Chapter 9

Dinner in the dungeon wasn't nearly as bad as expected, beef stew with unidentifiable ingredients as well as warm bread. Aven didn't trust it at all.

"The quality of food has gone up since you got here," her father commented.

"They obviously want something," she mumbled around a spoonful of stew.

Several sets of boots could be heard coming down the stairs near their cells, and she ate quickly in case they were here to take the food away. Unfortunately, it was King Lobbark and his guards, gloating with his nasty sneer. The king snaked a stool from the corner and sat before her.

"I'm going to get right to the point," he said, staring at Aven. "In two days, you're going to marry me on the royal balcony overlooking the bluffs to the harbor," he leered a bit for added emphasis. "It will be quite romantic."

She just looked at him incredulously. "Why would you think I would ever do that?"

"The king pulled a knife out of his boot and used it to pare his fingernails. "If you say no, your father will go over the railing and to the bottom of those bluffs." He didn't even spare her a glance this time.

She gasped in shock and her father just groaned. "You're a monster," she whispered harshly.

"She's not her mother!" yelled her father. What did that mean?

"No, but she'll do!" The King yelled back. "I had my wizard examine that ring before we dumped you in that cell. It turns out that if you get married, it will come right off and lose its powers. But it doesn't seem to matter who you marry, which means once you marry me, Martin will be free to marry that little princess of yours."

"No!" she screamed, "She deserves better than that scum!"

The king reached through the bars and grabbed her hair. "Be careful! We only need you till you produce an heir, so behave or you can disappear like your mother! I heard about the games you were playing with the princess. Do you really think she'd marry a thief and a girl? Once she knows the truth, she'll go running to Martin with open arms."

Aven sobbed in reply, she had never meant to hurt Knallia.

"I was nice, I even sent a letter to your uncle letting him know you're alive and getting married. Maybe he'll send a wedding present. Have to make sure everyone knows who is in line for the thrones you know!" the king said, confusing Aven even more. There were too many games being played here. "Now, I'll let you two enjoy your dinner, the royal seamstresses will be making you a dress to wear for the event."

The king clapped one of the guards on the shoulder as they both enjoyed a good laugh walking up the stairs. Aven just crawled into a corner and cried.

"Aven? Don't give up!" her father whispered. "We still have a chance."

"What?" she whimpered. "I don't understand anything he said about mother and uncles. Why is he doing all this?"

"It is all my fault I suppose," her father said, turning his back and leaning against the bars. "I'm the one who fell in love with your mother."

"Why is that bad?" Aven asked through her tears.

"Because she was princess Melody of Ossea, and she was promised in marriage to Lobbark. But she fell in love with me too, and we ran away together. I was the captain of her guard. Neither of us meant for it to happen, but you can't control who you love."

"What!?" Aven yelped, "Are you serious?" Aven was stunned to hear this story, though the not controlling who you love hit close to home.

"I am. She was pregnant with you while we were living in Ossea, but Lobbark's parents were putting a lot of pressure on the grandparents to annul the marriage and force her to marry him instead. We chose to leave, so that her parents could truthfully say they didn't know where we were. So, we headed towards Glavriel, but while we were here in Ferral, your mother went into labor. We called a midwife, and you were born. Everything seemed fine, but then your mother took ill, and passed away. The midwife disappeared right after. I always thought that Lobbark found out we were here and had the midwife poison your mother after the birth, but I could never prove it. But based on what he just told us; I think I was right. Lobbark made me stay here, he came to visit after your mother had passed and told me if I tried to leave, he'd kill you. So, I stayed, and he kept me in debt ever since. Probably for this exact moment. He just wants a claim to the throne of Ossea."

"Ohh, mom," Aven groaned. She wanted Lobbark dead. If he thought she would be a little submissive wife, he had another thing coming.

"But then you left," her father continued.

"I'm so sorry dad, I thought I could get enough money to buy us out of debt."

"Well, that is where this takes an interesting turn. I read the note you left, and sent it to your uncle, King Rannick so he could be on the lookout since I thought you were in his kingdom."

"My uncle is a king?" I asked, not fully comprehending the situation.

"That's right, Princess Aven!" he grinned crookedly.

"Not that it helps much here in a cage, but that explains why Lobbark wants me."

"True. But this is the good part. Rannick visited me last week, desperate to find you. I gave him a description of you, and he has had his men searching here and in Ossea to find you. So, if Lobbark sent him a letter about the wedding, I think Rannick would show up instead of sending a present. Nobody in Ossea likes Lobbark, so Rannick would stop the wedding if he could. So, all we need to do, is stall the wedding and hope he gets here in time."

Hope flared in Aven again. She could still save Knallia from Martin, even if she didn't want to marry a girl. "We can do this!" she said, smiling at her father.

"Now, tell me about this princess of yours," her father said, his eyebrow rising.

Aven just blushed.

On a normal day, riding Marmalade to another kingdom would be quite the adventure for Princess Knallia. Having her friends, Lady Lowen and Lady Oncya along with her would have made an even more enjoyable experience. Instead, she was constantly looking out for Martin, jumping at every sound or movement in the corner of her eye. Even if it was usually a squirrel or chipmunk.

"Do you really think we can do this?" Lowen asked, still a little scared at the prospect.

"We're going to do it," Knallia assured the pair, "They'll never expect us to come for Evan."

"This is so romantic!" Oncya said with a sigh.

Knallia supposed she was right, in many of the romantic stories the prince would always save the princess and they would live happily ever after. Who was to say the princess couldn't do the rescuing? "It is, isn't it?" she murmured happily. With Vanya's items, she hoped they could get in and out with Evan before anything bad happened.

"How long do you think it will take?" Lowen asked.

"We should be there tomorrow if the weather holds," Knallia said confidently.

Thunder in the distance made her worried though, and then the drops of rain started. This was going to be a long ride.