My Cursed Alpha Prince

CHAPTER 6

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For the last hundred years in Avarel, it is well established that the most exciting and perhaps the most festive part of any year was a royal wedding. The news would spread like wildfire, and within a few days, the festivities would kick off in full swing.

Perhaps the rarest and the most spectacular of these celebrations was the wedding to a different royal family. When two kingdoms became one, and the promise of a new union with another royal family became an actuality rather than a dream, everyone rejoiced.

The news of Diana's impending nuptials quickly spread through every district, and the joyous occasion became the latest gossip of the kingdom. For the womenfolk, it was a chance to discuss the beauty of marriage, the sacred union of two souls becoming one. They gossiped about how Diana managed to secure such a match, going from the daughter of a councilman to the future queen of Xania overnight. It was an unbelievable union, and one which baffled all of them.

Not to say that Diana was a bad person, of course, or that she would make a horrible bride. Their bafflement was merely an expression of how shocked they were, because she never seemed like the type of girl who would catch the eye of a prince. She was always so quiet and reserved, and her beauty was often kept in check by her witty remarks and sharp tongue which often deterred any suitors who might come calling. Men did not like a woman who talked back at them, after all. And Diana was notorious for talking back at any and every man in the kingdom. In fact, rumour had it that she had dared to talk back to the king himself when he told her of the proposal. And so the streets were flooded with whispers of Diana's name, and overnight she became the most popular woman in all of Avarel.

As for the men, on the other hand, they did not speak of Diana's sharp tongue or her insufferable wittiness. They spoke instead of prince Caspian, and how this union could benefit Avarel.

"The werewolves should prove to be powerful allies," most of them could be heard saying in any pub where they would gather in the evenings to drain their cups to the health of lady Diana and to the future of Avarel.

Even though no one spoke of it, war remained at the back of everyone's mind. Only a few days ago, a vampire was caught roaming about the streets at night. It took half of the city guards to capture him, and he was staked through the heart in a matter of minutes. Tensions were spreading everywhere, and it was expected that sooner or later, Dalmatia would move to strike. And when they did, each of the other four kingdoms would need to band together and face the enemies. With a union between Avarel and Xania, it would bring a peace of mind to everyone so they would be assured that if it indeed came to war, then they would stand a chance against them.

But for now, there was no need to be moody and dreary. It was a royal wedding, after all, and soon the Xanians would arrive for the formal introduction where prince Caspian would meet his future bride. The news was that he would be arriving in two days, and so everyone set about making the kingdom look as shiny and presentable as it could possibly be. The streets were cleaned, faded walls were repainted, and Avarel shone like it hadn’t in decades. King Stefan gave the order that no children were to be left unattended for the duration of the Xanian’s visit. After all, despite the fact that they were joining them as one, he was still skeptical about leaving his werewolf counterparts to roam about his city were a little child could easily go missing and no one would bat an eye. He doubled the security around the kingdom, under the pretence that the wedding would be a difficult occasion to police and they would need all the men they could get.

Meanwhile, despite the fact that the wedding was all for her, Diana was perhaps the most detached person from all of this. She was nowhere to be found, and several times her mother would panic when she went to her room and found it empty.

Just behind their home, tucked behind a cluster of trees so no one would ever find it, there was an old shack where Diana’s father used to keep his prisoners if he didn’t want to hand them over to the law. It was a small place, not so large that it would catch anyone’s attention, but not so small that only a few prisoners would be kept. Ever since her father became a councilman, he stopped using it. Instead, his prisoners were taken to the palace directly, because he did not want to ruin his political reputation. And so, Diana was blessed with a much needed hideout; a place where she could sneak off to and be alone for just an hour or two. She would sit on the floor and just be herself, and often watch the clouds through the hole in the roof.

Today, she was unfortunately unaware that Fiona had followed her when she snuck out of the house. So, she was absolutely shocked when as soon as she laid down, a cold voice came behind her:

“What exactly are you doing here?”

“f**k!” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. “Why the hell would you do that?”

“Because you gave me no choice,” Fiona replied. “And that is not how a lady of your status should be speaking.”

Diana gave her a look which told her she couldn’t care less about what a lady of her status was supposed to speak.

“Is this where you’ve been coming to all this time? Is this where you’ve been sneaking off to and causing your mother to panic everyday?”

“My mother is a melodramatic woman,” Diana said. “She’ll be fine if she doesn’t see me for a few hours.”

