The Prince's Substitute Witch Bride

Rowan Havenglow

When the news came to him in the morning, he felt his whole world had shattered apart. It took so much effort for him to blink. Let alone to keep reminding himself to breathe. 

He was waiting forward to his wedding day. The day he would finally make Karen his. 

It just did not make any sense. He thought Karen had approved of his love for her. He thought she had accepted his love and in fact, reciprocated it. But on his wedding day, it was obvious that he had been led astray. 

The first time he fell in love with her was during childhood. He was just an ignorant teen then. Being born on an auspicious day, made him and his mother favored by the King. That made the other concubines and the Queen jealous of them. And jealousy is a powerful force. 

At a young age, Rowan Havenglow had to learn the hard truth that life as a royal was a curse. There had been schemes upon schemes set upon the ladies of the palace to harm his life and his mother. Yet the most horrible of it all was when her mother did not wake up one afternoon. She just dozed off during her afternoon tea. There were no signs of any illness, no signs of her committing suicide. 

The doctor declared that it was a heart attack. But her mother was too young for that. He asked the doctor to investigate the tea she was drinking yet his request was refused. When he became angry, he almost knocked out the doctor. He just knew that something was wrong. And the fact that the doctor did not want to cooperate made him all the more suspicious of the tea and snacks his mother was consuming. Because they were sent personally by the Queen's personal maid. 

He shouted at the Queen then, accusing her of murdering his mother. But without concrete proof and someone to back him up, he easily lost. 

Due to his aggression, the Queen ordered him to be locked in his room. And thus, by the age of eleven, he spent his time in solitude. The Queen took control over his education and personal care. She ordered meals and tutors to came to his room in a schedule. The meals were fine. But the tutors, they were awful. It was obvious that the Queen was trying to sabotage his study and therefore, would minimize his chance to be the Crown Prince. The Queen wanted her own son, Kaidan Havenglow, to be the Crown Prince. 

Rowan tried so hard to catch up. But he was just a kid, alone and surrounded by people bent to destroy his future. There was only Viscountess Perrone, an old friend of his mother that would occasionally check on him and helped him in his study.  But the Viscountess was no match for the royal tutors. And soon, it was obvious that there was a huge gap in knowledge between Rowan and Kaidan. The King's favor that was once bestowed upon Rowan shifted to Kaidan. 

Some of his mother's followers switched sides too. And soon, Rowan Havenglow became a lone prince with very little power behind him. Not even the King tried to help him nor console him for his loss. 

The King only overruled the Queen's verdict to keep Rowan a prisoner when he reached the age of fifteen. When he got out, he visited his mother's grave in the garden next to the palace and swore to avenge his mother. He would do that by becoming king. By having the most power in the country so that everyone else would have to bow to him. 

When he got out, he was having mixed feelings of anger and sadness. Above all, he felt deep and rooted hatred for the King, the Queen, and all that did not have his back. 

Yet in that vulnerable day of his, he met her. When he was still in his trance, dreaming of revenge, suddenly a girl put a purple lilac on his mother's tomb. He was shocked and immediately grabbed her arm. But when he saw her, he gasped. She was very pretty. With dark flowing hair and obsidian eyes that contrasted her fair skin. The girl flinched at his sudden response. 

"What are you doing?" he asked, "Who are you?"

The girl blinked several times. Her mouth moved but no sounds were made. She seemed nervous... and scared.

"I– I am... Karen Storm."

He knew the name immediately. The Duke of Storm was a man of prominent power in Voltaire. If he wanted to get to the throne, he would have to gain the Duke's favor. 

He immediately released the girl and apologized, "Forgive me, Lady Karen. I acted too rashly." He bowed slightly. 

"Who are you?" she asked. 

"You don't recognize me?" He stretched his collar to reveal his tattoo on his neck. 

Yet the girl did not seem to recognize anything. 

