Married To The Cursed King

I was lying on my bed, in my room, feeling very sad about my life in the palace when suddenly, I saw myself in a dark forest, in the middle of nowhere-surrounded by fire.

The fire was burning so intensely that I became dismayed and terrified and didn't know what to do. There wasn't an escape way for me.

I panted on top of my breath, almost screaming out my lungs for help.

"Help me! Somebody help!" I kept screaming but none came.

Gradually, my voice began to crack, then entirely seized. My lungs felt weak and I found it difficult to breathe again. I fell to the ground, then watched with horror as the fire came even closer.

I lost all hope of surviving until a creature emerged to save me. It had fiery looking red eyes and horns; black horns curving like the devils'. And also, it has the body of a human but has fur instead of normal human skin. The hands and legs were paws-like.

Crossing the consuming fire, the creature reached me and gently gathered me into its arms. It carried me towards a destination, and suddenly, we were on top of a high mountain.

I was nearly drifting off into an uneasy sleep when I heard it let out a loud cry that sounded like that of a wolf calling its pack.

I opened my eyes, then smiled meekly at its face. It was staring down on mine, some kind of passion blazing in its eyes.

"Thank you." I said quietly while still in its arms. My heart instantly melted as I saw as its eyes brightened.

I straightened my shoulders up. I said, "Thank you for saving me," gently placing a palm on its cheeks. It closed its eyes to feel the warmth of my heart.

And all of a sudden, there was lightening in the sky followed by serious thunderstorms and a harsh breeze, which blew everything about.

I got extremely shuddered with fear but that wasn't my fear, it was the dark, ominous smoke descending from the sky, creating a strong tornado.

"She belongs to me!" A strange being appeared from the tornadoes with a hoarse voice, holding a staff of fire. It looked like the devil, or perhaps, the devil himself.

"She doesn't belong to you." The creature carrying me in its arms revoked with an aggressive voice.

It talked as human? I was amazed, but that wasn't the time to be amazed.

"You lie!" the devil being roared, his voice as firm as the thunder rumbling in the sky.

"You don't have a stake in the land of the living," said the creature carrying me.

"Give her to me!" The devil being ordered, stretching out his hands.

Give who to who? Me? To the devil? My heartbeat increased, hammering against my chest with force. I clung on to the creature carrying me, frantically.

"You can't have her for as long as I live," he said, affirming strongly.

"Give her to me!" The devil-being ordered again. This time, the voice was more serious than it had sounded earlier.

"She doesn't belong to you and would never belong to you."

"I can see that you're prepared for what is about to hit you." The devil-being threatened. Immediately, they began to fight over me.

The creature carrying me struggled to still keep me to himself while fighting the enemy-being, but unluckily, I slipped out of its hands.

"Nooo...!" I was falling off the mountain, about to reach the ground when suddenly, two hands caught me in the air and were now shaking me.

"My Princess. My Princess." I woke up, seeing a pair of ocean blue eyes looming over me. I recognized the eyes belongs to my personal maid, Irene.

"Are you okay, princess?" she asked, her face looking very worried. She gave way for me to sit upright on the bed.

I hadn't left the palace? I strayed my eyes around the room to be sure I wasn't delusional. My entire body was shaking profusely. I was also sweating profusely and my head was aching badly.

That was such a terrible dream!

Suddenly, the door to my room flew open and a group of palace guards threw themselves in, holding out their swords, ready for an attack.

They looked at every corner of the room, lingered an examining stare at me before walking into my bathroom as if expecting to see someone in there.

Soon, they returned back to the room, standing on their feet before me, looking a little apologetic.

"We are sorry for the interruption." One of them spoke on behalf of the rest. "We heard an unusual noise from your room," he gave their reason.

Noises. It's obvious that I must've screamed out from the dream to have gotten them here.

"I am... erm" I wanted to apologize for the noise, but I found it difficult to move my lips to make a simple speech.

"Don't worry, the princess is fine." Irene addressed them instead, allaying the doubts visible on their faces.

I nodded slightly in agreement with Irene's statement.

"Okay, we shall be leaving at once," the guard said, and with that, they left-taking a last look around the room before closing the door behind.

There was silence in the room and the only sound came from the hallways-the footsteps of the guards walking along the hallways.

"Is it one of your bad dreams again? " Irene asked, fixing a stare at me.

I know I've been having a series of bad dreams lately, but not as serious as the one I just woke up from. Two unusual creatures, fighting over me?

"Do you mind talking to me about it?" She demanded.

"Did I leave the palace last night?" I asked, forcing the words out of my heavy lips. I stared up questioningly at her.

"Did you leave the palace last night?" she restated, seeming confused. "No, you didn't. I was here until you slept off last night. " She explained.

She is right. I can remember feeling hurt yesterday and she was here all night to console me. But if so, how could a dream be so real? Everything happened so real, as if it was in real life.

