Chapter 4

My whole body trembled. I had never been with a man before and now I was supposed to sleep with this complete stranger that became my husband out of nowhere.

The attendees stood one by one to say goodbye to the bride and groom. Their smiles and good wishes felt like daggers to my stomach. Andrew walked towards me and hugged me, I could see in his face that he was mad and that he wanted to stop this, so I knew I had to stop him instead before he did something reckless.

“I am fine, I wish I didn’t have to go, I will miss Lerene, but this is a good thing. I will be queen,” I whispered to his ear. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” is all he said in return, he was confused by the fact that I kept on reassuring him and Edward that I was fine, so they had no idea how to act or what to do.

Gregory offered me his arm, as he did before, so we would follow the servant that was going to take us to our bedroom for the night.

We walked in silence. My legs felt weak the whole way to the guest room that my uncle had prepared for King Gregory and me. My heart accelerated the second we reached the bedroom. I walked in with wobbly steps feeling I was about to faint.

The servant closed the doors before leaving. Now we were all alone. I gulped as my eyes fixed on the bed.

Gregory closed the balcony curtains and walked towards me, I was standing by the door like a cornered animal, and as soon as I felt him approach I looked down at the ground. I had never been so afraid of someone. I was alone and trapped. He took my hands in his and kissed them, then he started to kiss my neck slowly, a chill ran down my spine as his lips touched my skin. He then started to untie the ribbons of my corset. As soon as he finished, my skirt fell to the floor and I was left in the light nightgown that was under the dress. Gregory then asked me to sit on the bed, I felt the urge to run away, but I was doomed, I had no choice but to do as he said. My husband knelt in front of me and removed my shoes and stockings with delicate movements. Afterward, he stood up and removed his own clothes, if it was possible, he was even more impressive naked, every inch of his body was tight, his arms were muscular, his legs were firm, it was clear that he exercised regularly. I had never seen a naked man before and despite wanting to turn my gaze the other way, I could not take my eyes off him. Gregory climbed onto the bed and took the rest of my clothes off. I held my breath as I waited for the inevitable.

To my relief, Gregory stopped.

"Am I hurting you?" He asked in a sweet tone I was not expecting from him.

I fixed my eyes on his.

"No," I replied with a squeak.

“Your face seems to differ, you look like you are in pain,” he remarked.

"I am nervous," I explained with a trembling voice.

Gregory's face did not flinch at my words, it was as if he didn’t hear me. I wondered if I should repeat what I said or not. Seconds later, he took a sheet and covered me with it.

“Maybe we should postpone this for a few days. I have no problem waiting for you to be ready,” he finally said, without losing the sweetness in his voice.

I could not believe what I had just heard. Was this heartless man really going to wait until I was ready to consummate our marriage?

I nodded energetically, wishing he wasn’t joking. Gregory winked at me and then rolled onto his back to his side of the bed.

“Very well, in that case: go to sleep. It has been a long day.”

He then curled up next to me and closed his eyes. Instead of closing mine and trying to get some sleep, I stared at him for hours wondering how my life changed so much in just a day.

At first, when I woke up, I did not recognize where I was. I felt rested and happy, and there was a pleasant scent in the air. I took a deep breath as I smiled until I felt movement next to me, I freaked out and screamed. It was my husband, who was also awakening by my side. I then realized that the pleasant scent was Gregory’s lotion.

“Is everything all right?” he asked before yawning and stretching his long arms.

“Yes. I am sorry, I got disoriented for a moment,” I said.

I suddenly remembered my nakedness and wrapped myself in a sheet as fast as I could. Gregory pulled me closer to him and placed his arms around me. He closed his eyes and dozed for a few minutes until we heard someone knocking on the door.

“Your Majesty, it is time for us to depart,” a male voice announced on the other side.

I drew my breath in. The time for us to go to Dranda had come. I was going to leave everything I ever knew behind, including my beloved brothers.

To my surprise, I discovered that someone had brought my grey dress to this room. I put it on immediately, glad that I didn’t have to wear Kendalia’s dress any longer. Gregory also got dressed and once we were ready, we joined the six knights who were waiting for us. My family was there too.

There were many horses and a carriage ready for us to depart.

“Try to be a competent queen. Do not embarrass us, you are the face of Lerene now, remember that,” my uncle said coldly instead of saying goodbye.

Kendalia was not warmer, she simply said: “Do as you are told,” and turned around.

My brothers, on the other hand, were holding back tears. I was holding them back too. I was going to miss them terribly every day until we could meet again.

“I don’t want you to leave, how can we stop this?” Andrew whispered desperately.

“We can’t, but you must not fear for me. I will be fine, my husband is a kind man with a good heart,” I lied. “I am certain I will be happy with him.”

“He does not seem that way,” Edward muttered looking daggers at Gregory who was talking to his men while I said goodbye.

“You can’t tell just by looking at him, he has a tough exterior, but trust me when I say that he is capable of unexpected sweet gestures,” that part was surprisingly true.

“I will try to persuade our uncle to let us visit you as soon as possible,” Andrew promised.

“I would love that,” I said as a tear run down my cheek.

I didn’t know how long it would be until I saw them again. My brothers and I had been together every day of our lives and now I was starting a new life that didn’t involve them, it felt empty and wrong.

“Time to go!” Gregory said as he pointed to the carriage.

The three of us embraced and then I used all my strength not to crumble the second we pulled back.

I climbed inside the carriage. Gregory was not going to travel with me, he was riding his horse along with his knights. It was a good thing that I was traveling alone, that way I didn’t have to hold back the tears any longer.

I cried and cried as we marched outside Lerene, far from home and everything I ever knew into the unknown.