"Rise and shine, Elowyn, today is the big day!"
Groaning loudly, I turn over in my bed, pulling up the covers in a vain attempt to shield myself against the light. My effort is, as always, futile.
The 'big day'- of course, how could I ever forget? There is no force, no person in all the Realms that could make me forget about this day, no matter hard they try. You see, today is the day I am supposed to get married.
Groaning, I pull myself deeper under the covers. In all honesty, I wish I could forget about it. I would rather dance with the devil than go forward with this malarkey. But it's too late that sort of wishful thinking now.
"Come on princess, you don't want to keep your mother- sorry, Queen Akari waiting, you know how she gets" repeats the distinctly male voice, sweet and honeyed, laughing a little at my attempts to shy away from him. Bastard.
From beneath the velvety duvet, I catch a glimpse of messy auburn hair, a tall standing silhouette and a pair of fox ears, blocked out by the light that streams in as the curtains are pushed aside with a loud, heavy 'swoosh'. Buttery golden light floods into my room in blinding rays, causing me to moan in protest. Though I desperately want to sink back into the comforting warmth of my covers, forget about this whole event and sleep for the next week and a half, I know so long as he is here, that simply won't happen. Begrudgingly, I raise myself on one elbow, squinting dimly against the brightness.
"Fuck off, Alastor. Can't a girl have five more minutes?"
Alastor grins at me, straightening the red bow tie on his suit with long slender fingers, before leaning himself up against the windowsill, a sly look plastered on his handsome face. His fingers tap against the sill impatiently.
"Not on their wedding day they can't, Elowyn. I told your mother you were already up and ready, she is expecting you down to meet her in the throne room in fifteen minutes. The prince will be here in an hour, so unless you want another royal scolding this week, I suggest you get out of bed pronto."
I roll my eyes, heaving myself out of my bed as I wipe the sleepy dust from my face. I have spent months praying this day wouldn't come, yet now it's finally here, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. How pitiful.
"The prince, the prince. It's always about the Prince. No one cares what I want. No one bothered to ask me if I wanted this wedding!" I mutter, running my hands through my hair as I stumble over to my wardrobe, my feet tumbling beneath me, still half asleep. Alastor's sharp fox eyes watch me as I pass, head tilted slightly, fluffy ears twitching with a minor but good humoured irritation.
"Well that's probably because they knew you would say no, El," he says softly, continuing to survey me from his spot on the window, soaking up the warm rays of sun as he basks in the glory of the morning light. I tilt my head round to face him.
"And if you got paired up with a stranger you barely know and told you were to be married in a matter of weeks, what would you say?" I ask sharply, then realising I might have been a little too harsh, purse my lips shut.
Alastor, for all his credit, says nothing. I fold my arms over myself.
"Yeah I didn't think so," I huff, and then seeing the slightly sorrowful look on his face, add: "Sorry."
Alastor has been one of my best friends since childhood- a charming little kitsune from a long line of nobility here in the Vriryn Kingdom- the largest and most powerful kingdom in the whole of the Upper Realm. We used to be the biggest troublemakers when we were little, sneaking out after dark to steal horses from the stables to ride out into the Enchanted Forest, or go pioneering for pitfalls into hell, though we never actually found any. It was all fun and games back then, freer times when I could run around with sticks as swords and not be reprimanded on the daily for not fulfilling my royal duties. Maybe that's why my mother decided to marry me off- to keep me under control. But that doesn't make me hate the decision any less.
"That's not true, what you said about not caring" Alastor sighs, plodding over to swing an arm round my shoulder, his fox tail twitching around my calf. I smile a little at the sight of it- 'fluffy butt' I used to call him- in teasing of course. But that name died out a long time ago. After some delay, Alastor says gently:
"Your mother cares for you."
Immediately, I scoff, opening up my wardrobe to reveal the white sparkling gown that I hadn't dared look at for three long and dreadful weeks. They say omens of death come as black crows, or cats, well mine comes as a dress, as white as a demon is evil, and twice the more hideous.
"The Queen doesn't care about anyone, and certainly not me," I retort, pulling the dress off the hanger as recklessly as I dare. "All she cares about is getting me to behave, the crown, and her snobby court of royalty. She doesn't give a shit about me, Al. And you know it."
"She wants what's best for you," he says, a little desperately, but I have heard it all before. I flick him off. Alastor stops short behind me, running an exasperated hand through his hair as he watches me comb through my hair a little too viscously, seething with pent up anger.
There was a time the Queen cared about me, of course. But after my father died… Well, things just got a lot worse from there.
I sigh inwardly.
A wedding is supposed to be the happiest day of a mortals life, but I would rather spend the rest of my days straight down in hell.