Rejected and Auctioned off to the Demon King

Chapter Six: Hello Cinderella

There was knocking on the bedroom door. “Red? You’re ready to go aren’t you?” Paula asked but I wasn’t sure if I was emotionally ready for my debut. Nolan was already dressed and getting a little work done while he waited for me.

I sighed. “Yeah.” I walked out of the room with the hot pink dress on. “I’m ready.” I was the opposite of confident while wearing that dress.

“We have someone who can do your hair and makeup.” She said after staring at me which made me feel like I didn’t do a good enough job on it myself. I am going to meet important people so it’s better that I do look my best. I followed Paula into a room. There was a man there who must have been waiting for me.

“Hello.” He said. “Sit down.” He pointed to the chair and took a seat. It didn’t take too long before he started on my hair and makeup. I looked in the mirror and was surprised at how good I looked. They didn’t do much, it was a natural look but it flattered me. They knew just what to do to bring out my eyes. My hairstyle was a ponytail before and now it was a bun with hair out in the front.

“Thank you,” I said and left with Paula to the front of the castle. “I’m a little nervous.”

Paula put her hand on my stomach. “I understand you are but know that you don’t need to be. Nolan wouldn’t bring you or go at all if he didn’t want to show off his new beautiful Queen. He knows you’ll be fine.”

I nodded. It’s not like I never got a compliment before but she sounded so genuine. Usually, compliments are just thrown around so I don’t feel like I was able to tell when they actually meant it.

Nolan approached me and he paused to take a good look at me. When he was done we got into a limo. He looked so nice and clean. He had on a white suit and his hair was down. His bread was cleaned up sharply. “You met Wayne?”

I nodded. “Your brother was nice, I really liked him.”

He leaned over and put my seat belt on for me. “Good, he’s a good person.”

I didn’t notice yet but for a while, I was just staring at him. I didn’t even realize it until he blushed for the first time I’ve ever seen and he looked away. I didn’t want it to be awkward so I spoke. “You look good Nolan.”

He looked at me and didn’t say anything. Soon we arrived at the ball. We got out and walked inside the building side by side. I was mortified when I saw that everyone was wearing black, wine reds, and dark blues. Basically, they were wearing dull colors and I was the only one wearing a bright-ass dress. I stood out so much and so did Nolan since he was the only one wearing white but I even stood out more compared to him. “Nolan… wh-why am I wearing a hot pink dress??” I whispered as we walked down the steps with the whole room staring.

He looked down at me and chuckled. “You were going to stand out anyways. I wanted to get you a dress that was just as attention-grabbing as you are. Something that suited your beauty.” Now I wasn’t only embarrassed from standing out I was flustered from Nolan’s compliment. Sometimes I felt like Nolan was seeing a different Red than I was.

When we got to the floor I just took some breaths to calm down. I looked at a group that approached us. “King Nolan.” One of the men chuckled. “I haven’t seen you in so long. Are you going to introduce me to your date?” He looked at me. He had two sets of horns and was a purple-ish color.

“This is Red, my wife.” I felt butterflies from him introducing me that way. We did sign the papers last night so we were legally married now. “We’re going to have the proper ceremony for our marriage and her coronation soon.”

“So you’re the mystery human woman I’ve been hearing about. You know I grew up with Nolan. He wasn’t such a tough kid though.” He chuckled and Nolan just looked annoyed.

I smiled awkwardly and watched him go while other people greeted Nolan and he introduced me to them as his wife and soon-to-be Queen. I got some disapproving looks and reactions along with friendly ones. “Nolan.” I grabbed his arm and whispered. “I need some air…” I was on the verge of having an anxiety attack. “Please…”

He walked to the balcony with me on his arm. There were a few people outside but Nolan ignored them. He sat down on the bench and pulled me down on his lap so I was sitting sideways across it. My face was so red at this point. “Nolan…”

“Shh.” He said. “Don’t worry about anyone else Red. You’re nervous? I can hear your heartbeat from here and you’re shaking.” He was so caring, nothing like I thought he’d be when he first purchased me. I looked at the few people who thought they were staring discreetly on the other side of the balcony but I could still tell. “Just look at me.”

I looked him in his eyes and a tear fell down my cheek. “...It’s too much. Being here and meeting all those people.” I felt like I was living a nightmare as if everyone hated me and everything was going to go wrong or that maybe everything was going wrong already.

“Then we’ll leave.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to run from things… I’m going to be Queen, this is my responsibility. I-I don’t want to be the type of Queen to not be able to be around her people.” I had social anxiety but that didn’t mean I couldn’t overcome it.

He sighed. “Maybe I made a mistake.” He muttered.

