"When Caelum came to check in on Rosetta, I let him in on the situation. Rosetta and I were going to be married whether Henry wanted us to be or not. Henry wasn't in control anymore. I felt thankful for my earlier decision of moving the wedding to tonight.
'Vladimir?' Franklin, who had come looking for me when I failed to return to our room, cleared his throat.
I turned away from Caelum, intending on looking to Franklin but I was interrupted. Nobody had spoken, and yet I felt silenced.
Rosetta had finally stepped out from behind the divider. I hadn't left her, worried that Henry would come back and do worse than he had before. If he didn't want us to be wed, then I figured he would do anything and everything in his power to stop us. I wouldn't let that happen.
She had taken her hair down, allowing each strand to be itself. Some were spiraled nicely, other curls frizzy and sticking out. Now that her hair was down, I was able to see that the servants had tried to enhance her natural wave. Rosetta had taken all the makeup off her face, revealing her natural features. When I had pulled the dress out of the closet, I had simply grabbed it at random and it had been simple. Now, as she wore it, I realized that it no longer looked simple. It looked like it had been crafted for centuries in preparation for her on her wedding day. Her eyes carefully met mine.
Caelum's hand dropped down on my shoulder as he patted it. 'You're very lucky.' He paused. 'It is time for the wedding. I can escort Rosetta down if-'
'I will,' I interrupted, trying to not watch as his jaw had dropped when she had stepped out. 'With how Henry is right now, I'd like to make sure that nothing happens.' I paused, realizing how that could have been taken. 'Not that I don't trust you. When it comes to Henry and us, you can't go against him without facing consequences. I won't have any. It will keep you safe too.'
Caelum hesitated, then nodded. He wasn't in any position to argue. He offered a smile to Rosetta. 'I will announce your arrival then. The ceremony would have been starting soon. Everyone should still be down there.' His gaze lingered for a few moments before he left down the hall.
As I shut the door, I grinned at her. 'Rosetta, you are beautiful.'
'Thank you.' She giggled, smoothing out the laced skirts that fell right at her feet. It didn't trail behind her, nor was it as large as her other one had been. Rosetta slipped on her shoes from earlier, glancing in the mirror to gaze at what we had been gawking at.
'Are you ready?' I offered my arm to her, glancing at Franklin. 'Might you go ahead of us and watch for Henry? When Caelum gets down there and tells everyone we are on our way, I do think he'll be suspicious and try to find us.'
'Yes, Vladimir.' Franklin hurried between us, leaving the two of us alone in the dressing room.
Rosetta timidly took hold of my arm. Even through the fabric of my sleeves, I could feel how cold her hands had become.
I chuckled as I approached the door with her. 'Come on, don't be getting nervous now.' I knew why she was nervous. She had every right to be. This was her one chance at a better life. If this didn't work, her life would become worse.
'I'm not.' She reassured with a quick smile. 'But, what if father catches me? You say you'll be able to fend him off, but father isn't known to give up. All the times Caelum has tried, father has pushed him away.'
'The difference is that your father already gave permission for us to wed. Though I am no king, I am closer in status than Caelum. He can't push me around as much.' I assured, letting the door close behind us as we began the walk to the ballroom.
She briefly nodded, keeping her head down as we walked along. At the end of the hall, she began to laugh. 'We are walking to our wedding and yet, I feel as though I am a child running away from home instead of getting married. This doesn't feel real.'
'When we get back home, we can have another if you'd like. We can get you a dress specifically made and relive it in the gardens. I'm sure my father would love to watch and I bet it wouldn't feel as though you were running away.' I teased, but understood. In reality, this was running away for her. She was finally able to leave and it would be through me.
Despite my confidence about bringing her home, my mind did wander to the realization that I wasn't the best with women. Rosetta and I were fine now, which was wonderful, but we didn't truly know each other yet. Everything could change once we were in Transylvania. I would be the only person she knew and the person that would need to make sure everything was taken care of for her. I had no doubts that I could do it, though how I did it was more of a concern. The last thing I wanted to do was upset her.
I wanted to be able to protect her and keep her comforted at all times. I wanted to promise her the world and everything she had ever dreamed of. But, could I?
What of Invea? I knew I could protect her from Henry as he was weak, but what about when we got home and bigger threats rose? Would I be able to keep her safe and offer her the confident comfort she needed? Would I be able to handle it? Father had trained me in sword combat as well as hand combat, but would that be enough? What kind of threats would we even face?
I silently prayed that I would be able to do the duties of a husband soon without too much thinking. All that mattered was that I was falling into love with Rosetta and I was taking her out of an abusive situation. Once she was out, then I could focus more on how I was feeling.
Once we were at the stairs, I could hear Franklin's voice echoing through the walls. He stood at the base of the stairs with his arms folded behind his back, keeping Henry in front of him. 'Your majesty, I assure you that Vladimir is coming now with the princess as we speak. They are coming for their wedding.' Franklin stood tall, blocking the bottom of stairs from Henry. I felt a sudden rush of relief that Franklin had come along rather than anyone else. He was a loyal man, one who would stand his ground even if it meant he would fall into danger.
The king's eyes darted up to mine as we rounded the corner. I briefly stopped with Rosetta, placing my hand over hers that was still tucked in my arm. I didn't want her to be afraid. Henry would always be someone I could protect her from, or so I thought then.
Rosetta's hand tightened on mine, but she kept her chin up. She wasn't cowering any longer.
'Feeling better are we, dear Rosetta?' Henry's eyes reverted to their kind disguise he had shown me earlier. His posture adjusted until his shoulders were relaxed, his smile looking disgustingly comforting. 'When we spoke earlier, you had mentioned you were feeling ill. I told everyone to leave and that the wedding was canceled. Caelum was confused, saying that when he checked on you that you hadn't mentioned feeling sick and planned on coming down.' His tongue pressed against the inside of his bottom lip, catching my eye. Henry really didn't want me to marry his daughter. I took pride in that.
