Without waiting for Rosalyne to greet him, the young man took a step forward, and with that same smile on his face he said in a seemingly amiable tone
''My dear sister, I have come to personally send you off. Unless you have anything else that you want to do, there is no reason to wait until noon. You should set off for Narth right away!''
After a brief moment of pause, the look in the young man's eyes instantly turned serious as he continued
''Princesses from the nearby kingdoms, including King Powall's youngest daughter have already set off for Narth! Wasting time here will only give them more chances to come into contact with the Blood Prince before you even get there.''
Taking a few more steps forward, the young man stood in front of Rosalyne and placed both of his hands on her shoulders before his serious expression slowly turned into a cold smile, as he added in
''Don't forget, this is your chance to become useful to me and to our Kingdom. Even if 'that person' ends up choosing to marry every single princess that goes to Narth, or even if he chooses you to become his concubine, you will still accept it with a smile on your face. Understood?
Otherwise, you can only imagine royal father's wrath once you return. This isn't something that will affect just you, your mother will also be implicated as well. So, my dear sister... make sure to do your best! Your eldest brother will cheer for you.''
Rosalyne felt herself shiver when she heard her brother's words.
Not only had he come here to 'chase her out' of the palace instead of waiting until noon, but his words were also a naked threat that he didn't even bother to conceal.
If Rosalyne didn't go along with her royal father's and her eldest brother's wishes, her father's wrath would certainly shake the entire palace.
Even if Rosalyne even tried to refuse to leave for Narth, her eldest brother would probably escort her personally if he had to.
At that moment she realized, that in her brother's eyes, she was nothing more than a prize to please some lustful prince. It didn't matter if she became a concubine or if the person whom her brother wanted her to marry was really a bloodthirsty monster, it only mattered if she followed orders.
Of course, Rosalyne had never thought of refusing to leave for Narth in the first place.
Even though she had never seen her eldest brother's cruel side before, she already knew that she had no other choice regarding this matter.
Although she was born as the princess of the small kingdom of Lucceia, in reality, she was nothing more than a bird in a cage.
However, although she was unable to refuse, this didn't mean that the only other choice she had was to follow along with her eldest brother's arrangements.
After taking a deep breath, Rosalyne raised her head and stared at the young man dressed in military clothes who was standing in front of her, before she shook herself free from his grasp.
Her eldest brother, Gail Amberton didn't seem to mind her struggle and he let her go instead, as he continued to stare at her with that same, unchanging smile on his face, as he waited for his sister's answer.
At that moment, Rosalyne's expression changed from a grim look to a smile similar to Gail's, as she looked at her eldest brother and slowly replied
''Fine. Since I have no other choice I will leave for Narth right away. After all, whether it is now or in a few hours it makes no difference.''
''Hahaha! My little sister, you are actually more obedient than I expected. I imagined you would try to refuse, and complain that you are being forced to marry a person you don't even know, one who is rumored to even be a monster.
Did you finally realize that it was pointless, or is it that you have finally grown up and understood that this is the best course of action, both for yourself and Lucceia as a whole?
Regardless, it doesn't matter which one it is. As long as you agree, everything is going to be fine. I have already prepared everything that you need to take with you. Since you are ready, there is no reason to waste any more time! Let's go.''
A smile was slowly formed on her brother's lips after hearing Rosalyne's answer, feeling that he was coming one step closer towards his goal.
In reality, Gail wasn't holding any hopes for Rosalyne to really become the Blood Prince's actual wife in the first place.
After all, whether it was her status or their family's wealth, although they were definitely considered royalty, in front of the Blood Prince they couldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence.
However, as long as she managed to become a concubine and could connect Lucceia with the Empire of Narth, Gail, as the future King of Lucceia, would be able to not only reclaim the land that they have lost during the war with the Kingdom of Elsh, but if he really got the Blood Prince's support he may even be able to expand his kingdom as well!
Thus, even if he had other sisters aside from Rosalyne, he would happily offer all of them to the Blood Prince if it meant striking a relationship with him.
As for whether that person was really a monster in mermaid skin or not, it didn't matter to Gail one bit. The eldest prince of Lucceia only cared about the benefits he would be able to obtain this time.
Rosalyne stared at the excited expression on her brother's face without saying a word, before she turned her attention towards the shocked Elsa who had already heard everything.