His words paralyzed me because any second he could decide I’m not cut out for this and send me home. He wasn’t going to pay my father until after the ceremonies. He only gave him an upfront payment at purchase but only 10% of the actual price he’s going to be giving him. If he sends me back I’d never see Nolan again… “What? No, you didn’t. I’ll be fine.” I wiped my tears and got up. “Come on, I’m sure there are more people you want to introduce me to.” I tried to put on a brave face.

He looked away over the balcony with a sad expression. “You remind me of my late wife.” So what Wayne said is true enough that Nolan sees it too. “Maybe I’m drawn to people like you without realizing it. When I saw you up there on the auction stage- when you looked out at us you looked lost.” I guess I’ve always been lost, but it’s not like I needed anyone to find me. I didn’t want Nolan’s pity. “Like you had no place you belonged but so much to offer. I wanted whatever you had to offer.” All I have to offer is baggage and sorrow. “Anyone else who bought you would have just eaten you or used you as a s*x slave. Maybe a servant but you were better than that.” This is how Nolan sees me and I want to prove him right but I’m so emotional. “I didn’t buy you with the intention of marrying you to Stefan in the future. I just had to come up with something but it had to be something big. Then I spoke to you and your presence felt so warm and kind like hers. I didn’t want to marry you because you reminded me of her. I wanted to marry you because…” He stopped because a woman approached us. She looked elderly.

“Nolan, can I speak to you?” She asked.

He looked at me as if he was waiting for me to give him permission and I nodded. He got up with her and walked off for privacy. I walked over to a corner and took deep breaths. What Nolan said about me calmed me down for the most part. If I didn’t know better I’d say Nolan was in love with me but that couldn’t be possible. Not so soon. The only time I ever heard someone speak about someone else like that was my mother about my father in journal entries of hers and my sister about her husband Steel. They were both in love with those people.

“Hey.” A woman sat greeted me. “I’m Talla. I’m a good friend of Nolan. I run a few orphanages in the realm but really that’s a passion project I run businesses as well.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a small bottle that had pills in it. “Do you want one?”

I frowned. “What is it?” I wasn’t the type to take random pills from strange women I just met.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s for anxiety.” I was only that obvious.

“Like Xanax?” My father never believed in anxiety or depression so I never took anything like that before.

She nodded. “The equivalent to it. I noticed you don’t seem the most comfortable here meeting all these people and I’m going to guess Nolan dressed you in that and it wasn’t your pick. You must not be used to all the attention.”

I sighed. I’m a human psychic. I got attention all the time so I’m used to it but I still can’t handle it well. “This is the most attention I’ve ever gotten but I also feel like they must be thinking I’m not good enough to be Nolan’s Queen.”

She handed me one pill and I held it. I wasn’t sure if I’d take it. “Trust me, that is not what they’re thinking. Not the majority or anyone who matters. Maybe I’ll give you guys a visit at the castle sometime soon.” She left and Nolan walked back to me. “I don’t think Talla is the best company for you right now.” I wasn't sure what he meant. He noticed my hand was balled up. “Did she give you something?”

I nodded. “A pill for anxiety.”

“Don’t take that.” He said as if it was an order.

“Oh… okay…” I put it in my purse. “Were you and that woman talking about something important?”

He shrugged. “Important to her. She’s my mother.”

“Really?” I started to feel a little sick because she wasn’t giving me the kindest look before. “God, she hates me doesn’t she?”

“Stop mentioning your god.” He said annoyed and now that I thought about it in the lecture I went to with Wayne the human god wasn’t spoken of much. When he was it wasn’t in the most pleasant way. “My mother wanted to discuss our marriage with me. She doesn’t hate you or even dislikes you. She just doesn’t think I should be married to you. Nothing personal, it’s more for your own sake than anything else.” She must think whatever happened to the last Queen will happen to me. “Ignore it. We should dance.”

“Why can’t I take the pill? It’s supposed to help me feel relaxed.”

He looked down at my bag than me. “It’s made for demons and you could get addicted.” He put his hand out and I took the pill out of my bag into his hand. He broke it in my hand. “Open.” I opened my mouth and felt embarrassed like a little kid but he already broke it in his own hands. He sprinkled about A little less than half in my mouth and let the rest of the crumples fall to the ground. “Can we dance now?”

I swallowed and nodded. I followed him back inside and to the dance floor. The sound was slow so I wrapped my arms around his neck with his hands on my waist. We danced slowly and a lot of people were staring. After a while, it was like we were the only two people and the pill also kicked in so I was feeling good. “Why did you want to marry me?” I asked since he never finished telling me since his Mother interrupted us.

“You’re perfect.” He answered.