The Lycan's Miserable Queen

FULFILLING HER OBLIGATIONS PART TWO

FULFILLING HER OBLIGATIONS- STARTING OFF ON A VERY BAD NOTE PART TWO

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In hours it was as though she had never left. Tenths of minutes erased five years of absence. She was not estranged, at least not to her loyal servants and her lady- in- waiting. Their diligence had not been depressed by her actions, they still saw the seventeen year old her, she was still much without fault in their eyes. Not much had changed, except for Quesce's attitude towards her. At the table, she was as good as invisible to her, Quesce only spoke to their father and not once did she glance her way. It was as though she hated her. Her younger sister was extraordinarily busy, she was irritable and snappy and seemed to be preparing herself for an occasion of exalted importance.

"My princess, your phone." Cumia brought to her the ringing phone she had tossed across the room a few minutes ago.

She cursed under her breath. She did not even need to look at the screen, she already knew who was calling her. "Thank you Cumia." She accepted the phone, only to stun the young woman by turning it off and then throwing it over her shoulder without a single care.

For a wolf with a mate, Bovigan sure misdirected his attention. Over two hundred missed calls and countless messages he had left her, only had a few hours to accumulate.

The change of scenery and the warm reception she received did remedy a bit of her pain, but she was still very heartbroken. The pain was too great, she felt like bawling her eyes out every time his face popped up in her mind. Bovigan had broken her, she had never felt more like damaged goods, had never felt more lost, more unworthy of love. And he thought he could rectify everything by forcing her into a polygamous marriage.

"No, I do not wish to talk about it, Cumia, I can tell that you are curious." Adelaide settled herself on a luxurious accent chair nearly as old as her recently deceased relationship. Her lady- in- waiting quietly seized a brush and worked it on her luscious, long, golden locks. Adelaide had not cared much to ask why Cumia was so eager to give her beauty treatment.

As she quietly sank deeper into a great sadness, she looked around her, her eyes beholding even the exquisiteness of the high ceilings. Her room, furnished to her taste at seventeen, had mostly remained in the state she left it. It was too grand for her not to compare it to the one she shared with Bovigan back at the apartment. Everything in sight reminded her too strongly of everything she had left behind. A parade of lonely thoughts crossed her mind. Maybe everything would have been different, maybe she would have gotten her happily ever after if she betrayed her heart and married prince Larkien instead. It was not until Bovigan ripped her heart to shreds that she wondered if she would have been happier with the Lycan prince. She would have learned to love him.

"Such an injustice for an emotion as lowly and as hideous as sadness to shackle her highness." Cumia remarked musingly, clipping her hair with sparkling pins.

"My heart is broken, I just need my mother. Where is she? I am yet to see her." In the hours of her return, Adelaide had not seen even a glimpse of her mother or heard a single mention of her name, which was strange. She missed her terribly, she was her best friend and the only one who could revive her spirit.

Cumia sighed heavily, placing the brush on the dressing table in a terrible attempt to make her reluctance to respond inconspicuous. "Luna Viria is gone, your highness-"

"When will she return?" Adelaide interjected before she could conclude her utterances. Before Cumia could explain, king Warbon let himself in the room and Cumia had to acknowledge him. She was dismissed immediately after, leaving Adelaide extremely nervous.

Unlike earlier, her father looked gravely serious, his heart of stone was again, his softer side no longer. She had planned on bringing herself to him to officially apologise for the embarrassment she had put him through, but he had to tend to a very important visitor who kept him for the hours she had planned for.

Donning a wry smile, she rose to her feet and acknowledged him featly, "Father-"

"Take a sit." The austerity of his tone took her by surprise, but she reacted immediately and returned to her seat. She cast her eyes down, bracing herself for his harsh beration. "I have only just now made your sister aware that she no longer has to take the journey to the Lycan Palace tonight, since you are here now. "

Adelaide was confounded, head tilting up slightly, her eyes reaching below his chest, "I do not think I understand, father...."

