The King's Cursed Bride

Apologizing

"Did you honestly think this would work, Carissa?" Her mother pursed her lips, and Carissa felt her disapproval burrow into her chest like the head of an arrow. "Running away, bringing a man back, and naming him after your true betrothed? Do you know what the true King would do if he was aware of this treachery?"

It hurt that her mother didn't believe her... but after everything she'd done—from living with another man to running away to prostituting herself—she deserved her mother's disapproval. If only Elon didn't have to bear the brunt of it as well.

A smile eased across Elon's lips. Surprisingly, it seemed genuine rather than forced. "We do apologize for barging in without warning, madam. I understand this must be rather surprising for you."

Her mother's lips parted, and Carissa cringed in anticipation of the caustic words she'd loose.

Elon turned on his heel, slid his arm from Carissa's, and a moment later, the door banged shut behind him. He'd just left.

Her mother's face had only begun to redden when Elon returned with a satchel. Though father patted her mother's shoulder, her mother's hands curled into white fists. "After I allow you to step foot into my home, how dare you just walk—"

Elon flipped open the satchel and presented his crown. With light sparkling from the facets of the gems and curving around the mold of the gold, the room seemed to brighten, and they all fell silent.

Finally, her mother breathed, "Oh." She sank into a deep curtsey, and her father knelt.

Elon tucked the crown away and gestured for them to rise with a flick of his fingers. "Please, there's no need for that. We're family now."

They both rose, her mother's legs trembling. "Forgive me, your highness."

Elon flashed them another smile. "You're quite forgiven."

Her mother's gaze settled on her, and Carissa didn't move lest she invoke her mother's wrath. "It's just after everything she'd put us through, I wasn't inclined to believe—"

Elon slid in front of Carissa, blocking her view of her mother and vice versa. "Understandable." He nodded towards the table, covered in flecks of potato skin. "It seems we've interrupted your dinner preparations. To compensate for the intrusion, perhaps we could assist you."

Her mother's return smile was so pretty it seemed to strip the age from her face. "That'd be absolutely lovely, thank you." Her mother rounded the table, her gaze snagging Carissa's. "How thoughtful."

Unlike Carissa—that was what her mother had meant but hadn't said. Carissa trailed behind Elon. She managed to linger in his shadow, washing potatoes alongside him, until he remembered he needed to brush and unsaddle the horse. Her father left to show Elon the stables, leaving Carissa with her mother.

The tension was as thick and cold as ice sheathing a pond. Carissa moved the washed potatoes to the table. A quick glance at her mother revealed she was peeling them and dicing them with quick movements of her wrist before scraping them into a bowl.

Had she ever cut vegetables? Or cut anything with a sharp knife? She'd used a dagger once or twice but never on food. Perhaps she should ask her mother for a different job. Carissa glanced up, trying to catch her mother's gaze. But she only stared at the potato she was cutting.

She didn't want to talk to her mother—especially without Elon's support. Cutting potatoes it was then. It couldn't be that hard.

Carissa picked up a knife and skimmed it along the potato's skin. In the corner of her eye, she saw her mother's gaze fixed on her, waiting for her to make a mistake. Even as Carissa tried to steady herself, trembles wracked her hands. She made the mistake of glancing up at her mother. Heat seared the tip of her thumb as the blade sliced a flap of skin.

Carissa jerked back before her blood could drip onto the table.

"We've warned you against using sharp knives, Carissa. It seems when you ran away, you forgot all the things we told you—and all the things we did for you."

Carissa squeezed the base of her thumb, hoping it slow the flow of blood. "Mother, I know I was selfish—unforgivably so. And I deserve everything you've said to me." She glanced up, waiting for her mother's expression to soften.

It didn't. Her mother turned back to chopping potatoes. "At least you realize you've done wrong."

The ache in her chest tightened as she found her mother's words strangely unsatisfactory. Surely Carissa had done all she could to earn her mother's forgiveness. But, then again, by its nature forgiveness couldn't truly be earned. It was undeserved.

Her mother's expression was stony, her gaze not meeting Carissa's.

Carissa studied her bleeding thumb. This had hurt her mother more than she'd realized. Perhaps it'd take more than a simple "I'm sorry" to repair the damage she'd done. Her mother deserved a full explanation of what happened, and then maybe she would realize why Carissa had left. Maybe she'd more easily forgive once she understood.

Something in Carissa flinched away from the thought. What if by unveiling the truth, she made things worse? What if her mother took advantage of her vulnerability and used it to hurt her?

Carissa mentally shook herself. This was her mother—the woman she'd confided in when the other children had excluded the 'cursed' girl from their games, when the other girls teasingly asked at village dances where her prince was, when her friends had gradually left her as they'd become engaged and then married. The woman before Carissa knew her better than anyone, and Carissa would do what it took to make things right between them.

Carissa straightened. "Mother, I need to t—"

The door crashed open, followed by her father's jovial laughter. He stamped his feet on the rug, and Elon followed.

***

Author's Note: As always, you can find the sneak peek at the top of my profile or here as an external link.

ALSO

I'm working on typing up a few chapters where Elisa and Viltus meet 😏 It's been quite fun thus far, given that neither of them expected to see the other again... Anyway, I'll let you guys know when it's finished and where you can find it!