1. Marriage

In her entire life she had been preparing for this day. She always knew that she was never going to be able to choose whom to marry because she was a woman and a princess of nephus kingdom the ruler of the human race. She didn’t have the right to choose. Hell, she didn't have any rights at all. Her opinions and feelings didn't matter to anyone, not even her own family.

In fact, her father viewed me as a tool to gain more power, to create an alliance with the most powerful kingdom in the lands. But this time it was also for peace making between the werewolf and the human. She was going to be the sacrifice of peace. By marrying her off to one of their princes.

"For a prince and princess, the kingdom comes first," Father said. Your desire for something comes after."

Yes, right. It could for a prince, but not for a princess. If a prince married for alliance and didn't like his wife, he could just marry another. Usually most of them had one mate and several mistresses, but for a princess the story was different. There's nothing she could do. She just had to please her husband and watch as he plays with other women when he gets bored with her. Tiana felt her blood boil, but now was not the time to get angry.

Leaving all the bad thoughts behind her, she studied herself in the mirror. her maids had spent hours preparing her, making her look more beautiful than she was.

She was wearing a white and golden dress, and her blonde hair was combed back beautifully with diamond hairpins in the shapes of flowers and leaves. The makeup was perfect; the only problem was the jewelry. They were beautiful but heavy, now that she was wearing a lot of them. Tiana was already feeling weak because of nervousness, or was it fear? she didn't know, but she was feeling sick. There was a knot in her stomach that refused to go away no matter how hard she tried to calm down.

"My Lady, don't you like the dress?" Margret asked.

Margret and Sandra, her handmaids, have been taking care of Tiana since I was a little girl. They were the only ones she could talk to. she would miss them once she left.

"No, I love it. It's beautiful." Tiana tried to smile, but failed.

Margret could see the fear on my face.

"Everything will be alright," she told Tiana. "Don't listen to the rumors, they are nothing but just that. Maybe your husband is a nice man." She tried to sound positive, but Tiana could hear the doubt in her voice.

Not that she believed the rumors, but they did affect her.

Tiana wasn't scared because people said that he was a devil, the son of a beast, they couldn't be speaking literally. They were probably referring to his personality, that maybe he was a liar, a tempter, a murderer, a manipulator or that he was just pure evil, and that's what scared me.

A knock on the door interrupted Tiana’s thoughts, and shortly after a court lady came in.

"My Lady, it's time," she informed me.

Tiana descended the stairs, careful not to fall or stumble, but it was hard with the long dress and the heavy jewelry. She was relieved when there were only a few steps left, but just then she stepped on her dress and stumbled forward, almost falling before a strong arm came around her waist and saved her from ruining herself on my wedding day.

Straightening herself, she looked up to see who it was. Who had dared to touch a princess like that? Not that she minded, she was just curious.

Looking up, her eyes met a pair of blue eyes. No, wait! Not blue, they had the color of blue flames or the still water of the sea.  Tian had never seen eyes like that before.

"Are you alright, My Lady?" asked the man in front of her with a frown.

If she had knots in her stomach before, now suddenly Tiana had butterflies as she gazed into his eyes.

Who was this man? Tiana had never seen him before. He was tall, broad-shouldered and his thick raven black hair fell over his shoulders down to his waist. You could tell from the clothes that he was royalty. Could he be one of the royalty who came to attend my wedding?

"Yes, yes... I am... I am fine, My Lord," Tiana replied.

"My Lady." He bowed elegantly before turning around and leaving.

"That's one good looking man." Sandra pointed as Tiana stared at his back while he walked away.

Yes, she thought to herself. Very good-looking, but she was getting married and didn't have the luxury to look at other men.

"Shall we?" Tiana asked, but Margret and Sandra were too occupied to hear what she said. They kept following him with their gaze until he was out of sight.

Tiana snapped her finger in front of their faces to wake them up. "Yes, yes, My Lady. Let's go." They hurried to say.

The ceremony would begin with a greeting exchange between the bride and the groom and their families.  She gave the guard a nod, and he informed her presence, then motioned for her to enter.

Margret and Sandra gave her a reassuring smile before she left them behind to walk inside. Now she was all on her own.

Taking a deep breath, Tiana strode into the hall carefully, and immediately all heads turned to look at her.

She walked with her head high but kept her gaze low, only looking at the floor until she reached the throne where her father was sitting with her mother next to him. While greeting them, she felt her legs tremble.