King Warbon sighed heavily, clearly annoyed that he had to bear an explanation. "Your sister was supposed to leave for the Lycan Palace tonight. Prince Burq fell in battle before he could marry her and upon his death, I decided that she should take your place and marry King Balor's son, since he remained unmarried and Quesce was without her betrothed. You might want to erase it from your mind, but the arrangement still stands, and now that you have returned to Veildar, you are going to fulfill your obligation to our clan. You are leaving for the Lycan palace tonight and you will marry Larkien in a few days after the binding ceremony, which is in three nights. Prepare yourself for the journey."

King Warbon turned his back to her, not caring for her opinion or argument, his word was final and not to be challenged. Adelaide was clearly not the daughter he raised, for she challenged him. A horrible sin, she committed.

"Father please!" Her beseeching stopped him in his tracks before he could instuct the guard to open the door. She only continued after he pinned his soulless eyes on her. "This is all too much for me, I only have just arrived, I cannot leave for the Lycan Palace tonight, I know that in the past I humiliated you, brought shame to our pack, to the whole of Veildar and I am deeply sorry. I have made mistakes that will haunt me beyond the grave, I will forever be imprisoned by sorrow and rue for disappointing you and I do not wish to disappoint you again- but I cannot- I am not ready to-"

"Silence! Not another word should come out of your mouth!" King Warbon roared thunderously, silencing her at instance. "My own seed couldn't have created such a disgrace! If you think I will ever forgive your defiance and vile actions, you must be delusional. You are no daughter of mine, you are not my blood, you are a weakling not worthy of the name of my ancestors. I disowned you the minute you decided that you needed that Silver Streaks scum more than you needed your father. I do not need you bringing me more shame than you already have brought me. Your objections mean absolutely nothing to me. You do not have a say in this. This has been your royal duty from birth, you were born for this and you are going to fulfill your life purpose, whether you like it or not. Only the Goddess knows what I will do if I see even a wisp of your hair around my property tomorrow. Prepare yourself for the journey, you only have three hours. I better not have to repeat myself, is that clear Adelaide?"

Adelaide flinched with each word he assailed her with. She had taken multiple bullets far beyond the flesh, her soul was shattered, damaged irrevocably by gaping wounds never to heal. She was never going to forget his painful words. She had once inured herself to his wrath and could take it better, now she wanted to cry like a little girl. A storm was ripping her apart internally, she fell apart and did so in the most graceless way. Just as she thought she would be strong enough to keep herself together long enough to manage to give him the reply he demanded. She wept unto her palms, feeling the disgust in his gaze. She was such a failure. She was beyond a disgrace. She had nothing. She was nothing.

"Again, was I clear, Adelaide?" His frigid voice chilled her to the bone and defeated the last of her fickle hope. He was not going to have a change of heart. His heart of stone was impervious to her woeful cries. He no longer cared about her, she was nothing to him.

Adelaide sniffled, struggling with the lump of emotions suffocating her and hampering her speech. "Yes, father." She croaked waveringly.

"I only have one daughter, I am no father to you." The wail of a door slammed shut announced his rushed, furious departure.

Soon after, Cumia and her assistant stylists had joined her and she had to wipe away her tears and fake a smile as they passionately worked on making her look the most beautiful she has ever looked in years. A red gown of the finest material clung onto her body and accentuated her figure, boldly expressing her curves and cinching in her waist, her skin wore an enviable glow, she smelled of heavenly fragrances and her crown sparkled like myriads of stars under the lights. She was gorgeous beyond words, but the sorrow in her eyes commanded attention away from her godly, ethereal beauty. She depleted the hours endeavoring to keep her tears from spilling, enduring the sundering pain flowing from her bleeding heart. Her worst nightmare was unfolding right before her eyes. The Lycan king was a monster she thought she had survived and would never have to deal with again, but now she was about to be devoured by that very monster five years later.

