A Royal Affair

The Startling Revelation

Elara's POV

The room stood dead silent immediately after Alaric had slammed the door shut. I was seated at the edge of my bed, a storm raging inside my head. For my sister, Celene, the future queen, was to marry Prince Damon Valen of Velmere.

“Who is this man?” I mumbled under my breath as I tried to think of any royal ball I had attended in the last years to recall the man my sister was to marry.

“Prince Damon Valen.” I mumbled.

The name resonated somewhere within my mind, but the face didn't associated with my memory. Celene cared less about any man; her thoughts were always about duty, the laws of land, and its people.

So why this man? What made Prince Damon so special?

Lying against the headboard, I stared groggily at the golden curtains swirling across the room with wind. Celene wouldn't have agreed to marry him for love; it was probably a strategy for the good of the land. That's how she had been brought up-putting the crown first. Maybe her marriage is just another sacrificial lamb among her people.

Troubled again, I still had the feeling that something was amiss with this engagement.

I sighed while rubbing my temple, trying to get rid of the tension. “Well done, Celene,” I whispered. “Marrying a stranger for the good of the land... proving you are a better princess that I can ever be…again.”

It was weighing heavily upon my head-the quick trip hither, the laws, and then this detail. Decided to leave Celene to think about her own as I faced mine and soon I was asleep.

I woke with the room in semi-darkness. The sun was setting, throwing long shadows on the walls. I stretched, reaching for the phone. I had a message from the lawyer.

*Good, Princess. We won the case. The properties, cars, and money are back in your name. Congrats.*

I laughed would be the correct term, for the surprise. Finally! I whispered, relieved. At least some good news. Liam's lawyers had lost; I had a fair sense of justice.

But all this was interrupted when the maids came to me and everything turned. They advanced slowley and bowed down their heads, while one said in a low voice, “Your Highness, it's time for your bath. You need to attend to a private dinner this evening.”

Sour expression was on my face; all happiness had left me some time ago. “Dinner? “

“Why, Princess,” she said, lowering her head. “The Velmere family will arrive tonight.”

A heavy weight landed in my gut. The Valens. Celene's new family. The prince would be present without a doubt, and I conjured up his face in my mind.

I smiled to myself, taking a small step in finding the renewed strength-thought. “Okay. I will do this.”

They ushered me into the bathing chamber. The tub had been filled with warm water and petals strewn with jasmine. Suddenly it was all too much. I sat in the water, watching the steam rise as the maids poured water over me. Pretty much like a real princess, but somehow I felt it was all surreal, like a flimsy little stage with me having had no idea of what to do or say.

Out of the bath, I was fitted in blue adorned with silver. They did my hair up with pearls. I could hardly recognize myself in the mirror.

The same girl who had lost herself in a stranger's arms the night before was now transformed into something fit for a princess.

A quiet knock hung in the air.

"Come in," I called.

Alaric walked in; he grinned when he saw me. “You look great, Elara. True princess style.”

I rolled my eyes in a bit of a smirk. “Almost.”

He laughed. "You're still fighting spirit in you. Keep it."

“Tonight,” I sighed. “I needto know what to do out there. What do I say? What if I mess up?”

He stepped closer and held my shoulders. “Listen. Just stand tall, bow, and smile when you ought to. Tonight is just a matter of showing up. You'll do fine.”

I nodded, trying to breathe to calm myself. “Okay. I'll try.”

Before Alaric could say anything, the sound of loud, steady, heavy drums filled the halls.

“They're here,” proclaimed Alaric, brimming with excitement.

My heart leaped. The moment had come.

We walked down the long shiny corridor. Servants were running about, fixing flowers everywhere. The smell in the air was roses. At the foot of the stairs, I could see some guards opening the doors below them.

The Velmere family entered in grand fashion, with their banners across their chests, gowns of gold, and crowns. Queen Morgana Valen, smiling and apparently cold and powerful, walked in front, she looked every inch of a Queen. Her and Celene would be a deadly combination.

But what caught my eye was not her cold demeanor…. It was the young man behind her.

I gasped.

No!

That face. Those grey eyes. That jaw.

It was the man from last night.

The stranger who kissed me and whom I couldn't forget.

I almost fell to the floor as my knee bucked, catching the railing. I was trying to keep calm so no one would notice , but my heart was racing.

Queen Morgana halted and bent low to Celene in greeting, who then smiled back to them.

I took a deep breath as the prince got even closer. He was looking even better, sharper and more dangerous.

Then Celene noticed me.

"Elara," she whispered, "stand straight, back straight, chim up.” I immediately complied even though my eyes were on the Prince, scared he will disappear if I blinked.

Celene welcomed her guests with a warm smile. “This is my sister, Princess Elara Windsor.”

“Princess Elara,” King Valen said as he kissed my hand.

Prince Damon looked at me. For a second, his eyes widen a little. I saw something in them. Then it was gone, and he just looked polite.

Celene turned toward the Velmere royals. “And this… She paused, to look at me and with a smile she continued. “This is Prince Damon Valen… my future husband”