Gianna hated palanquins. She thought it was a shame to put her weight on someone else's shoulders. Though she asked for a horse, Edgar denied it saying it does not match for a girl to travel on a horse. He had no idea how good Gianna was at horse riding.
After she came out of the palanquin, Gianna gazed at the Hesmian palace which was bigger than any other buildings she had ever seen.
On the other hand, Danyel was trying to recall the weird dream he had last night. This time he saw the brightest sun anyone could ever imagine. It was burning endlessly and it reminded him of a fierce warrior. Not only the view, he also felt the warmth.
"The sun? Um… According to my knowledge, the sun represents a strong man, mostly a warrior, your royal highness. Maybe this symbolizes an arrival of a man into your life." the royal astrologer was confused too.
"What??? A man?? No way!!!" Danyel screamed. A man into his life? Like a lover or something? He felt disgusted.
Understanding his thoughts and fearing Danyel would punish him, the royal astrologer tried to explain it in a better way.
"Um…maybe it means a… a… colleague or um… a rival maybe. It might not be what you think sire."
"Oh…wait what? What you thought I was thinking?"
Such an awkward moment.
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On her way to the great hall, Gianna saw various types of handsome young men here and there. As for someone who spent most of her life without seeing men, this was too exciting.
"Hesmians are kind of pretty, right? Or what do they call it? 'Handsome'." Gianna's inner voice muttered.
While living in Stri, Gianna heard that men grew hair on their face too. She was both confused and disgusted about it. But when she saw a lot of Hesmians without moustaches or beards, she felt relieved.
In compared to Wertese, Hesmians were more handsome with tan skin and black hair, according to Gianna. But she was not sure how the prince would look.
"I guess he's going to be a cold hearted, completely devilish womanizer with a hairy face."
Wearing a long, uncomfortable princess robe, Gianna could not walk swiftly as her father did. She could see an evil smile under his brown beard. Edgar was having the same dream of ruling Hesmia which his father had earlier. Silently cursing him, Gianna recalled her mother's beautiful eyes filled with tears.
In no time, they were at the entrance.
As soon as they entered, Gianna could see the expressions of council members who looked like they just met a three headed dragon. Even Narendra was shocked too.
At first, Danyel did not notice this because he was already shocked by how wrong his predictions were. He felt like he could actually see Gianna's sparkling aura. Though she was wearing a purple and blue dress with long sleeves and had a waist length hair with some braids, something told that she was no ordinary princess. The jewelries did not go along well with her personality as if saying they were not her thing. She did not need them. She was already shining. In her eyes, there was a gaze of a fearless fighter and looking from afar, she replicated the rising sun.
Since she was way more different than he imagined, Danyel started comparing Gianna's features with Yasvie's.
This girl looked pretty, but compared to Yasvie- the most beautiful girl in Danyel's eyes, this one could not score more than 6/10. Gianna was much taller than Yasvie. Yasvie's crystal clear skin was too fair for a Hesmian, and this girl…wasn't she supposed to be a white girl?
"Father, I thought she was a Wertese. But she looks like one of us." Danyel asked politely.
But Narendra was speechless. He too, was seeing Gianna for the first time. This is what happens when you never visit relations.
Even after Edgar and Gianna bowed to the emperor and introduced themselves, council members did not stop chattering. They were questioning Gianna's nationality.
"I know what all of you are thinking, but do not forget that this is the child of Artha, one of my cousins. She is half Hesmian." Emperor Narendra spoke.
Still…how could she look like a complete Hesmian?
"King Edgar, I strongly appreciate the support you gave at the council. Standing with us when no one else did, that was such a great deed. I am very excited to make a new bond between Hesmia and Werto. Welcome to the great empire of Hesmia!" Narendra said with a smile.
Actually, Edgar had found about the Hesmian-Lisdonian problem and advised his messengers to speak up for Hesmia foreseeing the benefits. But he was expecting financial benefits; not a marriage. Edgar never thought that a Wertese princess would ever become a Hesmian princess. So this was like a mega prize.
Meanwhile, Gianna was silently studying Danyel. He did not have a beard or a moustache. His height was normal; not too short nor too tall. Wearing a ceremonial dress, he looked handsome but Gianna thought that some Hesmian men she saw on the way were more handsome than him. But he has maintained a good body figure and matched to the description of a typical prince, only if Gianna had ever seen one before.
As both Gianna and Danyel were studying each other, their eyes met at a moment. None of them gave up and kept looking into each other's eyes. Danyel could feel the warmth in her gaze.
After all the introductions, Narendra spoke.
