Chapter 37

Kiara:

I stared at the man who has ruined my childhood as I grew.

I was raised to fear him.

It saddened me, but I was raised to fear every man who was to approach me because of him, and what killed me was that he didn’t see that as wrong, no, the exact opposite.

Throughout the years, he has never, not even once, given me the chance to be myself. To express what I wanted, liked, or hated. I was forced to follow his rules and orders no matter what they were or how much I despised them. I hated admitting it, but he had broken me far more than any person could have. And now, he was here, beside my husband’s enemy, bringing the man he wanted me to marry as if reminding me of who I was before Niklaus had saved me from the hell I lived in. I understood now how and why Lorenzo and Giovanni couldn’t hear his and mother’s conversations, they had King Verone backing them up and saw how King Verone was standing tall in front of Niklaus. I understood now that he had his father, King Leonardo, backing him up. The two had an alliance and only God knew who else was by their side in hopes to get rid of the high king.

“What are you doing here?” Niklaus asked my father who raised a mocking eyebrow at him. I knew that look very well, it was one he gave when he was testing a person, challenging him even. He wanted to know how far Niklaus was going to take things, and knowing my husband, he would be taking it as far as he could as to kill my father, King Verone, and Prince Caspian.

“I came to attend my daughter’s wedding, as she seems to have forgotten that she had parents who were supposed to be by her side, you know, as traditions have it, to hand her to her husband themselves. But it seems like the princess has spent so much time away from her castle that she’s forgotten her education and discipline” father said raising an eyebrow at me, waiting for me to talk back at him. But I didn’t, I simply squeezed Niklaus’s hand as our fingers were intertwined and raised an eyebrow at the king who frowned seeing my confident stance. I knew that he expected a frightened princess, or in this case, queen. But I was far away from that. Niklaus, Grace, and Ian had made sure that I rise to the occasion, that I am no longer afraid of anything or anyone hurting me. I knew that my people would protect me and I would give my life to keep them safe.

“You have no daughter King Leonardo. In case you have forgotten…” I spoke in a manner like his own, my tone as taunting as he was, using his own words against him “you have disowned me, and as you know, our ‘traditions’ say that a disowned prince or princess no longer belongs to the royal family”

“What?” King Leonardo asked wide-eyed, I knew that my father didn’t expect my answer. His baffled expression and his wide eyes gave him out as gasps filled the room hearing me answer the king.

“If you have no business here, you can leave the palace, as neither I nor my husband wishes to see you in our presence,” I said calmly. Niklaus smiled at me and raised an eyebrow at the king.

“I suggest you listen to her King Leonardo, as you know, she is my wife, thus, the high queen of the kingdom and even you are smart enough to know that her rank is a lot higher than yours is,” Niklaus said smiling. His smile was one of amusement knowing that he had put the king in place. The king had expected that I stay quiet. That Niklaus be the one to answer to him. He had raised me that way, a princess or queen was never to speak in the presence of her king or prince. He was a man, he was the one to do the talking. Niklaus has taught me otherwise, he has taught me to express myself to him and to everyone who was around me, to never fear speaking my mind or opinion. I couldn’t imagine myself being any different because of him. I knew now the difference between being loved, protected, and cradled, and being locked, demoted, and hated. My father had always hated me, he blocked my voice before it even came out, and I knew that Caspian would have tried his best to let me speak to him or to try and express myself to him, I knew that he did not approve of my father’s or his father’s ways, he had seen how broken his mother was as he grew up. But he did nothing to stop it, my voice range would have been limited to the chamber where he would have allowed me to speak to him. However, my voice was to be cut out the second we left that chamber. Niklaus had taught the whole world to listen to me, and I was a mere human in a magic world.

“You have forgotten who I am,” King Leonardo said looking at me and I raised an eyebrow.

“I believe that is you who forgot who I am or the deal you made years and years ago. Months before I was born when you had promised me a bride to Niklaus” I said looking at my father whose eyes widened upon hearing my words. When I first found out that he gave me up even before I was born, my heart broke and welled up with feelings that I couldn’t describe. I was both thrilled and in pain, but I couldn’t open up to anyone about it. Not even Niklaus “now, I suggest you get out of our home before I have the guards kick you out themselves”

“YOU DARE KICK OUT A KING?” King Leonardo yelled.

