Elena stood perfectly still, her silk nightgown brushing the cold marble floor. The throne room smelled of smoke, old wax, and something heavier, something like fear. She had wondered what could be so urgent that her father would summon her at such an hour. Now, standing under the towering pillars and her father's cold stare, she wished she had never asked.
King Richard Ashwood sat upon Aurelia's ancient throne, with a crown too heavy for a weary head glimmered weakly in the candlelight. Beside him stood her brother, Prince Caspian with his arms crossed, jaw clenched so tightly that a muscle could be seen visibly beneath his cheek.
"Elena," her father said, voice roughened by exhaustion. "Come closer."
She obeyed. With her bare feet on the polished marble floor, and her heart beating in her chest, louder than her steps.
She curtsied out of habit. "Father."
Caspian's eyes softened when he looked at her, protective as always, but he kept quiet.
King Richard exhaled. It sounded more like defeat than authority.
"You are getting married", He said, looking into her eyes as if searching for something in them.
Elena blinked once as she forced her lips to move.
"Married? To whom?" . This was quite too sudden, and she suspected that the situation is quite bad. She had certainly not expected to hear this, not now of all times. Her coming of age ceremony would be held in few months, so she wasn't expecting any marriage talks before then.
Her father's gaze slid away from hers, finding the dark windows behind her instead.
"To King Aiden Nightbane of Ebonhart."
The name fell between them like a guillotine, an the small crackle of the torches on the walls was suddenly deafening.
Caspian stepped forward so quickly that the guards beside the dais stiffened.
"Father, no! She's not ready. Her coming of age is in three months, you promised…"
King Richard's hand slammed down on the throne's armrest. The bang echoed into the high ceiling.
"Aurelia has no other choice," he said. His voice was steady, but his fingers trembled on the armrest. Although his voice was firm, but he looked like he was struggling inwardly.
Caspian turned to Elena with desperate eyes. "Ellie, say something. Tell him you won't go. I'll fight this…."
"Silence!" the king roared. His crown tilted slightly, making him look more like a tired old man than the ruler of Aurelia.
Elena swallowed. Her throat felt dry, though she had said so little, and her stomach tightened.
"Aiden Nightbane…" she murmured. The name tasted bitter. For a moment, her mind went blank. The stories came flooding in. A monster cloaked in silk, an immortal tyrant who never aged, whose armies burned villages to ash.
She looked at her father, trying to find any softness left in his eyes.
"Why me?" she asked, so quietly that Caspian had to lean closer to hear. "Why not a treaty? Or more gold? Or…."
"He demanded you," King Richard said, his voice breaking on the last word. "He wants an Ashwood princess at his side. And if we deny him, Elena… he will take Aurelia by force."
She felt her knees tremble as she could barely stand on her own. Thinking about it sent shivers down her spine
"How long?" she whispered.
"He expects you within three days," the king said hoarsely.
Caspian turned on him. "I won't allow it. I'll gather the knights. I'll ride for Ebonhart myself."
"Enough!" The king rose to his feet. For a moment, father and son glared at each other like wolves ready to tear each other's throats out.
Elena felt smaller than she ever had, smaller than the marble columns, smaller than the kingdom she was suddenly meant to protect with her own body.
She lowered her eyes and curtsied again. Her voice came out steady, even though her heartbeat says otherwise.
"I understand, Father."
Caspian rounded on her. "No! Ellie, please…"
Without raising her head to look at him, she nodded. "I understand."
She turned and walked out before anyone could see the tears burning behind her eyes.
Outside the throne room, her maid Serah jumped up from the bench where she had been dozing. The girl's eyes widened at Elena's pale face.
"Your Highness? Are you….?"
"Take me to my chambers, Serah."
Serah rushed to stand beside her, fussing with the hemming of Elena's nightgown. She was small and warm and smelled faintly of lavender soap.
"Did… did His Majesty scold you again? Forgive me, Princess, I shouldn't ask, but…."
Elena said nothing. The palace corridors blurred past her, tapestries, portraits of grim kings, moonlight spilling in through tall windows. They meant nothing to her now. She wondered if they ever truly had.
Serah dared to touch her hand. "Your Highness… please don't fret. Whatever it is, it can't be so terrible. You are Aurelia's beloved moonflower. No storm can break you."
Elena stopped before her chamber doors. She turned to Serah, studying her earnest face. She felt a lump rose in her throat, tight and painful.
"Thank you, Serah. You may rest for the night."
Serah's brows pinched together. "Let me stay with you. You look terrible Your Highness."
"I need to be alone."
Serah hesitated but curtsied. "As you wish, Your Highness."
When the door closed behind her, the silence wrapped around Elena like iron chains. She crossed to the window and pressed her forehead to the cold glass. She stared blankly into the night down to the mountains.
Her hands trembled as she touched her chest. Her heart was beating fast under the silk and skin. She knew nothing about being a wife, especially being a Queen to a supposed tyrant king.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to run to Caspian and beg him to fight. She wanted to tell her father he was a coward.
But Aurelia would burn if she defied them. Her people would suffer. She had always been taught that her duty came first, before dreams, before fear, before love.