Her Mother smiled at her nervously, but her father just gestured for her to sit down at a table nearby. He was unbothered by the fact that he was marrying her off to a prince rumored to be the devil. The seed of evil.

Ignoring her father, Tiana smiled at her mother then went to her seat. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, some stared at me with pity and others with repulsion as if it was her fault her was getting married to whoever she was getting married to. They should blame her father, not her.

After a while, the guard informed the groom's presence and everyone turned their attention from Tiana to the door. The room went quiet as the guests waited for the groom to enter. Tiana, on the other hand, looked down quickly and rubbed her hands together nervously as she felt the knots in her stomach return. she wanted to look up, but was afraid.

What if she didn't like what she saw? What if the rumors were true? Would he have red eyes and long nails and maybe even black horns on his head? Don't be ridiculous, she told herself and decided to take a look.

Slowly, she glanced at the door as her heart hammered inside her chest and almost gasped when the groom entered.

Wait!

This was the man from earlier with the flaming blue eyes. He couldn't be the groom, could he?

The guests stared at him surprised as well and began to whisper hysterically into each other's ears. They must have been expecting someone with horrid appearance to enter the room and not some tall, elegant looking man.

Not the least bit bothered by the whispers or stares, he walked gracefully toward the bride’s father, taking each step with confidence.

"Your Majesty," he said, bowing slightly.

Tiana’s jaw dropped. So did the guests. No one bowed slightly to the king. This man was truly fearless and being disrespectful toward her father the alpha.

Tiana already got a bad feeling about him. Not because she thought her father deserved any kind of respect, but because he was so daring with his actions already. He must have noticed people's reactions; it was so obvious, but he didn't seem to care.

Tiana’s father, on the other hand, didn't react. He just gestured toward her.

As Tiana saw him turn to her, she looked down quickly, then heard the clicking sound of his footsteps as he neared before sitting on the other end of the table, facing her.

He didn't utter a word. Wasn't he supposed to greet me or at least tell me his name?  she thought. I don't think father ever told me his name, but I don't think I gave him the chance to either. Tiana sighed, she remembered how she had fought and cried the day that her father told her he was marrying her off to some stranger, but her father was stubborn and had already made up his mind.

"Today I gather us to celebrate my daughter's wedding to the prince of the silver moon," Tiana’s father spoke once everyone was seated. He raised his golden wine cup, "Let the ceremony begin, and enjoy yourselves."

People clapped while dancers and musicians walked in to entertain the guests. People seemed to enjoy themselves, so she thought so. She of course couldn't see since she was supposed to keep her gaze down, because 'that's what a lady should do'. Well then, she hates being a lady, a princess and a Luna with no ability.

"Don't you like the music?" He finally asked, breaking the awkward silence. Tiana peeked through her long lashes, but once her gazed into his eyes, it was hard to look away. They were captivating.

"I do, Your Highness," she replied.

"What do you have in store for the tea ceremony?"

Oh no! The tea ceremony! That was the traditional part of the royal wedding where the bride has to show one of her talents to entertain the guests and impress the groom. Hell with impressing. Tiana didn't want to impress anyone, especially not this man.

"It is a surprise, Your Highness," she said, sending him a staged smile. Soon it was time for the tea ceremony.

She was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, everyone's attention directed at me. The guests would sit and enjoy their tea while she would have to entertain them.

She took up her clarinet before lightly putting it on her lips and started playing. Soon her nervousness disappeared.

Tiana loved playing the clarinet and loved the sound of it. Closing her eyes, she let the sound take her far away, to a peaceful place. Now and then she would hear some people praising her through her haze, and they applauded when she was done.

Opening her eyes, Tiana found him staring directly at her. He wasn't applauding, but there was a hint of a smile on his face.

Now it was time for the gift exchange. We exchanged our gifts, and then it was time for her to go to her new home. The knot in her stomach returned with such intensity that she felt like throwing up.

Her mother came up to her while her father spoke to her husband. Husband? The word sounded strange in her head. Her mother took Tiana’s hands in hers. "Everything will be fine," she said, "just remember what I told you".

Yes, she remembered very clearly their mother and daughter talk. To be a good wife, to listen to your husband, and to not make him angry.

"Yes, I will," Tiana said, enveloping her in a tight hug. As a princess she wasn't supposed to hug people, but right now she didn't care because she might never see her mother again.

The carriage was waiting outside. The prince, or should she say, her husband led the way. Tiana looked behind her one last time and found Margret and Sandra standing on the balcony, their cheeks wet with tears.

"I will miss you too," she whispered.