2. Perfect

They all turned to me, eyes wide.

“Prince Kaelen does not want you, Merlara,” Mother whispered, eyes assessing.

I knew he didn’t. He wanted Elysande, the eldest and the most beautiful of us. But I was the only one with Elysande’s red hair, so I shook my head and stood my ground. “I’ll go with his party. I can pretend to be her for however long it takes you to find her.”

Aeliana studied me and then offered father a look that made my stomach turn. “We can switch them, father. On the road.”

“Absolutely not.” He didn’t even look my way, his attention only on Aeliana.

I wasn’t needed here, not like my sisters. If this was one way I could help, then I would do it. Father narrowed his eyes, stepping forward until he stood in front of Aeliana.

“Would you rather have Prince Kaelen find out about Elysande running away?” Aeliana looked worried, her brows pinched in a frown.

His eyes twitched. “You will return her here as soon as Elysande takes her place.”

Aeliana nodded, and I remained ignored.

“She will not leave the carriage.”

I blinked. He was talking to me through her.

Father cleared his throat. “This is on you, Aeliana.”

Mother only gaped at Father from where she stood. “Alar, can we risk it?”

Father shot her a glare that had her stepping back and pressing her lips together.

I frowned at her reaction but before I could even try to understand the meaning behing it, Mother gathered her control and turned to me.

“We need to get you ready. They have asked us to prepare Elysande for the ceremony so that the marriage can happen as soon as she arrives. You will have to play that part as well, at least for now.”

Aeliana turned pale as we all followed Mother through the corridors.

“Elysande was made aware of what the preparation requires. I am sorry you did not get a warning,” Aeliana whispered into my ear.

“What do you mean?”

“You will see, the customs in the Southern Kingdom are very different from here,” was all she said.

I licked my lips. I remembered Elysande’s complaints. The warmer weather to the south played a huge part in the way people dressed. Here, we were used to coats and furs and long-sleeved dresses. I’m sure I would suffocate if I wore that to the Southern Kingdom.

We walked in hurried steps to Elysande’s changing chambers. Everything had been prepared for her in there, and now I was taking her place.

Lucky for us, the trip to Sunhaven’s palace would take a few days. Aeliana was more than capable of finding her before we arrived.

The maids in the room bowed at our approach and Aeliana grabbed my hands, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “Thank you for saving us. I will find our sister and I will bring you back home. I promise.”

I nodded at her, her warmth leaving me as she let go of me and walked away, that loving look in her eyes.

“The water is ready for you, Merlara.” Mother waved me toward the tub that was in the middle of the room.

I looked around, and my cheeks heated. Mother shook her head in the slightest of movements. “There is no time for shyness, my dear.”

I inhaled, and reached for my sleeves, the maids helping me step out of my dress and undergarments. I stepped into the warm water and Mother just watched as the maids brushed my hair and lathered soap on my skin.

The bath was quick and harsh. They rubbed my skin so raw it was almost as red as my hair. They pulled me out, leading me in front of a long mirror as they dried my skin with small hand towels.

My cheeks grew red, looking away from my own nakedness.

They touched me everywhere. When they picked up a blade and pressed it to the area between my legs, I shrieked, pulling away with horror in my chest.

They only raised their eyebrows at me, as if annoyed by my reaction. I knew Mother wouldn’t help me, so I parted my legs and let them remove the hair.

My sisters and mother stood in the corner, watching. Mother with a hardened expression and my sisters with wide eyes at the violation.

I was shivering with shame, trembling with fear.

Once they were done, they poured body milk over me, and I gasped when they made sure it reached every single inch of me. I closed my eyes as their fingers went into places only I had ever touched, and even some that I had not.

Mother cleared her throat, but I refused to look at her.

I gasped when a cold, thick liquid was pressed to the skin of my upper thigh. I looked down as the maids painted maroon colored symbols and swirls on my skin.

“Maroon is the Southern Kingdom’s royal court color,” Mother whispered from where she stood.

I didn’t lift my eyes to look at her, instead focusing on the mirror where I could watch the maids paint. They referenced parchments of paper, copying the symbols.

By the time they were finished, my entire body was covered in those symbols. My legs down to my toes, my arms down to my fingers, my stomach and even my breasts.

“Please stand, Your Highness,” One of the maids bowed as she waved her hand for me.

I stood, swallowing as I took in the full picture before me. Chains clinked against each other and my eyes widened in horror as the maids laid out an array of thin, chain-link pieces on the vanity top.

They were undergarments, made of chains.

“The Southern Kingdom is very particular about what their brides wear,” Mother muttered. She at least had the decency to look horrified.

I kept my eyes on the mirror. The maids moved behind me, placing the chains on me, over my shoulders and around my waist. Two small circles over my breasts covered my nipples, and two thicker chain links hung from around my waist to cover my front and my back.

That was all. My legs were fully on display, my back, my stomach, my arms all free for the night air to chill.

My lips trembled as I looked at my reflection. “That’s it?”

“The cloak,” Mother waved her hands, and the maids moved, picking up a sheer fabric.

They touched it as if it were delicate, as if it could fall apart if mishandled. They attached it to the chains on my shoulders and it fell all over my body in soft waves until it touched the floor. It did nothing to cover me. I could see straight through it.

Next, they covered my head and face with a veil, holding it down with a weighted crown around my head. I inhaled, my body shaking as I did.

Mother nodded her approval. “She looks perfect.”

Perfect.

A word she had never used to describe me, and yet when I was ready to be thrown into the most dangerous thing I had ever done, she said the word so easily.