Thorns and Promises

Pain

{Lilliana’s POV}

King Aelarian, and Princess Anora took me to my room within the palace. A massive bedchamber, with a king sized bed, that had four posters on it, along with white curtains that hung down around it. There was a fireplace across the room, with a fur run in front of it, along with two white chairs. On one side of the room there was a small walk in closet, on the other side, a bathroom with a large crystal bathtub, it was clear crystal, completely see through. There was a vanity with a basin, on the wall with a large mirror that nearly spread from wall to wall. The two of them left me alone, allowing me to explore my room while I wait for dinner.

They’d given me a tour, showing me where most of everything was, and told me that I was free to explore the castle whenever I felt up to it. I figured, now was as good a time as any. As I stepped out into the hallway, I could hear soft whispers somewhere in the distance. I don’t know why, but I’d decided to follow them, finding myself outside of the throne room, the one I’d been dragged into just three days prior.

“So you’re not going to tell her?” I heard a voice, it sounded like Sir Roderick.

“No.. not yet, she needs time to settle in.” King Aelarian replied, his voice sounding heavier than it did earlier.

“But.. he assaulted her.. why would her father marry her off to him?” Roderick shouted. “Planning an engagement ball for her, so he can marry her off to that bas**** Rosewood!”

I gasped, taking a step back, I knew my father hated me.. I’d known it for years. So why did this hurt? I felt something cold.. wet, and unfamiliar on my face, and before I was able to process it, the doors in front of me flung open, Adriel standing in the doorway, his eyes were wild, and angry before they landed on me. Something shifted across his features, something akin to hurt. “He really is a monster..” I whimpered. “He planned this.. He planned all of it..” I muttered under my breath. He was there with Rosewood when I drank that wine.. he kept bringing him around, and complimenting him. He knew what Rosewood had planned to do.. when Rosewood said he was making sure he got what he was promised.. he meant me.. my hand in marriage. Tears spilled down my cheeks, this was a low that even I thought my father couldn’t stoop to, but I should’ve known better. He truly was a monster, and I planned to be the one to take him down.

“What are you talking about?” Aelarian asked, standing from the throne and making his way to me in long, precise strides. “Speak plainly, and explain.”

“A-At the ball.. my father kept bringing Rosewood around.. he told me to drink the wine that they had brought to ease my nerves and celebrate.. he knew it was spiked.. he knew what Rosewood was going to do.. he planned it alongside him. He promised me to him.. and he was going to let him ruin me so I could never show my face in society again. I’d be forced to live out a quiet life with the man that took everything from me.. and my father would be free to rule.” My breathing was choppy, I heard it break a few times, ringing in my ears.

I turned on my heel, rushing back up to my room, closing and locking the door behind me. I ran into my bathroom and looked over myself, tears streamed down my cheeks, something I’d forgotten the feeling of until recently, now it seems as though crying has become the new norm.

{Aelarian’s POV}

When Adriel opened those doors, I was expecting that same cold mask we’d grown accustomed to, but when I saw her my heart nearly stopped. Tears spilled from her pale green eyes, dripping down her face, and falling to the floor. She reached up with her hand wiping them away, and looking at her hand as if she were confused. “He planned this..” those words left her lips and I felt all of the air leave my lungs. “He planned all of it..” she looked as though she were thinking of something, putting together a puzzle that only she could see in her own mind. A confused and hurt expression on her face, the tears never stopping in their flow from her eyes.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, standing from my throne and making my way to her side in long, precise strides. “Speak plainly, and explain.”

“A-At the ball.. my father kept bringing Rosewood around.. he told me to drink the wine that they had brought to ease my nerves and celebrate.. he knew it was spiked.. he knew what Rosewood was going to do.. he planned it alongside him. He promised me to him.. and he was going to let him ruin me so I could never show my face in society again. I’d be forced to live out a quiet life with the man that took everything from me.. and my father would be free to rule.” Her breathing was choppy, I heard it break a few times, before she finished telling us about it. She turned on her heel, rushing away back towards her room, I heard her feet on the steps, and her door slamming closed.

Her own father planned this.. he helped plan for her to be assaulted.. to be ruined publicly, all so he could keep his throne, no matter the cost. I sighed, looking towards the stairs where her tiny frame had disappeared. “She was crying..” I said softly, feeling something rise in my chest, but I dared not give it a name.

“I know.. so let’s make her bas**** of a father regret causing her pain!” Adriel sneered.