The Usurper's Queen | COMPLETED

29 | the wedding

All around me, I saw white, gold and blue. Early that morning, I was brutally woken up by Cecily and forced into my wedding dress. My hair was washed with scented lye soap and brushed until it was soft like silk, and afterwards it was intricately braided and tied in a knot at the back of my head.

A platinum necklace with a sapphire locket was fastened against my throat, and matching azure earrings dangled gracefully from my ears, contrasting beautifully with my wheat-colored skin. I slipped on my sable trimmed white gloves with golden thread, and deep red rouge was smeared onto my lips. My mother, still embittered by the events of past year paid no care about my wedding, despite personally getting Lisbeth dressed up for her wedding two years ago.

However, her absence barely affected me, as Claudie was able to slip out of Sterling Castle to attend my wedding, although she had to hide her identity. Now, she was no longer Anna-Claudia de Beauchamp, Duchess of Irakli, but Alice Durant, a simple handmaid Edmund had sent over to do my bidding.

She gently powdered my face and laced up my shoes, and finally she placed a white veil made from tulle over my head. "Let's go, Annie. Edmund has been waiting so long for you," Claudie said while tugging my hand.

I nodded while stepping along with her, but then I turned around to take a look at my room. The four-beam poster bed, my dark blue silk covers, the cream coloured wallpaper with rose motifs, and the roaring fireplace. After today, I would likely never stay here again, and my room would be given away to someone else.

The door clicked open, and Cecily walked in while wearing a pale blue dress made from silk, and the fringe of her hair covered one eye, concealing her birthmark. I had requested her to carry my train, as I felt that she was the most suitable person for the task.

Cecily smiled at Claudie, her own blood-cousin, but she did not return it. Claudie looked away, completely ignoring Cecily's existence, and I knew why. Edmund had remained here in Phoenicia and watched Cecily grow up, while Claudie was sent off to Terrawyn, and she only knew Cecily as the daughter of King Edward, the man who orchestrated the death of her and Edmund's father, sent her to foreign land, and exiled their mother. Claudie's heart was full of hatred for her uncle, and that eventually splattered onto Cecily as well. Not only that, Cecily was also the sister of Crown Princess Margaret du Terre, the daughter-in-law of the very man who ordered for Claudie's husband to be assassinated and to confiscate all the Beauchamp lands.

Indeed, Claudie was undoubtedly beautiful and kind, but her heart was so filled with hate that I felt concerned. She hates the du Terres for killing her husband, and she hates her uncle for murdering her father, but Cecily was innocent. With a chest so full of hate, how can there be any room left for love and compassion?

"Cecily! You've arrived!" I said in a cheerful while looping my right arm with hers, and my left with Claudie. "We're running late. We should go now!"

The wedding will take place at the Aglarose Cordesane, the largest cordesane in all of Rhyland, and it was only second compared to the Arrinella Cordesane in the capital city of Fallere, which was exclusively reserved for the marriages of royals.

Aglarose Cordesane was quite far from Winterbourne Castle, as it was in the heart of the city, while I lived closer to the southern ports. It was an enormous white building with four towers located at each corner of the cordesane. The building was made using white marble and was surrounded by a large man-made pool. To get to the cordesane, one would have to get down from their carriage and walk on a narrow bridge which was made from thick glass, and you could see the swirling dark waters underneath you.

The steps were similarly made with marble, and they were polished to gleam in the sun, creating the illusion that the floor was splattered with water. Once inside, I could see the sunlight penetrating through the stained-glass windows, casting shadows of colors on the floor.