She sat back down with a dismayed look on her face, and she continued to stare at the clouds. Fiona stood behind her, not really sure what to do. She had never seen Diana like this before, and she wasn’t exactly sure what to do with that. Diana was never silent for no reason, and this time it looked like the fire which was always in her heart had been snuffed out, or at least somewhat dimmed.

She walked over and sat beside her, and she was surprised to find a single tear straying down Diana’s cheek. The latter quickly wiped it away, and she tried to smile faintly.

“It’s just the sunlight,” she said. “Don’t get all mushy on me.”

“Oh, Diana,” Fiona cried, taking her hand in hers. “I’m so sorry. I absolutely didn’t think about the consequences of this wedding, or how it would make you feel. I’ve been so caught up in all the preparations that I completely forgot to check on you. I’m so sorry.”

Diana tried to speak, but the words died in her throat. She thought she had cried enough over the last few days. But a fresh wave of sadness suddenly came over her, and the tears just came pouring out before she could even stop them. She wanted to scream, and the tears only pissed her off even more. Crying was weak; and the last thing she wanted to be called was weak. She should have been trying to find a way to fix all this, and make sure that her life wouldn’t be destroyed by an unwanted marriage.

“It’s going to be alright,” Fiona said, squeezing her hand gently. “Everything will be alright, Diana.”

“Don’t say that,” she sniffed, shaking her head. “No one knows how it’s going to turn out. Everyone is just guessing, and they’re assuming that everything will be fine. But they have no idea. I have to be the one who lives through this nightmare. I have to be the one who faces this shit.”

Fiona didn’t even correct her. She simply held her hand, and watched as Diana continued to cry. Her whole body trembled violently, and she couldn’t bring herself to stop crying. She was a shadow of her former self, and she genuinely looked like this was destroying her from the inside.

“Everyone expects me to just accept my fate and move on,” she said. “They all think I’m capable of just putting a smile on my face and sucking it up. I shouldn’t complain, after all. This is every little girl’s dream. I get to be a princess, and one day I may become queen. But I’ve never wanted that. I never wanted to be Princess of anything. I just want to live a normal, quiet life. I have so much that I want to do, but I won’t be able to do any of it because I have to answer to my dear husband now.”

She wiped the tears from her face, and she bit her lip instead as a wave of anger came over her.

“It’s not fair,” she said. “I don’t deserve this. Why should I have my life destroyed just because some high prince of fucktown wants to have a woman on his arm?”

“Diana, I can’t speak for the future,” Fiona said. “But I can assure you that it’s not going to be as bad as you think. I know it looks like you’ve been backed into a corner, and you probably have nowhere left to go, but marriage isn’t such a horrifying thing. It can often be beautiful, and you may find that prince Caspian is not at all what you think he is. He could be a good man and an even better husband. Sure, there’s no way of knowing if that will be the case, but you’re the strongest woman I know. If there’s anyone who shouldn’t be daunted by the uncertainty of marriage, then it would be you. You’re stronger than you think, and I’m sure you’ll come out of this even stronger than you ever thought you were.”

Diana turned to face her, and it was clear that she didn’t believe that. How could she believe that, when she felt like she was staring down into a bottomless pit? How could she feel better when she knew that her life was never going to be the same again? She was about to start an entire new chapter of her life, and there was every possibility that it was going to be awful.

“Look,” Fiona said, “however this marriage turns out to be, I’m sure you can make it work. And if the prince turns out to be an asshole, you and I will kick his a*s together, okay?”

“What do you mean?” Diana asked confusedly.

“Well, your mother told me this morning that I will be going with you,” she said. “You will need a familiar face in Xania. And I do not trust anyone they will have there to take care of you.”

Diana threw her arms around her and squeezed tightly. Suddenly, she didn’t feel so alone. At least she would have a companion with her. Maybe everything was going to be as horrible as she imagined. Or maybe not. But the fact that Fiona was going to be there made it so much better. Despite the fact that she was meant to be her handmaid, Fiona was her closest friend. And her presence would make things so much better.

“Thank you,” she said.

“I’m here for you, Diana,” she said. “I’ll be there for you every step of the way.”

They sat there and continued to talk about Xania, and they came up with a strategy for how they would deal with any problems that may arise; a strategy which Diana hoped she would never have to use.

By the time they finally returned to the house, the sun was just starting to dip in the west. Diana had barely stepped into the house before her mother’s voice rang out from upstairs.

“Diana?”

She groaned slightly, then made her way towards her mother’s chambers.