“YOU WILL NOT YELL AT THE HIGH QUEEN, REMEMBER YOUR PLACE!” Niklaus yelled so loud that even I jumped, everyone from the guests quieted down that I thought that they stopped breathing “you are to listen to the queen’s order, she does not wish to see you in our kingdom and neither do I”

“I am very much amused seeing this family drama pick up here. However, we have done nothing but waste our time” King Verone said looking between us and King Leonardo, Prince Caspian didn’t open his mouth to say a word since he came here, his eyes remained on Niklaus and me the whole time as if we were the only things that he could see in the room “we came here for business, not to watch your little series of issues unfold themselves”

“You, you sided with the humans? The people you were killing and taking as your slaves?” Niklaus asked and King Leonardo’s eyes widened. King Verone’s eyes lowered to the ground for a second before he opened his mouth to speak.

“Not like you weren’t by my side Niklaus, now you’re marrying their daughter,” King Verone said answering Niklaus who raised an eyebrow at him “isn’t your queen a human?”

“Indeed, she is, however, I never killed a human soul who was innocent, I didn’t drain them of their blood, I didn’t rape their women and kill them,” Niklaus said making my chest ache. Niklaus looked at King Verone who took a step back seeing that everyone’s eyes were on him, even Caspian looked between the kings who were now avoiding his eyes.

“Caspian, you do not have to be on their side this way,” I said addressing the prince whose eyes met mine, our eyes met one another’s for the first time in months. He knew that I had hated the idea of being his wife, just the idea of it made my heartache and he knew of the hate that I had for the idea, I never looked at the man no matter how much he tried. Seeing me with Niklaus now, he hated the idea of us being married so much that I feared what he would do just because he was against it.

“You do not need to tell me what to do Queen Kiara, my respect for you is infinite and I was not even aware that I was being brought to your wedding when I followed the two kings. I was told that we were going to a meeting, as it turns out, I was coming to witness monsters having a battle…” Caspian said looking at me, his eyes seeming broken before he took a step back toward the door “I wish to congratulate the two of you, I hope you have a pleasant life”

I looked at Caspian who knocked on the door of the throne room to walk out of it before his body was levitated in the air and his body started going limp as if the air of his body was being drained. My eyes widened and people gasped in the room as we looked at what King Verone was doing to the prince, Niklaus’s eyes widened and the vampire sped toward the warlock quickly snapping his neck, Caspian’s body falling from the air and had it not been for Ian speeding toward him and catching him midair, the man’s body would have hit the ground.

“I suggest you get out of here Leonardo before you meet his same fate,” Niklaus said looking at King Leonardo whose eyes widened as he tried avoiding my husband’s eyes wanting to escape but knowing that he was both outnumbered and his power would never be enough to concur the weakest of us here.

“Lorenzo, help our guest out, and Prince Ian, we need to get the prince to the infirmary, he must not leave the kingdom in this state. His body would be weak to travel by portal now” Niklaus said addressing his guard and brother who both nodded. Ian raised Caspian and helped him walk though his body was somewhat limp and Lorenzo grabbed father’s arm and pulled him out of the door. My eyes looked to where King Verone was only for them to widen when I saw that his body was no longer there. It looked as if there was a fire in the area, the spot black where his body was once laying but he was nowhere to be found.

“Don’t worry love, this is Verone’s way of escaping. He will be back soon to taunt us all, but he’ll need to find new allies now that he’s lost his first” Niklaus said wrapping his arm around my waist. The wedding dress I was wearing suddenly felt too tight and my body felt like it was burning with fear though I tried not to show it, I knew that my husband could feel my discomfort as his eyes softened and his lips kissed my forehead gently “calm down my love, he did it to annoy the two of us. But I was expecting him to come anyway”

“They both attended the wedding Niklaus, how did they get past the doors, to begin with?” I asked looking at my husband who cupped my cheeks and softly kissed my lips. His forehead resting against my own, his eyes meeting my own, our eyes melting into one another’s for a second and for a second. I forgot what had happened. I was frightened I had to admit that I was, but with Niklaus around me, I knew that there was no one to separate me and my love.

“We will be strong through this my baby girl. You are not going to weaken and will not fear ANYONE who stands in front of you” Niklaus said softly. His eyes softened before he kissed my lips once again “you’re my strong baby girl”

“I love you Niklaus”

“And I love you too baby girl”