Pampered by the Villainous Tyrant King

Chapter 14

"You look handsome, too."

His usually unruly hair was slicked into a proper hairstyle with gel. The Eldoris king looked even more like a king somehow to Annabeth. Perhaps it was the ceremonial crown atop of his head.

He reached out and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"You're wearing the earrings and hairpin I sent you," he noted. "They suit you."

"I'm surprised you remember these." Annabeth said. "You gifted me a lot."

In the first few days of being at the royal palace, the king had sent over crates of jewelry that Annabeth had nearly gone blind, though she did consider taking a ring or two back to the modern world to pay off her student loans. She only remembered this pearl and emerald hairpin and earrings set from the other luxurious jewels because it had been sent over in its own private sandalwood box.

"Of course." His eyes slid to the delicate hairpin now inserted in her golden hair. "The earrings are what my father gifted my mother, and his father to the queen before him. The dowager queen has been trying to get her claws on these for a very long time. I hope you can safeguard these."

Perhaps he meant to assure her that she was his only queen for now until the divorce, but those words sounded ominous. If she wasn't able to safeguard that jewelry, wasn't it akin to losing her life?

Just before they were to enter the Grand Hall for the wedding, a knight came up and whispered into Percy's ear.

The gentle smile on Percy's lips turned just a bit derisive.

"So they plan on being late? No matter. Just hold the crowning ceremony as soon as we're married." Percy ordered. "It'll surprise some people, but they won't mind since all the important guests are all here."

"Is something wrong?" The princess asked, noting Percy's subtle change in expression.

"No," Percy smiled. "Just that the plans we made in backup are going to be implemented. The crowning ceremony will be moved up right after the wedding instead of being in the afternoon."

"Oh," the princess said. "So my dear sister intends on missing the wedding? It's strange that she would embarrass Kiran."

"But it wouldn't embarrass Eldoris," Percy said resolutely. "And it shouldn't bother you. As of today, you're no longer Kiranian but the Eldorisian queen."

The princess laughed. "That's true. What she does has no bearing on us."

The music started, the cue for the wedding to begin. The Grand Hall's doors were pushed open by uniformed footmen.

"Entering His Majesty, King Perseus Jackson, Sovereign of the Eldoris kingdom, and Her Highness, Princess Annabeth Chase!"

The princess had asked them to omit her title of being the first princess of Kiran. It was the first sign that she was shedding all ties to Kiran who had abandoned their own.

Percy walked in escorting the princess by his side. Ambassadors and nobles from all over Eldoris started clapping and cheering. He glanced at the woman he would be promising to stand by forever until the ridiculous condition she had added of divorce came up. She looked happy and jubilant, as though today truly was the happiest day of her life.

And perhaps it was, unless it was the best acting he had seen in his life. She no longer needed to submit to anyone, nor would she ever be harmed in her life again. So he just couldn't understand why she was willing to walk away from all that power and influence being a queen would hold. Maybe Percy couldn't understand it because he had been trained to be king from his childhood, unwilling to bow down to those who had harmed his family.

Soon the pair had walked across the red carpet spread across the length of the Grand Hall before the official who would officiate the wedding. Percy and the princess bowed to each other, then fed each other diluted wine with their wrists crossed. Then the last step of the wedding approached.

The princess closed her grey eyes so reminiscent of stormy skies as he leaned in. His warm but soft lips pressed against hers, tasting of bittersweet wine. She was now his queen.

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The assassin was perched up on one of the Grand Hall's empty balconies. He had been ordered to kill the bride before the wedding was over. Unfortunately, because of the tight security in the royal palace, it had been hard to approach the princess. Only now because of the large number of guests in the wedding, the assassin received the chance to get in close proximity to the princess.

The man stalked closer, hiding behind a large vase of peonies. He raised his arms and aimed his crossbow at the red clothed princess. Perhaps when the arrow flew loose, the people might not even notice the blood blending in with the red cloth until it was too late.

But before he could release the arrow, the killer suddenly felt a warm stinging pain in his neck. Warmth spurted out. The man collapsed to the floor.

Sir Rachel frowned as a spot of blood dripped onto her shoe. The body was quickly hauled away and the wedding went undisturbed.

Despite the beautiful atmosphere, Sir Rachel's expression was stony. Her father had gone too far, hiring an assassin. If she hadn't found him in time, the princess would be dead and the king would have been out for blood. Rachel had no choice but to search out the killer on her own when she discovered what her father had done.

Her father had no idea what kind of person Percy truly was. Sooner or later, the king would find out what Marquis Dare had done. The whole Dare family would be exterminated without a second thought. So she had to dispose of the body of the killer quickly before anything could be traced back to her father.

Sir Rachel unclenched her hand. For a split second there, she had almost hesitated. Then, the arrow would have flown loose from the bow, hitting its intended mark.

Rachel sighed and slowly slid against the wall, suddenly feeling exhausted. She had nearly lost against her principle as a knight. As much as she was jealous, an innocent life would be taken. The princess had been nothing but kind to her. Then what kind of knight would she be?

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A/N: Alana showing up bringing Luke is like your sister/brother bringing your ex to your wedding to start drama. Ugh.

As always, see you all next chapter!