Chapter two

Diana

 

“He’s a powerful prince of the North, now,” my father said, his voice sounding sarcastically caring.

Like it mattered.

It didn’t.

What mattered was getting rid of me. But I welcomed it. I was about to check myself out anyway.

I had spent years wishing for a way out, a miracle—something to rip me from this place that never wanted me. And now, when it finally happened, it wasn’t on my terms.

It was on his.

Can’t a girl have something for once?

Welp…

“So?” I put on a sarcastic glare like I didn’t know where he was going with this.

“You’re going to get married to him,” he clarified.

I rolled my eyes, “Finally”

“Have your clothing and materials ready before tomorrow. My men would come and take you naked if you’re not ready by the time they are,” his tone was dismissive as always.

I was already walking out of the pack house by then.

I had my bags packed before the sun went down and didn’t sleep through the night.

A knock sounded at my door at first light, but before I could answer, it swung open.

My father stood there, tall and imposing, his silver hair glinting under the dim morning light.

His face was unreadable, just like it had always been when he looked at me—like he was trying to hide all the hate behind the walls.

“It’s time,” he said.

I exhaled sharply through my nose and threw my bag over my shoulder.

“Oh? No grand farewell speech?” I cocked my head. “No ‘I’m so proud of you, Diana, my beloved daughter’? No last-minute ‘Maybe I shouldn’t send you away like unwanted baggage’?”

The sarcasm wasn’t lost on him, but he chose to say nothing.

His expression didn’t change.

“If you want to be free of this place, then go,” he said evenly. “There’s nothing left for you here.”

That stung more than I expected it to, more because he was making it seem like it was me who wanted out.

But also, because there was actually something wrong.

My father would be flying to my side to give me a slap across the mouth when I as much as crossed him. So much, so that his slaps didn’t matter anymore.

Sometimes, I’d even crave them, because, in some sick way, that was the only attention I was getting from him.

Now, there was nothing.

I scoffed. “Right. Because I was really expecting a tearful goodbye.”

I pushed past him, my shoulder just barely brushing against his arm as I stepped into the hallway.

It was quiet—too quiet. Normally, I could hear laughter, voices, and the everyday life of Silver Moon Park thriving around me. But now, it felt like the whole kingdom was holding its breath, waiting for me to disappear.

The walk to the carriage felt like a funeral procession.

A few pack members lingered in the corridors, watching me with thinly veiled satisfaction. No jeers, no shouts—just knowing smirks and whispers that didn’t need words.

They had already won.

I kept my chin up, pretending their eyes didn’t burn into my back.

When we stepped outside, the cold morning air hit me like a slap. My father walked ahead, leading me toward the waiting carriage.

The horses were restless, their breaths visible in the crisp air. A handful of warriors stood by, looking anywhere but at me. They knew.

Everyone knew.

We stopped just a few feet from the carriage, and I turned to face my father fully.

“So,” I said, forcing a grin. “That’s it, huh? No more mother killer to worry about huh?”

His jaw tightened. “Ronald is a good man. He will take care of you.”

I barked out a laugh. “Wow. That almost sounded like you care.”

His silence said everything.

My throat tightened, but I forced myself to keep smiling. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing how much this hurt.

“You know,” I said, my voice softer now, “I used to dream about leaving this place. Getting far, far away from all of you. I thought it’d feel better than this.”

For the first time, something flickered in his eyes. It wasn’t quite regret, not sadness. Definitely not sadness.

My father was incapable of feeling anything remotely sad. If it wasn’t rage, my father didn’t feel it.

“Get into the carriage, Diana. Don’t make me say it again,” he said.

I shook my head, “Of course. Father has more important things to do.”

He climbed into the carriage after me.

I looked at him with a questioning glance.

“Look ahead of you child. I’m coming with,” he grunted. “The outlands are not friendly. You’d need my protection,”

“I…didn’t think you would,” I muttered.

Does he really care that much?

This is good, I told myself. This is freedom.

Then why did it feel like I was walking into a cage? It was what I had always wanted, no? Why then did I feel a chill down my spine?

The journey was long, stretching endlessly over winding roads and dense forests.

I tried to focus on the future, on Ronald, on what my life could be outside of Silver Moon Park.

But every time I closed my eyes, memories clawed their way to the surface. Running through these forests as a child, laughing with a boy who swore he’d never leave me.

The sting of betrayal when he did. It couldn’t have been his fault though…but still.

I shook my head, forcing the thoughts away. It didn’t matter anymore. None of it did.

Hours passed, and the landscape began to shift. The trees grew twisted, their branches gnarled and clawing at the sky.

The air thickened, carrying a scent I couldn’t quite place—something damp, something decaying.

A shiver ran down my spine.

I pushed open the small window of the carriage, frowning. “Where are we?”

No one answered.

“Father?”

He turned his face away from me.

Normally, he’d say something like ‘Silent, you insolent little brat!’ and maybe accompany it with a backhanded slap.

I’d take that any day over the unnerving silence that he put on and that look on his face.

It was grave. It was him doing something that was hard for him to do.

What was harder for him to do than hitting me all these years?

I leaned further out, scanning the horizon. And then I saw it.

A kingdom.

But not the one I was promised.

Its castle loomed in the distance, all sharp angles and darkness like something ripped straight from a nightmare. Thick fog curled around the walls, slithering like living shadows.

My stomach dropped.

This wasn’t right. This wasn’t…

Realization crashed into me like a tidal wave.

This was never about sending me to Ronald.

This was something else.

Something worse.

I wasn’t sticking around to find out.  

In one deft leap, one no one saw coming, I pushed myself out of the carriage window and toppled out of the still-moving Chariot, my father screaming my name like he didn’t know what I was capable of.

Ahead lay the monster’s mansion. Just like was outlined in what I had thought were fairytales.

I wasn’t planning to be someone’s dinner today.