To Wed A Monster

Chapter Four

"What a rabid animal! How dare you?" The lady barked out.

The pearl necklaces shattered on the marble floors, bouncing off in different directions.

I hadn't meant to react so violently but the sight of the gown and jewelry snapped a nerve inside me.

The guards had woken me up in the dark hours of the morning and since then, I had been standing in front a mirror, being dressed and plastered with makeup by a grim-faced lady.

I tolerated the taunts and insults she said to me while dressing me up. I tolerated her nagging. I tolerated her forcing me into tight girdles and shoes. But what I could never tolerate was the outcome of my dress.

Her eyes followed the damage on the ground and tears immediately filled up her eyes. "Do you know how many months of hard work it took for me to get this ugly southern piece together?"

By ugly southern piece she meant my mother's gown, the same gown mother had won on her wedding anniversary—the same night she disappeared.

The whole room began to spin and it felt like I was levitating. Anexia was silent but her anger was loud enough to sprout claws from my fingers and rip the dress apart.

"Y-you killed my mother." I whispered, tears pouring out of my eyes slowly as the words echoed in my ears.

The lady wasn't even paying attention to me, rather she placed more curses at me as she picked each pearl that had fallen from the dress.

I always knew the Lycans were responsible for my mother's death but the audacity to dress me up in the same gown she had been killed in—now that was unbearable for Anexia.

"What do I tell the King now?" The lady sobbed as she picked up a needle and thread with shaky hands, attempting to join the pearls on the gown again.

I pushed her hands away and she fell to the floor with a thud which drew the guards attention.

"Tell your King that he can go to the hottest depths of hell." I snarled.

The guards appeared quickly, surrounding me with stern eyes and weapons clutched in their hands.

"What's going on here?" They asked, helping the woman up to her feet.

She refused their help and rather squirmed on the floor, crying a river as she gripped her abdomen and legs. "This rabid animal attacked me."

"That's a lie." I retorted but the lady kept groaning on the ground.

"She hit me even when I was just being nice." She winced, shutting her eyes to make it more dramatic. "Now she's ripped the wedding dress King Lucien ordered for. What should I do? The King will kill me."

They all turned their eyes to me and I tried to muster the strength to break down what had happened, but my strength failed me as I was still seething from the thought of putting on my mother's gown.

One of guard grabbed me by the shoulder and pulled me closer to the lady. "Apologize immediately." He ordered.

I looked at the woman, battling the urge to return the curse words she had said to me. Then I remembered how my mother would have wanted me to act to my elders.

Letting out a sigh, I murmured. "I'm sorry if I really hurt you but I will never put on his dress."

The guard's grip on my shoulder tightened. "You have no choice, it's the King's order."

"I don't care!" I snapped through gritted teeth.

He exhaled and rolled his eyes. "Fine, we'll do this the hard way."

They led me out of the room still dressed in my late mother's gown. We walked through the lonely corridors of the Northern castle. Each corridor had a portrait of the King or a statue of the blue eyed devil.

It felt like they worshipped him. He wasn't just a King to them or an Emperor. To them, he was an idol.

They pushed me into the throne room and I stumbled to the floor.

Grunting, I lifted my head and met the eyes of twelve elderly men.

Startled, I sat upright on my knees, covering my exposed cleavage.

They were all aged and the youngest would have been in his late sixties. Dressed in robes of pure gold, no one needed to announce to me that these men weren't average Lycans or soldiers.

They were aristocrats with greedy eyes, saggy skin and long gray beards.

"Is this the creature?" One of them asked, his mouth twisting as he sneered.

"Yes." The guard behind me responded, stifling a laugh.

"I'm not a creature." I retorted, giving the elder the same dirty look he gave me.

He looked away and turned to the others. They all spoke quietly and at last the same man who appeared to be their leader spoke up. "I suppose the reason for your tantrum is because of the dress."

"Yes." I replied quickly. "It's vile of you to even suggest I wear my late mother's gown."

They all burst out laughing, leaving me distraught and confused..

"Vile?" The man said after his laughter died down. "Wearing your late mother's dress is us being generous. If not for King Lucien's unreasonable interest in keeping you alive, you wouldn't be kneeling there and speaking back at us with your filthy southern mouth."

My body tensed up and I recalled the King coming last night to feed me. Could that man actually care about me? And if so, why?

"You should be grateful to the King." The elder said again.

"I don't owe him any thanks for killing my mother. Or for abducting me."

The door swung open and the King walzed in, dressed in his usual black robe.

He walked past me without looking and when he approached the elders, they all bowed their heads, giving way for him to pass through.

Settling on his throne, King Lucien looked up, his gaze oozing with arrogance.

"What crime has she committed again?"

"This creature refused to—" The elder began.

"Silence!" King Lucien dismissed him. "She has a mouth, let the girl speak for herself."

The elder grumbled and stared at me, his face reddened and stiff.

I cleared my throat, ignoring the bitter faces looking at me. "I will never wear this gown."

He shrugged. "You're putting it on already."

Was he smiling?

It didn't look like he was smiling but he wasn't looking as grim as usual.

Was I such a joke to him?

"I will rip it apart." I snarled, Anexia riling up within me. "I will rip it just like I'll soon rip the smiles out of your face."

The elders all straightened up, exchanging glances with one another.

"How dare you threaten the King?"

"That's treason!"

"You just signed your death sentence."

They all cursed at me with fearful eyes. It was like they were both amused and scared of what the King would do to me.

I bit down on my lip, regretting flaring up like that. Whenever Anexia got upset, I had no control over what I did or said.

The King rose from the throne, his eyes switching back to its familiar darkness.

His dark aura made my bones quiver as he approached me.

I lowered my gaze to the floor so he wouldn't notice how loud my teeth chattered against one another, or how my lower lips trembled without control.

His finger touched my jaw, and my whole body turned to ice.

Slowly, he lifted my head up until I was face to face with him.

I tried to breathe but the air became so thin with those eyes staring right back at me.

I wondered what was going beyond those beautiful eyes and in the dark abyss of his soul.

Was he going to kill me? A part of me actually wished he would do so and rid me from the shame of being a captive.

"Do you know what the dress is for?" He asked.

I shook my head.

"It's for our wedding."

I pushed back forcefully, rising from the floor. "Never! I will never let that happen. No, no, no..."

His face broke into a half smile. "My decision is never debatable, rabbit."

"My name is not Rabbit!" I flared, my jaws clenched hard.

He ignored me and turned his gaze to the guard behind me. "Why did you let her ruin the dress?"

The guard began to stutter. "I-I-I..."

"No excuses. You're suspended."

The guard quietly bowed his head despite his obvious sadness. "Yes, my King."

"Before you go, take her back to the dress lady and if she rips her dress one more time, both you and the woman will starve until your bones bulge through your skin."

I swallowed hard as I listened to the King's judgement.

"Don't make me wear the gown." I murmured, gritting my teeth.

He returned his cold gaze to me. "Who said you had a say in this, rabbit?"

My chest rose and fell but I bit down my tongue to keep Anexia fury in check.

"It's either you obey quietly beside me or you resist..." He scoffed. "... and you end up six feet under me like your mother."

I spat on him. Right into his face.

The guard rushed forward to strike but King Lucien struck him down with a blow to the face.

He grabbed me up by my shoulder and pulled me up to my feet, then slammed me against the door.

I shut my eyes as I anticipated a strike but after seconds of not being hit, I opened up my eyes to see him looking down at me with intense eyes.

He shook his head and smiled. "You're lucky I like you."