"May i ask for the hand of the fifth princess in marriage?"
There was silence, first. The prince Derek looked very surprised and most of the ministers.
Then the king spoke.
"The fifth princess? That's the only child of the late concubine Freya. ."
"That's right, your majesty. "
"May I ask if you have met each other before, because fifth princess rarely leaves the castle. "Said the king
"I was opportuned to see the princess at the engagement banquet of the Duke of corneal. I immediately took a liking to her." Said Alden
"Your majesty." Interjected prince Derek. "The princess is the only child of concubine Freya. She was very loyal to you even in death. I beg you to give the princess a chance to tell us her opinions"
"I agree with his highness, we should let the princess tell us her opinions"
Added a minister.
The king gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes then said :"I already promised The General to grant him any favor. It is decided then. After the general return from Alvania he shall Wed the fifth princess of Holostoria in a grand celebration.I will be honored to have him as my son in law. "
"Thank you, your majesty. " replied Alden.
"My lady you've been reading for hours why don't you take a break and catch your breath.?" Said Vivian
Maltilda didn't reply instead she closed her eyes and focused. Then a gentle breeze flowed through the room and objects slowly started floating in the air.
Vivian was startled and gave a gasp. "My L...Lady you are .....performing sorcery please stop immediately "
Maltilda didn't stop . Slowly the objects rotated moving in a faster pace, then there was a knock which startled both of them. The objects fell to the floor clattering and broken.
"Who is that?" Maltilda whispered to Vivian Slightly scared.
"I will check it out." She said and hurried to the door. It was prince Derek.
"Your highness. " She bowed evidently surprised. Derek had never visited the princess personally. He ignored Vivian and walked into the room.
Maltilda immediately stood also surprised and came to meet him.
"Second brother, why are you here?"She asked
"What, you are not pleased to see me?" He looked around her messy room and saw the broken objects then asked :
"What happened here?"
"I.... I was .... well..... I was sleep walking. I was in a deep sleep. So I crash things when I sleep really deeply " She replied awkwardly.
"You have a funny sense of humor. "Derek laughed
She laughed nervously too then said quickly "Come have some tea." She led him to her reading table where she had already hidden her books. Then she poured him some tea. "Have some brother. " She gave it to him .
He took it and sipped a little then turned to her. " You really don't have to be jumpy around me.
"I am not jumpy. It is just a pleasure to see you. Why have you come brother?" She asked
"To have a little chat with you. "He replied shortly taking another sip.
"Me? Arent you busy with something perhaps? " He looked at her strangely then she quickly said "Fine." She sat down beside him and poured herself some tea and raised it to him " let's have a chat." Then drank it.
Derek smiled and drank too he waited for a moment the then said :" What is your relationship with General Alden?. "
Caught unaware Maltilda quickly spit out her tea choking on it and started coughing. Vivian who had been tidying up the room quickly rushed to her.
"My lady are you alright? "
Derek quickly dropped the tea and held her on her shoulder " My apologies. I didn't know he had that effect on you."
But that made Maltilda even more flustered. "You've misunderstood brother. " She said in between coughs "I don't have a relationship with him"
Then Derek stood up thoughtfully. "No relationship at all?"
"Of course not, brother. Why did you ask?"
Maltilda's memory was wiped by Alden after the attack by the demon so she had no memory of him saving her. And no one else in the castle knew about the demon incident except him.
"That's strange. Have you met him before? "
Maltilda thought this through for a second then shook her head. "No brother. I haven't met him officially. But I've seen him twice once at third sister's engagement and today when he was going to his majesty's court."
She wondered if she should tell him about the darkness she felt whenever she saw Alden. But she dismissed the idea. She wasn't sure if it was normal. And the last thing she needed was for anyone to think she was abnormal.
Derek stood thinking for a while then smiled gently. "I just wanted to ask. There's nothing wrong. I shall take my leave. "
"Wait! You are just going to leave like that? I don't understand why you asked that question and now you are just going to leave? Please brother tell me if something is wrong. I really must know."
