This was it. It was happening. My life was signed up for failure.
I stood in front of my family. I dusted off the skirt of the gigantic dress I was wearing. It was beige with all types of crystals and pearls beaded on. The corset was tightened to the fullest and I was slowly losing my breath.
But maybe not just because of the corset but because of the scene in front of me. The King with the Queen stood there, with smile on their faces.
The door of the carriage was open, waiting for me. Waiting for my life to be ruined.
Sorea helped me walk with slow but steady steps. The dress was dragging me backward with each step I took.
My hair was waved back, half pined with a pin made of diamonds.
I got closer and closer to the Queen. She extended her hands and gave me a very light hug that lasted a second. "I wish you the best of luck, sweetheart." Her voice echoed in my ears.
"Thank you." I returned with a tender smile.
The next one was the King. His crown stood crooked on his head which was covered with shoulder-length grey hair. His face was wrinkled and the beard that decorated his jaw was in the same color as his hair.
The smile that showed his yellow teeth formed on his mouth and he motioned for me to give him a hug.
I let out a sigh and walked towards him. His short chubby arms, his fingers covered in rings, circled around my shoulders and he brought his face closer to my neck.
My arms lightly patted his back and I wanted to puke of the smell that reeked from him.
He turned his head and placed his mouth closer to my ear. "Do what your husband says and do not rebel against him. Also, do not make it difficult for me. Daughter." He said the last word a little louder so everyone could hear it.
"Yes, father." I pulled away and elegantly laughed. Oh how much I wanted to disappear.
"We are to see you soon." The Queen said behind me and I brushed the comment off. Whatever it's not like I wanted to see them.
Sorea supported my arm and we started walking to the carriage. A small bald-headed man stood by the door, his posture straight and his stare as well. His eyes were focused in front of him.
He bowed his head and extended his palm for me to take. "Princess Emiliana." He said with a firm voice.
I lifted my leg and stepped inside. Sorea helped me with the dress and I was finally seated. The doors were closed after me and I took a deep breath and calmed my nerves.
I turned my head to my family and waved at them. They returned the wave and I heard the horse's shoes clicking on the ground. The carriage started to move.
Princess Emiliana...
That was not my name. And I was not a princess.
I was just a regular girl.
Servant girl.
With a horrible faith.
--------------
ONE WEEK AGO
--------------
Life was unfair.
To me yes, but mostly to my Mama.
When I turned eleven years old, she got a disease. I don't know what kind of, but she was unable to walk. Her legs hurt and she couldn't do anything by herself. She became a living corpse, just lying in her bed.
I did everything in my power to help her but whenever I tried, I failed. There was no cure. Or at least one that I knew of. We couldn't afford a healer. And even if we did, we wouldn't have been able to afford the cure.
We were left hopeless.
There was only one oil made from different types of herbs that somehow helped her with the pain. The problem was that we couldn't really buy it all the time. What a surprise right?
"Elesta?" My mom's voice came from her room. As always she was in her bed, her hair starting to become more and more grey with time and her figure was becoming more and more thin.
"Yes, Mama," I answered from the kitchen, lifting the skirt of my dress, I quickly ran to her. She was lying in bed, a used-up cover over her, her eyes were barely open. I crouched next to her and caressed her hair. "Is there something you want, Mama?" I asked her carefully.
She averted her eyes to me, there was a pleading look in them, each time breaking my heart more and more.
"Where is your father?" She whispered this time.
"He is at the fields, he will be late today. They have a lot more work." Dad worked in the fields, most of the day he was there. He tried to earn money so we could buy medicine but working as a farmer earned us to barely survive. Since Mama couldn't work I started working on her place. She was working as a cleaner at the castle.
We were living in the staff quarters. Our kingdom was small, the King and the Queen had one daughter. We weren't really well known as the other kingdoms but that wasn't my problem. My only job was to work and earn money for our family.
