Rhiannon who was about to utter an apology paused on her words. But just as she opened her mouth, her mouth took on a life of its own.
"I beg your pardon?" she said, omitting the title of king.
The room fell silent, and Rhiannon could feel the eyes of everyone present on her. She knew she had just committed a grave offense, but she didn't care. She was tired of playing by the rules of these tyrants.
Her uncle, the evil king, called out her name in an unfriendly tone. "Rhiannon!," he said, his voice dripping with a warning.
Rhiannon gritted her teeth in anger but didn't utter another word. Instead, she stepped forward hesitantly, stopping only when she reached the devil king's throne.
She looked him straight in the eye and said, "I reject this alliance, my king." Rhiannon had no intention of marrying someone she didn't love, let alone a king known for his brutality and coldness.
Her words hung in the air, and everyone in the throne room felt their heart racing at her audacity.
She rejects! Oh my goodness! she rejects! They couldn't believe it.
The noble women and men in the room gasped at Rhiannon's boldness. They had never seen anyone speak to a king in such a way, let alone the feared Devil King. Their faces expressed shock, disbelief, and fear. No one dared to speak a word, and the only sound was the heavy breathing of Rhiannon's furious uncle.
Vlad, on the other hand, continued to give her a bored look. He seemed unimpressed by her defiance, which only made Rhiannon angrier. She didn't care about the Devil King's opinion, but she couldn't help feeling frustrated by his lack of reaction.
"How dare you say that to the king, have you lost your mind?" Those were the words that came through the king's mouth. But Rhiannon was undeterred and she glared at her uncle with anger boiling in her veins.
"What did I say that was so wrong, Uncle?" Rhiannon retorted, her voice sharp with frustration. "All I said was that I will marry for love, not for political gain. Is that not what my parents did? They married for love, and they were happier for it."
The king's face darkened with anger. "Your parents are dead and gone, Rhiannon. They are not here to dictate what you should do with your life. You are a princess of the realm, and you will marry according to the royal bloodline."
Rhiannon spat a venomous word at her uncle, her eyes blazing with fury. "My late parents also said I would marry out of love like them, unlike you, Uncle. You married for another reason which wasn't for love."
Lilith's eyes flickered with an unknown emotion which she quickly hid with Ariadne who was boring holes into Rhiannon with her furious gaze.
The king huffed in great anger and pointed at her as he spoke. "You will do as you are told, Rhiannon. You will marry according to tradition and duty, or you will cease to be a princess."
Rhiannon gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Hadn't she stopped being a princess? What a ludicrous man! She thought.
Everyone watched as the tension rose between the uncle and his niece. No one dared to say a word or interfere. The devil king, in particular, seemed to be enjoying the heated argument.
Rhiannon took a step forward, the smile on her face falling as she stared hard at her boiling uncle. "Yeah, I know they aren't living anymore, but isn't it because you had them killed? Both of them, including my brother!" Her eyes blazed with fury, and she wanted to give a slow, painful death to the man in front of her.
As Rhiannon made her accusation, a hushed murmur rippled through the crowd. Many had suspected foul play in the deaths of her parents and brother, but no one had dared to voice their suspicions out loud. Now, with the princess herself making the accusation, the courtiers exchanged worried glances and wondered if there was any truth to her words
The king's face went from anger to shock, and then back to anger again as he took in the different gazes of the courtiers present. His eyes landed on the devil king who held a grim expression, and then back to Rhiannon whose fists were clenched. He felt his heart tighten with anger.
"How dare you accuse me of such a thing, Rhiannon!" he roared. "Your parents and brother died in a tragic accident. It was a terrible loss for our kingdom, and for our family. To suggest otherwise is a grave insult."
Rhiannon's eyes narrowed, and her jaw clenched in response. "An accident, you say?" she spat. "How convenient. It's funny how every time someone in our family and kingdom opposes you or threatens your rule, they end up dead."
Rhiannon's uncle, King Roderick, took a step towards her and raised his hand. Without warning, he delivered a heavy slap to her cheek, causing an echoing sound to fill the room.
The force of the blow sent Rhiannon reeling, and she stumbled backward, her hand flying to her cheek. The heavy gold rings on her uncle's fingers had grazed her skin, leaving behind red marks that stood out starkly against her fair complexion.
Draven who had been watching with an interesting look was stunned on seeing King Roderick deliver a heavy slap on the princess. He didn't know what moved him but his feet had thoughts of their own and they wanted to move forward toward the king and have him beaten but just as quickly as he moved, Vlad's hard gaze landed on him, warning him not to make any drastic decision which made him stand back to watch with a fallen expression.
The king's nostrils flared with rage, and he stepped forward until he was looming over Rhiannon. "Watch your tongue, girl," he growled. "I am still your king, and I will not tolerate such insolence."
Rhiannon stood her ground, unafraid of her uncle's wrath. "I am not a girl anymore, Uncle. I am a woman, and I will not be silenced. The truth will come out eventually, and when it does, you will pay for what you have done."
With that, she turned on her heel and strode out of the room, with her old nanny and maid rushing after her, leaving the courtiers to murmur amongst themselves and wonder what would happen next.
The king seethed with anger, but before he could respond, the devil king intervened. "That is enough," he said sternly devil king, his eyes fixed on Roderick with an intense gaze.
The room fell silent, as everyone turned to face the devil king. Roderick could feel the weight of his stare like a physical pressure, and he took a step back instinctively.
The devil king's lips curled into a snarl. "I am the one who now claims this girl as my own," he said, his voice low and menacing. "And you will treat her with the utmost respect, or suffer the consequences."
Roderick bristled at the devil king's possessive tone, but he knew better than to push the issue. The devil king was a force to be reckoned with, and Roderick had no desire to feel the full extent of his wrath.
"I... I understand," Roderick muttered, his eyes flickering nervously. "I meant no harm."
The devil king's eyes narrowed. "Good," he said, his voice dripping with venom. "Because if you ever lay a hand on her again, I will make you regret it. She is mine now".
Everyone listened as he spoke and they wondered how many times he was going to repeat that Rhiannon was his, they all blinked and kept mute.
"Please show me around". Vlad said and then rose to move towards the door and his men quickly followed. And as the devil king turned to leave, his dark aura which was still lingering in the room, Roderick felt a chill run down his spine, as the devil king's possessive words hung in the air like a dark cloud. Even his guards looked uneasy, as they shifted their weight nervously and avoided meeting the devil king's gaze.
With a forced smile, he signaled to his advisor whose face was hung and had been avoiding his gaze, to dismiss the gathering while he followed after the silver-haired man.