The crowd hushed as the gallant doors opened, revealing ten guards, as well as the King and Queen. I bowed with my family as the royals started walking. The celebration today was for the princess to find her mate, since she is now 18. 

Im 19. I haven't found my mate yet. My eyes squeeze shut as I here the guards footsteps get closer and closer together. When they stop, that's the signal for us to stop bowing. After opening my eyes, I am greeted with the sight of five guards on either side of the king and queen, with the two holding hands.

"Greetings." boomed the king, his voice echoed through the large ballroom. "Thank you all, for joining us on this gorgeous day. Some of you may recall MY 18th birthday, some twenty years ago." He held his mate tighter. "That was a magical day. Today, however, is not about me. It is about my daughter, Princess Anita." As he said her name, him and his mate separated, and backed up, revealing the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes upon.

Her petite figure barely stood shoulder height to the monstrous guards, and her long blonde hair was brought out with a silver tiara, nestled on top of her head. The hair framing her face brought out her plump, red lips, and her blue eyes shone like sapphires on the starry sky.

Mate. 

She stood tall and proud, looking down at the crowd. Unfortunately, however, her eyes never landed on me. Not that there was much to see, I'm medium height with shaggy brown hair and greyish blue eyes. Although I am tall, I am not all skin and bones. I work on a farm with my parents and grandparents, we grow carrots, and raise cattle. Every month, our best steer and our best bunch of carrots are purchased by the king and queen.

The princess starts walking, parting the crowd as she does. What will happen, is all the young bachelors will get to go up to the princess, and kiss the back of her hand.

My dad suddenly shoves me forward, gesturing roughly for me to move. I bow my head to him before I start walking. As we make our way out of the ballroom and into the garden, I get cramped into a group of young men, and we're shoved along. I happen to notice some of the guys around me making faces and leaning away from my direction. I feel my face heat up, knowing I probably smelled like cow dung, but I did shower…

I try to get on my tippy toes to see my mat- er… the princess again, but all the guys in front of me are super tall. I give up trying and focus more instead on not stepping on the backs of shoes. I stay silent while the chatter goes on around me, guys talking about getting laid and just… women in general. The thoughts make me shudder.

----------------------------

I must have stood in that line for three hours, hearing more details than I needed too. Finally, a horn blows, and the crowd goes silent. I break out of the line and look around some tall guys to see a rich kid, dressed like a king, holding my mate in his arms. 

"The princess has found her mate!!!" someone shouted. murmurs spread through the crowd but I didn't hear them. Instead, I heard the sound of my heart breaking and shattering on the ground. He placed his perfect lips on my mate… and I felt my world break even more.

My eyes squeeze shut, I turned to go find my parents, and we walked home in silence. I drug my feet a little more than normal, but no one noticed or cared. Not like they needed to, I never share anything with anyone.

Once we arrive home, the bed greets me with warm soft pillows and blankets. About three minutes after laying down, tears start to fall, soaking my bedding. My sobs are silent but they're louder than a buffalo stampede in my head. I start to think about how useless I was, and how horrible of a mate I am for not saying anything… what was I going to do? Call them all a liar?

Not me.