Married to the dark Lord

My whole life I have been preparing for this day.I always knew I would not be able to choose who I marry, because I was a woman, a woman of a noble standard. I didn't have the right to choose, I didn't have the right to anything. My opinions and feeling did not matter to anyone, not even my family. In fact,my father views me as a tool to gain more power ,to create an alliance with the King, by marrying me off to one of the king's sons . The Kingdom of Metresh ,our kingdom ,is a very powerful kingdom, feared for it's allies and ruthlessness. The King has two sons, the crown prince,and my future husband. wait! what did I just say ? yes he is my future husband but I don't want to call him that, but I don't know what else to call him , since he is the second prince,he doesn't have a status, and I don't even know his name! My father is making me marry someone I don't know his name. my father is the king's closest advisor . I don't know what other relationship my father has with the King, but he always tells us he is close to the King and he literally brags about it. When he told me about his plans to marry me off to one of the princes, I fought and cried.it all fell on deaf ears. My father is strong-headed, he doesn't change his mind when he makes a decision. "For you as a woman and the daughter of a prestigious advisor, this Kingdom must come first",my father would always say, " your desire for something comes second ". Right,it could for a man but not for a woman .if a man marries and didn't like his wife,he could just marry another. usually men had several wives and mistresses but for a woman it was a different story. there was nothing she could do. she could only please her husband and watch as he married other women when he gets bored with her .I felt my blood boil,but now was not the time to get angry. Leaving all the bad thoughts behind me,I studied my self in the mirror. My maids had spent hours preparing me, making me look more beautiful than I was. I was wearing a blue and golden dress. my beautiful black hair was combed backwards with golden hair pins in the shape of flowers and butterflies. The makeup was perfect the only problem was the jewelry. They were beautiful but heavy ,now that I was wearing a lot of them. I was already feeling weak because of nervousness, or was it fear? I didn't know but I was feeling sick . There was a not in my stomach that refused to go away, no matter how hard I tried to calm down. "My lady, don't you like the dress?", Mia asked. Mia and Nia, my handmaids, have been taking care of me since I was a little girl . They were the only ones I could talk to about how I feel. I would miss them once I Leave. "No I love it, it's beautiful," I tried to smile but failed. Mia could see the fear on my face. "Everything will be alright ",she said to me. "Don't listen to the rumors, they are nothing but just rumors, maybe your husband is a nice man, " She tried to sound positive but I could hear the uncertainty in her voice. Even her face showed a little fear and doubt. It's not that I believed the rumors, but they did scare me .I wasn't scared because people said he was the dark lord, they couldn't be speaking literally. They were probably referring to his personality , that maybe he was a manipulator, a murderer, cruel,or maybe he was pure evil ,and that's what scared me . A knock on the door interrupted my thought and shortly after, my little sister, Malia and Arjun,the only person that can calm my nervousness,my only friend came in . Arjun and I have been friends since I was little. He is my only male friend, my only friend,my best friend. My father only allowed us to be friends because it was relationship with benefits. Arjun's father is the King of a neighboring Kingdom. Arjun is the son of one of the king's mistresses. Yeah he is not a prince but he is bast*rd with the king's favours . He is the king's favourite child. My father finds it profitable, because he has the friendship of two kings. "My lady, it's time," Arjun said jokingly as he approached me . Through the reflection in the mirror ,I could see the smile on his face. Immediately I saw that beautiful smile on that perfectly sculpted face , all the nots in my stomach disappeared . Malia hugged me from behind while Arjun sat down on the table in front of me . "My sister is looking so beautiful,I can't believe you will leave us soon", Malia said as she wiped the tears in her eyes . "She's only going to leave tomorrow", Arjun said. The whole time he spoke, I knew he was looking at me. I didn't look up at his face,but I could feel his gaze . "Arjun is right,I am only leaving tomorrow ", I tried to console Malia who by now is shedding tears. Malia and I, have never been close, so I am surprised by the amount of tears she is shedding because I am leaving. Malia who was crying a minute ago on my shoulders, suddenly got up . "Why are you dressed like the groom?" Malia asked Arjun childishly. " we only have one groom and he is my brother in-law". she looked at Arjun accusingly. she gave him the 'are you trying to steal my brother in-law's place ' look. Arjun smiled, "I dressed up for the occasion as the brother of the bride ". Brother! Brother? I felt something Peirce my heart. did he think of me as a sister, I don't know why this made me feel sad . Today I will meet and get to know my new family and tomorrow I will get married to a person I barely know and here I am, in love with my best friend. My father said the kingdom comes first and my desire for something comes second. If there is anything I desire the most it is to be with Arjun ,but nobody asked me that, nobody will.never! ever ! A knock on the door interrupted my thought ,and shortly after ,a court lady came in. "My lady, it's time". I studied my self one last time in the mirror. "You don't need to do that,you look stunning",Arjun said. He playfully waved his hand in front me, to stop me from looking in the mirror. "Okay I trust your judgement" I agreed. Malia held my hand as we walked out the door, Nia walked behind us while Mia stayed back to clean up the room. Immediately I walked out the door. The not in my stomach returned. A lot of thoughts started popping up in my head. what is my husband like? What does he look like? What is my mother-in-law like? The more I thought about all this,the more afraid I become. I descended the stairs and prayed I did not stumble and fall. I kept my head up high, afraid to look below and meet gazes .I was thankful when it was just a few steps left. I summoned the courage to look around and the first gaze I met was my mother's. She sat beside my father. She gave me a smile and I looked away. I didn't want to fall for that fake smile. My father had a smug look on his face, as he gestured for me to sit down at a nearby table . b Ignoring my father,I sat down,only to find there were only two audience. Two men sat down in the chairs reserved for the royal guest . The both of them stared at me with interest .I knew they were not royalty because they were not dressed like one. "The groom's family could not make it today, so they sent their royal messenger, and the royal artist ," my father explained. I stood up and greeted them with a bow . The messenger delivered the gift that the groom's family sent . The artist studied how I looked and made a sketch of me. I was relieved that I didn't meet groom's family today,but also a little bit disappointed. I could have met them, gotten to know what they were like or maybe just thier names. After our guest left,my father stood up and left without saying a word to me. Shortly after, my mother came to sit beside me but I got up without looking at her. I kept looking up because I didn't want my tears to fall. I still can't believe that mother and father were doing this to me. "You're getting married tomorrow and you're going to a new home, be good and don't forget everything I told you " my mother said. As I stood on the balcony a pair of big strong hands came around my waist and just before I could react,the very familiar voice whispered, " Stay still ".