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"-And then you kiss"

Maud blushes, looking away from the prince in front of her. Just so that she can avoid his lips, which she will inevitably stare at if given the chance. Partly to avoid the dark and scary eyes of her fiancé, who stares at her like he hates her, with coldness and anger unlike anything she has ever seen before.

It makes her feel unwanted and terrified for the future. It also makes her feel oddly attracted to the mysterious aura around him. Something about him just makes her like him, she can't hate him like he hates her. There is a sense of something more, like an untold truth, like a secret hiding between them. And that's not a ridiculous thought to have. They haven't spoken over the past four days, so obviously there is a sense of mystery between them. Maud just wishes that Adelio wouldn't hate her so much. With his cold eyes that pierce into her soul at every opportunity he gets, Maud just wishes that he would find her attractive and interesting, like she finds him.

It's a strange feeling of longing to have, right at the altar. The priest in front of them claps his hands together with a stressed smile. Maud guesses that priests get really busy around royal weddings, since they are the ones running the show. The couple forced to get married won't really do much except say yes. Maud thinks about all these things during their practice ceremony, just to distract her from the truth of tomorrow.

Tomorrow she'll be married to this man, tomorrow the wedding will be held. Tomorrow they will kiss at the altar in front of hundreds of guests. Hundreds of strangers, really, who will watch her and this scary man kiss. And then, what happens afterwards, is a bit foggy for the princess. The weird lady who sat her down to talk about it a few days ago didn't really explain properly. Maud didn't understand it. So she's left nervous and unprepared, about the marriage, about her fiancé, about the kiss, and about whatever comes after.

Standing there, in the huge cathedral right next to the palace, Maud wonders how she will be able to do this in front of a huge crowd tomorrow. How can she marry a guy like Adelio. Cold, dark, hateful and quiet. There is not a single ounce of love or compassion within this man, and there are so many secrets and unknown things about him that Maud wished she knew. If only she had been engaged to a more simple man, who would be easy to read like a book with only a few pages. Instead she has stumbled upon this one-thousand page novel of a man, who will be her husband for life. And whether his story is that of a romance or a thriller, Maud is terrified to know.

At least he's on the same page as she is. They are both being forced into this, and they both know their duty. At the engagement ball three days ago, he proved that by agreeing to dance with her. So Maud is somewhat comforted by the fact that her future husband has a similar goal to hers. To survive. She can sense that he has the same thought in mind. This world holds them down and keeps them on the ground. This world is where they are powerless under a higher power, so they must do their best to survive. It's just terrifying to know that despite all that, Maud is still powerless beneath Adelio. If he ends up being a monster, as he is described, she will have no power to stop him from hurting her in any way that he wants. She will be his by this time tomorrow, and not even her brother can stand against her husband after that.

Maud turns back to her fiancé once the priest continues talking.

"After the kiss, you will walk down the aisle and attend further arrangements. Prince Adelio, you will put her veil back on after the kiss"

Adelio nods, seemingly bored. Maud is all jittery and nervous, so she can't relate to his emotions at all.

"Lets try walking down the stairs of the altar again, with the princesses shoes on this time?"

A maid rushes forwards at the priest's order, holding out a pair of white high-heels that Maud will be wearing tomorrow. She places them on the ground and lets the princess step into them. Maud immediately understands why the priest wanted them to try this before the actual wedding. Her shoes are uncomfortable and unstable, way too high for her own liking. She is unsure of walking with such fancy shoes, more comfortable in lower ones like the ones she used to wear at the farm. How will she ever hold her balance? Maud gulps.

"You can lead her by the waist- yes, just like that"

Adelio wraps his hand around her waist like it's second nature. He's been doing that more often lately, ever since the engagement party ended and the wedding preparations started. Still, they haven't spoken almost at all during the entire time they've been together. Adelio attends what he must but avoids everything else, and he seems distant and annoyed whenever Maud or any of her brothers are near. Obviously that makes Maud upset, but she understands him, so she doesn't allow herself to think about it too much. Still, the arm around her waist has been a prominent way for them to grow closer. The only thing which Maud is familiar with now. Adelio's hand. Whether it's holding her own hand or around her waist, it's almost always there, upon someone else's order.

Adelio leads her down the altar steps, and Maud tries not to wobble. She's almost all the way down, fully concentrating on her feet. But even when doing that, she can't stop the inevitable from happening. On the last step she stumbles, the shoes way too high and her feet way too tired after yet another long day, and yet another sleepless night. She falls forwards, but is quickly stopped by someone pulling her towards them. Adelio, with his hand still around her waist, stares at her with sudden widened eyes, as she lays halfway in his arms after almost falling down.

