Bride Of The Heir Of Hell

Chapter 1

"I am God's Punishment"

"I am the flail of God. Had he not created great sins, God will not have to send a punishment like me to him" Hazelene muttered under her breath.

Papa, King Arthur the 2nd, had handed her the scroll after it was read out at the court to her hearing.

She had to marry the Devil's Son. He had betrothed her to himself and by himself. Who would dare defy him?

She had stabbed him during their war against the Valorians a week ago. He was the devil anyway and he wouldn't die, even in a thousand years to come, why was he so fixated by it when he caused injustice, she thought.

One would wonder why she went to war in the first place when she was a princess and a female.

Women do not go to war, rather they sit back at home and pray to the deities to give their men victory against their adversaries.

Why did she then, a female and a princess go to war?

Hazelene's decision to go to war, despite her status as a princess and societal expectations regarding women's roles, was not one made lightly. It stemmed from a complex interplay of personal conviction, duty to her kingdom, and a fierce determination to defy the constraints of gender norms that sought to confine her to a passive, subservient role. As a princess, she bore the weight of her lineage and the responsibility to safeguard her realm from external threats. Yet, when the call to arms sounded, she found herself compelled to step forward, not as a mere observer, but as an active participant in the defense of her people.

While it was true that in her kingdom of Eldoria, women were traditionally relegated to non-combat roles, Hazelene refused to be bound by such conventions. She possessed a fierce spirit and a keen intellect, honed through years of study and observation of the political landscape. Her upbringing instilled in her a sense of duty and honor, but it also nurtured a rebellious streak, a refusal to accept the limitations imposed upon her by virtue of her gender.

Moreover, Hazelene's decision to take up arms was not solely motivated by practical considerations of defense or strategic advantage. It was also an act of defiance against the patriarchal structures that sought to confine her to the confines of the palace, denying her agency and autonomy.

Some would say she does it for fame and to be known through out the Twelve Kingdoms, so that she would gather supporters who would stand by her and her mother who was a concubine of King Arthur's. No, she was not a concubine. She was a harlot who found favor in the eyes of the king, and when she took in for him, he disobeyed the traditions by making her his concubine. Thus, this earned her and her child hate and scorn from the wedded wives of the king.

Was this what she got for trying to defy injustice?

Her kingdom and the Valorians had been at loggerheads before, and when they made a pact to resolve it through a war, the devil's son came to aid the Valorians? Was that not daylight cheating? Was that not injustice?

They were all mortals, how dare then, did an immortal chose to interfere in their fight? Killing mortals with flickers of his hand. Mortals who did him no wrong!

That was injustice on the devil's son's part! She thought.

Hazelene's quest for glory and recognition in the Twelve Kingdoms was not devoid of personal motivations. No, it has never been.

She did not just learn martial arts for the purpose of learning even though it was forbidden to the women, because their duty listed in the Eldorian Book of Decorum was to do all things to enhance their beauty. A woman's beauty was her pride in the Twelve Kingdoms.

The shadow of her mother's past loomed large over her, it haunted her, everywhere she went.

At the Court Etiquette Classes, her half sisters do not bother to hide their hate for her. They say scornful and mean things about her right to her hearing. No one punishes then for their actions, not even their father the King. Rather, he always reminded Hazelene about where she came from and she should be humble he made it possible for her to be named a princess.

She was not allowed to join in the Royal Diplomacy Travels,

The Eldorian Culture Promotion Festivals, She did not attend any of the King's Royal Banquets, nor the Ceremonial Rituals of their ancestors.

She was just living and allowed to live with the title of a princess, inside the four walls of the Palace. She was the king's blemish.

Her existence was a blemish on the facade of King Arthur's pristine image—a reminder of his moment of weakness and indiscretion that he desperately sought to conceal from the prying eyes of the court.

From the moment of her birth, Hazelene has been shrouded in secrecy, her very existence a closely guarded secret known only to a select few. Raised deep within the opulence of the royal court, she was kept hidden away, shielded from the judgmental gazes of the nobility who would undoubtedly scorn her as the king's mistake.

Her mother's past questionable reputation was a reminder of the stigma and prejudice she faced as the offspring of a woman deemed unworthy by the standards of courtly decorum. Born into a world where lineage and legitimacy were prized above all else, she was acutely aware of the whispers and disdain directed towards her and her mother.

The title of princess, bestowed upon her by virtue of her father's status, offered little solace in the face of such contempt. It was a hollow honor, tainted by the circumstances of her birth and the scorn of the king's wedded wives.

King Arthur's gaze bore into Hazelene, a mixture of solemnity and expectation. His eyes, once filled with pride and warmth, now reflected the weight of the kingdom's destiny resting on her shoulders.

No mortal has ever dared the devil or his son, the heir of hell.

He was feared by all. No one has ever seen him without his masks, but his presence sent shivers.

For thousands of years, the Devil and his son, the heir of Hell, cast a shadow of fear over mortals and immortals alike. Their power and influence were unparalleled, their names were whispered in dread and reverence by those who dared to speak of them. From the depths of the underworld, they wielded their dominion over darkness and chaos, their wrath striking fear into the hearts of even the bravest souls.

For centuries, mortals had cowered before their might, offering tribute and supplication in a futile attempt to appease their infernal overlords. None had dared to challenge their authority, for to do so was to invite certain doom upon oneself and all those one held dear.

And yet, in the midst of this age-old fear, there arose one who dared to defy the Devil and his son. Hazelene, daughter of King Arthur the 2nd, the daughter of a concubine? A concubine with no roots or troops.

What soldiers would she use call upon if her daughter was to defy the devil's command.

She had none, no relations, to ally's, no soldiers.

Would he defy the devil's command because of her daughter and risk his kingdom being Vanquished? Because of the daughter of a mere concubine.

King Arthur's gaze bore at Hazelene again, she just stood with the scroll in the middle of the court room, waiting to be dismissed.

What was she and why did she not even show any fear. Did she not realize what trouble she was in?

Many have been taken as brides for the devil's son, but none ever returned. Those who did , returned without their heads, why did she still stand so fearless?