There was a complicated look in Rosalyne's eyes, but a moment later, she took a deep breath to calm herself down before she said seriously
''Elsa, from now on you can stay here and attend to my mother. I have already spoken to her about this. I am also sure that my royal brother won't have any objection to it either.''
Gail nodded his head and waved his hand in a manner that showed that he didn't care about this matter in the slightest, almost as if Elsa's life or death was of no importance to him.
No matter what Rosalyne wanted to do with her, as long as she didn't try to take her to Narth, Gail wouldn't interfere.
After all, a princess wasn't allowed to take her own maidservants from her own kingdom when she was going to get married, and Gail would never allow such a breach of etiquette.
Elsa's eyes misted up when she heard Rosalyne's instructions, but she still nodded her head as she replied with tears in her eyes
''Yes, my Lady.''
Even though Rosalyne was going to leave the palace, she still made sure to take care of Elsa first and arrange a job for her.
Elsa already knew, that she would most likely have to leave the royal palace once Rosalyne left the palace to get married.
To any maidservant that was working hard in the palace, this was no different than crippling them. After all, although they could still find a job in the royal city if they tried hard enough, they had already spent a big part of their lives inside the palace and didn't have any other experience aside from being maidservants. Adapting to the outside world would be much tougher for them by then.
Looking at the tear-filled eyes of Elsa in front of her Rosalyne smiled gently, before Gail's impatient voice sounded by her side
''My dear sister, if there is nothing else, let's go.''
...
As I turned my eyes towards my eldest brother, I could see the impatient look in his eyes and his temper that he did his best to suppress from flaring up as I nodded my head seriously.
After all, there was no way to avoid this matter.
I could see my brother's expression softening as I nodded my head, while his voice turned somewhat warm as he said
''Let's go to the royal garden! I have already prepared everything you need to take with you!''
...
In just a few minutes, Rosalyne and Gail had already left her mother's chambers as they arrived at the vast gardens of the royal palace.
Above the gardens that were filled with many flowers and statues, a troop of soldiers in bronze armor were riding their seahorses as they protectively escorted a large blue whale.
This whale was actually the king's personal mount and was also the ride that would take Rosalyne to Narth.
The soldiers immediately left their seahorses when they saw Gail and Rosalyne approaching them, before the captain of the soldiers took the lead to kneel on one knee and shout in a loud voice
''We greet your Highness the crown prince, and her Highness the princess!''
Gail waved his hand and ignored the greeting of the captain of the soldiers, before he turned his attention towards Rosalyne who looked at him with a puzzled look on her face and asked
''Brother, do I need an entire troop of soldiers to escort me to Narth?''
Nodding his head seriously, Gail didn't hide anything as he responded
''If the Elshians attack you on the way, these soldiers will do everything they can to protect you. This is also why you are taking father's personal mount as well! Although it is impossible for your journey to be leaked to the Elshians, this is just an extra measure of protection for you, to make sure that you are safe at least until you arrive in Narth!''
Rosalyne shivered in her heart when she heard this, but she still took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down as she turned her attention towards the huge whale that was almost as big as half the palace.
The enormous blue whale lowered itself and nudged its head on Rosalyne's arm, allowing her to ride on it, before Gail's voice once again resounded in her ears
''My beautiful sister, be careful. Make sure to arrive in Narth safely!''
After climbing on the blue whale's back, Rosalyne didn't respond to Gail's 'kind warning', before she turned her attention towards the captain of the guards.
Seeing Gail nod at him as well, the middle-aged captain got on his seahorse, before he turned his attention towards the rest of the troops around him and shouted loudly
''Let's go! To Narth!''
Without the need for Rosalyne to give any instructions, the enormous blue whale immediately shot to the 'sky' above the royal palace, as it swam towards the east.
Riding on their seahorses, the troop of soldiers didn't lag behind it either, as they followed closely behind it.
It didn't matter if it was the maidservants and the guards inside the palace or the common mermen and mermaids in the royal city in the distance, the enormous blue whale instantly attracted everyone's attention as its gigantic figure appeared above the palace.
Turning her head around, Rosalyne saw the royal palace turning smaller and smaller in the distance as she finally left Lucceia.
-
Author's note: As this is my second novel, and I am not sure if you guys will like it yet, I decided to write these first 4 chapters as a small tease. Please let me know in the comments if you like it, so I will continue writing it daily instead.
Thank you~ <3