The Fae Prince's Unlawful Bride

Chapter 2

Victoria sat up in bed, in her own home, a little fuzzy about how she got there. She recalled everything expect exiting the portal. Did she pass out from it? There was no way to be sure. She recalled everything else. She knew Castian would figure all this out and then return for her, but it still hurt to be away from him. She wanted him here more than anything. She looked at her phone on the nightstand and checked her calendar and messages, one from mom asking her to attend dinner tomorrow evening, one from her friend Kayla inviting her to go on a girls trip next weekend and another from the national geographic, informing her that her photos had been approved and she was selected as a contract photographer, and how to reach them for negotiations and so forth. Victoria beamed with excitement. Well, at least she would have things to keep her occupied and being a contract photographer meant they would pay for her travels! She got up and put on her favorite band t-shirt, it was baggy and worn, but it was so comfortable, jean shorts and her favorite pair of slip-on converse shoes. Looking in the mirror as she fixed her hair she pondered where to travel next. Her phone rang, it was Kayla. She answered and filled her in on the good news. She also agreed to the weekend away. Not long after, Victoria made her way downstairs. She opened the door and nearly tripped over a small brown box on the ground. There were no package labels, just her name written on it. Victoria picked up the package and stepped back inside, shutting the door. She carefully opened the package. There was a letter on top that she opened first. ‘My dearest Victoria, I know everything went wrong with my family. I am so sorry I did not do better at preparing them for your arrival. I miss you already my love. I will travel to see you as often as I can. I’m not sure how soon I will be able to manage getting to you, it was hard enough to convince the door keeper to let travel long enough to drop this off. You are beautiful and have an amazing personality, I know you are strong, and you were right we will get through this too. Hopefully it will all be over soon. I am calling a council vote that will conclude by the end of this month. I am trying to get it all worked out. If I cannot then I will find my way to you and I will stay in your world. I would hate to leave my people and abandon those that see me as heir, but I will not stand in line to be king, if I cannot have you by my side as queen. There are a few things I sent that I hope you will like. I also know humans exchange rings and we never got to do that, so my love, there is a ring I hope you will find suitable. With all my love, forever yours. Castian.’ She finished reading his letter and laid it on the table, then picked up the small ring box. She opened it slowly and gasped when she laid eyes on the perfect ring. It was a gorgeous emerald gem surrounded by small diamond stones; the band was shaped to resemble vines that came together as a solid piece for under her finger. She hurriedly put it on. She wondered how he did it, but it fit perfectly. She sat the box down and continued getting items out of the box. There was a canister of her favorite fae cookies, he must have had them made special for her. There was a necklace that matched her ring and was exquisite. There were a couple books on fae history, specifically on Malgrave, the region where she would one day reside, and a small bouquet of flowers, she was sure came from the royal gardens. She had passed these very flowers a few times while she was there. He was so thoughtful, and she was so grateful to have found such a loving and kind man. She put the flowers in a vase and set it on the kitchen counter, she placed the books on her nightstand, she put away the beautiful necklace where it would be safe. She looked at the clock. She realized that she was running late so she texted Kayla really quick as she rushed out the door.

She arrived at the café in town where her friend Kayla had asked her to meet. They need to discuss weekend plans. Kayla had already gotten them a table and ordered for them. Kayla jumped up to hug her best friend before they sat down. “I’m so glad you agreed to come this weekend.” Kayla told her. “I am glad you invited me; I could use the distraction honestly.” Victoria confided. Kayla was the only one that knew about her marriage, and she was her witness at the wedding. “So, what happened? You were supposed to be in his world right now. I was a little shocked you were back already.” Kayla asked honestly concerned. Victoria gave Kayla all the details about the meeting with the queen and king, the rejection, the banishment, the fact that she was not supposed to know she was still married, the potion, all of it that didn’t include her and Castian’s private time. Kayla was silent when Victoria finished. She looked astonished at how easy it was for her best friend to be sent away for nothing other than being human in a fae world. “Well, now we need this weekend to be extra great, you deserve to get away.” Kayla said, now determined to help her best friend find a way to navigate life differently than she had planned. “Thank you, Kayla, I don’t know what I would do without you.” Victoria stated as a waitress dropped off the bill. Victoria grabbed the bill and went to the checkout counter while Kayla finished her coffee. They finished making their plans for the weekend and parted ways, they would get together on Friday evening and head out of town.

