Aurelia awoke to a ceiling she did not recognize at first with the fabric above her was pale and embroidered with gold threads that caught the early light above and for a few little seconds her mind drifted,floating between sleep and consciousness. Then memory struck, sharp and unforgiving.
The wedding,the vows,the night she could not erase. As she remembered them her chest tightened.
She turned her head and saw the other side of the bed not touched and cold, as though the man who now bore the title of her husband had never been there at all. That realization stirred a strange mixture of relief and disappointment she did not want to examine.
Carefully, she sat up and every movement reminded her of the weight of what had changed. Not just her body, but her name, her place, her future and now she was no longer merely Aurelia. She was now Princess Aurelia, bound to a crown she had never wanted to have.
The room felt too large and too quiet.
Beyond the tall windows, the palace was already awake. Servants moved like shadows across the courtyard, their heads bowed, and their voices softened. Life went on, indifferent to her inner distress as a soft knock broke the stillness.
"Your Highness," a maid said from behind the door. "May we assist you in preparing for the day?"
The title sounded foreign and heavy on Aurelia's ears.
"Yes," she replied after a pause.
The maids entered quietly with their expressions being carefully neutral. They helped her bathe, dressed her in a gown of ivory and silver, braided her hair with practiced precision with their gentle hands, but their distance was unmistakable. Respect had replaced warmth and curiosity had lingered behind lowered lashes.
Everyone knew what the night had meant.
As they finished, one of the maids hesitated. "The prince has requested your presence at breakfast."
"Of course he had" the queen said.
The dining hall was grand, designed to impress and intimidate in equal measure. Aurelia felt its weight the moment she stepped inside. Prince Alaric sat at the head of the table, already dressed for the day, his posture flawless, his expression unreadable.
He did not stand when she approached.
"Sit," he said calmly.
She obeyed, folding her hands in her lap to keep them from trembling. Servants placed food before them, but Aurelia barely noticed. The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable.
She studied him from the corner of her eye. He looked exactly as he always,controlled, untouchable as if marriage had altered nothing for him.
For her, it had changed everything.
Is this how it will be? she asked while unable to bear the quietness any longer.
Alaric lifted his gaze to her as said, How will what be?
"This," she said, gesturing faintly between them. "Strangers bound by ceremony, polite, indifference disguised as duty."
He paused, setting his cup down with deliberatly careful"You knew what you were agreeing to."
"I knew it was political," she replied with her voice steady despite the ache in her chest. "I did not know it would feel this empty."
Something tightened in his jaw. "Feelings that a luxury rulers cannot afford."
And what about wives, are they not allowed?she asked.
His eyes flickered, just for a moment, betraying something he quickly buried and said, "You will learn to adapt."
Aurelia's fingers curled against the fabric of her gown. "I am not asking for love but just honesty and respect" she said.
Alaric stood. "This conversation is over."
He left without another word.
Aurelia remained seated long after he was gone, her appetite untouched. The crown weighed heavier than she had imagined.
Later that day, she wandered the palace grounds alone. The gardens were vast, filled with carefully trimmed hedges and blooming roses and beauty was designed to distract from the invisible cages hidden within the walls.
She paused beside a fountain, watching the water ripple endlessly. It reminded her of her former life, simpler days when laughter came easily and choices were her own and those days that felt impossibly distant.
As she turned to leave, she caught sight of servants whispering nearby with their voices hushed when they noticed her, their faces flushing with embarrassment but Aurelia straightened her spine and walked past them, refusing to let their curiosity wound her.
If she was to survive here, she would do so with dignity.
That evening, she returned to her chambers, exhausted in a way sleep could not come, she stood by the window as dusk painted the sky in muted shades of gold and violet.
This was her life now.
A quiet knock sounded again but it was firmer this time.
"The prince requests your presence in the council wing," a guard announced.
Her heart skipped, unsure whether from dread or anything similar to it.
She followed the corridor to a smaller chamber where Alaric stood alone, hands clasped behind his back. He did not turn immediately when she entered.
"I will not pretend this marriage is easy, but it is necessary" he said at last.
Aurelia met his gaze and said,"Necessary does not have to mean cruel."
His eyes darkened While he said "Cruelty was never my intention."
"Then prove it," she replied.
Silence stretched between them, charged and fragile.
For the first time, Alaric seemed unsure of his response.
That uncertainty lingered as Aurelia left the room, a faint, dangerous spark of determination igniting within her.
She would not disappear into this palace.
If she must wear the crown, she would learn how to survive it. Love was meant to be endured and make one feel safe with his or her partner but this time around, it was as if it is forced, not only forced but not again.