Averting my gaze from her face, I looked towards the window. It was morning already, although a little dim outside, and light was gradually sipping into my room through the curtains. A cool breeze came from the window, blowing some calmness into me.

Irene still stared at me, awaiting an answer to her earlier question.

"Erm, I think I had a... uhm," I was about to explain to her but my throat suddenly felt dry, cracked and desiccated. She got a cup of water for me, and I gulped it down my throat.

When my throat became normal again, I sent her a cover-up smile.

"Are you sure you're okay, my princess?"

"Don't worry, I am fine," I said, not wanting to bother her. Irene gets worried at the slightest provocation, especially when it's about me.

"Are you sure?" she persisted. I nodded.

As if my answer was not enough, she came closer, bringing forth her hands. She held my forehead. The worries already on her face deepened, but then, she smiled.

"Don't worry, it's just a dream." She spoke with a smug look on her face.

Did she see my dream? I wondered, skeptically looking at her.

I always knew that Irene could perform mystic things, predict the future, and read thoughts, but it's quite new to me that she can also see people's dreams.

Sometimes I even fear her. The last time she warned me against going to the woods, I stubbornly disobeyed her, and on that day, bad things happened.

"Your bath is ready," she informed me, breaking my thoughts.

"Ok." I said, alighting down from the bed.

She helped me get out of my nightgown, then I walked straight into the hot bath. Getting into one of my gowns, she sat me in front of the mirror.

"You look beautiful," she said while dressing my hair.

"I do?"

She nodded her head with a bright smile.

I have always known that I am beautiful. It is said that I've inherited my beauty from my late mother. She had this straight hazel brown hair, silver eyes, and a lovely face frame that got the king infatuated.

After dressing my hair, Irene put some scents on me. I stood up straight then went to sit on my bed, but just then, a courteous knock came on the door.

"Come in," I called out, taking a seat on the bed.

A maid entered carrying a tray of food, which she dropped on the nightstand. She had prepared a hot tea prepared with honey and a loaf of unleavened bread to eat.

"You can go now." I told her. She smiled and left.

I didn't eat much out of the breakfast. I was still worried, spooked and disturbed by the dream. Why were those strange beings fighting over me? Why was the other so keen on protecting me? And why will the devil be claiming possession of me? So many thoughts went through my mind at the same time, making me feel more uneasy.

"You don't want to eat your food?" Irene noticed.

"Erm -" I was about to speak when a knock on the door interrupted my voice. "Who is it?" I asked.

"The king demands to see you," a guard informed me on entering.

Irene and I exchanged glances. The king, my father, demanding to see me? The king that I know hates to know that I still live and exist.

"Where will I find him? His courtyard? " I asked, hiding my surprise.

"At his Majesty's private gazelle near the garden." He informed me further then left immediately afterwards.

My eyes went back to Irene.

"Go and see the king," she said when our eyes met. She was busy arranging the roughed bed sheets, placing the pillows on their proper places.

She finished, smiling encouragingly at me.

"You've a guest," she said gently again.

A guest? I stared at her with wide eyes. I usually don't have guests in the palace.

"Don't keep the young man waiting," she added, looking very certain.

A young man? I didn't doubt her ability to know. I felt my heart skip a beat, but I ignored the feeling before leaving the room.

The sky has brilliantly brightened the day up. The servants are already busy sweeping, cleaning, and getting through with other tasks.

The palace garden is a short distance from my courtyard. Getting close, I saw my sister, Princess Ivy, walking out of the gazelle away from the king's presence, looking very furious.

The king called her as well? And what did he say to her? The countenance on her face doesn't say much about a calm situation.

Whatever it is, it mustn't be good.

Princess Ivy is my elder stepsister. I have only two stepsisters, Ivy, who is six years older than me, and Ursula, who is only a year older.

The king doesn't have a son, only three daughters. And also, I don't have a direct sibling because my mother died a few days after giving birth to me.

"Greetings, sister," I carefully greeted Ivy when we got close, not wanting her aggression this morning to be transferred to me.

As if getting stopped by my voice, she swung around to look my way. Her face instantly clenched on seeing me, and then, she pierced a glare at me, fuming under her breath.

Seeing her look that way, memories from yesterday when she gave me a hot slap came flooding back into my mind.

'Pack' that slap over my cheeks. Anger went through my veins, pushing me from the inside to retaliate just then and immediately, but I was able to control myself.

I firmly stood on the ground, suppressing the feelings.

As if aware of the sudden anger burning inside me, she abruptly released a scornful laugh.

Eventually, she stopped laughing, then her face relaxed to look very expressionless.

She ran her cold eyes along the length of my body. What's she staring at? I saw as she raised an eyebrow as her lips twitched into a sham smile.

