"Father, I heard you were looking for me?" Princess Helena entered the grand chamber with a sense of apprehension, her head slightly bowed.
"My dear daughter, Helena," King Alexander's eyes lit up as he rose from his ornate throne, "the sun in my life! Please, take a seat, my beautiful daughter."
Princess Helena couldn't help but smile as she approached the chair opposite her father's. The bond between King Alexander and his second child was renowned throughout the kingdom. His love and protective nature towards her were evident to everyone who witnessed it.
Silently, the princess settled into the chair and waited for her father to begin.
"My daughter," King Alexander began, his expression unreadable, one that he had never displayed before anyone else. "I'm sure you've heard of the hardships our kingdom has endured over the last 37 years – prolonged wars, famine, and countless people losing their homes and livelihoods."
He paused, his gaze fixed on Princess Helena, who listened intently. Tears welled in the corners of his eyes, reflecting the gravity of his words.
"Father?" Princess Helena's voice was tinged with concern as she saw her father's tears. "Are you suggesting that we are going to war again?"
King Alexander shook his head and offered a wry smile. "No, my dear. Our kingdom is currently in a stable state. However, our past victories and current prosperity are due to a pact I made with a being some might call a devil."
Princess Helena gasped in astonishment, her eyes widening. She leaned back in her chair, her face a mask of shock, but she remained silent, waiting for her father to continue.
"You must be taken aback by this revelation," King Alexander continued. "Only your mother, Joseph, and I knew about this pact. I was young, burdened with immense responsibility when I ascended to the throne at the age of 20, amid a raging war that claimed your grandfather's life. Your mother was pregnant with you, and your brother was just two years old. Our people had suffered for far too long."
"I had heard that this being could help me bring prosperity to our land," King Alexander confessed. "But there was one condition."
Princess Helena listened intently, her expression still neutral.
"The being demanded that I give up my eldest daughter in marriage to his eldest son."
Princess Helena choked, coughing uncontrollably. Her father hurriedly rose, patting her back gently, and poured her a glass of water. It took a moment for Helena to regain her composure.
She looked at her father with disbelief. "You promised me to a devil? To marry the devil's son?"
King Alexander, still standing before her, couldn't meet her gaze. He hadn't anticipated that Helena would grow up to be so perfect – beautiful, intelligent, and his favorite. At the time of the pact, he had believed that the child in the queen's womb, who would have been a girl, would grow up abnormally due to the hardships the queen endured during the war. He thought it would be a small sacrifice for the victory and prosperity of the kingdom. But now, Helena meant the world to him.
"You promised me to the devil, Father?" Helena's voice wavered with hurt. "How could you?"
Tears welled up in King Alexander's eyes as he lowered his head, unable to face his daughter.
"Why me? Why not Henry, who you could have given to your demon acquaintance?"
"Helena!" King Alexander's voice trembled with anger. "Mind your words!"
Princess Helena stood, performing a curtsy with her hands clasped to her chest. "Forgive me, King Alexander, for I do not know the proper etiquette for speaking of devils and becoming a devil's bride. But it appears that will soon be my fate."
"Helena!" King Alexander protested, but she paid no heed. With a flushed face, she turned and walked out of the grand chamber, leaving her father in a torment of regret and sorrow.