My Unusual Betrothal

Amara

The summer breeze entangled my Golden locks, gently lifting them with a soft tug.

The Emerald green grass swayed like hands held high, welcoming me in the sun. The sky was so clear, so blue, as though I was staring into the ocean.

To my right lay my betrothed, supporting himself on one arm with his legs stretched next to mine, smoothly flattening the fresh bottle-green grass beneath him.

This man was to be mine. Promised to me at 16.

My fiancé.

Prince Ciaran of the Zemira Kingdom.

He caught me gazing.

A slight chuckle escaped from his toffee-brown lips. I couldn’t help but blush, my cheeks turning a rosy pink as I slightly faced into the distance.

He glided his finger under my chin with a light nudge, making me look his way again. He was close to my lips…

His warm breath smoothly stroked my face. Never have we been this close before. How I wished to stay like this forever. He may be my fiancé, but we have never had the comfort of staying in the same room alone, nevermind kissing.

His light brown hair bounced in the wind, and his hazel eyes brightened. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the world seemed to come to a halt. I could gaze into those eyes forever, get lost in them. But not so lost that I would become afraid… it was somewhat comforting. Such kind and gentle eyes.

All I could see was Ciaran.

All I wanted to feel was Ciaran.

I was the luckiest girl in the world.

Or so I thought….

PRESENT TIME

Falling snow surrounded the Kingdom. My skin starting to burn from the surrounding air. Pricking at my skin like a needle. Yet I stood.

I watched my fiancé being placed into the ground along with his father, the King.

Tears tried to escape, but my eyes stung from the biting frost. Snowflakes started to burry themselves into my hair, making my mind hazy. Unsure whether it was from the cold or the endless tears I shed when I found out the fateful news.

My dress became damp, and my feet became numb along with my fingers which started to stiffen as each second passed.

Through all this…

The only pain I felt was sorrow. Sorrow from the unknown.

I knew we would have been happy, but never knowing how happy made me regretful. I had never smiled or laughed so much then with Ciaran in my presence. The little time I got to know him was my life’s happiest, most joyous moment.

Ciaran, the most beautiful soul the world had ever seen, was gone.

Taken from us.

My brother, King Louis, stood at my side. A gentle hand on my back.

This little gesture means so much, and he knows it. He understands how I feel. I suffered internally when our parents passed away, and I automatically shut down.

Being a princess taught me to always show bravery and grace, even in the most devastating situations.

The ceremony finished as the red roses started to turn white from the frost which graced them.

Slowly we made our way inside, what seemed like, the lifeless Kingdom. All you could hear was the trudging of snow being gently crushed and the silent sobs echoing in the air.

I looked back one more time at the man I was to wed in 2 days. But I was left looking at tampered soil and a black and gold-lined stone to mark the final resting place of my future husband.

Prince Ciaran.

Queen Cersie

No mother should ever have the misfortune of burying her son. Let alone their son and husband on the same day.

Two people I loved so dearly were ripped from me, ripped from our people.

Their deaths were no accident.

Their malicious and unstable murderer is free, planning his next attack. He is planning to take away everything we have just to satiate his gluttonous need for power.

I knew nothing of war, and I never planned to. I never had a worry when Darius was by my side. The King protected us all. But now he was gone, along with Ciaran, my eldest son, the next in line to the throne.

Malik, my second son, was somewhere other than where he needed to be, and that was saying his final goodbyes. I just hope he doesn’t regret not being here in the future.

The poor girl. She barely knew my son, but even she knew what a pure and gentle soul he was.

Princess Amara was betrothed to Prince Ciaran to strengthen our hold against threats. A threat such as the one who took my loving husband and son away from me.

We needed strength and unity more than ever before, but what may come next with King Louis potentially breaking ties with us after the failed union between Amina and Ciaran?

I knew the only reason King Louis showed up was to pay his respects. But I feared it didn’t go further than that.

Now I am the rightful ruler, and I must make haste and decide what is best for the Kingdom. The only solution I deem favourable is one that some may not like.

I will do whatever it takes to save this Kingdom.

I will not have my husband and son die in vain.

No matter what!

Malik

“Another.”

I lost count of how many glasses of whisky I slinked down my throat. It was on fire, but I liked it. I liked the way it scorched my tongue and seared my stomach. I deserved this pain, this torture.

I should have been the one that died, and everyone knows it. Hell, I’ve already heard whispers about it.

“Another.”

I was the untamed, destructive, and unfavourable prince. I am unworthy to breathe while my brother and father can no longer.

I was too much of a coward to go to their funeral because I couldn’t bear seeing them buried in the ground.