Maud stares up at him with a deepening blush over her cheeks. The two of them are frozen. It's like time has stopped. Maud finds herself fooled once again, completely enchanted by the guy she is forced to marry. She shouldn't be feeling this way about him. Everyone knows that feelings are inappropriate, and whatever she is feeling is definitely inappropriate. Her heart beating, face reddening, eyes widening and breathing picking up. What are these strange symptoms? Maybe he does have some sort of mind-controlling magic power after all...

Adelio is quick to push her back to her feet after he comes to his senses. For the first time, Maud sees something else other than coldness and hatred in his expression. She sees surprise and bashfulness. She brushes off imaginary dust from her dress and clears her throat out of embarrassment, looking anywhere but in his eyes. Adelio does the same. The two of them were never really that different in that sense. They both are terrible with their own emotions. But this is just the beginning. If only they knew that. How much hatred and love could fit in their relationship, that is something that they will soon understand. There is a major difference between the two emotions. Hatred will come and go, love will always remain.

All they need is a spark to start the fire.

"My sister doesn't come for free, as you know from the letter of engagement"

Makai smiles over the dinner-table. The silver cutlery clings in the air, the room filled with a strange cold atmosphere. It's dark outside, clouds covering the night sky, stopping the shine of the moon and stars. Without fire they would have no way to see what's left or right in front of them. But alas, a huge fireplace burns steadily in the corner of the room. Other than that, there are several candles on the table, and a small golden chandelier lit above them. The table is long and wooden, with a white tablecloth over it, embroidered flowers on the edges. Different dishes, some with meat and others with vegetables, fill the table. Despite its large size, there are only six chairs present.

Adelio sits on one end of the table, and Makai on the other end. The twins Noor and Nico have their chairs on one side, and the slightly older brother Takao sits on the other side together with Emilio, Adelio's best friend. Adelio can't help but frown, even when she tries to stop herself. It's just so hard to pretend to be a man in situations like these. She has kept up the act for over twenty years, and yet when somebody talks about women as objects they are ready to sell, she almost reveals herself every single time.

It happens way more often than one would like. All these kings and princes, dukes and nobles, talk about their daughters as if they were expensive cattle. They care about them only to the extent of how much money they can bring, how high they can climb up the social ladder. In that sense, Adelio pities her fiancé more than she could ever pity any of these men. Even more than she could ever pity Emilio, despite him being her best friend. She just can't handle seeing men talk about women like that, because she knows that if she revealed herself to be a woman, they would never show the same kind of respect as they do now. In fact, they would do anything in their power to bring her down.

Still, this isn't exactly a safe space to feel angry in. Adelio is forced to take it with a grim nod.

"Everything you asked for will be arranged"

Makai had many demands, but none of them were too hard to meet. Sure some of them did sting a little, like agreeing to not going to war with them as long as Margaret is her wife. But along with that demand and some money, there wasn't much else that they wanted. Just that some trading ships along their coastline should be allowed to pass through Red Lion waters. Adelio continues to eat without bothering to look at his future brother in law.

"As you have probably noticed, Margaret is quite close to being absolutely perfect. She's quiet and obedient, and she'll make a wonderful wife for you. Just remember to keep your promise, or else we'll take her right back"

Makai says with a joking tone. But Adelio knows that he isn't actually joking. She isn't sure how close Makai is to his sister, but no matter how close, they all know how much a princess is worth these days. Many kingdoms kill their princesses at birth to hide the fact that they were born, which results in a lack of royal women on the whole continent. It's stupid that they can't think far enough, but the real boom of throwing away princesses happened roughly twenty years ago, which means that around this time there are very few princesses going around in the right age for marriage, any princess is highly valuable. A princess from the biggest empire on the continent is worth more than a hundred chests of any diamond, jewel or gold. They aren't worried about their sister, Adelio knows that. They are worried about losing such a valuable product as Margaret is, and that's disgusting.

Adelio forces a neutral expression on her face.

"Your majesty, I know very well as a brother of three sisters, how worried you must be of Margaret around this time. But don't worry about that anymore, brother in-law. I'll take good care of her from now on"

Honestly, she said it out of spite. Knowing fully well that Makai doesn't value his sister as he should, knowing fully well that the relationship between Makai and Margaret is tense if not hateful. A man can never value a woman in this world, it's just not possible. They don't have empathy and they don't understand how precious their women are. Adelio, as a woman understands. And even if she might hate Margaret as she hates Makai, for being the enemy, she's still going to value her and treat her better than any man could. Just because she is a woman too, and knows exactly how terrible men are.

Makai frowns. It seems like his point is not getting across. But Makai isn't stupid either. He can see it in Adelio's eyes, the way she teases him by saying that he is worried for his sister. Makai knows that Adelio knows just how terrible the relationship between the two siblings are. But Adelio can only sigh, continuing to eat her food. She's getting married tomorrow anyway.

Might as well eat before she loses her appetite.

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