I gave a reassuring squeeze to her hand as I led us down the stairs. I knew all that Henry said was a lie and while I wanted to call him on his bluff, I also wanted to get Rosetta out as safely and quickly as possible. If that meant getting Henry to back off and believe I would treat her as he did, then so be it. 'I know of her illness. She tried to refuse, but we are to be married. I do feel sorry for her, but she may rest when the wedding is over. It's a long trip home. I don't have the time to sit around and wait for her to feel better.' I was feeding him the words that he was telling me, spitting lies back at him. 'My father is a busy man and needs my help back home as soon as this is over.'
If Rosetta, truly, had been ill I would have called it off. I wasn't so awful that I would force someone to take part in such an event if they weren't feeling their best.
'Is that so, Rosetta?' Henry's eyes were still focused on his daughter. They narrowed the slightest as if he was trying to pull what really happened out of her.
I stole a glance to my side, feeling her squeeze my arm.
Rosetta locked eyes with her father and nodded, leaving me to wonder if this was one of the rare times she tried to lie to her father.
Henry cleared his throat, his smile reappearing. It looked more peeved than anything. 'Well then, I wouldn't want you to be late for your wedding in this case. Let us continue with the celebration. Vladimir, you may go to the altar now. I'll walk her down when called for.' I could see past his kind face. He simply wanted to be alone with her. If that happened, the wedding would be canceled again. I didn't want to think about what he would do to Rosetta for letting me bring her down.
'You walk her down?' I began to laugh. 'I've never heard of such a silly thing!' I shrugged. 'In Transylvania, the woman walks herself down. It shows that even though she is leaving one family and joining another, she is independent, strong, and brave for choosing to leave all she has ever known to something she has never faced.' It was completely made up. Our wedding traditions were the same as everyone else's, but Henry didn't need to know that.
Franklin caught on after we exchanged a glance. He began to nod. 'The Count did insist before we left, Vladimir, that your new wife walk herself down the aisle. If she is to be a woman of Transylvania, she needs to walk herself down.'
'Exactly. No bride of mine shall be walked down by a man. That goes against everything we stand for. This is my culture and we shall live as such. Rosetta walks down by herself.' I stood my ground as I took on this new persona to face Henry with. It was strange to speak this way and I only hoped my mother understood my intentions from wherever she was, else I feared I would be hit by her somehow. In order to ensure Rosetta's safety, I would pretend to be this way. Henry wouldn't be able to push me around. I wouldn't stand for it.
'I hardly think that's appropriate since the marriage is taking place in my kingdom! Know your place, boy.' Henry's eyes narrowed at me until his smile was gone. His chin began to raise in an attempt to tower over me, despite being shorter.
'Oh? Am I not her husband? The man she will listen to for the rest of her days? You are but her father. I have more control over her than you will ever have. She is my bride, thus my woman. I get to decide what she does and what she doesn't. Not you.' The words made me want to shiver. I felt disgusted by what I had said, knowing that if I were back home speaking that way that the women would have had my head. If this was the way to get Henry to back down, then I would keep up with it.
The king began gritting his teeth.
I smirked, knowing that the battle had been won.
'Very well then.' With those words, Henry sharply turned away from the three of us and headed for the ballroom entrance.
'Thank you, Franklin.' I said quietly. 'He is proving to be more difficult than I originally thought.'
'I can keep my eyes upon him.' Franklin nodded, following after the embarrassed king.
I patted Rosetta's hand as I led her to the floral decorated double doors. 'There is no need to be afraid, my dear. You are safe.' I carefully unraveled her hand from my arm and brought it to my lips, gingerly kissing her knuckles. 'Harm will not come to you so long as I am near.' I stood straight, kissing her forehead.
Rosetta's pale cheeks became rosey as a faint blush dusted against her skin. Bashful eyes hid from mine as she began to smile.
She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Seeing her like this only proved it to be true.
'I will see you at the altar, dear Rosetta. Come when the doors open. Go as slow as you need and understand, I will be waiting at the end for you and I will be watching out for you. No harm shall be laid upon you.' I tucked some of her hair behind her ear, letting my fingers linger on her face.
While hesitant, I began to move away from her. 'Do not be afraid.' I whispered as I grabbed the handles of the door.
'So long as I have you to watch over me, Vladimir, I shall never fear another day in my life.' Rosetta whispered in return, her smile wider than I had seen.
I gave her one last smile as I disappeared behind the doors, surprised to see that the rows of people that had gathered were watching me with wide eyes. Several were whispering to each other, but it didn't phase me. I didn't know any of them and I figured it somewhat natural for them to be acting as such. I was an outsider marrying their beloved princess. As long as I still got to wed Rosetta, I didn't mind what they said or how they acted.
I walked down the aisle in a confident stride. I felt Henry burning holes into my back, knowing I couldn't let my guard down. He was watching me. My plan was to simply act as Henry had seen until I was out of sight, but also to keep Rosetta under my constant watch and clear of any dangers. I wanted her to enjoy this day, even if we would do it again back home.
My mother used to tell me that all women dreamed of their wedding day from the time they are children. They dream of the day they are swept off their feet by the man they adore. I knew this wasn't the most perfect of weddings, but it would always count. I didn't want her to be disappointed with it.
I hoped that when she was young, she dreamed of someone like me to be the one she would wed. If not when she was young, then at least one day I would become that person. One day, we wouldn't be strangers.
Not wanting there to be regrets, I wanted to give Rosetta the time of her life. I wanted her to be at ease and relax in my company. I wanted her to know that she could trust me.
She would always be able to trust me."