Chapter 1. Emma

"Emma Monde, do you take His Highness, Duke Liam Kobach to be your husband, to honor him, to cherish him, and to respect him from this day forward, as long as you both shall live?”

Silence filled the temple. Only a breath of expectation invaded the ears and hearts of the crowd. However, the beautiful woman in the white long wedding dress didn’t answer.

Several seconds later, the poor old priest cleared his throat as almost a thousand sweat tiny drops fell from his wrinkled forehead.

"Miss… Miss Monde?" The priest insisted in a low voice, but enough for her to hear. The book he was holding almost fell from the shaking pressure of the groom's piercing stare. "Miss..."

 "Sigh..." The clear and soft breath of the beautiful bride echoed to mesmerize the church walls. The sound came like a warm breeze that was being forced out, but never lost its elegance and dignity. "Yes, I do."

That was it, those three words sealed her future.

"Now I pronounce you, husband and wife. You shall be happy for the rest of your days."

The old man almost shook Emma's hands to thank her for answering before a storm exploited. The fury of the groom almost provoked thunder in the sky, damaging the temple roof. 

Then, as if scripted, the crowd's loud applause emerged a second later; the cheers couldn't wait to fill the temple and the outside plaza, announcing the origin of the new couple. After all, that little moment was of incredible precedence and marked the end of an era for two Kingdoms.

The King had even announced that the celebrations will last a week, and that day will be considered a national festivity to commemorate the end of the war.

However, even if the cheers and joy of the crowd could easily spread to even the crabbiest person. There were two beings that weren't willing to take part in any of that happiness: the groom and the bride on the altar.

Emma Monde, the beautiful bride on the top of the stairs, was not the only one experiencing a repulsive feeling growing deep in her throat. The man beside her was also repudiating the whole event, but his cold face was carefully trained to never show any expression.

However, Emma knew he was about to explode too. Her alluring golden eyes couldn’t help but look at her fragile hand that was squeezed painfully by the man beside her.

She knew both of them were forced into that marriage. The supposed peace treaty was a complete facade, a decoy to distract the masses from the truth. The Kingdom of Luriem was defeated cruelly and completely, and the only way to stay alive as an independent nation was to concede many lands and positions to Avalor. Thousands of rewards, potions, magic spells and scrolls and even a wife. A beautiful wife for the hero of the war. 

Unfortunately for Emma, she was the chosen one. A wedding was forced between the two nations to show the goodwill of both countries. They were told that she was the Duke’s first love, and for her, he was willing to bring peace to the tired hearts of the citizens from both Kingdoms. What a scam, Emma thought. 

"Can you let go?" Emma whispered to the man beside her. Her white veil was still concealing her face, but her words were loud enough for him to hear.

The wide sleeve of her dress covered the tight grip on her hand as they walked, it was painful enough to make her frown and sweat, but she couldn’t shove him away. For the sake of appearances, she should stay calm.  

'Is he trying to break my hand?'

She felt as if he was looking to fracture her tiny and fragile hand. The pain was making her walk slower, but the man didn't seem to mind it…

"No," He whispered back, but in a cold and angry tone. He gripped her even harder.

'He is doing this on purpose!'

She knew he was furious, but he was not the only one unsatisfied with the marriage. After all, she was taken hostage by her own parents and shoved into the carriage without an inch of mercy, nor an explanation. They only wished her good luck. 

Her Kingdom suddenly decided that she was the perfect sacrifice for their country. Even the King of Luriem selected her personally from among a group of more outstanding noble girls than her. What a great honor, they chanted, when the carriage passed the roads of the capital. They congratulated her, they called her heroine, their savior. It came as a big joke to her ears. 

The only thing she could think of at that time was to escape. There were many Princesses in the Palace, why would they choose some lowly Count's daughter? Of course, she didn't want to be the sacrificial lamb.

But, as always, her luck was never good. Her parents somehow guessed her motives and plans. Poor Emma, she was trapped on her way out of their castle. A few seconds later, they made her go to the Kingdom of Avalor with magical chains around her ankles, completely sealing her powers. Now she was like a mere human without any magic. Empty and weak.

Without her magic, she didn't have any choice but to comply and go through the wedding ceremony.

The moment she arrived at the temple, some servant girls changed her into an impressive long white wedding dress with pearls and gems adorning it. It looked so magnificent and shiny that for a moment she was dazed with her mouth wide open. She thought she would make many go blind that day. Even the maids couldn't stop giving her compliments with glittering eyes.

However, his rightful husband didn't uncover the veil during the ceremony, and he never took a look at her before and after saying his vows. He only grabbed her hand in a freakin tight grip and pulled her to walk beside him.

"Let go," she whispered again, struggling for her delicate hand to survive. 'This fucking hurts like hell!'

She thought that since both of them were forced to go through that stupid wedding charade, they would at least agree to cooperate and treat each other with respect and dignity; without the need of any discourtesy, but it seems that the man declared his position from the start. He hated her and will make her life a living hell.

The damn Duke had taken her hand as requested by the crowd and pulled her to walk with him all the hallway to the entrance. The carriage was already waiting for them, the same as the rest of the commoners outside the temple.

"Let go now!" She said with a louder voice, but the damn man didn't respond. Instead, he kept walking, almost pulling her with tyrannical strength. It was already difficult to walk in that dress, and now that idiot wasn't making it any easier for her. 

Emma was so tempted to use her magic and send him flying to the wall. Unfortunately, she didn't have her magic and that man was not someone she could easily defeat even with her powers back.

After all, he was not only the younger brother of the King, but also the mighty general who led his soldiers into a fierce war to crush Luriems to the ground. He was the famous Liam Kobach.

Their worst and long-term enemy, and now she had to live with that man. The one who hated the luriems the most and had no qualms to show his discontent with the whole peace treaty thing. If not for his loyalty to his brother, he would destroy the whole Luriem Kingdom. 

"Can you let go, please?" Emma spoke with a forced smile again, but the man didn't bother to see her. They kept walking to the entrance of the temple. The guests applauded them the whole way.

However, a vein on her forehead was about to explode. At the same time, she was trying hard to control her legs from kicking him and pushing him to the grounds. Even if she was powerless, she still had her hands and feet. 

"No," Liam answered back. “Walk faster.”

"Let go, you are hurting me," she whispered, but her anger was about to burst.

"No."

She had it, 'if he wants to play dirty from the start, don't blame me for it.'

"Enough!" She stopped walking and the claps ended. He stopped too.

Silence emerged as a bad premonition, a strange calm mixed with expectation echoed inside the hall. 

Emma smiled mischievously. 

'You asked for it, you idiot Duke.'