29. Daughter of Lamoni

 I always knew I would marry a prince.  I just never expected to be in love with him when I did. 

I wasn't always in love with him. I hated him at first. He was a Nephite. As a rule, they were evil. They were the reason we lived in desolation. They stole our heritage. That alone was reason to hate him. But then my father offered him my hand in marriage and he denied me. Me! A Lamanite princess. The prize of Lamoni's household. And this Nephite rejected me.

I expected my father to have him killed immediately for such a slight on my honor, but he seemed to find it amusing. He set him Ammon to work in the fields. That was a death sentence in itself, though Ammon didn't know it. Father was toying with him. But then the other servants returned with a collection of the bandits' arms. 

I admit that's when my feelings changed a little. I had heard my father talk of the trouble he was having with these bandits. There were so many that Father hadn't been able to stop them from stealing his sheep. And here was this single man who had defeated them. Anyone who could do that must be clever and strong. 

Once Ammon shared the truth of our Lord with us, things got even better. Ammon and Father spent more time together. He took meals with our family. He he helped Father straighten out the problems in the province. I found that not only was he strong, he was also brilliant. He was polite and kind. And, for a Nephite, he was quite handsome. 

It was when they returned from Middoni that I really fell in love. I heard the servants talking about what happened. Ammon and Father met Grandfather Lamoni. There was a fight; Grandfather Lamoni threatened Father's life, and Ammon risked his own to save him. I was in awe of his dedication to my father.

It was then that I first approached him. I offered him a lily, the only thanks I could think to give this humble man. He accepted it graciously. Our courtship began then. We saw each other daily. My admiration grew steadily into love for him. 

It has been three years now since Ammon first came to our court. Today we wed. There will be no kingdom, for Ammon has refused his father's throne. There will be no grand celebration, for Grandfather Lamoni no longer rules our province. It is simply Ammon and I becoming one. We will rule nothing but our own home with our own family. That is ebough.