Rowan had been locked for four years. But everyone should have known who he was just by seeing the tattoo on his neck. He was the only royal to ever don the tattoo. He thought that Karen must have been an ignorant girl then for she did not try to keep up with the latest social circle. If she had, she would have noticed who he was. 

"Was she nice to you?" she asked suddenly.

"Who?"

"Your mother."

He thought it was a peculiar question. "She was the best thing in my life." Rowan could not hide the sadness in his eyes. 

Her big eyes blinked at his response. She only stared at him for some moment until she said, "I wonder... is it better to have someone love you but then taken away from you. Or is it better to never be loved at all?"

Rowan could not answer her. And for a moment, they only stared at each other. Until suddenly, a middle-aged woman grabbed the hand of the girl and pulled her. "There you are," the woman said, "Come on. We need to go."

From the looks of the woman, she must be the Duchess. From what Rowan recalled, there was a tea party held by the Queen. The Duchess must have been invited and she brought her daughter. When the Duchess saw Rowan, she immediately recognized him. She greeted him, "Good day to you, Prince Rowan."

"Prince?" the girl looked surprised with his title. 

"Unfortunately, we must make haste, Your Highness," the Duchess said. She immediately pulled her daughter with her. Yet despite the figure of the girl had disappeared from his sight, he could still picture her in his mind. 

Karen Storm.

Ever since he got out, he tried his best to catch up to his half-brother. He worked hard to get back the loss of knowledge. He studied Voltaire's history, landscape, and geography diligently. He also kept up with the latest technology, innovation, and art reformation. In the span of two years, he had learned all the mathematics, physics, and foreign languages that were supposed to be taught to him as a prince. He learned it by himself through a sheer amount of will. And of course, with the help of Viscountess Perrone. 

But the only thing he could not obtain was supporters. The years he spent in solitude really put him in a dire situation without supporters rallying behind him. Only the House of Perrone would associate themselves with him. The rest had been ransacked by the Queen to back Kaidan. 

So, he planned to get the Duke's support through... Karen Storm. At least, it started that way. He began to visit the house a lot, interacted with Karen almost on weekly basis. He was seventeen when he realized he had fallen for her. Thus he started courting her in earnest, making her know of his intention. And when she did not show any sign of rejection, he kept going after her. Until he made his proposal. He even almost forgot that he got close to Karen to get the Duke's support in the first place. 

The Voltarian royal custom of a wedding was to send a formal request in a form of a letter and a bouquet to the house where the lady belongs. The formal letter, with the royal seal, was given as a gesture to ask the hand of the lady from the leader of the house. While the bouquet was for the lady. He had sent her purple lilacs, the flower that brought them together. 

It took several days before he finally heard back from the House of Storm. The Duke sent word that he had accepted his proposal. Rowan was jumping in joy in his room. He hugged Viscountess Perrone and kissed the old hag in glee. It was the first time he felt happy for a long time. 

But as soon as life took him to the sky, the harder life made him fall. Come the morning of the wedding, Viscountess Perrone delivered the devastating news. 

He was so angry that he almost turned his room into chaos. He could not understand the reason. 

"The wedding is still happening, Rowan," the Viscountess said.

"How is it still happening?" he asked, "You said yourself that Karen would not marry me."

"The House of Storm has accepted your offer. But you are to wed not with Karen Storm."

"Then who am I marrying?"

The Viscountess never looked so serious as she was then. "You are to wed Seraphine Storm."

He scoffed right then. "Seraphine? The villainess that they have been hiding?" Rowan had heard so much about Seraphine from Karen. He knew Seraphine usually kept quiet to herself, reserved and polite. But there was one incident in the house that turned her into a real villainess. Hearing the incident himself, he shuddered at the ferociousness that Seraphine could do. 

The Viscountess nodded. And Rowan knew, he just ruined his future. 

