Married to the Prince of Hell

CHAPTER 1

I looked outside the carriage. This day had finally arrived, the fate I was desperately wishing to evade. But I knew there was no escaping this because I was a princess. I hated it. Many times I wished I had been born a prince. They enjoyed a lot more freedom than princesses and they could somewhat control their destinies. But women, even with the title of a princess, did not have that luxury.

I hated it so much but what could I do? I couldn’t escape and I definitely wouldn’t sacrifice the lives of my people and family for my desire to be free. In the end, what I desired, what I wanted, didn’t matter at all. I could only accept my fate and the fact that I will never be free. I knew this was coming. Since I was a young girl, I knew that one day, I would just be another sacrificial lamb, to save countless other lives.

I was born the third princess of our Kingdom, the kingdom of Ersth. My older sisters were already married to princes from other kingdoms and now it was my turn to be sacrificed. My father advised me not to do anything that could anger my soon to be husband, and I thought for a second that he actually cared about me.

But then he went on to say it was because this kingdom I was going to be marrying into, was one of the most powerful kingdoms in the whole continent and they could crush our kingdom like it was just a tiny village.

And there we have it! The reason for his advice. It wasn’t because he cared about me - what a silly thought that was - but because of the safety of his kingdom.

Then he told me that I should be submissive and just obey everything my husband told me to do for the rest of my life. Obey without question, like a puppet, because if I don’t, I would live the consequences.

I hated it so much, I could die. But that would serve no purpose, my death. And I knew I was not the only one, nor would I be the last. Many lives depended on this union and if I refused, countless lives would be hovered over my head to haunt me.

The gates opened for us and we made our way along the smooth track until we stopped in front of the palace, a place so huge our kingdom paled in comparison. This was a display of wealth and power and for the first time, I came to understand my father’s fears.

One of the princesses, the seventh princess, walked out of the door to welcome me.

“Welcome to our kingdom Princess Lucienne.” The blue eyed princess named Rien welcomed me with warm smile and then she showed me to my chamber and told me to rest because the ceremony was going to start that evening.

After resting, I rose and took a bath to cleanse away the dust from my travels. After I soaked myself in a nice and scented bath tub, I sent the maids away as I tried to relax and relieve myself from all the stress of the travel.

I could see the sky in the bathroom from the large window. It’s already twilight. As I stared at the darkening sky, my mind wondered again. What kind of man is my groom? What kind of prince is he? Would he treat me well? Would he turn me into his puppet like my sister’s husband? Will he harm me if I don’t obey him? What kind of life is waiting for me after tonight?

Suddenly, a moisture appeared at the corner of my eyes, realizing that from tonight onwards, this place will be my home for the rest of my life.

I let out a deep sigh and mumbled to myself. “Calm down Lucy, there is no use worrying now. Everything will be al –” I couldn’t finish my sentence. My eyes widened, my lips parted, unable to believe what I’m seeing.

Something, a man in dark robe was suddenly standing in the veranda and oh god, what are those? Wings?!

Shock froze my entire being and I couldn’t move or make a sound. The man, no, I’m not sure if he’s a man anymore as I’m certain he has huge black wings. He stood there, still as statue. Even though I can’t see his face because his upper body was hidden in the darkness, I know he’s looking at me. A pair of intense blue eyes were vividly gleaming in the dark - as though blue flames were dancing inside their irises. Oh gods, what is he?

“Princess?” the maid’s voice echoed and my paralyzed body finally moved.

I blinked and he’s gone. The man with the black wings is no longer there. I blinked three more times, trying to make sense of what I just saw. Just what was that?! That couldn’t be an illusion. Could it be a ghost? Is this palace haunted?

Shivering, I hastily climbed off the tub as the maid entered. She saw my expression and approached me.

“Princess? Are you alright?”

“I… I saw…” I paused and then swallowed. Should I really tell her what I just saw? What if the maid will just laugh at me? What if she’ll think I’m weird?

I remember mother’s words telling me that I should be careful of what I say and do especially before the wedding. If I tell her I saw a man with black wings, I could tell she’d tell me it must be my imagination.

“N-nothing. I think I just saw something with large black wings flew over there,” I said trying to laugh it out, thinking that the maid would laugh as well. But to my surprise, the maid’s eyes circled. I almost frowned at the sight of her reaction but she abruptly changed her expression and smiled.

“Oh, I see. Right, it might be the soldier’s large eagle roaming around again.” She said and she helped me wore my robe.

The maid seemed acting off. Why did I feel like she actually knew exactly what I saw?

“We need to dress you up now, My Lady. The ceremony is going to start soon.” The maid led me out of the bathroom and I can only follow. But then I suddenly halted. I didn’t know why but at that moment I suddenly remembered a story told by my favorite maid when I was young and goosebumps crawled all over my skin.