crossfire, cardan | 16 +

eight

"Marry?! What the hell do you mean I have to marry?"

"You will marry Prince Dain whether you like it or not, Anastasia." Oriana insists, as obstinate as ever.

"Madoc and I have decided—" she begins, but I cut her off in the middle. She treats me like garbage, bosses me around like a servant, and has the audacity to pretend to be my mother.

"Who do you think you are to make decisions for me? You're not my mother, are you?" I yell, and she flinches, startled by my outburst. "And he isn't my father, let's not be so delusional."

"You can't just make my decisions for me," I protested, my hand frantically running through my hair.

"It's too late," she deadpans, her face etched with an unreadable attitude, "you leave tomorrow, Prince Dain would like to meet his future wife, and future queen of Elfhame."

"And now you're kicking me out?" My fists clench at my sides as I scoff. I don't believe this or any of it for that matter.

It's absurd that I, a mere mortal, should be made queen. Why not Nicasia? I'm incapable of holding such a high position in a kingdom; for God's sake, I'm only an outcast.

"You can't do this."

"It's already done, Anastasia." She sighs, rubbing her temple in exhaustion.

"I hate you and I hope you know that," I sneered, turning around, but before I could leave the room she grabs my hand and looks straight into my eyes, almost as though it should be a threatening look.

"You can't tell anyone about this, not until you both are married in secret," she demanded, "then when the marriage is announced on the night of the coronation you will be the queen."

"I don't want to be queen, can't you understand that I just want to live a normal life?"

"You'd choose a normal life over so much power?" she needled, her words as persuasive as ever. She knows just how much I crave power and she's using it against me, and it's working.

"You'd have a whole kingdom to yourself," she says, pushing a strand of hair out of my eye, "Dain is a weak individual, he can easily be distracted, just be seductive enough. We're doing this for you."

"If you're doing this for me then why haven't you told me until now?" I question, and she rolls her eyes at me.

"Because we know this is how you'd react. We know what's best for you and therefore we do what we think is best for you. You live here, you don't have a right to refuse what we tell you to do. You eat our food, live in our house, sleep in our beds, refuse us and you're a small and scared rabbit being hunted by foxes. Think of what's best for you Anastasia."

My hands ball into fists, her words echoing in my mind. So that's all I am? A pawn.

I'll marry him. I'll become the queen.

And let's see how Oriana feels when I put her in a cage.

"When am I supposed to leave?" I bite the inside of my cheeks, but it's only a matter of time before she realizes that putting someone like me on a throne is a dumb mistake.