Not only did he fail to acquire the Duke's support by marrying Karen Storm, but he was also to marry the most hateful woman in the country. That would surely make his already fragile reputation crumble to pieces. He could not cancel the wedding for it was he the one who proposed. And if he rejected Seraphine, it would be shown as a humiliation to the House of Storm, which would make it much harder for him to ever garner the Duke's support. 

Thus, he had no kindness left for that villainess. As soon as he saw her in a wedding gown that was supposed to be Karen's, he was seething in anger. Especially when she opened that annoying mouth of hers. He decided that he would not pretend to be nice nor civil with her. 

The Viscountess had told him about the shocking state of her body. It was full of scars and most seemed to be not treated. Yet he told Seraphine that she deserved those scars. In truth, he did not think so at all. Even when he had heard bad rumors about her, he did not think she deserved to be... punished like such. But he did not believe that Karen would stand idly by while her stepsister being treated horribly. 

It surprised him when Seraphine threw the pot at him. If he had not been working hard to catch up on his swordsmanship and physical traits, his reflexes would not be able to avoid the flying pot. What surprised him was how angry she looked. It was obvious that she did not think her scars were justified for her. And when he took a few steps forward, she quickly ran to the fireplace, her hand was hovering to reach the fire poker. 

That hand was trembling. 

For the first time, he had doubts about the girl he loved. What exactly happened? Knowing the scars and seeing her react in such a way made him think that something wrong was happening in the House of Storm. Wouldn't Karen know about this? Why did she never tell me about this? 

Rowan started to believe that Seraphine was... abused. And unjustly. Despite her bad rumors, no one should be treated like such. 

Is Karen involved in this?

Seraphine tried to cover her trembling hand. She seemed surprised too about herself trembling. In front of him, she stood like a wild animal, afraid of what the hunter would do. She was only wearing her bathrobe as the House of Storm had not sent for her wardrobe yet. 

"I'm not touching you," he said gently. "I will not hurt you."

She furrowed her brows. Why am I trying to assure her? 

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

Though she looked afraid, she certainly put up a fearless face. And that horrible mouth of hers, "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. It can't be. 

"Karen is a nice girl!"

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

Did Karen really involved in Seraphine's... state? But the Karen he knew would never have done such things! Karen Storm was known to be the flower of society. She was gentle, polite, and she did a lot of charity works. He knew her pure heart. 

But what he saw in front of him then... the one who was supposed to be the villainess... instead looked more like the victim. And he began to wonder if everything was not as it seemed to be. 

After all, Karen led him to believe she was reciprocating his feelings. Which turned out, she never did. 

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

Her eyes stared straight at him. That cool obsidian colors seemed to have fires brewing inside them. Oh, he could feel her fury with her annoying attitude and her snapping remarks. It was annoying and irritating. But when he combined it with the scars in her body and how she was trembling... could her attitude be her self defense?

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

Rowan swore he saw relief washed over her in an instant. Yet she kept her face remained neutral. There was no gratitude nor apology uttered from her. And Rowan did not ask.

He turned to the door. "Karen is the sweetest girl I know," he said. "So do not dare spread lies about her."

Then he went out in a flash. 

Thoughts filled his head. Doubts were taking root. But he did not have time to sort all of them because the Viscount of Delray suddenly approached him when he was about to leave the premise of the building. 

"Your Majesty summons you, my Prince."

He scoffed inwardly. His father never even once visited him after his mother's death. And he did not even attend his wedding albeit it was ruined. Now, his father summoned him?

"Understood, Viscount."

He looked back to the building he just went out of. It was an isolated building, no doubt. Not a lot of staff was put there and it was chosen by Viscountess Perrone so that his new wife would not be seen too often. With the amount of hateful glance and rumors circulating about her, it was the safest thing to do for her and for his reputation. 

But he wondered then... Is he doing the same thing as what the House of Storm did to her? 

He shook his head. 

Why would he care about that annoying new wife?

Then he followed the Viscount to his father's study room.