When I was informed we were going to be staying.
I choose a dress that feels like silk and compliments my curves without showing too much. I had to go through the grueling process of picking the flowers (white, blue, and purple), the bird (dove), desserts (cake, pie, and chocolate), before I realized my dress was sparkly and I let out a small squeal of happiness. I didn't care for much of this wedding but I wanted for anything they could get to be sparkly or shiny, they pinned up my hair in a small braided bun before giving me some touch ups, which included sparkles! I may be sixteen, but I'm still a girl. The wedding ends and my heart's still pounding from the kiss, I don't know if I can take any more of this, not to mention what will happen to me when I return home. "don't ever let me return home" I said aloud to my new husband, though I was talking to myself "you can't return even if you wanted" he replied as I jumped, not realizing that he was there "promise?" I asked through the surprised fast beat of my heart "promise" he said sternly, looking me straight in the eye. "Good" I said, sighing in relief.
I hate putting my son and daughter-in-law through this and at such a young age..
"The roles are fulfilled, now leave us alone" a deep voice echoed through the halls, followed by another, even deeper, threatening voice "bring me the new queen, then we'll talk" he hissed "why? What will you do with her?" the other voice whined "that is not something you should be worried about" he warned, the voice silenced as a man in a robe stepped out of the shadows. The man took a deep breath "what am I to do?" he asked himself as he walked back to the castle. No longer cheerful of having a new queen, but now depressed for the upcoming missing girl.
The man made it just in time, for the wedding was over and everyone was going home "where's my daughter-in-law?" he asked cheerfully, not wanting people to ask why he's depressed. A guard came with a girl in a wedding dress "here she is, your majesty" he claimed, pushing the girl gently to the king. The girl looked up at him as the guard left them to speak in private "what'd you want to tell me sire?" she asked respectfully, holding back her instinct to question him. The king smiled and kneeled down to her "I would like to show you something, if you would be so kind as to follow" he chuckled. The girl smiled kindly "am I to get my.. uh.. husband? Shall I tell him where we are headed? Could I just tell a guard to tell him I am to go with you?" she asked, curious of his response. The king laughed the questions off, not wanting to answer "it'll be fine, we'll only be gone for a while and I'm sure he sees us chatting right now. Besides, he's talking to people, you wouldn't want to bother him, now would you?" he asked her, now putting her answer in the spotlight "no sir, that would be most unkind" she agreed, following him wherever he was taking her.
"so, what's your name?" he asked, trying to make the situation less awkward "don't you already know my name sire?" she asked him, unsure of how to answer. He chuckled "yes, just trying to make light conversation" he informed truthfully, grateful for the chance to tell her something truthful. "I'm Hope sire" she informed him as he led her to a wall "um.. Sire, why did you take me to a dead end?" she asked as the king sighed regrettably "don't think ill of me" he begged as he opened the secret passageway, giving way to a dark corridor with stairs leading down, the shadows engulfing the sight of the rest. Hope instantly became aware of the impending danger "where are you taking me?" she asked in a wary whisper.
The king pushed her gently toward the stairs with a newly lit torch "to your death" he answered her as the way back closed, keeping her from escaping. She took a deep breath and bravely ventured forth, the king right behind to light their path. He was surprised by her bravery, he never would have expected the girl to actually act like a queen and was glad he picked her. At that moment, the king felt worse about this than he had before, now knowing what a great future queen she would be. He held back tears as he heard her trying to talk to him, noticing his sudden silence "what's wrong sire? I thought you wanted me to come" she said, not turning around to face him or stopping. "Nothing you should be worried about dear, just regretting some things is all" he replied, not entirely lying to her. "Well I was just wondering, a moment ago you were all chatty and now that supposedly we're almost there, you've gotten awfully silent. Is there something I should be worried about?" She asked him.
The king admired her intellect and sharp perception but he didn't know how to tell her everything though he desperately wanted to. "To be honest, I don't have any clue as to what you're going into. So I don't know of the danger ahead, I might be leading you to your death and not even know it" he sighed, she nodded in understanding "I see" is all she said as we reached the bottom. A snakey hiss came from the shadows before a black creature slithered from the shadows but stopped, seeming to stay in the shadows away from the light of the candle. The king tensed "hand the girl over, sss" the snake hissed at him "no need" Hope replied to the snake as she walked slowly to the snake, it laughed and hissed at the same time "hest hest hest" type thing as she got near "pretty and brave, sss" the snake hissed in admiration as the girl stopped, in between the shadow and the light