Princess of the Underworld

Chapter 11 - The Decision

"We have come to a decision, Livana," Zadimus said, his eyes slightly softening but still a pitch coal-black colour. "And what decision do you wish to discuss, father?" Livana replied respectfully before turning to look at her mother, who sighed and looked down, not meeting my gaze with a sad expression. "Your father and I, Livana, have come to the agreement that you will marry Vernon. He is from one of the wealthiest families living in the underworld, ranking second to our own. He is also a fine young gentleman and would be a great partner for you-" "NO!" Livana shouted as she stood up, not looking at her family, as she felt she did not have to - Livana could feel her father's cold stare piercing through her. "You have no choice, Livana. This is the decision we have made, and we have agreed to it. This is what is best for you and the underworld." She heard her father say.

Livana felt a sharp pain in her eyes, and her vision blurred. As tears welled up, Livana quickly wiped them away, trying to hold back her emotions. "You can't do this; I don't want to," she said, her voice betraying the pain and sadness she felt.

"Livana," Livana's mother Kamra began to say as she stood up to walk over to her daughter, reaching out her hand. Livana stepped back and whacked her mother's hand away before she could touch her. "Don't touch me!" Livana said in a cold-toned voice. Before Livana could react or say anything more, she felt a cold, hard hand make contact with her right cheek. The room then fell silent for a bit until a loud, stern yell was heard.

"Don't you dare raise that tone of voice towards your mother, young lady!" Livana heard her father, Zadimus, shout. Livana placed her hand on her right cheek in shock before glaring up at her father, stepping away from them all. "I hate you all! I will never ever forgive you!" Livana shouted. Zadimus was about to step closer to his daughter. "Stay away from me!" Livana screamed while stepping back. "You have ruined my life!" Livana stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. She ran towards her bedroom, not looking back.

When Livana reached her room, she opened the door and slammed it shut, locking it, not letting anyone in. Livana slid down the door and curled up into a ball, allowing the tears she kept bottled up to stream down her face. "I hate it here; I hate being ordered around; I hate being told what to do and when to do it; I hate..." Livana had let out a high, deafening, muffled scream before hearing a faint knock on her door. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Livana shouted on the other side of the door. "Liv? It is me, Ellerosé. I saw you storm off, and I wanted to know if you are ok," she said. Livana took a moment before sighing and unlocking the door to see Ellerosé standing on the other side. Livana looked at her and fell into her arms, crying, hugging her tightly and not letting go. Livana then felt Ellerosé hug her tightly back, trying to calm her down, but nothing could calm Livana down from what had just been said in the private room.

Ellerosé stood there patiently, waiting for Livana to gather her thoughts. "It's okay, you can tell me when you're ready," she reassured Livana. After taking a deep breath, Livana looked up at Ellerosé with tears streaming down her face and said, "They told me that they've found a suitor for me." Each word was interrupted by sobs. Ellerosé held Livana close until she composed herself, then followed Livana to the chair while closing the door behind them. "I'm sorry, Liv," she started to say, but Livana interrupted. "This isn't your fault, Ellerosé. Not in a million years," she said firmly as Ellerosé sat on the seat beside Livana.

Livana and Ellerosé both sat in silence for a while until spoke. "I have to go and sort something out, but if you need anything, let me know, okay?" With that, Livana turned and hugged her before she got up, walked out of the room, and closed the door. Livana quickly stood up, walked over, and locked her door before heading towards the window. Livana drew back the curtains and sat on the nook, looking out at the horizon of the underworld, daydreaming. Livana's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by laughter and yelling from below; where she got curious and looked down below and saw it was the people of the underworld having fun. Livana felt a heaviness of sadness wash over her as her change of expression formed on her face; Livana had replayed the moment her family told her about marrying Vernon.

"We will tomorrow night invite all of the underworld to hear the announcement we have agreed to" my father had said "we will also invite Vernon and his family to stand with us up on our balcony looking down at our people to announce the engagement of you and Vernon, so we expect you to be there and be on your best behaviour."

Livana sighed before standing up from her nook, closing the curtain, and heading towards her bathroom. After showering and putting on her nightgown, she climbed into her queen-sized bed and lay quietly. Livana tried her best to sleep, but her mind was filled with so many thoughts that it would not be easy to sleep. Livana felt a wave of guilt washing over her while thinking. "I never thought this day would come where I'll have to tell not only my family but the whole of the underworld the reason why I can't go through with this marriage."

Livana knew this would hurt her family, as they are very traditional people and have always followed the traditional family heritage, but deep down, if Livana never told them, she just knew she would never be truly happy. Livana turned to look at the time, and it read 1 a.m. She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling herself fall deep into the depths of darkness, not hearing anything but dead silence.