, at least not yet. She had so much to do; so much to see. She was never allowed to leave the palace gates, never allowed to go explore what was outside the gardens. She didn’t even know what was out there. She wanted desperately to find out. But to be married? And to a stranger? She didn’t know.

Stop fooling yourself, you want this stranger.......

Calisandra almost blushed in front of everyone. She did want this man who had been brought into her home, her life. One look at him, though slightly bruised and battered, was all it took to make Calisandra long for things that were never hers. Things like love....

Calisandra never had experienced love before. Not from her father, not from her nanny, not from anyone. A princess never needed love; but Calisandra did. Her mother died having her. She always thought that perhaps if her mother never died, then her father would have learned to love his only heir. Calisandra had been told that she was her mother’s twin; but Calisandra doubted them. She had seen her mother’s picture hanging up in the gallery and her mother was beautiful; she looked nothing like her mother. Her mother had held grace, charm, and dignity all in her stature. That was what she saw in the picture and that wasn’t Calisandra. Calisandra always got into mischief, climbing trees, feeding ducks in the ponds, skipping her lessons.....the list was endless. Things a proper princess would never do, but who ever said Calisandra wanted to be a princess. The problem was that she was a princess and nothing could change that. Princess Calisandra Seralina Noella Inawa. Who had thought up her name, she didn’t know. It was one long burden along with everything else in her life. Living the strict life of a princess, getting married, carrying on the line....All that was her duty, her responsibility. And she didn’t want it.

Ah, but the humor in all this was that this man, the one who was reclining like a tiger ready to pounce on their cushions, made her want these things.

Calisandra had gazed upon him while he was sleeping, silently cursing her father and his men for bringing him into her miserable life. For bringing him here to remind her of all that that would never be available to her.

He was so tall and lean. Not an overly muscular type, but when she was feeling for any broken bones, Calisandra could feel the muscles in his arms, legs and chest; speaking of their strength and hardness. Telling her about their master. This man reminded her of a fallen angel with all his black hair tumbled around his face like dark silk. It made her itch to touch it, to feel its texture; see if it really felt as soft as it looked. But she hadn’t, he had then decided to wake up and open his eyes. Oh, what beautiful eyes he had. They were as black as his hair and were shrouded by heavy dark lashes, that would make any girl livid with jealously. Every girl would be jealous of the one who would finally bring this angel down to earth. His mouth was finely sculpted; thin on the top, full and sensual on the bottom. His cheekbones were sharp, making his eyes stand out more. His whole face looked like it had been carved out of granite; nose, mouth, jaw, everything. He was beautiful.

His eyes held secrets, dangers, and hungers that an innocent like her would never dream about. They also held pain. For a brief second, just after he had awoken, Calisandra had been able to see his soul. He had been so disoriented and lost for that brief moment that he hadn’t thought of hiding his emotions from her. Calisandra had seen that raw emotion sketched deep in those eyes. Had felt them watching her, taunting her, begging her......And if Calisandra didn’t watch herself, she knew she could easily want to help him. Help him ease that pain that she had seen, help him let go. No, she could never lower her defenses, it wasn’t her choice

Taking a deep breath, Calisandra stood firm in front of her father. "No, I will not marry him."

Damon didn’t know if the girl was brave or just plain stupid. She was such a little thing compared to her father’s apparent iron will and strength. He saw the man’s eyes widen slightly before narrowing to two thin slits. He stood up and waved away the guards who were about to move forward.

That evil smile was again being displayed across his lips, "My dear girl, what a pity you never learned. Its not up to you to decide who you will be marrying. Its mine. I am your guardian and more importantly your father. What I say goes. You will marry this man with or without your approval..."

Damon would have jumped up from where he was if he had the strength to move. No one was going to make decisions about his future. His father tried and failed and no overbearing pompous stranger was going to either. He could just come and join hell if he liked. The man was still speaking, ".....you don’t have to welcome this new change but you will accept it. As a princess, it is your duty to...."

Princess? She was a princess? Damon felt as if his whole world was being turned upside down.

"Everything is about my duty,"she spat, "What about me? Don’t you even care that your only daughter is gong to be miserable for the rest of her life?"

"We do what we must. My marriage to your mother was arranged so was her mother’s, and so on. No one ever has a choice."

Tears glistened in those emerald eyes, "Why can’t I? Why must I be sacrificed for a kingdom that I hate and for a father who will never love me." Calisandra asked softly.

He came up to her and smacked her across the face. "You will never speak back to me again. Leave."