My Mama's eyes softened and a sad look formed on her pale face. Dad has been working a lot more these days. When he's not at work, he spends his days here with her. Reading her books, feeding her, massaging her legs, just giving her support and being there for her.
I always envied their marriage. They got married when they were eighteen years old and had me after five years of marriage. I remember when my Mama was not sick, we would visit the small swing by the cherry tree, close to the river. Dad would carry me on his back and we would chase her around the fields.
Our small family was happy. But when Mama got sick a lot of things changed.
She was the one to bring peace and love to the house, without her laughter and smile, everything was dull and dark.
"I will have to go to work soon. But Charlotte will visit you, do not worry." Charlotte was our elderly neighbor, she was not working anymore so she would always spend time with Mama when me and Dad were not here.
"Alright, honey." She said and closed her eyes to rest. I gave her a kiss on her forehead, stood up, and went back to the kitchen. I was making food for when Dad comes back home because I didn't know if I'd be home when he does.
After about an hour, I placed it on the small wooden table and covered it with a cloth. When I finished with that, I tied the small scarf around my head and exited our house. I hurried to Charlotte's house and asked her if she could stay with Mama for a while. She agreed like always and I made my way to the castle.
We were lucky that we actually had a house, some of the workers had to live in the castle, which was not very pleasant. The King and the Queen were not pleasant.
With each step, I got closer and entered through the doors we were allowed to enter through. I made my way to the clothing room where were cleaning the clothes and I immediately spotted Sorea dusting off a shirt.
"Sorea, how is your day going?" I asked her as I got to work. She rolled her eyes and placed the piece of clothing on the table next to her.
"Sebastian is yet again trying to court me, when I told him so many times that I do not like him." Ughh, Sebastian, I did not like him one bit. He was a guard who eyed every lady that walked by him.
"What did you tell him?" I placed my hands on my hips and turned to her. Sorea was a beautiful young girl and she was the same age as me. Her blond hair was tied up at the back and the brown scarf was placed on her head. She had dark brown eyes, her figure was slim and she was shorter than me.
"I just ignored him and walked past him. I do not have time for foolish man like him." We started to laugh and I heard Lady Zoana enter the rooms.
"No talking when you are at work young ladies." She hissed our way and started walking around, checking if everything was at its place.
We got quiet and continued with our work. I washed all of the clothes for that day and made my way down the hall.
My shoes were clicking on the marble floor and a light music was heard in the distance. Probably for the King and the Queen. And their arrogant daughter. Princess Emiliana. She was the worst of them all, constantly complaining and mistreating the maids.
She was the only daughter and by age nineteen she was still unmarried which was her own fault. No one wanted her as their bride. She was lazy and mean to everyone. Not surprising if she stayed unmarried forever.
I did not like to be harsh to people but Princess Emiliana was the exception, I still remember when she pulled my hair and made me fall in front of everyone in the dining room.
She was jealous of every girl her age. It was not my fault that her personality was ugly.
I had to take one of the dresses to Lady Lilian, who was her headmaid. My legs carried me there and I finally arrived at my destination. I gave her the dress and in return, she gave me a smile and a thank you.
She was always nice to me.
When I was going back to my workplace, I noticed Adrian hanging by the healer's door. They were talking about something and the healer left and Adrian was still there. He was guarding this hallway for today.
Maybe I could trick Adrian and steal some oil for my Mama.
I put on my best act and placed a hand on my chest. I deepened my breath and dragged myself closer to him. When his eyes met me he hurried and supported my weight with his hands. "Are you alright, lady Elesta?" He asked with so much concern.
"I feel unwell. Would you be able to bring me some water, please?" He nodded and ran down the hallway. As soon as his figure disappeared I opened the door and stepped in.
There were different bottles everywhere. How am I supposed to find it now?
I roamed my eyes around the shelves and tried to look for it. I had to be fast and hurry up. The kitchen was not as far from here and Adrian could be here any moment.
