My Cursed Alpha Prince

Chapter 3

*

Caspian was fuming when he marched into his father's chambers, and his rage was so great that it didn't seem like it could be tamed. His footsteps were heavy and sharp as he walked through the hallway, his fury parting the servants whenever he appeared before them. They jumped out of the way hastily, with a quick muttering of, "My prince."

Caspian didn't care about them, or the weird looks he got from them. All he cared about was the disgusting news his mother had just told him. And his rage knew no bounds as he stomped towards his father's chambers.

The king's chambers were tucked away in the eastern tower, up a winding flight of stairs and leading into a long hallway with a dozen guards standing on either side of the hallway, garbed in the black cloaks of the Kingsguard. They all bowed as Caspian walked past, and he glared at the heavy oak door which towered above him.

The guards pushed the door open, and Caspian marched into the room, surrounded by a wall of crimson curtains, a large, canopied bed to the right side which sat on a raised platform, and a living area with high-backed chairs on a plush grey carpet.

His father was sitting at his table which sat next to the window, and he looked up momentarily before he returned to the paper he was scribbling on. His hand moved swiftly across the paper, and he didn't seem to take notice of Caspian's entrance.

"Father..."

A single finger was all it took to silence him. Caspian held his tongue, and waited with his heart boiling and his fingers trembling with the itch to punch something. With every letter his father wrote, all he could think about was how angry he was, and how he felt like he was going to explode from his anger if he didn't speak out.

When he finished writing, it looked like he was finally going to listen to him. But he simply reached for the tin pot beside him, folded up the paper he had just finished writing on, and he dribbled some hot wax on the paper before stamping it with his seal. Only then did he look up at Caspian, and blew out a slow breath.

"Go ahead," he said in a curt tone.

"I've just spoken with mother," Caspian said.

His father settled a cool gaze on him, but he said nothing. His eyes didn’t even shift as he continued to stare at Caspian, waiting for him to continue.

“She tells me that you reached a decision regarding my marriage without consulting me,” he said, shrinking just a little bit under his father’s gaze.

“I was not aware that I had to discuss these matters with you before making a decision,” his father said, a tired drawl to his voice. Caspian was taken aback by his father’s bluntness, and his complete lack of empathy to the dilemma which was now plaguing his heart.

“It’s my marriage, father,” he said. “I deserve to be consulted at least, since I will be the one marrying this person.”

“If this is what you came here to discuss,” his father said, reaching for his quill, “then I don’t have anything else to say regarding the matter. I’ve made my decision, and my decision is final. You shall marry a human girl, and she will be from Avarel. I have already shared correspondence with King Stefan, and I informed him to choose a suitable bride for you; one who is fit to become queen one day.”

“I will not allow it,” Caspian said suddenly, balling his hands into fists. His father’s hands froze just before he dipped the quill into a bottle of ink, and he looked up slowly at him.

“What do you just say to me?” he growled, his voice low and menacing. Caspian almost shrank back from the look he saw in his eyes, but he stood his ground. He was not a little child who could be bossed around anymore. He was an adult, and he deserved to be spoken to about matter such as this. It was his own marriage, for heaven’s sake. How could he be expected to sit back and just agree to everything that he was told to do?

“You cannot force me to marry a woman I did not choose,” he said through clenched teeth. “I don’t want to marry a human girl, and I refuse to be forced into a union I do not approve of.”

“You forget your place, boy,” his father spat. “This is not a democracy, and you do not have a say in the matter. I am your father, and your king. If I command that you should marry one of the horses in the stables, then you will do as I instruct, and you will do so with a smile on your face. You are not the king yet. So you will be able to do whatever you want only after I am dead. Do I make myself clear?”

Caspian was shaking with rage, but he could not bring himself to continue arguing with his father. Something about the way he was looking at him struck fear in his heart, and he was afraid that if he remained defiant, his father could melt him on the spot with one simple look.

“Father,” he said in a softer voice, “please don’t make me do this. You remember what happened the last time I was to wed a woman. I cannot bring myself to forget Alicia and just move on to another woman.”

“Alicia is dead,” his father growled. “Or have you forgotten what happened to her? Do you need me to remind you what happened? She was murdered by vampires, and there was nothing you or anyone else could have done to stop them. She’s gone, and she’s never coming back. It’s been three years, Caspian. The sooner you open your eyes and realise that the world is not going to stop because of her death, then the better it will be for you. You need to move on, and serve the realm as you were born to do.”

Caspian dug his nails into his palms, so deep that they drew blood. He was shaking with rage, but it wasn’t directed at his father, who looked like he couldn’t care less how pissed off he was. Instead, his rage was directed inwardly at himself, at the fact that everything his father was saying right now was right.

Alicia had been the only woman he had ever loved, and even after all this time, his heart still ached for her. She was killed by vampires on her way to visit her father, and Caspian had never forgiven himself for that. He should have been there for her. He should have been by her side, so he could fight out any evil that would come her way.

And now she was gone, and he was being forced to take another woman, in the hope that it would somehow fill the hole which Alicia’s death had left behind. But he knew that could never happen, because he would never love another woman the way he loved her. There would never be another Alicia, and even if his father would force him to marry a thousand women, none of them would ever be able to replace her.

“We shall speak no more of this matter,” his father said. “Go, and sulk about all you want. Scream and claw your own eyes out if you just. But I have made my decision, and neither gods nor men will ever compel me to go back on my word. You will marry the girl from Avarel, and that is final. Now get out of my sight.”

Caspian stormed out of his father’s chambers, and he was so furious that he could barely walk straight. His vision blurred, and the rage in his heart was threatening to consume him. He stomped past the servants, ignoring everyone who tried to speak to him, until he got to his room. There, he slammed the door shut, then punched the wall so hard that the entire room shook.

There was no way out of this. He would have to marry the human girl, whoever she might be. He hated the feeling of helplessness which was closing in on him, and how effortlessly his father had shut down any plans he had of defiance. It was his duty to marry, and even though he despised the fact that it would have to be a human, there was no way out of this.

And so, he made himself a promise that night.

Whoever he would end up marrying, then he would make sure that every minute she spent being his wife was the most horrible and painful week she could ever bear. He would make her life a living hell, from the day she became his wife until the end of time.

He forbade himself from ever falling in love with any woman, especially the woman he would call his wife.

If only he could have seen the future, then perhaps he wouldn’t have been so hasty.

*