The Prince's Substitute Witch Bride

The First Night

Instinctively, Seraphine tried to reach out for the shadows. She knew she still had a connection with darkness. She just needed to get past that concrete mental block dividing them. 

What is it that is blocking me? It was like a transparent mental barrier. The body was rejecting the connection and Seraphine did not know why. 

She concentrated on her own shadow beneath her. Squinting her eyes with so much focus to that pool of black on the floor. She coaxed the shadow, "Come on..." she whispered, "Come on, come to mommy..." She put a lot of energy into her concentration. Her hands reached out to the shadow, trying to move it just a little. 

Her fingers were taut, bending as if trying to grab the shadow. They were trembling due to the amount of energy exerted on it. 

The shadow moved, following her fingers. But only an inch. And then it stuck, nothing moved anymore. 

"Come on...," she whispered again. She needed her shadows as a safety precaution. Who knows what the prince would do to her? In the wedding hall, there were lots of eyes and witnesses for him to do anything. But inside that room, in a building that not many frequented, and without her power... she was defenseless. 

"Come on..." She gritted her teeth. She was the Dark Witch. The most powerful witch, the one who would bring the end of the world. She would not be a defenseless little girl. 

Especially not in front of that rude asshole!

She groaned as she tried to pass that annoying mental block in her mind. 

No. I will show him. I will show–

"What in the name of Eric the Great are you doing?"

She stopped. 

Don't tell me he saw all that?

She straightened her back and looked straight into his eyes. The man was already leaning to the door. That meant, he had opened the door, entered, and closed the door without her noticing. She was too engrossed in trying to connect with her shadow that she had not noticed his presence. She did not even hear his movement. 

Really needs to retrain this body senses too. It is too... weak. 

She dropped her arms, no longer trying to control her power. Instead, she raised her chin and took a deep breath. Since she did not have any power at her beckon, she was not safe. She had to think of other means of safety. The fire poker was her weapon of choice. But it was next to the fireplace which was a few feet away from her. She would need to throw something to him first as a distraction, maybe the plant pot next to the window. It was a small pot with azalea flowers –thank the Darkness that it was not lilacs. Seraphine would have gone mad if she had to see another lilac. 

All of those thoughts ran to her mind as she tried to appear calm in front of him. Oh, she was calm. There was nothing to be scared of from the prince she liked to call 'The Rude Asshole'. 

By the way, if he kills me right now... will I die along with this body? The thought had only occurred in Seraphine's mind, Or will I come back to my old body?

"I asked you a question, wife," he said in a deep tone. It was a threatening tone. And Seraphine the Dark Witch did not respond to threats lightly. 

She gave him a sharp look. 

"What does it matter what I was doing, husband?" she hissed, "You did not come here to have chat with me, did you?"

The thought came back to her again. Maybe she should try dying. See if it works?  I could provoke the Rude Asshole more until he kills me. I'm pretty good at making people want to kill me. That was my whole reason for existing. 

But if she really died and could not come back... then would it not be useless? She would not be able to destroy the world then. 

Her existence was to destroy the world.

No.

No. She would not die then. She had to find the gem first. That was the safest bet. 

"Enlighten me then, whatever for do I come here?" His tone was mocking her. The man was looking down at her. Well, he was taller and a lot bigger than her. His pecks and arms were toned, his tan almost brown skin glistened under the lamp lights. But his silver hair was the showstopper. Even as the Dark Witch, she had not seen many people being born with silver hair. Though she herself was created by the Darkness with silver hair when she was the Dark Witch. 

"Your hair... is it real?" She was just curious. 

The prince furrowed his brows as if Seraphine had just asked the silliest question. 

Nevertheless, he answered, "Yes, the palace seer said it is a blessing from the Goddess. A good sign for the reigning monarch."

Seraphine blinked. Then she rolled her eyes. Oh, she was not done. She scoffed too. 

"What?" the Prince growled at her. 

"Sure. Just rub the salt into the wound of my existence, aye?" She was smaller than him. And had no power to protect her. But her voice was clear and strong. "You, born and foretold to bring fortune to the country. And I, born and foretold to bring disaster." 

"You. A star since birth. And I. Trash since birth."

The fires had come back to her eyes. They glowed ferociously as the fires in the fireplace. 

She expected him to lash out then. Expected him to be angry or to throw some hateful comments at her. She did not, however, expect him to laugh.

"You're different than I thought you were," he said, "I thought you're this quiet and reserved girl. But you got an annoying personality, it seems."

For a moment he did not seem like the rude asshole. He just looked like a boy laughing, albeit having that rare silver hair. Rowan was wearing a tunic with a very low v neckline. It showed his tattoo from his neck and it turned out, the tattoo trailed along his left chest too, leaving her to wonder, where did it stop?

She could see glimpses of a dragon silhouette and a flower. She felt like rolling her eyes again as she could already guess what the flower was. 

"That lilac is permanent on your skin, is it not?" 

See? She was good at making others want to kill her. 

His laughter died down as fast as she said 'skin'. The menacing glance coming from his eyes was visible yet again. 

Now that is the Rude Asshole I know.

The lilac on his chest was obviously an embodiment of his love for Karen. He inked his unrequited love. Seraphine smirked at herself poking his still-fragile heart. 

