Something urged me to fall on my knees, but I refused to obey as I bore in the man's, no, king's ocean eyes. The clanking sounds rang in my head as the soldiers followed their king's command.
"King Axel! That's my daughter!"
'King Axel'… I was such a fool! That pervert man in the garden was a king all along. And I had run my mouth with him shamelessly.
My father's words fell on my deaf ears as I glared at… Axel, was it?
He raised his head at my rejection to surrender him before a vicious smile spread across his face.
"Rebel! Kneel in front of the king!" My father commanded me as he rushed in my direction.
"Rebel!" The queen called out to me as well, with urgency evident in her voice.
The pain had subsided, but my eyes got watery as my own family pressured me and wished to break me. Axel didn't terminate his icy cold gaze from me. He stopped twisting my body in ambush and instead looked up at my father with softened features.
"No need to do that."
Don't cry! Don't cry! Don't cry in front of this abominable society that I call a throng.
"Oh, please forgive my unruly daughter. She is sixteen but still acting so infantile!" His voice was trembling as he clutched his quivering hands beside me. Few laughs and murmurs could be heard. I felt demeaned. I wished that the ground opened up beneath me.
The poignancy of the situation had reached the pinnacle.
Kill me! Torture me! Torment me! But never humiliate me! My pride was the only thing I had got left from my mother.
"Rebel, never let yourself lose your dignity. Please."
It was the last words my mother imprinted in my soul, and I was fucking going to embrace her prayer!
I stood tall like the brick wall, unflattered and unbreakable. Maybe I was sixteen and sometimes childish, but it was because if I faced reality like it was, like an adult, I WOULD BE CRUSHED!
Axel sharply inhaled as his eyes stayed fixed on my demanding ones.
"Instead, the princess will leave and omit the arrangement of the wedding." He saved me with his order.
Only the dragon king was enough to shield the whole kingdom from the darkest creatures. My sister wouldn't need me. I guessed I should have been relieved, but I wasn't.
The audience was placated at his rumbling voice as my skin prickled again. I wondered if he kept affecting me like that. No! I would never see his sight again! From now on, we were enemies! That haughty idiot!
"Oh, of course, your majesty!" My father bowed at Axel before turning to me and nudging me, "Rebel, leave. Now! We'll discuss the stunt you pulled off later."
I was fuming with rage. Ferocious. Furious. Enraged.
I faced my father as I snapped at him:
"You are a king too, for god's sake! Have some self-respect!"
I felt a burning sting on my cheek as the loud smack echoed throughout the room. I didn't even try to dodge it.
"You are the disgrace of this family!" My father roared at me as he raised his hand again, but it never collided with my face.
"Enough!"
The deep and penetrating voice resonated across the throne room as my father gawked at Axel. His hand was frozen in the air. I bet Axel had enough of our family drama.
"The more you degrade her, the more you tarnish your reputation." Axel's tyrannical tone made the young king age and way more ruthless.
I stormed out of there as I fought the tears that threatened to burst at any second. My nostrils were flaring, and I bit down on my lip as I swallowed every drop.
"Help me! Help!"
I stopped in my tracks as my sister's desperate cries filled my ears.
"Alice!" I called out and sprinted in her direction.
I was about to display the super-duper fighting skills to the audience, but I halted in my place as Axel's men dragged her into the room.
"Let her go! She is the princess!" I snarled at them.
Poor Alice was crying and wailing; her face was completely damp. What caught my eyes was her shredded dress, and I went frenzy.
I kicked one of them in the face and snatched my sister out of the other's grasp as I swung a hook at him. He stumbled backward, and I yanked my sister towards her fiance.
Before I even took another step, Axel gripped my arm but glared at the man I just punched.
"Are you crazy?" I snapped at him, but he tore Alice and me apart with ease as he pushed me to the side.
"Oh my god!" The queen squealed as she clamped her hands on her mouth.
The king ran to us stupified, dread overflowing from his horrified eyes.
"What happened to you, dear?" He mumbled to Alice.
"Sorry, dad." She cried out even more, and I could do nothing but stand in the shadows dumbstruck.
"She was fucking one of your soldiers!" The man behind me stated as he wiped off the blood from his mouth.
I gasped as my eyes attempted to jump out of their sockets. What did he just say?
Axel just sighed and straightened with that ruthless expression I couldn't decipher.
I heard a thud and immediately recognized who had just fainted.
"Queen!" The crowd closed in on Sophie as the king glared at Alice.
"Is this man telling the truth?"
Alice sank to the floor as she sobbed.
"Alice!"
"Yes! Yes, he is!"
The father's nostrils flared as he stretched his hand to claw in Alice's hair, but instantly I twisted his arm, and he groaned.
He yanked his arm from my grip and fell on his knees in front of Axel, the older man's eyes filled with tears.
"Your majesty, please spare her! Please spare her! I'll give you my miserable lif-"
"I don't need your life! I need royal intermarriage!"
Everyone flinched and inched backward as the black-haired king scorned my kneeled father.
I wanted to die. This day couldn't become worse, and no, god, I wasn't challenging you. It was just a saying.
I was so involved in my thoughts that I'd left out one teeny tiny thing. When I raised my head, I blinked as everyone was gawking at me. What?
"My younger daughter is still pure."
"What?" I blurted.
Axel was staring at me coldly and seemed to be contemplating the new offer.
"She is unpresentable today, but in real life, she is a very alluring young lady."
"What?"
Axel exhaled and clenched his jaw. I ogled his sharp jawline as I wished I had my sketchbook with me. You didn't get to meet the gods every day, duh!
Wait, what?
"Prepare her. We are leaving in an hour."
"Yes, your majesty. Your wish is my command."
My dad had his head bowed and his arms stretched out on the ground—what a gruesome sight.
"It was a command."
Axel snarled at him before storming out of the room. His men followed him and scorned us, my disgraced family.
"What just happened?" I asked, and my father jolted up.
"Rebel, I'll forgive you everything if you will be obedient right now."
"Alice needs assistance. Take her-" I was cut off as the unforeseen words slipped in my mind.
"You are getting married to the Dragon king."