"Very well, before discussing about the wedding I reckon you must rest. I have prepared the best chambers for my future daughter-in-law and her father. Make yourself at home."
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The next day, Narendra started the discussion about the heir's wedding which must become the greatest wedding ceremony of the era.
"As our astrologers informed me, there will be an auspicious time which exactly suits for a marriage in fourteen days. I reckon Artha should be here too. Is her sickness too serious?" The Emperor asked.
"Yes, your majesty. As I mentioned before, her illness might spread too. And she is very weak. She hardly walks."
When Edgar said this, Gianna almost yelled but controlled herself for the sake of her mother.
"And forgive me your majesty, I will not be able to stay here for fourteen days. I will leave tomorrow and return before the ceremony." Edgar said politely.
"Oh that is fine. You are a king. You must go to your kingdom. But your daughter can stay here and be prepared." Narendra agreed.
What? Leave her here…all alone?
Edgar nodded.
Gianna was left alone in Hesmia, but she was given a huge, charming chamber with three handmaids.
Much to Gianna's wonder, one of them was a Lisdonian-born Strian.
"Emse Minnah?" Gianna recognized her immediately.
Minnah secretly signaled her to stop.
"My name is Nadya your royal highness. You must have mistaken me for someone else."
Minnah said in an alerting tone.
After sending the other maids out, Minnah started talking.
"Ginger! Don't ever do that again, okay?"
"Sorry, I was very surprised. I thought I was left all alone. And now I have you." Gianna hugged Minnah. She was too excited.
Minnah, who was among the best warriors in Stri was appointed as the chief spy in Hesmia. She was disguised as a handmaid and worked for a daughter of a concubine until she found out that Gianna was coming as the future crown princess. Then she tried many tricks and finally got the opportunity of being a maid to Gianna.
"I thought it would be a relief to have someone you know. And I can protect you if I stay closer. The only regret I have is that our spies in Werto failed to give you the news about your father's trap. If they acted a little more quickly you wouldn't have ended up here." Minnah uttered dearly.
Strian spy system was the strongest among all, but no one else knew that. And no one else knew that Strians had the best military power either. Anyone who tried to sneak in or invade Stri never lived to tell the tale.
"Thank you Emse Minnah. I'm not thinking about the past. It only makes me feel sad."
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The next day, Gianna got a message from Danyel to meet him in private in his chamber.
Upon hearing this, Gianna's thoughts became very complicated. What is he going to do?
Though Gianna had to force herself into this marriage to save her mother, she did not want to lose her maidenhood either.
"Sire, i received your message. What is the reason for this meeting?" Gianna asked in the most polite way possible.
"Well, I don't care whatever happened between our fathers and the kingdoms. I want this marriage cancelled. I want you to give up and go." Danyel said while keeping a straight face.
What? He called her into his chamber to tell THIS?
"Why sire? Did I do anything wrong?"
Though Gianna did not want to marry either, she simply could not avoid it.
"No…but yes. Coming here to marry me was enough. Listen up, I have someone I love. I will marry no one but her. You must refuse to marry me and return to your kingdom. If you do it, I'll reward you when I'm the Emperor."
Gianna did not expect him to say this because she thought that he was a womanizer. Gianna's heart immediately melted when Danyel mentioned about a lover. Instead of having affairs with multiple women, he said he had one lover. He did not want anyone else in his life. He must be a good man, Gianna thought. But she still could not trust him to tell the truth. What if he directly asked from Edgar?
"I am sorry sire. Regardless of what happens, I am strongly determined to make this marriage work. But I promise that I would not get between you two. I will only quit after having a child with you." Gianna said confidently, but inside she was feeling sick.
"Marrying me means getting between two of us. A child? No way!!" Danyel's tone changed.
His hatred toward Gianna increased rapidly.
"Listen to me, Giselle. If you do not quit now, I will make sure that you will suffer day by day, wanting to quit but unable. You will hate yourself so much that you will want someone to kill you instantly."
"Now you listen to me. I came here because of your father's invitation. If you want to marry the person you love, why don't you go and tell it to your father? Why hide behind me?" Gianna argued.
"Do you think I tried nothing and stayed silently like a total dumb? I tried. I am fed up trying. Now do as I said or prepare yourself to suffer." Danyel threatened.
Though he knew Gianna was different and strong, he was blinded by the anger.
"Well, I will prepare myself. But you should do it too. If I suffer, you'll suffer too. Let's just do it together. Ah…I am Gianna, remember the name. You'll need it."
Gianna left the crown prince's chamber quickly, feeling extremely guilty for ruining his life. But she had nothing to do with it. They were all trapped in a political game. It was not Gianna's fault at all. She was a victim too.