Chapter Two ▏The Crown

For a second, I can’t speak. There’s a big lump in my throat that’s preventing me from even breathing properly. I look at Father, trying hard to keep my face neutral, still very much aware of the big hand on the side of my breast.

I’m getting more and more disgusted by the Governor by the second, to the point where I can feel my stomach heaving. Still, I can’t leave. I can’t go until I make sure that I heard it right. 

“A wedding,” I prompt, and Father immediately catches where I’m going.

And he doesn’t look happy about my brewing reluctance. “Yes, Elora. You will marry our esteemed Governor tomorrow on your birthday.” 

His words land on me like a punch in the gut. Anger, betrayal, and repulsion are brewing at the pit of my core, bubbling and hissing, threatening to spill out through a volley of vile words and protests. I want to scream at Father, to remind him what I wanted, what I asked from him before when we talked about marriage. 

But of course, when has he ever put my best interests at heart?

“Oh, honey.” Queen Zuri approaches us, her teeth bared in a big grin as she sidles up next to my father. “Did you tell our Elora yet?”

Okay, this is the last straw. 

“Excuse me,” I choke out, and without waiting to see any of their reactions, I push the old geezer off of me and stalk off into the distance, my eyes blurry with tears. Still with my graceful posture, I cross the ballroom and spill out into the gardens, not bothering to look at anyone and anything but beyond. 

* * * * * *

I plop down on the bench close to the grand marble fountain outside the palace, ignoring the light spray that the wind and the flowing water create. The moon is prominent in the sky, almost full. Strange howls from the mountains pierce the cold air.

“Calm down,” I tell myself, but I can’t calm down. I’m already crying. In fact, I’ve been crying here for quite a while now, staring at the thirty-foot tall stone walls that protected the palace from the outside. 

But who wouldn’t cry, after finding out that you’ll be married off to an old bastard? Not only that, he had the nerve to grope me and disrespect me out in the open, and my own father didn’t even stop him. 

Is that all that I am? A piece of meat to be auctioned away? I mean, I know that my father doesn’t like me, but I at least deserve to be treated like a human.

“Miss.” 

The deep male voice behind me makes me jolt and whip around. I expect it to be some random man from the party, but to my surprise, it’s the young man with the Governor. Hendrik.

He holds out a handkerchief to me. “I think you need this, Miss.”

I accept it and dab at my tears. “Thank you.” When I notice that he’s just standing there with his back ramrod straight, I pat the space next to me. “Why don’t you sit?”

Hendrik shakes his head vigorously like I just asked him to eat dung. “I’m afraid that that is not my place, Miss. I am a mere guard from the state of Gailis, and the Governor only brought me here so I can train to be a Palace Guard.”

“Oh.” My shattered hope sinks even lower. “That means I can’t marry you. . . .”

He tilts his head. “Pardon?”

I know that the thing I said is totally unbecoming and he shouldn’t know, but I decide to tell him anyway. “I thought that you’re the one I’m supposed to marry. I assumed that you’re his grandson or something.”

“Well,” Hendrik says after a beat, “That is not the case, Miss.”

Narrowing my eyes, I take a good look at his face. And yeah, he’s still gorgeous, even after I found out that he’s not fit to marry me. And I can see his cheeks going red even in this barely illuminated area. 

Seeing him blush is giving me the first waves of shame about what I just said to him.

“I know, I was just saying,” I quickly amend. “So why did you follow me?”

“The King ordered some men to look for you, since you just walked out of the party,” he replies calmly. “Will you come back now?”

“No!” I say way too vehemently. 

Hendrik doesn’t even flinch. “King’s orders, Miss.”

I scoff. “Like I care.”

With that, I stalk off again, stomping forward without looking back, my head still a flurry of betrayal. Because of this, I don’t notice that I’m already close to the border. I turn back around and start walking back to the palace, but I don’t realize I strayed too far.

I pick up my pace and rush past the big trees in the landscape. I begin to break into a run, but before I can gain momentum, I hear some voices from not so far away. Maybe in the thicker part of the trees. Statements are being uttered in hushed, secretive tones, and it’s piquing my curiosity.

Slowly, as to not alert whoever is speaking, I locate the sound from behind another tree and begin to listen. 

“. . . . you know me, I do not complain, but this time I will!” 

I frown and step a little closer. I’m pretty sure that’s Governor Celso’s voice, and he sounds a little out of breath, like he just got there, wherever he is. 

“I know, Celso,” a woman's voice says. “It’s what I’m trying to tell you, but you’re being too paranoid. Listen here, I will make the wedding happen no matter what.”

My blood grows cold. That’s the voice of Queen Zuri.

Why are they here? What are they talking about?

“King Odion knows,” Queen Zuri says, and her usually sweet voice takes a dark turn. “You can have Elora, alright? After the wedding you can take her home with you on Gailis. I don’t think the King will come looking for her.”

I sense the old man’s confusion. “Take her? But she’s going to be crowned the Princess! I should stay in the palace like a good husband and future king.”

“I don’t think you’ll be alive then,” she snaps, which surprises me. But of course, my worst surprise is yet to come. “Besides, the princess's duty is not something that she should be worried about.”

The leaves shift like the governor just straightened up. “What do you mean by that?”

“Because I've been carrying the King’s child inside me for three months now.” Queen Zuri’s smile is almost audible. “And you know how it is. The King chooses who gets the crown, and Elora was never a choice. She won’t be crowned princess . . . ever.”