Lady Mildred Cardale was standing by the window when Diana entered. That explained how she knew the moment they returned. Her back was turned to the door, and Diana stood awkwardly in the doorway, not really sure what mood her mother was in.

“You’ve been gone all day again,” she said.

“I apologise for that,” she said. “Fiona and I just needed to talk about a few things.”

“Has she told you what we discussed this morning?”

“About her going to Xania with me?” Diana shrugged. “She might have mentioned it.”

Her mother turned to face her slowly, and Diana was surprised when she saw a sad look on her face. It was exactly the way she looked earlier when Fiona found her. There were remnants of unshed tears in her eyes, and Diana immediately moved towards her.

“Mother, is everything alright?” she asked carefully, not really sure what to do as she had never seen her mother cry before.

“It’s nothing,” Mildred replied, even though her voice broke at the end. “I-I was just going through some of your stuff, and I found some of the clothes you used to wear as a little girl. It just suddenly hit me that you are no longer a little girl anymore. You’re no longer my little girl who would dance around in her room as she pretended to be at a ball.”

Diana wrapped her arms around her mother, and she rested her head on her shoulder.

“I’ll always be your little girl, mother,” she said. “None of this is going to change any of that. Just because I’m getting married doesn’t change anything about who I am.”

“I know that,” her mother said, sniffling. “But it’s so hard to accept the fact that you’ll soon be gone. I knew this day was coming, but it’s hard to think about what I’m going to do without you in this house anymore. You’re my only child, and never does a day go by when I’m not grateful for that. I love you more than you’ll ever know, Diana. And to see you leave… it breaks my heart.”

Diana held onto her, and they stood there in silence for a very long time. Neither of them said anything, nor did they feel the urge to say anything. They were content in each other’s presence, and that was all that really mattered right now. There would be a time and a place to continue crying, but this was not it. Diana had to appear strong, if not for anything then for her mother’s sake.

“I visited Xania once when I was a little girl,” her mother said finally. “It was a strange and confusing place, and I couldn’t believe that they lived that way. They have so many customs which are different from ours. It’s a dangerous place, as well. They might have the strongest military force in all the kingdoms, but they are not without their fair share of crime. Criminals roam the streets as freely as their noblemen, and the palace is perhaps the only safe place. You’ll need to be on guard at all times, at least until you settle. I have heard the unsettling rumours about prince Caspian, but every attempt I’ve made with your father to call off this wedding has proved futile.”

“It’s alright,” Diana said. “I’ve accepted my fate a long time ago.”

“He might be the most awful person on the planet,” her mother said. “But he’s a man. And men are very easily manipulated. You’ll need to watch him, and understand the sort of person he is. Figure out his nuances, and you’ll be able to live peacefully with him. Marriage is not a bed of roses, as I’m sure you already know. It’s a difficult task, and one where you have to convince yourself to make it work constantly. With prince Caspian, you’ll be entering an entirely new world where you’ll not have the comfort of familiarity. But I know you can make this work, Diana.”

She turned to face her, and Diana was surprised when she suddenly pulled a scabbard from behind her and handed it to her.

“This dagger was given to me by my mother when I got married,” she said. “And it was given to her by her mother when she married my father.”

Diana took the blade slowly, a confused look on her face. She pulled it out, and examined how fine and sharp it was. It was crafted beautifully, and the hilt was embedded with diamonds which shone in the sunlight.

“We might not be warriors, Diana,” she said. “But we are women. And a woman will always need every bit of strength she can get. With your father, I never had to even consider using this blade before. He was a kindhearted and gentle man, and he never gave me reason to fear him. But I cannot say the same for Caspian. I want you to keep this blade, in case there might ever come a day when you will need to defend yourself. I pray that day never comes, but we cannot rely on wishful thinking alone. These are dangerous times, Diana. And you’ll be going into the belly of the beast. I will sleep easier knowing that you have something to defend yourself with.”

Diana didn’t know what to say. She felt her throat tighten, and she fought back the tears which were starting to pool in her eyes.

“I’ll make you proud, mother,” she said.

“I know you will,” Mildred replied, pulling her close and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

Diana took a deep breath and slipped the dagger into her belt. She prayed that she would never have to use it with Caspian. And should the day even come when she would have to use it, she wasn’t sure that she would know what to do. But the blade gave her a strange sense of comfort, and she was able to smile for the first time that day.

Neither of them noticed, however, that as soon as Diana slipped the dagger into her belt, it began to pulse with a life of its own, an ancient magic being passed down from one generation to another.

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