"Someone has planned to look beautiful today," she smirked, her shoulders high, as if challenging me to superiority.

Plan what? Look beautiful? What was she trying to mean? I thought, looking at her without saying a word.

"Don't ever count yourself lucky, Rosia." she said, her voice sounding different from the menacing look visible on her face.

Don't ever count yourself lucky? The words felt like they reechoed in my head. I shouldn't feel lucky about what? I wanted to ask her, but she quickly turned around and walked away.

I stared at her back with confusion as she walked tall and proud till she was out of sight.

"Plan looking beautiful." I muttered to myself, almost in a soundless whisper.

I didn't plan on looking beautiful. Besides, I don't even get the special dressing treatment like her and my other stepsister, Ursula.

Again, my stepmother, Queen Aurora, hates to see me look beautiful. She hates me and her two children hate me too, and they often bully me. They do almost everything to make life hard and difficult for me in the palace. And my father is also indifferently unconcerned towards me.

It is said that my dead mother lured the king to bed in order to fulfill her desire to be royalty. She conceived for him, and after giving birth to me, she was driven out of the palace by the king.

She wandered off into a far forest, where she eventually died.

And ever since my childhood, all I have felt is pain upon pain in this place, pains orchestrated by the queen and her two daughters.

Aside from their consistent maltreatment and ill-treatment, what gets me down is the pain of being called an illegitimate daughter, a past mistake, and a whore-like-her-dead-mother.

"Don't mind her," someone spoke from behind me, jerking me out of my sad thoughts. I suddenly felt tears in my eyes, so I cleaned them off before turning to look at who it was. It was Irene. She was carrying some clothes in a basket to wash. It's apparent that she has finished cleaning up my room.

"No, I will not," I told her, covering up with a smile.

"Everything will soon be okay for you," she said, smiled softly, then went away.

Irene has been the only one backing me up emotionally in the palace. She was assigned to me a few years back, when I was barely five, still a tender child then.

When she came, she succeeded in making the palace a little worth staying in for me. Although she doesn't have a family of her own, yet she takes good care of me as if I was her biological daughter.

I know it's her duty, after all, to take care of me, but the closeness we've shared is more than what can exist between a maid and her mistress.

Exhaling breaths, I continued going to answer the king.

...

"Greetings father," I greeted, standing before him. He is seated, having a discussion with a young man, under the gentle wind coming from the garden nearby.

A few royal knights from another kingdom stood around.

My father gave me an icy casual glance before averting his gaze back to the guest. "Here she is," he spoke to him.

I gave the young man having a discussion with the king a cursory glance. I found him staring at me with surprise and awe.

I quickly brought my face down, feeling a little uncomfortable with the way his eyes were around me. Or was it fear? My breath was almost taken away when my glances fell on him. He is so handsome, having a well sculpted face, a broodingly raw-boned jaw, dark eyebrows, and pale lips.

"She is Princess Rosia, the illegitimate daughter of mine that you've heard of."

I stared at the king with disbelief. Illegitimate daughter? He is calling me that even in the presence of a visitor. I felt the worst kind of humiliation as tears gathered around my eyes.

Why can't he accept me as his daughter? Why has he chosen to join hands with his wife to make life frustrating for me? My heart got shattered and remained displaced.

"She is beautiful," the young man said.

Beautiful. I know that the palace maids have told me about my beauty, but no man has ever done that. I was supposed to feel excited, but my heart was saddened.

"You're welcome to our kingdom," I managed to say to him, smiling nervously, avoiding his gaze.

The king went on, "They have come to seek your hand in marriage."

Seek whose hand in marriage? I couldn't believe my ears. I blinked several times to make sure I wasn't in my imagination at all.

I hardly had guests in the palace, unlike my two stepsisters, but with this man coming to seek my hand in marriage, I felt very skeptical.

"He has come to arra--" The king was about to say something.

"She looks more beautiful than what was expected, King Herbert," the young man interrupted, cutting the king off without letting him finish.

What impudence? At a point, I felt irritated. No one dares interrupt the king while he is speaking. And to think that he called the king's name without much respect. I gave him a bold stare only to see him looking very unbothered.

"Uhm... He is King Luther, king of Sidonnia kingdom," the king still continued, not feigning any offense.

Wait! He is a king? Unbelievable! He looks so young to be a king.

Hold on! King Luther of Sidonnia. Who doesn't know about him? A king said to be cursed and evil. Wait a second! He plans on marrying me? I totally froze in place when I saw the way the my father had already agreed to his request.

I can't get married to him. I protested but realized I hadn't said it out but in my mind since my lips had suddenly become paralyzed.

"You will be getting married to him in a few days," my father said, adding.

"Getting married to whom?" I couldn't hide the shock in my voice.