It would become too real that they were actually gone.

Ciaran was the epitome of perfection. I may have bested him on the physical side of things, but his pure and honourable devotion made everyone love him, even our parents. They may not have meant to show it, but they always favoured Ciaran. Maybe because he was to become King one day, and I would always be looked upon as a stand-in. But they did, nonetheless, intentional or not.

I learned young that competing with Ciaran for other people’s affection would be useless. He was always favoured. I don’t know when but I eventually stopped trying to best him. I allowed him to take the high road and couldn’t care less. He even looked like a pretty boy, while I was more on the rough side. Despite all of that, we were very close. Like Ying and Yang, we bounced off each other and balanced one another through our differences.

“Another.”

I eventually allowed everyone to see me for who they truly thought I was; a selfish, unworthy, good-for-nothing prince. Over time I started to think that way about myself until it became a reality.

I was still respected by people, but it came out of fear.

My brother earnt his respect through love and admiration.

Now he was gone.

I should have been with him. I should have fought alongside him. But Father didn’t allow it. He said the “Future King had to show he would fight honourably for his Kingdom. Like a true King at the front of every battle”.

What a load of bollocks!

Everyone knew I was better in combat; I knew I was!

I should have been the one to go to battle. If I did, the one who murdered my father and brother would be lying in a pool of blood, parts of his body dismembered and scattered like the evil scum he is.

Starting to feel numb, I made my way through the street. The sun almost blinded me upon my exit from one of my favourite drinking spots.

Sleet lay on the gravel; the snow had stopped falling. The winter air made me feel even more desensitised. I hadn’t cried yet, and I wasn’t a crier. Even when I was young, I would always get back up and focus on the anger boiling inside me, pushing past the pain.

I somehow managed to get myself home. The home that will never be the same again…

The thick gold gates of unbreakable steel made me sway from their height. The guards on either side opened up for me like they knew I was coming.

No surprise. It was familiar to them.

I like my liquor, and so what! Every man has his comfort, and mine was either alcohol, violence, or women, usually in that order. Ciaran’s comfort was charity work, supporting festivals and events, and trying to build a better and united Kingdom.

A perfect King.

The frosty air must have sobered me up… I don’t want to think about anything right now.

As I advanced the stairs, I saw a woman sauntering slowly behind a few of our closest family and friends. I must have made it back just in time to miss the funeral. A young man dressed in black had his hand gently resting below her shoulders. Her golden hair flowed freely in the breeze. Snowflakes lay snugly in her hair, making the colour seem lighter than it was. The still gleaming sun bounced off her locks, making them shine gold and amber.

Now I knew what comfort I wanted, something to keep me from my thoughts.

I knew everyone would leave soon; my mother isn’t the type of woman to entertain people in such a situation. I give it 20 minutes before everyone clears off.

I decided to go to my room and drown myself in more of my favourite refreshments until I senselessly blacked out.

Amara

The evening had come, and I lay on the bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Me and my brother decided to stay one more night. My brother said he had to discuss business with the Queen but wanted to let her rest for the night. No doubt about the alliance formed when Prince Ciaran and I were supposed to wed. Now that was clearly not happening, there was no doubt there would no longer be an alliance, but matters still had to be addressed.

I wouldn’t say I loved Ciaran, but I did like him… A lot. The sudden shock of his passing made it even more difficult to bear.

He was everything you would want in a husband and everything you would want in a ruler.

It feels like I have an emptiness inside me, an emptiness he should have filled as we built our lives together. The not-knowing, the uncertainty of my potential future was taken before it even began.

Part of Ciaran’s death bought up my deep-hidden feelings about my parent’s funeral. I have never attended a funeral since my parents passed, and memories of that day kept flooding back.

I gave up trying to sleep and went to the kitchen for some hot chocolate. It may sound childish, but it was something my brother used to do when I was little and couldn’t sleep when my parents died, and it stuck.

I slipped on the silk, cream robe and the slippers, which felt like you were stepping on soft, fluffy clouds.

As I exited my room, there was still a dimly lit light around parts of the castle-like mansion. I had an idea of where the kitchen was as I saw servants carrying trays of food out of a door near the front of the ballroom; that’s where I would begin my hunt.

I neared the door to what I hoped to be the kitchen when I heard a creak behind me.

I flipped my head around, almost giving myself whiplash, and noticed a guard standing by the doors behind me. He was just doing his job, standing guard.

I started moving forward through the door, still facing the guard, when I couldn’t feel the ground beneath me.

Realising I missed the steps, I tumbled forward, bracing myself, in the dark, for impact until I felt a heavy arm reach me...