I opened a few of the bottles and smelled them, trying to find the oil that I needed. Luck was on my side today because I found it. After a few moments, I found it. I grabbed it and whispered a yes.
Just as I lifted my hand to the knob, the door flew open. Oh no. This was no good. I stepped back and hid the small bottle behind me.
It was the healer.
"What are you doing here, lady?" He lifted his dark eyebrow in question. He stood in front of the door and I had no chance to escape.
"Nothing," I murmured. My heart was beating fast. Getting caught while stealing was something no one wished on themselves. The price was being in prison for a long time or your head being cut off in front of everyone.
It depended on what the King wished.
Yes, the punishments were harsh here and I do not know how I will survive this.
His eyes traveled to my hand that was hidden behind me. "Show me what you took." He commended. I heard quick steps behind him and Adrian appeared, he was breathing hard, because of what I assume running.
"It really is nothing." I tried to laugh it out but he was not having it. He yanked my arm and the bottle fell on the floor, breaking and the oil smearing on the marble.
"You were stealing, were you not? Guard take her to the King. You will have to pay for this." No, no. This was not happening.
This is not how I was going to die. Because of stealing a small glass bottle.
Adrian looked furious, noticing that I lied, he grabbed my hand and tugged me after him. The healer was behind us. "Please, I did not mean to do that."
"Silence." The healer yelled at me. Was this really how it was going to end? The King will definitely not spear me. He was not a generous man. He liked power, he was greedy for it. He craved it.
We walked to the main chambers of the King. Everyone was looking at me weirdly and eyeing me up and down. I can not let my Mama hear about this. How will she react? It will break her heart. She already had enough problems on her own.
When we arrived at the doors one of the guards went inside and after a few minutes he came back and opened the doors wider, for us to go ahead.
My legs were shaking and my arms were trembling. The King was seated on his throne and the Queen was next to him. We all bowed to them and waited for him to speak.
"What is it, healer?" He finally asked.
"This young lady here tried to steal one of the medical oils, Your Highness." He explained everything in detail and added some extra drama to it. It was not exactly how he explained it but of course, they would not believe me if I told them my version.
"Why did you do it?" His voice made me flinch.
"I needed the oil for Mama. She is ill. But we do not have the wealth to buy it." My head was bowed down. I did not dare to look up.
"Do you know the punishment for stealing?"
"Yes, Your Highness," I whispered.
He hummed and stayed silent for a while. He was thinking of something and it was definitely not good. The King was not a good person, everyone knew that.
"Healer, guard. Leave!" He said.
They debated for a second but they had no choice but to leave. So they did. I was left alone with him and his Queen.
"What age are you?"
"Nineteen, Your Highness."
"I am not going to punish you, young lady. But you will pay me in a different way." Where was this going?
"Whatever you want, Your Highness." I nodded. Even though I did not know what he wanted, I could not say no to him. No one was allowed to say no to the King.
"Do you know who the Prince of Elvendor is?" My body shivered at the mention of the name. Yes, I exactly knew who that was. It was a Prince no one had seen before. I have heard horrible things about him. They called him a beast because of the accident that happened to him.
Many years ago it was said that the Prince was attacked and bared scars on him that made him look like a beast. He was known to be dangerous and evil. At least those are the stories I have heard before. Their Kingdom was far from here.
"He is unmarried Prince. But no one dares to give their daughter to him. His father, King Hector is giving away a big price, gold, to the family of the bride. To whoever lets their daughter marry him." He continued after a small pause.
"I have a precious daughter and I would not do that to her. But you young lady, will marry him. You will act as my daughter and marry the Prince of Elvendor and I'll get the gold."
My eyes widened. What?
CHARACTERS AESTHETICS
ELESTA
This was actually posted on my account awhile ago but I decided to put it here, in the One Shots.
Thoughts?
I'll definitely write a second part. ;)