"Yes, you are going to be married soon," said the young king as he stood up, coming towards me. His voice was gentle and soft but did a lot of harsh things inside me.

I felt glitches in my breath as I struggled to flinch backwards, away from his closeness, yet he still continued coming up at me. His huge figure filled my eyes, and I couldn't help but fix a gaze at him, taking in his every detail.

He has very long raven black hair which extends past his shoulder length. His body is well-built, having broad shoulders and tall, with an average height of six feet, six inches, and furthermore.

He is wearing a luxurious blue royal robe, which matches perfectly with his slightly pale skin and fits his body properly.

I was getting lost looking at him when I tripped and was falling and suddenly, I felt his strong arms wrapping around my waist.

He caught me then held me.

Straightening myself in his arms, I tilted my head up then gazed up at his face. I found him staring down at me, his unusual gold eyes looming over mine.

Wait! It's not gold. It has flames like the lava of an erupted volcano.

The breath from his nostrils fanned my face, sending some sweet shivers down my spine. If I had been feeling knots in my belly, now I am feeling butterflies.

How could his hands do a lot of magic? His body scent confused my head, making me unable to think straight again.

And his lush hair, it smelled of spices and herbs, entirely engulfing my nose. I shut my eyes close to take a lungful of it. "Ahem

" The king cleared his throat, waking my eyes up.

I remembered that I am in the arms of somebody cursed and evil. I struggled to pull myself from him but he still held me.

As if sensing my fear, he leaned closer, stopping his face a few inches away from mine. I felt my breath almost running out of me while my stomach started recoiling terribly.

Something flickered in his eyes as he dazzled a smile. "I will be back to take you," he said. "You don't even have a choice."

I don't have a choice. He was right. That's why I am getting married to him today despite all my pleas to the king to reverse his decision. I even tried running away from the palace to a distant place where no one was going to see me again, but the guards caught me. I was kept under a serious house-arrest until today, under the king's strict order.

I thought I had meant nothing to him. Why have I suddenly become too important? I had pondered over the question until I realized the condition behind my getting married off.

The past years, our kingdom has been having a series of war issues with the other kingdoms surrounding our borders, especially with the kingdom of Baldamon, over some recent land issues.

My father, the king, is unbowed by their threats, and in order to fight them, he needs the support of powerful kingdoms on his side.

Apparently, he is using me as a tool to gain more power and to create an alliance with the kingdom of Sidonnia-a very powerful kingdom with a very strong army - by marrying me off to their king.

For the first time in my entire life, my stepmother has supported any decision that goes before the interests of her two daughters.

Here in our kingdom, it's supposed that the elderly ones get married before their younger ones, but she has cared less for her daughters. Her calmness these last few days has only proven that she is purely in support of my father's decision to marry me off.

My father knows that the King of Sidonnia is cursed, yet he is gladly willing to give me off to him for a wife. Is that how much he hates me? I felt my blood boil, but now was not the time to get angry.

Dropping all the bad thoughts behind, I studied myself in the mirror. Irene and a few maids had spent hours preparing me, making me look prettier than I had ever been.

I am wearing an ivory and gold off-shoulder gown and a gold shoe to match. My hazel brown hair was sleeked backwards then was styled into calling shapes of rose flowers and leaves.

Everything was perfect; the face make-up, glossy lipstick, and jewelries. Once they finished, they put some vanilla scent on me.

"You can all go."I told the maids. They all left. Irene remained behind.

I was smiling at myself in the mirror when the thought that my beauty today was of no use since I was going to be married to a man outside my choice crossed my mind. Sadness made its way to my face immediately.

I stood up straight then went to sit on the edge of my bed.

"Your face looks pale," Irene noticed. "Are you not happy?"

"Am I supposed to be happy?" was my outburst as tears surrounded my eyes and threatened to spill off.

For a long time, Irene said nothing. She stared at me speechless and looked a little worried. Although she was trying to keep it invisible, I could still see it.

"Is it about the rumor that your soon-to-be husband is cursed?" she asked.

I nodded, lacking the words to say. I felt a lump of emotion hanging on my chest. I wanted to cry out my pain, but that wasn't happening.

It's not like I believe in those rumors that my soon to be husband is cursed. It might be a plot by the enemies to tarnish the young king's image. But the part of the rumor that his wives die mysteriously is what gets me sick and scared.

What if I die? What if I end up becoming like his other wives that died, and no one knows the true cause of their deaths? Is this my fate?

Normally, getting married to a king to become his queen is one of the things most women often pray for, but I think my case is different. I get this odd feeling that I am going on a suicide mission.

"You're not going to die," Irene said, as if she read my thoughts.

She came close to me at the bedside.

"You're not going to die, my princess," she said softly, taking my hands in hers. "I carried out my little findings."

Findings about what? She always finds out about things. I stared blankly at her when I saw the sadness that had clouded her face.