Maltilda found it odd that he would ask her such questions out of the blue.
Derek hesitated for a while then said. "Lord Alden seems to have taken a liking to you"
"Me?" Asked Matilda bewildered
"Yes." He replied shortly
"Tha...That is indeed strange. As we have never really met."She said carefully "Is that all?"
Derek contemplated for a while. "Not really. At the court today he specifically asked for your hand in marriage. And father consented."
Maltilda started trembling: "What do mean? His majesty has agreed to it already?"
"I asked father to let you consider it first but he refused. Because he promised to grant any wish from the General. "
Maltilda looked pale. She knew she would get married off just like her sisters but she never expected it to be so soon. And to that lord who she couldn't place what was wrong with him.
"Are you alright , Tilda? I could try talking to Father a bit more. You look sick." Derek looked very worried.
Maltilda forced a smile. Her second brother was indeed kind. No one has ever called her Tilda since her mother passed away. "I am fine. I am just shocked by the sudden news. You must not go against his majesty. He has decided my marriage which is expected. I will be fine."
"Are you sure? If you ever need anything come to me. "
"You are very kind, brother. I will keep that in mind." She stood up bowed.
"I shall leave now."
"Take care brother." She said as he walked towards the door and left.
When he left all the pent up emotions Maltilda held came crashing in and she looked at Vivian in horror.
"I am about to be married. I am going to be married. I.....I thought I still had time. All the time to....."
"Calm down My Lady. " interrupted Vivian who was also very surprised.
"I can't. I plan to ....." She suddenly paused then turned to Vivian with a calm expression and smile. "Well time flies quickly I suppose will soon be saying goodbye to the castle like the rest of my sisters. "
She walked and calmly laid on her bed.
"Are you alright my lady?" asked Vivian who found Maltilda's behavior strange.
"Why won't I be?" She answered brightly
"I thought you loathed the idea of getting married or could it be that you suddenly find the General appealing?" Asked Vivian with a teasing smile
"Of course " Replied the princess. "Go now I wish to be alone. Go get me some sunflower seeds"
"Sunflower seeds?"
"Yes. Hurry up"
When Vivian left Matilda quickly sat up and a venomous look came on her face then she said in a loathing tone :" I do not believe in fairytale or true love but at least I should be comfortable with the person I am marrying. This won't do. My fate is in my hands now."
*Seven blades palace demon realm.*
The woman stared at her reflection for a long time before mustering the courage to look away. Outside the doors of her chambers she heard the demon king being announced. He walked in to her room majestically and sat down .
"Mother, forgive me for being unfilial. I had to attend to court affairs. So all this while i couldn't visit you." Said Astaroth
The woman didn't even look at him. She turned back to the mirror and started playing with her hair decorations.
Astaroth smiled then said. "I know you barely care about court affairs..... or me ,but I have something in store for you. "
The woman turned to him sharply said said in a said in a terrified voice.
"What did you do?"
Astaroth laughed. A sinister harsh laugh. He came close to her and crouched beside her. "I brought you a gift " He whispered into her ears and she flinched . He brought out a sheathed dagger from his robe and handed it to her. But she didn't take it.
She looked at him with unmasked hatred and spat. "Forget it. Just like you it is useless to Me."
He looked a her for a long time then stood up and unsheathed the dagger. It glowed with ice. It was a sharp and well balanced. He Turned it back and forth.
"If you insist you don't want it, I would give it to someone else." He then smiled again his cruel face extremely beautiful " I am going to Alvania. I have a predestined meeting with someone very important to the both of us and when I see him this bone crushing and soul stealing dagger would pierce his heart. For both of us."
She quickly understood and started screaming "You wouldn't dare! You wouldn't dare you devil." She quickly removed a hairpin from her hair and rushed towards him stabbing him in the shoulder.
He allowed her . Satisfied by her hatred. At least she had some kind of feelings towards him. And she knew he existed.