Serves him right. 

"We ought to have our first night together," he said, "and Perrone said we ought to hope my seed is planted in yours at the first try."

Seraphine burst out laughing. "Seed? Planted? Are you becoming a gardener now, Prince?"

She could see him gritting his jaw. Oh, he was definitely thinking of killing her then. 

Suddenly, she became serious. "I will fight you," she said, "If you force yourself on me. I will fight you." Despite her not being able to use her power, despite her being alone... she still had her claws and teeth. Besides, the plan she made with the plant pot and the fire poker could still be used. Her hand moved closer to the pot slightly without him noticing. 

He scoffed hearing her words. "You think I want to touch you too?" He sneered at her, "Perrone said your body is all skin and bones. And you have scars on them. Who would want to touch a hideous body like yours?"

Seraphine moved her hand to the pot closer. This time, she did not move it as anticipation to protect herself. No. She moved it because he just ignited her anger. 

How dare he mock me? Despite it not being Seraphine's original body, she still felt insulted. 

He was not done. "And no wonder you got all those scars. It is only befitting for trash like you. You don't deserve sympathy. You deserve every punishment you get."

CLAAAANNNGGGG

Seraphine blinked. One moment she was seeing the prince throwing hateful words toward her. The next, she saw him leaning his head to the side avoiding a thrown plant pot. The pot hit the door behind him and shattered to pieces. Flowers and dirt spilled on the floor as the sound of the crash echoed in the room. 

There was only silence between them for a moment. She was breathing hard though she did not know why. She also realized that it was the body that threw the pot in an instant fit of rage. Something that came out of her subconsciousness and so she could not control it. It was reflex. Though she did not understand why she knew that it was because of his insults.

Was it about the scars? Or was it about the punishment? She did not know. 

The prince blinked as if he was also put into a trance because of her action. His mouth was opened slightly, surprised that Seraphine would dare to throw the pot to his face. 

There was no going back. The rice had turned into porridge.*

She just committed a violent act against a prince. He could condemn her any minute. He could easily overpower her and called it self-defense. Even if she did not start by throwing the pot, it was the prince's words against hers. No. Not against hers. Against Seraphine Storm, the girl that the whole world seemed to despise. And in that sense, they had in common. The world despised both Seraphine Storm and Seraphine the Dark Witch. 

Seraphine did not forget that she was in the room alone with no power. She flicked her gaze to the fire poker. Her weapon of choice seemed miles away now. But if he made a move, she would try to run. Oh, she would fight, that she did not joke. 

"You." He took several steps forward and she took several steps to the fireplace. Her hand was extended to reach the fire poker. He noticed that and he stopped. She stopped too. 

His face was unreadable. A mixture of emotion, she thought. Maybe anger and confusion. But how would she know? She was Seraphine the Dark Witch. She did not dwell with emotion nor did she try to make acquaintance with it. 

But when his gaze fixed to her hand, his eyes widened as if he was surprised. She followed his gaze to her stretched hand and she was shocked too. Her hand was trembling. It was reaching for the fire poker yet it was trembling midair. 

What? Why? 

It was the body's subconscious response. Another reflex. 

But why? She did not understand. What made the body so terrified at that moment?

She quickly dropped her hand and hid it on her back. Her hand was trembling still but she did not want the prince to see any more weakness from her. For goodness sake, she was Seraphine the Dark Witch. 

Again, she had to remind herself. She did not fear others. She made others fear her. But no matter if the soul was fearless, if the body was accustomed to fear then its subconscious could take over. Seraphine figured that there must be something in the body's owner's past that triggered her body to act like such.

Is it that memory?

"I'm not touching you," he said suddenly. Strangely, though his face was still contorted, his tone was gentle. "I will not hurt you."

She furrowed her brows. Why was he trying to assure her? 

"I– I...," he struggled to say, "Was she... Did she..."

But Seraphine already knew what he was asking. And although the body still trembled in fear, her soul pushed her mouth to say, "I can see why you love Karen. If you think the scars in my body are justified, then you are a perfect match for her."

His eyes widened more. Seraphine just hit the nails in his head. 

"Karen is a nice girl!"

Seraphine scoffed. "Believe what you want, Prince. I could not care less."

He shut his mouth then. Then he cleared his throat. 

"I will not hurt you," he reassured her again. "In fact, I will not visit you anymore."

She stared at him still. 

"And I will not touch you without your consent."

Relieve washed over her in an instant. Yet she kept her face remained neutral. She did not offer her a thank you nor an apology for almost bruising his handsome face. She just stared at him. 

Until finally, he turned to the door. He stopped for a while, one hand on the doorknob. "Karen is the sweetest girl I know," he said. "So do not dare spread lies about her."

Seraphine rolled her eyes but by then, the prince had already got out of the room so he did not see her. The door shut with a bang. And as soon as she was left alone, she ran to the door and put her ears on the wood. When she heard the prince's footsteps were fading, she dared herself to got out and walked the other way. The Prince would get out of the building from the regular passageways. 

But she was about to get out of the building from the staff passageways. 

Oh, I am not spending another minute in this palace. Not with that Rude Asshole.

In fact, I have to find the gem fast and destroy the world. I would make that Rude Asshole watch every destruction taking place. Oh. I would so enjoy seeing his expression.