Victoria called the number back for nation geographic and they discussed the contract job she was offered. Now all that was left was to print out the documents, sign them, and fax them in. She was excited for new adventures and ready to let her parents know some things about her day today. They were still in the dark about her marriage, and she had planned to keep it that way for the time being. There was no point in telling them until she could be with Castian permanently anyway. She started walking, it always cleared her head when she had a rough day, no matter where she was. She was on the main street, and it was a pretty day out, so it was a little busier than usual. She walked past a clothing store, a hair salon, a winery, and then stopped at the pet store. There was nothing in her lease about dogs and a little company on her adventures might be nice, she thought to herself. She walked in and followed the sound of little yaps until she saw her. An adorable little Australian Shepard puppy. She had a marbled coat with mixes of brown, black, white, and gray. Her eyes her different, one blue and one brown. She was perfect. Victoria walked over to her, and the puppy sat down and looked at her tilting her head to the side, Victoria picked her up and the puppy began licking her face. That was it, she had a new friend. She held the puppy while going through the store getting what she needed for her new little one and debating names. Finally, she decided, Willow. She paid for all the pup’s things and left the store with a new addition to her family. She called her mom as she walked to her car and informed her there would be a surprise when she got there.

She pulled into her parents’ driveway and her mom was the first out the door to greet her, she had probably been watching for Victoria to pull up. Willow jumped out when Victoria opened the door and immediately ran to the porch where she sat and waited on Victoria. Savannah Bowen, Victoria’s mother, was a bit shorter than her daughter, but otherwise the two looked very much alike. Victoria watched as her mother greeted the puppy before opening the door for them both. “Dinner will be out in a matter of minutes, though I don’t have any puppy plates, I’m sure we can arrange something.” She said with a chuckle of laughter, happy to see her daughter well again. It had been about a month since Victoria had visited her parents, time always moved so fast now that she was an adult. They had a lovely dinner and discussed Victoria’s new job and the weekend getaway. Her parents offered to puppy sit this weekend and Victoria accepted grateful that they didn’t mind. Her brother was away on a school trip for a few days, so it would give her a reason to stop in the next week and see him too. Shaun was a smart kid; he had all honor classes and was only a freshman in high school. It would be good to catch up with him too. Once they finished eating and visiting, Victoria loaded Willow into the car and left for home. She was exhausted after the day and the emotional drain from last night too.

They arrived home; Victoria got Willow settled and then got cleaned up and ready to lay down. She opened one of the books Castian had left for her and began reading about the history of Malgrave. There was a lot there. She did not realize why the king was so adamant that a human is not to be queen. That must be why Castian left these books. The last human queen was over 100 years ago, and it ended in utter tragedy. The king at that time had fallen in love with a human woman who moved to their realm. She had two children with him, the first one, of whom was a perfect blend of his mother and father and the second one, of whom had no fae features at all. Including no magic. The half fae brother was still brilliant in his magic and had managed all of his studies well, the other brother struggled with all of his studies and could not manage any magic, but he did excel in one subject. Defensive arts, in other words, he was skilled at using weapons of all kinds. The younger brother was very jealous of his older brother and one night after everyone in the castle had gone to bed, he murdered his brother with the very sword his father had specially crafted for him, then plunged it into his very own heart. The king and queen awoke to both sons dead. Then began the fighting between them. She was filled with grief and shame, blamed herself for her sons being so different. She fell into a deep depression. While the king covered his grief with alcohol and strange women in his bed. The queen had enough of his promiscuous lifestyle when she thought he should be more grief stricken about his sons, so she banned other women from entering the castle, causing more arguments. Finally, she broke, and the final fight ended with her stabbing him in the heart and then taking her own life as well. Guards found them and another king from the neighboring region had to piece back together Malgrave. Upon all the misfortune that Malgrave had faced, that king deemed it unlawful to have a mixed marriage. It was to be all fae or all human, but never mixed. Too much was able to be lost. She fell asleep before she finished the book completely, but she had read enough to understand Castian’s parents’ position, she was asking them to take a chance on her and Castian being different. They were, she was sure of that, but to ask someone to trust that you when they have seen so much bloodshed at the same type of situation. She at least understood.