His Highness’s Spear
It was believed that princesses were born to be cherished and adored, wrapped in the finest silks and fabrics. But for Elora, it was a painful opposite.
“My lady, it’s time to go in.”
Her breath hitched as she lifted her eyes to meet the mournful gaze of her maid. It matched hers. The large polished door of the church parted open yet she couldn’t bring herself to take a step. One step and she might be caged forever.
Every girl’s dream was to marry the man that she loved, the man of her dreams. It was hers too. Marrying a dreadful creature of the night in the middle of the night was no part of her expectations. Yet here she was, about to be sacrificed for the sake of humans.
“Princess, you have to go in now. You must not keep them waiting.”
She averted her gaze to look into the church and shills grazed her arms at the warning expression on the tensed face of the man supposed to be her father.
Just this morning, the king showed up at the old castle of the exiled princess, which was several cities away from the imperial city. Elora had thought that her father had finally decided to forgive her for the sins she had no memory of. But he’d shattered her heart. He’d completely shredded her hope. Her father had returned for her after five years, not to take her back but to sell her off to the cursed vampire prince of Elyria. To a monster!
She was nothing but a means to an end, a tool to put a hold on the century-long war between vampires and humans.
“My lady…”
Before her maid could complete her words, she took a heavy step. Once, twice, and finally, she began her walk down the aisle. Her fingers clenched the sides of her sparkling red wedding dress and her heart pounded through her chest like a war drum.
Although the church was warm, decorated with dazzling flowers and wealth, the tension was thick. Too thick. The closer she got to the altar, the more whispers she heard from the guests.
Nothing could be more unfortunate than the exiled princess of Yvlies marrying the second vampire prince of Elyria. He wasn’t just any vampire prince. He was the one who was cursed for murdering his human mother, the one whose name was whispered like a curse in all of Yvlies. Living outside the normal world all these years didn’t limit her to the knowledge of who the second vampire prince of Elyria was. He was a monster in disguise. The thought of him alone was enough to make her toes curl and her legs tremble.
Elora paused as her eyes lifted from the floor to the altar, eagerly searching for her soon-to-be husband. But aside from the priest, there stood no one else. It was only when she stepped fully onto the altar did she notice the tall silver spear standing in the position that was meant for her groom.
She gasped!
Her disbelieving eyes glanced back at the guests and those she guessed were her family. Their pitiful mocking stares like they couldn't wait to send her out of their territory revealed all that was needed.
“You must say your vows to His Highness’s spear, Princess.”
And so, she had no choice but to wed a spear in place of her husband.
To the relief of everyone, the ceremony ended as soon as it began and as if they could not bear to be in the same space as her, the guests quickly dispersed one after the other until the hall was almost empty.
“My lady, we’ll escort you to the carriage,” said the maid from earlier, stepping forward alongside an older maid. The two women gently guided her down from the altar. “The vampires could not enter the church,” the maid added quietly. “And… I also heard that the prince refused to set foot in the city. He would rather wait at the border.”
Right. Marriage to the vampire meant that she no longer had a place in Yvlies. It was a must that she begin her journey to her new home. At the thought of that, a sudden wave of dread washed over her and before she realised it, she was racing toward her father with her maids hurrying after her with urgency.
“Your majesty,” Elora breathed, tears beginning to stream down her cheek. Leaving with the vampires was no different from agreeing to her own murder. “I’ll do anything, Father. Please do not send me away.”
“If I had another choice, I wouldn’t be sending you away.” The king’s voice was firm with authority as he spoke. She shook her head in disagreement. He did have other choices. There were three half sisters of hers yet he chose to sacrifice her. The daughter he’d neglected for years.
“Your majesty, please do not punish the first princess this way,” the old maid cried. She took a bold step forward, fell to her knees and lowered her forehead to the floor. “My…my lady has suffered too much for a child.”
“She is merely paying for the sins she committed against humans.”
“Your majesty, the princess was a mere child. She has suffered for her sins enough. Please have mercy and do not let those vile creatures take her away.”
“Do you dare oppose my decision?”
Although her legs were trembling and her voice quivered like that of a child still learning his speech, the old maid gulped down her fear and replied. “Forgive me, your majesty, but…but the princess has no memory of the sins she committed resulting in exile. It is against the law of Yvlies for a person to be punished for a crime they had no idea of.”
The old maid was right. The princess had no memory of her life before her fifteenth birthday, before she was sent into exile five years ago. It was wondrous. Could a person’s memory disappear for no good reason?
“The princess was a little girl,” she completed.
“How dare you speak against me, you lowlife. You must desire death.”
Before Elora could register a sentence in her head, her father’s sword was out of its sheath and before she could blink, the old woman’s body slumped on the floor before her.
A scream erupted from her. She took a step back, her heart thumping so loudly in her chest she could hear it. Her wide terrified eyes were fixated on the blood gushing out of the woman she’d considered her mother for five years. She could barely breathe, barely focus and her gaze turned fish-eyed. Not once did she avert her gaze even after the corpse was taken away.
She only returned to reality when her father took her palm and placed a silver sheathed dagger on it.
“This is special. You have just one mission,” he told her hurriedly. “If you want to eliminate those vile creatures and come back home honored, you must wipe out their strongest warrior for us to attack.”
“Wh…what?”
“You must murder your husband, the second prince of Elyria, Rafael Thornewood!”