All Hail The King' s Bride; Book One

Chapter Three

I woke up early, quietly did my morning chores and made my way to the Aides; the place the king had asked me to meet him. Compared to yesterday I thought it would have been a long walk, but it wasn't. Turns out it felt longer because I was running slower than I had imagined.  I also thought I'd be the first person to arrive but when I got there, he was already waiting. Surprisingly, he stood by the pond, skipping rocks into the water, unaccompanied by his guards. Approaching him, I couldn't help but feel a slight nervousness, which eventually subsided as I neared him.

I then I cleared my throat to signal my presence, "Your majesty, I hope I didn't keep you waiting." 

"No, not at all I-," he turned around with a smile but stopped mid-sentence to examine my face. "What happened to your face?"

"Oh, it's nothing," I lied. "I accidently ate something I shouldn't have."

"What did you eat?" he pressed, it's as if he could tell I was lying. 

"I-I have to be back home soon, so with all due respect your majesty may I know why you wanted to meet here?" 

"Don't try to ignore the question, what did you eat?"

"I-I I-I" I hesitated. 

"The Hawthornes did this to you, right?" he asked, his eyes searching mine for confirmation.

I met his gaze, feeling a lump form in my throat, "It doesn't matter if they did this to me or not. My face will be back to normal after I apply more medicine to it."

He paused for a brief moment, seemingly pondering over my words. 

"Can you do me a favor?" his gaze grew intense as he once again locked eyes with me. 

"And what would that be?" I retorted, a knot of nervousness tightening in my stomach. The only question that lingered in my mind was: what could he possibly want from me now? First, this meeting, and now he wants a favor. It better not be something too unreasonable.

"Answer a few questions first." he stated, a smirk smile creeping on the corner of his lips. 

"Ok go ahead, I'll try my best to be honest." I replied, offering a casual smile in return.

"How old are you? You look fairly young." he asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. 

"I'm 20," I answered, giving a slight shrug. "And you? Aren't you rumored to be around my age?"

"I'm 22," He confirmed with a nod. "So, I'm older than you are actually."

"And here you are as king, it sure must be a lot of responsibility." I remarked. As king, the entire kingdom lied on his shoulders. I can only imagine how hard it must be. 

"It is, but my dad prepared me for it," he explained, clenching his fists. "He knew he had limited time left, so he tried his best to teach me all that he knew, so no one could take advantage of me."

"At least it seemed as if he genuinely cared about you. Do you miss him?" I asked softly.

"He neglected me for years after my mother died, but he made up for it and became my best friend," He sighed, a flicker of sadness crossing his features. "So, maybe I do after all.  I wasn't allowed outside anyways because of my illness but I remembered how he was always by my side until I recovered."

"If my father was like that, I would too. I hate to admit it, but I also miss my parents, I miss the persons they were before my brother came along. They used to treat me with so much love, but after a while I was looked down on and treated like trash. Nonetheless, I guess they got what they've always wanted, a male child." 

"So, we both have something in common huh." he smiled.

"And what would that be?"  I asked, intrigued by his remark.

"We've both had parents who were at some point complete jerks."  he chuckled even more and as a result I also started to laugh. This time though I couldn't get my eyes off of his smile, it was one of the most genuine smiles I'd ever seen. 

"You know ever since I came into this kingdom, I've always heard that the late king had an heir to his throne who never came out. At first, I thought they were lying until you mentioned it earlier on. Come to think of it I didn't even know how you looked until yesterday." I confessed, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"Weren't you at the coronation?" He questioned, genuinely surprised. 

"No, I'm not really allowed to important events or rarely anything at all." I admitted, feeling a wave of sadness wash over me as I'm reminded of my restricted life. 

"I can only imagine what your life have been like under the hands of that family." He muttered beneath his breath.

"Oh, it hasn't been easy." I mumbled, mustering a small smile despite the heaviness in my heart.

"Do you have a boyfriend or even a husband rather?" he asked suddenly, catching me off guard.

"N-no I don't. How does this matter though?" I stammered, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

"Marry me Rena," he blurted out, his words hanging in the air, leaving me stunned. How could I, a simple servant, marry a king. 

"W-what! m-me a servant?" I exclaimed in total disbelief. 

"As you know in Igdal, Princes are given a betrothed from birth. I was no exception and so I've been engaged to the crown princess of Beige since the age of one," he paused. "I was okay with it until I found out that persons from my betrothed's family might have something to do with my mom and dad's death."

"Ok, I do understand," I said, my voice softening, as I furrowed my brows in concern. "But why me? There are many other ladies who would willingly marry you if you asked. Infact, we only met yesterday."

"I have my reasons, Rena," he replied, his voice steady but his eyes pleading. "Trust me, it'll be a win-win situation for both of us. I'll solve my parents' mystery, and you'll have your freedom. We'll both go our separate ways after we both get what we want."

"I know I want to be free, but at least not like this," I protested, my voice trembling slightly, my gaze dropping to avoid his intense stare. "How do you think people would look at you if you broke the traditions and married me? A war could break out."

"It doesn't matter," He insisted. "I've already thought about everything that could happen. I'm prepared for it all and I'll ensure that I protect you all the way."

"Your majesty I-I don't know what to say, how can I possibly marry you? I just can't!" 

Thank you for reading the third chapter of my story.

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