Naiari jolted awake, gasping for breath, her heart hammering against her ribs as if seeking release. Disjointed memories rolled like a jagged piece of glass and she looked around in confusion and fear, expecting the horrors to pull her back in but she remained awake.
What a weird dream.
As she took deep calming breaths, she realized with a sinking feeling that she was not in her room. A faint light shone on her environment told her that she was alone in a glided carriage and it was moving, very fast.
She had never been in a carriage before and had only seen what the inside of a carriage looked like from the books she liked to read in the library so she could not under why she was in one which looked as expensive as this one looked.
'What is happening, where am I?'
With no answer to her question, she decided that she must have had jumped from one nightmare to another. She parted the curtains aside and looked out and withdrew almost immediately, her heart racing from the thunderous sound of horse hooves as they galloped and raised a cloud of dust.
She looked around the carriage and wondered what exactly was happening, had she been kidnapped? Why then was she sitting in the luxurious carriage … and wearing fine clothes? She thought as she touched the unfamiliar luxury of the silk skirts of her dress.
This was so confusing and her head swirled with many thoughts.
"Get me out of here, somebody."
*BANG BANG!!*
She pounded her fists on the door, the feeble blows doing nothing to make sounds that were loud enough to be heard over the noise of the traveling carriage then she stopped abruptly and stared at her hands, turning them this way and that then she felt them.
'No callouses, that is strange."
She chuckled anxiously and tried to convince herself that she was still dreaming because nothing made any sense. How did she have hands that did not belong to her? It was probably the fact that she had just woken up from sleep confusing her.
She parted the curtains again to let in the faint light from the early morning and raised her hands to the light and examined hands which were definitely darker than hers and the fingers which had been decorated with paint and gold jewelry had no callouses or scars that she had gotten from being punished constantly by Queen Alara.
She gingerly touched the bodice of the dress and felt the beads and stones which had been stitched to it, there were also jewels hanging around her neck. Something felt wrong, very wrong.
She looked around the confines of the carriage as if looking for an answer to her confusion then she caught sight of a satchel laying at the edge of the carriage and she picked it up and opened it, hoping to find some clues. Inside the bag was a letter.
She noticed the seal on it and immediately recognized it as the seal belonging to the queen and a shudder traveled up her spine in fear of her and she broke the seal open and scanned through the letter.
The more she read the letter the more her eyes widened and her breath came out in short rasps as she shivered and felt sweat break on her brow.
'This is nothing more than a ridiculous dream.' She said and pinched herself to be sure. She grimaced and felt tears drop down her cheeks at the uncertainty of the moment.
Nope, not a dream. She realized that whatever had happened at Yvette's henna ceremony had actually been real and that nasty looking old woman had done something to her.
Queen Elara's letter was a warning to her against revealing what had happened or else she would be accused of witchcraft which was outlawed by the region and then she would be hanged. She was also warned that the life of her nanny Celia also hung in the balance.
Naiari cried miserably as she wondered how she was going to live as Yvette, at this point her life was ended for all purposes. She had already lived her life so miserably, being the unwanted child who was not considered a member of the royal family but some leech who was a result of her father's indiscretion with some unnamed woman who abandoned her.
And now she was being punished with this huge burden, what was going to happen to her right now? She knew nothing about the man she was to marry, only that he was a king who was crippled. That was most likely the reason Yvette refused to marry him.
Yvette had been the royal princess, adored and admired by all. She could have her pick of wealthy and handsome suitors, she would not want to be tied to one who was lame and a Lycan at that.
After crying and feeling a headache come on, Naiari resolutely wiped the tears off her face and braced herself. There was nothing she could do about the situation except to bear it and act as Yvette, it was not like she would be able to stumble on a witch who would have the power to remove the spell on her.
With a sigh she settled back on the cushioned seats and wondered how long it would take for them to reach their destination and for how long they had been traveling for and before she knew it she had fallen asleep again.
She woke up when the carriage bumped against something and the carriage jostled roughly.
'Where am I?' She wondered as she looked around then remembered.
Ah yes, it was really not a dream. She had been bewitched and drugged and now she was on her way to meet her sister's betrothed who she was about to marry for the first time.
Naiari gripped the velvet-trimmed window ledge tightly, her knuckles white. The carriage lumbered through the bustling city, the cobblestones groaning beneath its iron-rimmed wheels. Sunlight, stained emerald by the stained glass high above, dappled her emerald gown, turning its rich fabric into a shimmering pool.
She realized that she had no choice in the matter. Today, she would meet her groom. Nervous excitement warred with a tremor of fear. She pictured a looming castle, its towers like stony fangs against the sky, and the man she would marry, a man bound to her by treacherous means.
The peeped through the curtains at the city streets which were a tapestry of sights and sounds that amazed her. Blacksmiths clanged hammers, their sparks showering like a fiery rain. Children darted between legs, their laughter weaving through the air. Market stalls overflowed with vibrant fruits and vegetables, their vendors hawking wares in rhythmic cries. Her entire being remained focused on the sight, trying to starve off the inevitable journey's end.
As the carriage neared the castle, the crowd grew hushed. Whispers swirled around Ari, a mixture of curiosity and awe. She imagined eyes boring into her carriage, dissecting her every detail and wondering about their new queen.
Finally, the carriage lurched to a halt before the towering iron gates. The clang of their opening echoed in the sudden silence. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Ari straightened her spine, transforming fear into resolve as they were waved in and proceeded to the beginning of the stone castle. Stepping out, she met the gazes of the castle guards, their expressions unreadable.
The palace loomed before her, a behemoth of grey aged stone more impressive than she had imagined. Naiari lifted her chin, determined not to let her fear show. As far as they were concerned , she was a royal princess and that is what they would get.