The king extended his hand, upset that he had to touch the daughter of his sworn enemy. Alessandro wanted to end this occasion as soon as possible, so he shortened the ceremony and said,
“In the presence of the goddess Juno, I join my life to yours.”
“From today, we will be husband and wife.”
Abril said nothing, she simply remained silent, not knowing what to do or say.
The king gave her a cup of wine and ordered her to drink part of it. Abril did as he commanded. The king took the cup back and drank the remaining wine, after which he placed the cup on the table that was in front of them.
The King took a dagger that was carefully placed next to a scroll, and made a small cut in the palm of his hand, spilling his blood onto the scroll and ordered Abril to do the same. When their blood mixed, the scroll glowed and a mark appeared on Abril’s left hand and on Alessandro’s left hand.
It was a mark that bound them as a couple. The mark could not be erased and the only time it disappeared was when one of them died, releasing the other from their commitment and vows.
Abril looked at the mark on her hand, it was like a tattoo of a bright golden color which stood out on her white skin.
The King said to Abril,
“Now you are my wife and I hope you behave as one.”
The king did not kiss her, nor did he take her hand. He was supposed to do those two things, but he decided to omit them. She knew what that meant. Obviously, he was saying, though you are my wife, I will not treat you as such.
At that moment, Abril made a little bow and said to him.
“I will be in your care from now on.”
Alessandro was annoyed and walked towards the exit, and Abril followed him in silence while all the hateful glances were focused on her.
Alessandro got into the carriage that was waiting for them at the entrance. While she stood in front of the carriage, Alessandro said angrily from inside the carriage.
“Aren’t you going to get in?”
Abril got into the carriage, then the coachman immediately rode off. Alessandro closed his eyes because just seeing her made his blood boil and made him want to take her delicate neck in his hands and break it.
The kingdom of Cosset suffered a lot because of king Venobich . After years of war, one day the king of Laios sent a messenger asking for a truce through the bond of marriage. And having lost lives and properties as a result of the years of war, the king of Cosset had no choice but to accept the marriage proposal.
When they arrived at the palace, Alessandro got off the carriage first and told one of the servants to guide the princess to her room.
There were no banquets or dances for the wedding, which was something that would’ve made Abril feel sad and angry, but instead she felt relieved, as she could go straight to rest, something she deeply wished for as she still felt unwell from the journey.
A maid guided her through the corridors of that magnificent castle and took her to her room.
“This is your room.” “Please do not leave this room.” “If you need anything, pull the cord next to your bed and I will come immediately.” The maid said.
Abril looked at the exquisite room they had given her. Apparently, she was also a prisoner there, although she was glad that her prison was more beautiful than the previous one.
Before the maid left, Abril asked her to bring her something light to eat and a basket of fruit. The maid nodded and left.
Abril inspected the room. It was a room fit for a princess. Then she removed her veil and the decorations from her hair, which were heavy and had caused her a severe headache. Then she tried to remove her dress, but she couldn’t do it on her own. She had to wait for the maid to come back and ask for her help.
With nothing else to do, Abril took off the uncomfortable shoes that had been squeezing her feet and laid down on the bed.
It was so soft and cozy that Abril felt like she was sleeping on a cloud. She couldn’t recall ever having such a soft bed in her entire life. She looked at the ceiling of the room and said to herself.
“I think I will have a good life in this place.”
Abril ended up falling asleep while waiting for that maid. She never returned. Definitely, she wasn’t going to have her three square meals in this place either. She sighed with great sorrow and said to herself.
“When will that moment come, that I can eat whatever I want?”
Abril touched her stomach and started talking to it.
“Stomach, why do they always have to punish you like this?” “I would prefer a beating if that means I get my three square meals.”
Knock knock.
The sound of the door being knocked made Abril happy, perhaps it was time for her first meal.
“I hope they brought the basket of fruit I ordered.”
Abril spoke again to her growling stomach.
“Stomach, calm down, it’s finally time to eat.”
Abril got up from her bed and opened the door, only to see the maid she had asked to bring her the light meal and a basket of fruit in front of the door with empty hands.
“Am I not entitled to even a single meal in this place?”
They are thinking of starving me to death, right? Abril thought as she winkled her brow.
“Where is my food?” “Why haven’t you brought it yet?” Abril said angrily.
“I’m sorry, I forgot.” The maid lied shamelessly.
“Well, go and bring it immediately.” She said.
“It won’t be necessary, Your Majesty is waiting for you to have dinner,” the maid replied.
Abril’s eyes lit up, the maid thought it was because she was going to have dinner with the king, but in reality, that was the least of her concerns. All she wanted was to have a good meal, she didn’t care if it was in a stable or sitting next to a man whose gaze alone could kill her if gazes were to kill. This happened any time he saw her, but all she cared about was filling her stomach with a good meal.
Abril hurried to put on her shoes and followed the maid who led her to the royal dining room, where His Majesty, the king, was waiting for her.
When Alessandro saw her arrive, it seemed like he wanted to throw the knife he held in his hand and pierce her head. Anyone would have trembled with fear at such stares. However, Abril didn’t even pay attention to his stares.
The food had completely captured her attention. She took her place at the table next to the king. Immediately, she took a spoonful of the soup in front of her and put it in her mouth.
The king looked at her with contempt and said,
“Apparently King Venobich didn’t properly educate the princess, her manners are horrible.”
The king was right about her manners, so she didn’t feel offended at all and continued eating her soup.
She finished it all and then moved on to the meat, then to the fish. She left the plate completely clean and Alessandro stared at her intently because she ate as if it were her last meal or the first in a long time.
Abril tried everything on the table. There were things she had never tasted in her life, like lamb meat. She was so happy with the meal that she almost cried out of happiness.
Alessandro reached out to touch Abril’s curly hair, which was all disheveled from sleeping. When she felt his hand touching her hair, she stayed completely still. She wondered if the king would kill her at that moment. She closed her eyes and said to herself.
“At least he let me have a good dinner before killing me.”
“If it weren’t for the color of your hair, I would have said you were a beggar from the street.” The king spoke with a voice full of disdain.
Abril opened her eyes when she felt him retract his hand and in her mind said,
“Obviously, he didn’t want to kill me, he just wanted to check if my hair was real and not dyed.”
Abril didn’t say anything. From experience, she knew that when a man was angry, it was best to stay silent, not say anything to anger him even more. If she carelessly opened her mouth, it would only lead to punishment or something even worse being done to her.
She remembered one incident that happened at her father’s palace where she had argued back at the steward who occasionally visited her to make sure she wasn’t dead yet. He had punished her severely by withholding food for two whole days, and at some other times, it would even be three consecutive days of fasting. Since then, Abril had decided that it was best to stay silent and listen to the scolding without arguing back.
The king stood up angrily and slammed the table, surprising Abril.
“Go back to your room, seeing you makes me sick to my stomach,” he said.
Abril had already eaten to her satisfaction, although she hadn’t had a chance to try the dessert. She nodded and obediently got up from the table.
When she returned to her room, Abril asked the maid to help her take off the dress, but she claimed to be busy and quickly left.
Abril sighed deeply, wondering how she was going to take off the dress, when suddenly the king entered her room. She looked at him in confusion, wondering what he was doing in her room, since just a few minutes ago he had told her to leave because he didn’t want to see her face.
That’s right, this is our first wedding night. Oh, that’s why the king is in my room.She thought.
“You’re still wearing that stupid dress, it’s ridiculous that you pretend to be a bride when this whole wedding is nothing but a joke.”
The king laughed bitterly and said to her,
“I will never treat you as my wife.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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