The kingdom of Itrusia was everything it was rumored to be and more. Sorrounded by a dense forest of bright colors she wouldn't imagine on trees, it felt as though it was in an entire world separate from the one she grew up in. It would still feel the same way if it hadn't taken them three days to arrive—what with the thick fog that separated the forest from the humongous castle.
She had never mistakenly thought that the Ivrasean Castle was the biggest but this was an entire kingdom in comparison. She had been welcomed by songs of jubilation from what she guessed must be the whole kingdom. Only, the singers were far from jubilant. They looked at her with distaste and she could nearly hear their thoughts, condemning the king for marrying a cursed princess of Ivrasea. It turned out, the rumor about her family's curse was only unknown in her home kingdom.
She ignored them and paid more attention to her surrounding. She would have appreciated its beauty if it was not going to be the second royal dungeon that would imprison her right after she left the first.
The ability to appear overjoyed while gritting one's teeth in hate was not the only odd thing about Itrusia. Their traditions were unheard of. Darius declared that since she was entering the castle for the first time as his wife, they would have to do so facing the setting sun. This had them circle the castle and use a back entrance, which resulted in his subjects assuming he was too appalled by her to let her use the main entrance. That was probably what he was hoping for—for everyone to despise her. She hated that it was working.
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"This will be your room." A maid showed her to the door at the end of the corridor and left impatiently before Delaney could react.
She pushed the doors open and took in her new cage. It was about the same size as her old room at home, only brighter with pastel colors of beddings and drapes and it was almost too much for her to bear. Everything had been prepared for her; Darius had not let her bring anything aside from a few dresses in fear that she might hide something that would help her find a way to escape.
It was unfair but she couldn't complain. Princesses and duchesses often brought their handmaidens to their marital home if their husbands allowed it but she was not even allowed to say goodbye to Ylvia and Sianna—it was already good enough that the two were freed from the dungeon when Darius said the word.
She would be assigned new maids, probably spiteful ones like the one from earlier. She didn't mind cleaning or getting her own wood for the fireplace but it was not fun to be treated like an outcast when she didn't want to be married to Darius in the first place.
The gown she was wearing was harder to take off than it had been to put it on. She was still struggling with it when the door opened. She turned sharply to face her door, thankful that she had been unable to undo the lace holding the dress up at the back.
"This is a lady's room! The least you can do is knock and wait for permission to enter." She fired off a string of words, not caring that the man who had just walked in was the bloodthirsty king whose gaze made blood run cold.
"Sorry. I'm supposed to knock and wait for permission to get into rooms in my own castle?" He laughed at her words, making her feel like an idiot before heading for the bed. He was not planning on spending the night here, was he?
Halfway towards the bed, a bottle caught his eye on the table. She bit her lip and hoped it was not what he was heading for. Her hope snapped when he took the little bottle between his long fingers.
She reached to snatch it out of his hand—too late, as he only needed to sniff his fingers to know its content.
"You are quite prepared for our wedding night, especially considering how reluctant you were to be my wife." He mocked.
She stuffed it into her pocket. It was the very bottle that Queen Penelope had gifted her on her wedding day. She had rejected it but the queen had somehow managed to slip it into her clothes, and she had been unable to throw it away under the watch of the Itrusian entourage.
"I wasn't planning on using it."
Darius didn't look convinced but he let go—only until she thought the matter would be forgotten.
He stepped closer to her, into her personal space, prompting her to take hurried steps back and only stop when her back hit the wall.
"Don't come closer." She hissed.
He stopped. "I thought you might need help with that." He pointed at her dress, and she remembered just how much trouble she had with it.
She swallowed hard but remained silent, unable to answer him. Was it sane to let him help? Did men even know how to take off gowns?
She scoffed under her breath. Of course Darius would be skilled at such a thing, with his innumerable concubines. She didn't want to be touched by hands that had been on countless women.
As if he knew what exactly was running through her mind, he took a step back. "Don't worry. Even if you were to strip to nothing and use that "special" powder handed down by your mother, I would not take a second look at you."
Not only was Darius as sarcastic as everyone said he was, but he was also insane. It wasn't that she wanted him to take a second glance at her but his remark was unpleasant. He turned to leave, snatching the bottle from her.
"That's mine!" She protested.
He was amused. "This? Don't tell me you were actually planning on trying it out. Do you want to have my child that badly?"
"I have no desire to have a child with you." She huffed. He ignored her and left, infuriating her. She was more nervous than infuriated. If he let anyone find out what he was carrying, she would never live down the reputation of the princess who tried to lure her husband on the wedding night. Since he hated her so much, he might do just that.
She managed to change out of her gown and curled into bed. She couldn't sleep even after a long time, her ears assaulted by voices coming from the king's room which was on the same wing. She couldn't make out what they were saying but it was certainly a woman's voice. A woman, in her new husband's room on their wedding night. This marriage might be a sham but he was humiliating her!
She shuffled out of bed and walked out of her room, intending to take a late night tour of the castle. Listening to nature at night was much better than the sounds of whatever would happen soon in the king's room.
"Your Highness, are you heading somewhere?"
She was too rushed to notice Lord Harcourt standing near the King's room like a guard.
Mischief flashed through her eyes. "Is this the king's room?" She asked, inching towards the door.
"Your highness, you can't go in." He was quick to stop her.
"Can you explain to me why you think I cannot go into my husband's room?" She asked with a raised brow. She was not intending to go in; all she wanted was to remind Darius that his actions were inappropriate. The door opened before Lord Harcourt could respond and the relief on his face was obvious.
"What's the commotion, Felix?" Darius asked, stepping out of his room.
"Her highness is looking for you." Lord Harcourt wanted to disappear as soon as Darius shot him a glare.
"Do you need anything?" He asked her.
She glanced past his shoulder at the woman nervously standing behind him. She was pretty and appeared innocent and timid, not daring to look Delaney in the eye.
"No. I was just passing by. Lord Harcourt misunderstood me." She walked away, not unaware of the woman's glare at her back.
"Go to your room." Darius pushed the woman out.
"But your majesty-"
"Out." He commanded sternly, making her scurry away in fear.
Felix rubbed his chin. "That was unexpected. After all, she is your favorite."
"What did you want to talk about?" He retreated into his room to let Felix in, ignoring his taunting.
"I found traps in the forest." He started, waiting to be told to talk about it in the morning.
A frown settled on his face. "Let's check them out."
Felix was silent for a few beats. "My lord, it is your wedding night. Are you sure you want to talk about traps and war instead of…"
"Your future queen would rather stay on the rooftop and watch the stars out in the cold than sleep with me. What's the point?"
Did he just call her the future queen? Felix followed the king, unable to help himself from speculating. Why was he starting to think that Darius had married Delaney for reasons different from the initial goal?