The Bride of the Zodiac King

Chapter Eight

A large antique mirror with a golden brass frame was brought to her room especially for her to get ready, the maids attended to her but not once did she glance in that mirror. She could not be bothered with the way she looked, she was not getting married because she wanted to it was because she was being forced to. The woman who attended to her bridal cleansing bath yesterday asked her to stand up and she did just like she was being ordered, why would she resist or tried to run away. Four guards were standing in front of her bedroom door, waiting to escort her to her wedding, so there was no way out. Her dress was zipped up, she put on her shoes and they placed a headpiece on her head which was removed from a locked golden box which was being handled with great care.

'We are done..', the older maid said and Ella simply nodded yes and they left the room whispering among themselves.

The guards asked her if she was ready and she asked for a few minutes alone, she noticed as they looked at each other and then one of them said only five minutes. Ella slowly turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was dressed in a  vintage, bohemian style wedding dress. A lace dress with long sleeve, whose length is above the knee and an extra elongated transparent skirt gave her dress the mermaid finish. Her hair was put up in a perfect chignon, accessorized with was a bridal headpiece covered with small diamonds. Tears glistened in her eyes, she looked perfect, exactly the way she had dreamed for her to look on her wedding day.

Most people will describe their wedding day as the best day of their lives, with laughter and surrounded by those they love the most, but for Ella it was different. There she was standing in front of the mirror trying not to cry, she glanced around her, she was all alone. No one to pour her a glass of champagne to make a toss before she took the plunge, not even seeing her mother in tears that her only child was getting married or her mother saying she is waiting for her grandchildren. No friends around to make her laugh or to cry with her, all she had was a  massive, empty and silent room. She thought of her parents and wondered what did they do when she did not show up or does she even still exist in the other world. The thought of her parents made her wonder who would walk her down the aisle since her father was not around.

She heard someone talking loudly outside the door and she turned towards the door as it opened and in walked the messenger, guess she figured out who would be walking her to her supposed husband, who else but his faithful messenger. Ella rolled her eyes as he approached her, looking at her from head to toe.

'Not bad, the whole Kingdom will be impressed with the new bride..well I hope his majesty would like it', the messenger said.

  He always had to be sarcastic but Ella could not be bothered to answer, not today.

'We have to hurry the ceremony will begin in ten minutes', he ordered and Ella just walked towards the door.

She was only happy about one thing, that she could finally leave the room which she had been locked up in the past two days. The guards lead the way and as they walked down the stairs she got a chance to look around her, one thing for sure, the castle was spectacular! On the wall, she could see several portraits of what looked like Kings and Queens dressed in formal attire, but several portraits were covered and she thought it could be those of her future husband. With that thought her heart started to beat a little faster, she had no clue what to expect, the only thing she knew about her husband was that he was a savage with a deep sexy voice. The type of voice which one would love to hear in bed on a stormy day.

What's wrong with you Ella!?.. why are you even thinking about that savage like that!', Ella said to herself.

They took what looked liked elevators,  made out of thick steel and enclosed with metal bars, it rolled down with a mechanism which was so noisy.

'Not like the fancy ones from your world..', the messenger said and she only glanced at him.

'I like it when you are silent, you make more sense', he added as they came to a stop and some guards opened the metal doors from the outside and they stepped out. Ella looked around her, they must have reached the ground floor as she could see outside through the many glass windows which surrounded them. They walked towards the door and she stopped in her track when she noticed two lions sitting by the main doors. They turned, looked in her direction and that only made her more scared. In a flash, the two lions turned into two young men and opened the door for them. To stop herself from passing out from anxiety Ella grabbed on to the arm of one of the guards, who looked at her in surprise. She took in a deep breath and composed herself.

What kind of sorcery surrounds this place? , Ella said to herself as she looked at the two men standing by the door. She did not know what else could she possibly encountered in that place. She was not the type of person to believe in a fantasy world and everything that comes with it. Like most young girls she loved reading fairytales, walking through the magical lands as she read page by page of her storybook, that was about it, she never wished she could experience one for real.

The guards led her to a waiting open carriage, she climbed in and it was only when the carriage started to move that she took a good look around her. Though it was dusk, the place was well lightened with big torches everywhere in the courtyard, even along the bridge of the castle. She noticed a few people were hiding among the trees outside the castle's gate, probably waiting to take a glimpse of the bride. She was glad that she was in the carriage by herself, the messenger and the guards were leading the carriage on horseback. Ella took a moment to remember the dream she had last night about that woman. Queen Venus had appeared to her once more, this time she did not allow her through the door, she spoke to her from the other side of the door, explaining to her until she had the amulet around her neck it was not really safe to come back, the amulet would be given to her on her wedding day. She had told the Queen that she wanted to escape, that she did not want to marry someone she did not love. The Queen almost shouted at her and told her sometimes everything happens for a reason and soon enough she will find out about it. Everything was a mystery and somehow she got curious. She wanted to know what secret was this Kingdom hiding and what did she have to do with it!

The carriage came to a halt and she came back to reality. She noticed a crowd of people standing outside what looked like a hall and her heart started to pound, her mouth was suddenly dry and she wanted to drink something. The King's messenger walked over to her and she was sure that she looked like she was about to pass out as he called for someone to bring some water.

'Don't you dare embarrass the King', he whispered as he handed her the glass of water.

Ella moisturized her lips with the water and took a sip and then turned and looked at the man next to her.

' I'm not going to give the King the pleasure of insulting me. Now let's go and be done with this farce!'.