Cumia and three other maids were hastily packing up her suitcases while she sulked in front of the mirror. Each second she had to remind herself that this was not a nightmare or an insensitive prank of any sorts. She believed not the reality that her own father had kicked her out of her home and sent her to a man she had only seen in a few photographs years ago. She knew nothing of that man from her own perception, she could not take what others said about him and make conclusions on that basis alone. While he was a prince, the Ferine heir was notorious for his beastly nature and unfeeling heart. Word had it his heart was as black as the night and dripped the darkest ink instead of the red of blood. While she had been forced to save herself for him, she knew from the very beginning that he was not abstaining from s****l indulgences and that he was free and permitted to do whoever he wanted and it did not matter in the eyes of the High Authorities, The BlackClaws who made all the laws, since he was not marrying those flings or sowing his seed into their wombs. That is what Adelaide hated the most, the unfairness, the misogyny, that is what lead her into the arms of Bovigan. There was no guarantee that an undisciplined man who puts high regard to his carnal desires will suddenly grasp the necessity of fidelity in a marriage and remain faithful, like the bigoted High Authorities believed. As if things could not get any worse! She had escaped one cheating bastard and now she was going to tie herself in marriage to another one. Had her courage been mighty enough, she would have stood up to her father and told him that in no day the Goddess blesses her with breath, shall she marry a man who will not be faithful to her, a man she does not love. This was the worst timing, she had not even gotten over Bovigan yet, she was still mourning one marriage and could not get into another. She had thought about it, but before she could take on her father with the news, she quickly realised that the fact that she was still married to Bovigan was not going to save her from the Lycan King. Her mother, she needed her mother, only she could get king Warbon to reconsider in his moments when he is most pertinacious.

"Cumia!" she called and the young woman abandoned the jewelry box in her hands and rushed to her side.

"Yes, my princess? Is there anything you need?"

"I just need to you to find my mother and tell her-" A young maid barged in and interrupted her.

"Your highness, the king's escorts are here and they await your presence impatiently." Bluin announced with ill- disguised excitement and then left after Adelaide confirmed to her that she had heard everything she had said.

Everyone was excited about her being given away in marriage to a man she had never met before, in disregard of her feelings, they were only exalted by the gains they saw. It was every princess' dream to marry into the Feral clan, to be the queen of the most powerful kingdom there is and the luna of the most dangerous beast to ever walk the earth, to the Alpha of all alphas, to the strongest Lycan blood. Not hers, yet here she was. The Goddess had never been more cruel to her.

"We must get going then, your highness!" Cumia hastily packed up the last of the belongings she did not want to leave behind before she tried to urge her to hasten her movements as well.

Adelaide very reluctantly left her room and followed Cumia. As they were on their way, Adelaide noticed the pool room where her mother likes to spend most of her leisure time, that is where she exercised her powers, that is where she strengthened her clairvoyance and birthed magic. Her mother loved water, she could manipulate the element like no other. The room reminded her that she could not leave without seeing her, she had to say her goodbyes and convince her to go against her husband and visit her if she cannot convince him to change his mind about giving her away to the Lycans. The Lycan King's escorts; a quad of tall, powerfully- built men dressed in a fine, dark uniform, came in sight as they sauntered towards the patio and Cumia and her assistants handed over her loadsome luggage to the men. Things were becoming real, it was finally happening. No! No! No!

Adelaide panicked, her eyes covered ground and walls, in a desperate search for salvation, but no one was going to save her from this.

"My princess, we have come to take you to our king." One of the escorts apprised, then pressurized her to leave as soon as possible. Or else she was going to be shackled and taken against her wishes. She knew the laws and tradition had only gotten more vile and depraved with each decade under its arm.

"Wait," she addressed the senior escort in a deathly serious manner, "I would like to talk to my mother first, I want to say my good- byes to her before I leave."