There was one thing Helene could appreciate as she was whisked away in the world’s most excruciating carriage ride. Even with the large, plush expanse of the golden compartment, sitting for hours in a confined space with her morose father, his scowling Queen, and her half-brother Ian felt like suffocation incarnate. So, to retain her sanity, she found herself gazing out the window of the tumbling carriage, watching the ever-changing scenery of the Theolos Empire as they slowly approached the Imperial City.
With a pleasant warmth of the late Spring breeze and the bursts of color painting the serene canvas of the impressive Empire, Helene came to admire the unexpected beauty of the place. It was far different than the poorer slums she had slipped through the night before.
The scent of nature, the glimpse of happy families dwelling under the sun, and the genuine elation people expressed as they stared in awe at the carriage holding the Crown Prince’s betrothed — it felt like a deceptive promise meant to ease her resentment.
And, it was so easy to forget as she closed her eyes and listened to the mundane sounds of life carrying on. It reminded her of home.
Not the Palace she was trapped in as a Princess, but the home she never stopped yearning for in the humble city of Haven, where she was raised.
It wasn’t much, but it was everything to her.
If she just kept her eyes closed, she could pretend she was back in that time. Running through the streets with the neighbor’s children, playing games of sticks and hopping stones, or skipping to her mother’s tavern where she would sneak her little treats of leftover sweets. A faint smile touched her lips, as if she could still hear her mother’s laughter sing through the air.
A scoff of distaste shattered her daydream.
“You are not here for a dallying holiday,” Queen Irene snapped. “Get out of your head and think properly about how to please your new keepers.”
Keepers. As if she was a dog for sale being delivered to its new owners. Helene’s lips twitched. It was almost funny just how many animals she had adopted into her character. She was rat. A dog. A pet. “Yes, Your Majesty,” she said in a light voice, still deep inside her mind where she was peeling potatoes with her mother in the kitchen or running through the rain just after dinner.
The remainder of her journey was filled with lectures insulting her lacking intelligence or reminding her just how undeserving she was to be able to marry such a high and mighty figure. Like a habit, Helene nodded along in submission and placated her pride by imagining all the different ways she could probably carve them with the tip of her hairpin.
An amused chuckle drifted through her mind.
Jolting slightly at the sudden sound, she swiveled her eyes around, certain she would see someone laughing at her, but stony faces glared back in response. Frowning, she sat back and shook her head. Just how insane was she making herself by playing the part of the obedient Princess while shoving her deranged essence deep inside where it couldn’t come out to play? It seemed they were now answering each other, like two different people warring over dominion in her twisted mind.
She was pondering her own mental stability, when the carriage stopped short. Helene’s stomach dropped to the ends of her toes.
Hearing the click of boots connect to each pounding heartbeat in her chest, she watched the door open as Edward Rainer greeted them with a bow.
“We have arrived, Your Majesties.”
Grunting in response, the King and Queen exited the carriage into the brightness of the glittering sun. Prince Ian, Ravenia's heir and the King's first son, departed soon after, stepping out in fluid motion with his distinctive, cold face.
Lord Edward waited for her next, his hand outstretched to help her down, but Helene couldn’t move. She was quite fine staying in her world of denial, where daydreams existed and fond memories caressed her, but Edward poked his head inside with a question in his eyes.
Are you alright?
Helene swallowed. No, she was not.
“You said you believed there can never be true freedom for people like us.”
“Not exactly. I still believe there are ways to find it.”
The words they had exchanged the night before suddenly popped into her head. Was he right? Was there still hope for her to find it?
Placing a hand on the stone necklace that trembled along with her nerves, Helene reached out and accepted Lord Edward’s assist.
“You can do this,” he muttered softly as she moved down the steps.
Gripping his hand in a silent show of gratitude, Helene emerged in front of the Imperial Palace of the Theolos Empire.
She gasped.
A breathtaking structure of silver and glass, with spirals of towering properties decorated in brilliant colors of gold and flourishing flowers, her eyes widened at the magnificence. She had thought Ravenia’s Palace had been a prosperous show of wealth and power, but even the opulent grandeur of her father’s kingdom could not compare to the daunting glory of Theolos.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Edward whispered with glee.
Simply nodding, Helene marveled at the sight. It didn’t just end there. In honor of the arrival of Ravenia’s Royals, a velvet carpet stained with the deepest red was layered over the marble steps. Imperial Guards dressed in golden armor and Knights embellished in bronze and silver plates stood in parallel lines leading up to the open door.
This wasn’t a brief introduction — this was the grand-scale announcement of her purchase.
The Rainer Family gathered ahead, ready to be presented first. Edward smiled at her in encouragement and left to join his family. Before she knew it, they disappeared into the waiting hall.
She heard trumpets, clinking glasses, a melodic orchestra, and echoing voices of the Ball’s guests chattering inside. She wouldn’t object to fainting right then and there, just to avoid the faces of all the Empire’s nobles who were sure to leer and gawk at the foreign Princess promised to their future monarch. But, as her father reluctantly placed her hand on his arm, it was too late to attempt even that. Without a doubt, he would have dragged her unconscious body to present to her future husband. Maybe with even a ribbon tied neatly on her head.
Her half-siblings, who had exited the trailing carriages behind, went up ahead and she heard as a resounding voice announced their arrival. Queen Irene gracefully floated in next, with Ian as her escort.
Then, it was only her and the King.
“Your decision and your will stand naught to my command, but I do acknowledge the sacrifice it takes,” her father muttered lowly.
Stunned by his sudden words, Helene looked at him with wide eyes. When was the last time they had spoken alone? She couldn’t recall.
He started walking with her, leading her up the steps as he continued in a low, soft voice. “You may have started as my greatest mistake, but know that I will be proud to have an Empress of a powerful Empire as my daughter.”
Looking ahead, Helene clenched her jaw, keeping her eyes focused on the approaching threshold and the sea of people gazing at her with uninhibited curiosity and excitement.
“As for your mother,” he lowered his voice even further. “I will do what I can to ease her suffering.”
Her steps faltered, but he steadied her before her error was noticed by the watching crowd. She parted her lips to answer, her heart thumping wildly, but the trumpet pierced the air with a sharp echo.
“King Frederick Montfort II and Princess Helene Montfort of Ravenia.”
Pressing her lips together, Helene fixed her gaze ahead, choosing to ignore the staring nobles, the overwhelming glamour of the Ballroom, and the whirl of disorder gathering inside her head. Instead, she looked towards where the Emperor of Theolos and his family were waiting at the end.
Walking through an aisle of people and with the soft tune of a violin, it seemed too much like a premature wedding scene. Her mind buzzed with her father’s words and questions she wouldn’t find answers to, but in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the raised dais of the Emperor. Instinctively, Helene curtsied low.
“King Frederick. Princess Helene,” Emperor Henry de Tristaine began with a happy, sonorous voice. “We welcome you to our Empire and rejoice in this blessed day in which we promise our two families to one another. Alexander?”
Her eyes still trained on the glittering floor, she heard the answering footsteps of the Emperor’s son.
“Princess Helene,” a gentle voice called.
He extended a large hand to her, and forcing the quivers in her fingers to abate, she took it. Raising her from her bow, she looked up and faced her future husband.
His eyes. One brown. One gold.
They were the first things she saw before her vision turned to pure darkness.
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