The Princess Broken Wolf

17

The realization stopped her dead in her tracks. She could make Ruslan complete the blood bond of their Kingdoms, have him under the eternal contract of five generations. Even if he wanted to kill her, he and everyone in his direct kin would die too. The blood ritual came with many possibilities and pons but the consequences it bore were far greater. The killing of the blood bonder was impossible even if one of the party hired an assassin from anywhere in the realm. If the person in the bond was killed, as a consequence of breaking the promise, the killer’s closest kin i.e mother, father, sister, aunt, uncles, and grandparents would die of a horrible disease called Corpsque. It literally turned the people into corpses, with only talking ability intact. All in all, the blood bond was sacred and practiced scarcely, and for the Karkonz’s King to agree to it, it was the absolute perfect plan. Rosamund began hatching a plot in her mind. She could commence the bonding, have Ruslan drugged in one way or another, and take a boat from Jamoil and travel to the edge of Draunkoom, Magmeer, a small village of the witches that no longer practiced witchery. She knew of a witch named Edwon, a man in his late 40’s, who owed her during the war for saving his life. She could have him build a portion for her to conceal her identity, features and everything that made her Rosamund Marigold and live with a new identity somewhere far away. She could sell all the world stone she had with her and in her jewellery and literally start off as someone entirely new. The plan kept building in her mind, distracting her from the wolf that was currently inspecting her.

“Are you comfortable?” Ruslan asked, suddenly taking her mind off of her strategies and plans.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Rosamund replied flustered, feeling as if she had been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to do.

I really shouldn’t be thinking about running away again, she thought, settling down on the plush seats of the carriage.

It was the first time for her to ever be seated in a carriage with so much protocol. Usually Rosamund was the one to either be in the leading group in front of the carriage or behind it in the group for protection. To be seated in such plush carriage seats and alone with a beastly man, Rosamund felt uncomfortable. And when Rosamund was uncomfortable, she flushed red, from head to her toes. The Ugly bright red that looked like a chilli.

“Do you feel hot?” Ruslan asked, pausing at his conversation in his gloom device while looking directly at her eyes.

“Uhh no.” she replied while trying to steady her heart and her mind. It was awkward for a few seconds before she heard Ruslan sigh and, after going through the small cabinet on the side of their seats, he poured a lavender-colored drink into two crystal wine glasses.

“Drink this.” He offered her a glass, looking expectantly at her.

For a few seconds, Rosamund fixed her gaze onto the lavender drink, intently looking at it.

“ There is no poison,” Ruslan teased, while still offering the glass.

If I died by poison, it would be very hilarious but unsatisfying, Rosamund thought, still hesitating to take the glass.

Heaving a sigh, Ruslan removed his face cover from the side of his face and took a sip off of the glass he was offering to Rosamund. A few seconds later, he expectantly looked at Rosamund and, knowing all way, offered the glass again. This time, though, Rosamund took it gladly.

“If there was a poison, you shouldn’t have been affected by it because of your divinity.” Ruslan said, looking at a stack of papers Luke had given to him earlier.

Rosamund nearly chocked on the sweet drink, she almost spluttered it everywhere. Cooling down her face and steadying her voice, she said,

“I know,” She had gracefully replied, keeping her calm.

Ruslan had only quirked an eyebrow at her in reply before going back to his paper work.

Rosamund shifted her attention towards the changing scenery. The green mountains looked full of dew, the clear sky was now decorated with hues of pink, purple and orange. It was sunset and the road they were taking had a beautiful view of it. Rosamund couldn’t help but feel at ease when she looked outside. The flying birds and the running horses on the never ending stretch of green land was a much needed view she needed. She wanted to take a deep breath of the sunset, run with the horses on their backs and be free of the princess-hood she was given. She wanted to be a person of her own choice of her destiny, the marriage she was in was everything but real and Rosamund craved real. The voice in her head was silent from the moment she spoke those vows. Why? She didn’t know, but somehow she didn’t regret what she said to a man she didn’t know. If she believed in soulmates, she would have said Ruslan was half the soul she was lacking. But under such bitterness and darkened reality, Rosamund knew soul mates didn’t exist. If they even did, there was no one for her.

“You can take off your veil if you’d like.” Ruslan spoke out of no where just as Rosamund was taking a deep breath of the crisp air. She stopped short in her seat when she registered what he had said.

“I cannot.” her simple reply made him look at her for elaboration.

Rosamund explained. “It is against the Royal Code of Conduct in Marigold for a bride to show her face to anyone else before her groom after the vow ceremony.” It was as clear as she could tell him.

“and I suppose it goes both ways?” he said while gesturing to his own face cover.

“Yes,” Rosamund confirmed.

“And what would happen if one went against the code of conduct?” Rosamund found genuine curiosity in his question or else she would have hauled a few of his absurd traditions in his face.

“This Code of Conduct has to do with our history.” Rosamund replied, not really wanting to explain the said history.

“That would be?” Ruslan asked, his attention fully on her now.

After showing a bit of reluctance, Rosamund explained.“It is believed that there was once a Marigoldian Queen who showed her face to a valet after the vow ceremony. The valet, coming under the influence of madness, killed the Queen using a knife that was placed beside the fruit basket. It was said that he was cursed by the Moon Goddess for looking at someone else’s soulmate. Regrettably, no one knew where he went. The same case has occurred more than once and thus, to prevent this curse, face veils were made mandatory.”

“Interesting story. I wonder if anyone would be able to kill you.” His comment made her stiffen. Looking directly at his eyes, she replied.

“If there was anyone out there, they would have already killed me, Your Majesty,” addressing him when he asked her not to be a way of vexing him. Unfortunately, he was aware of what she was trying to do, but chose not to comment on it.

“ I believe we might be akin to someone like a soul mate.” his remarks were thrown lightly but it tugged at her heart. Oh how Rosamund had yearned for her soul mate to appear, to become a reason for her to fight the horrible fate she had to endure so far. Esmeralda was her greatest reason to give herself up to death, but Rosamund wanted someone who would become the reason for her to live. She had been surviving so far, breathing until this day. Rosamund couldn’t help but want to breathe solely because someone precious was there to share her breaths with.

“If there were soulmates in this whole realm, we would have been paired off with someone else entirely.” Rosamund said, her words serious.

“What makes you think we aren’t suited for one another?” his voice had gone threateningly husky and smooth. As if he genuinely thought they were soul mates. As if he really hoped they were.

“We aren’t. We can not be.” not a rejection, but simply the truth that she believed.

“What if we were?” the question he threw at her was uncharacteristically needy and desperate. He was King Ruslan Karkonz. Any woman would willingly become the richest and the wealthiest and the strongest Queen of the nation if only they saw his half-covered face. For him to desperately ask such a question from her, Rosamund took caution to the wind and hurled it out the window. She genuinely wanted to reply. She wanted him to feel her answer.

“ If we were each others soul mates, and I hope we aren’t, then we are a doomed couple.” Rosamund had directly looked into his dark eyes and replied with a surety he could clearly see in her eyes.

Ruslan didn’t say anything to her reply, he kept silence for a few moments before giving a reply.

“We’ll know that once we commence our marriage. And as far as soul mates go, we could not be a perfect couple.” Rosamund stopped short. He genuinely thinks they might be soul mates. Rosamund could only laugh at his absurdity.

Oh for him to be betrayed by his own soul mate, what fate had decided for them was too cruel to comprehend. Rosamund was already on the verge of losing all her hopes in her Goddess. She was steadied only by the thin thread of revenge. But if this possibility of a flawed princess turning out to be a soul mate for the cruel and mightiest king, they were truly the most unfortunate souls in the realm.