Prince Regent Devon and Me

Valerie POV “Mummy?” I hesitantly stepped forward, as they took her lifeless body away, tears ran down my eyes. Cold, until it ran dry, I trailed behind them as they loaded her lifeless body in the carriage. Hoping, waiting. A response from her, from anybody. “Wipe those tears, child.” A voice said from behind. I turned and looked up at her, a black veil slightly covered her face. She looked straight ahead, a stern expression. “You're a queen now Valerie and Queens do not cry.” The hooves of the horses stomped against the palace ground, my blood ran cold. “Your mother is dead, and soon your father will take a second wife.” My stomach twisted in dread. I turned back to her. “Thankfully,the Blackfyre empire acknowledges you as the rightful heir.” Her deep voice vibrated like a groan. Then she finally glanced down. “When you marry crown Prince Devon Blackfyre, you will be more than just a queen. You'll become the empress of an empire.” My grandmother's words still echoed behind my head, deep and cold. My fingers reached for the necklace around my neck as I stared back at the reflection in the mirror. My twenty year birthday ceremony, everything had been planned out to perfection. The festivals, tournaments and most importantly his arrival. The last time I saw him, he'd given me a red rose flower. So thoughtful of him, then he told me he'd be back and finally after so many years of waiting he's coming for me. The door swung open as the maidens rushed in. “Good morning queen Valerie.” The maids said in unison. “The necklace suits you… crown prince Devon would be pleased.” Elise, one of the maids commented, causing a smile to curl across my face, if this was a mission aimed at flattering me well she was doing a good job at it. “And this will suit well with it.” They brought a beautiful dark red corset. “It fits the colors of house Blackfyre.” My jaw almost fell down to my feet. “Hold still, my queen.” The laces pulled again. My breath caught—sharp, shallow—as the corset tightened around me, black linen drawing inch by inch. The red stripes warped slightly over my ribs, stretching as though they, too, felt the strain. I could feel every tug, every careful adjustment, the maids’ hands firm and practiced as they shaped me into something smaller, neater… contained. “Too tight?” one of them asked. I shook my head, even as the words lodged somewhere behind my ribs. “No.” Another pull. Air slipped from my lungs, and when I tried to take it back, it came in thin and measured, as if the corset had decided how much I was allowed. Tiny beads stitched along the bodice pressed into my skin, not quite painful, but impossible to ignore—each movement reminding me of their presence. “Almost done.” I watched myself change. My posture straightened without permission, shoulders drawn back, waist pulled in until I barely recognized the girl staring back at me. She looked refined, controlled. Like something meant to be admired, not touched. A maid stepped forward, lifting the piece that would crown it all. The metal was cool as she settled it onto my head, delicate and gleaming. It caught the light instantly, framing my face in something regal and distant. I swallowed, carefully, testing the limits of my breath. The girl in the mirror didn’t flinch. She just stood there, perfectly still, perfectly shaped, wearing her crown like it had always belonged. Each step I took was replied with jiggles of jewelries, the hallway gave way. They bowed their heads with a smile on their face. Then I paused at the door, a deep breath before walking in. The smell of herbs and medicine filled the room, and there she was. Lying on the bed, weak and fragile. Staring out to the window. “Grandmother.” I called out. “My lovely granddaughter.” She replied with a smile across her face. “You look just like your mother, except you have your father's blue eyes.” I moved towards the side of the bed, clutching her hands. “How are you faring up?” “I've seen worse.” She replied, a dry cough escaping her mouth. She tightened her hold on my hands. “Do you hear that?” The sound of drums and trumpets, jubilations of people outside. “They celebrate you, their queen. The backings of the masses, you need that. The empire lacks that, because it is a power you cannot force.” She pulled herself up from the bed, her voice dropped to a whisper. “Their cursed blood grants them power to use the darkness to commit as many atrocities as they want, but we dear child, bear dawn fire blood, the fire of the Phoenix. They may rule us for now but soon their darkness will consume all of them.” My chest tightened. “Are they… really all the same?” My grandmother's glare cut through my skin. “Their blood is evil, they're the spawn of the devil… do not pity them.” I look away, my eyes darting around the room. “And I'm about to get married to one.” “A sacrifice for the greater good.” She faced my head back to her and pulled up my chin. “One that hurts me more than you know my dear.” Deep inside I refused to believe, my crown Prince could never be a monster. His smile, his soft eyes. They can't all be monsters… right? “The king arrives!” An announcer says from outside. My smile vanished, my grandmother laid back down as I stood to my feet. The moment he walked in, his eyes scanned the room. The crown almost perfectly seated on his bald head. His robe was white, with a Phoenix inscribed on the chest, a symbol of house Vealmar. “Father.” I slightly bent my head. He responded without even looking. “Daughter.” “How is your health?” His attention fully turned to my grandmother. “I'm still alive, if that's what you mean.” He rolls his eyes before finally glancing at me, his own daughter. “You chose to wear their colors I see.” Looking down at my dress. “It is their empire isn't it?” I respond barely letting the words leave his mouth. Suddenly, the music outside halts. The crowd goes silent, could it be that they've arrived? The Blackfyre, prince Devon. A guard bursts in, panting, while sweat drips down from his head. “My king, Prince Regent Devon has arrived.” A smile escaped my face before I could stop it, my hands pulled up the corset. I rushed out of the room, my father calling my name behind me. My heartbeat rapidly increased, the wind blowing my hair backwards. “Careful my queen.” The maids screamed from behind me. After so many years, I'm finally going to see him again. My heels slipped out of my feet, the feel of the cold floor against my toes. I didn't stop– Until it finally came to view– the Blackfyre entourage. I stopped at the stairs, where the nobles gathered just below. Pounding heart, gasping for air. But that didn't matter to me, cause after so long he's finally back to me… just like he promised.