Marry him!?" Elise's voice rang through the grand dining hall. "I will not!"
"This is not up for discussion!" her father thundered, slamming his fist against the dining table. Silverware rattled. Goblets trembled.
Her mother flinched, and the maids hurriedly cast their eyes to the floor.
No—her father wasn't a monster. But in moments like this, he felt like a coward hiding behind duty.
"Why?" Elise demanded, her fists clenched at her sides. "Why him? He's a monster!"
"Those are just rumors—"
"And what if they're true!?" she snapped, cutting him off. Her voice trembled, not from fear—but from disbelief. From betrayal.
She couldn't believe this was happening.
Elise, second-born to the royal family of Elmore—the wealthiest kingdom the world had ever known.
And yet… not even that title could shield her from being pawned off.
The Kingwood Kingdom stood as Elmore's greatest rival. Nearly as rich, far stronger in military might, and feared by every surrounding nation. Their armies were ruthless. Their kings, merciless.
A decade ago, when Kingwood declared war, Elmore shocked the world by emerging victorious.
But victory came at a cost—the King of Kingwood had died by Elise's father's sword.
Since then, the two kingdoms had waged war after bloody war. Years of loss, suffering, and endless battles that seemed to have no end.
Elise had seen the toll. The gray creeping into her father's hair. The heavy silence that often filled the palace halls. Her older brother Lucas, forced to trade toys for swords, diplomacy for war councils before he was even ten.
But none of it excused this.
None of it justified selling her off to him.
The new ruler of Kingwood. The young king whose name was whispered with dread.
A heartless beast, they said. One who burned villages to ash, starved prisoners in iron cages, and crushed rebellions with blood.
A man whose name echoed like a curse.
Elise didn't want to meet him. She didn't want to know him. And she certainly didn't want to be his wife.
"Please, Father." Her voice cracked, desperation clawing up her throat. "I'll do anything. Anything. Just… please… don't make me marry him."
"Elise. Enough." The king's voice was hard. Final. "I am your king. And I will do what is best for this kingdom. For our people. Now… please." He closed his eyes, as if the act of speaking the words physically hurt.
Elise's breath trembled. "Best for the kingdom... even if it means sacrificing your own daughter."
She rose from her chair, back straight, chin lifted with royal grace. "Excuse me."
Without waiting for permission, she turned and strode out.
Her footsteps echoed sharply in the suffocating silence of the dining hall.
When the doors closed behind her, the king's shoulders sagged.
"Richard…" the queen murmured, voice laced with worry.
"This… this is not easy for me," the king confessed, staring down at his trembling hands. "I am only trying… trying... to end a war that is slowly killing us all."
His gaze grew distant, filled with a sadness too heavy for one man to carry.
"Maybe… maybe one day… she will understand."