"You want me to do what?" Maria Theresa, Spanish Infanta aged 22, stared at her father blankly. Other emotions would come, but, for the moment, shock replaced all of them.

She really should feel indignant that her father did not bother to even consult her when choosing her husband. She should feel panicked at the prospect of being the Queen of a country like France. She should feel sad at the death of all of her hopes and dreams of marrying for love. She should, she supposed, feel at least somewhat resigned, too. She was 22, after all, and thus lucky to be yet unwed. And she was a princess, so being informed that she will soon have to run a country despite having absolutely no qualifications for the job … should be perfectly normal.

"Will you not thank me, Maria? You are to be Queen, revered and loved by all. Is this unseemly blinking truly all you have for me?"

Maria never had been very good at etiquette. Especially when her entire life had just been changed. She worked very hard not to grimace. "Forgive my silence, your Majesty. I am most grateful for your kindness in wedding me..." to some idiot i've never even met... "to the great King of France. I will yet make Spain proud of me. When do I sail for France?" She hoped desperately that sound excited and not panicky.

"Tomorrow."

Reviews would be very very very welcome :D I'm very new to all of this, so any comments would be much appreciated. More soon :)