𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙋𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 (𝙔𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚!𝙋𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙭𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧)

Chapter Forty-One: A Royal Act

(Y/n)'s POV

"I greet his and her majesty a warm welcome." I bowed my head low with a hidden smile, Nikolas's hand clawing to my forearm. I rose up to be met with Aleksander greeting king Callum with a small smile, refraining his eyes from me as I did the same.

"Nikolas, my darling boy!" the queen ran towards Nikolas by my side with open arms, not once casting a glance right at me like I was never there. I stood back and eyed them down while they had their own conversations to themselves. I never belonged here, nor will I ever.

Imelda ran to my side and softly spoke, asking how I was while I only shrugged it off with a hushed reply. We went to the dining are as I sat down across from Aleksander, his eyes darting down on the table with tensed shoulders. Nikolas clung onto my hand as the doors opened from the kitchen, the smell of delicacy of different kinds of food coming to view.

We began to eat as I chewed slowly, unable to get rid of the cumbersome feeling after the little quarrel that had occurred back in Aleksander's studies. "How is your trip to Walsh, father?" Aleksander asked, breaking the silence as both of their majesty's looked up with an exchanging look. King Callum's expression lit up with a horrid laugh,

"It was an excellent journey, yes, yes." king Callum nod to himself, meeting eyes with queen Amanda with a slight beckoning nod. The queen cleared her throat and placed her knife gently down on the plate, fiddling her fork with a pea. "The king had proposed an engagement." queen Amanda beamed with Aleksander giving way to his alarmed look, almost slamming both palms on the table.

"And what...or who is this engagement given to?" Aleksander replied with an inquiry, impotently like spitting out those words he wished to had never asked with a dubious tone.

Queen Amanda turned to look at Nikolas and clasped both of her hands, "The king had proposed an engagement to Nikolas." she replied as Nikolas looked at her with a cackling laugh, whispering the words preposterous to himself while he shook his head.

Nikolas took my hand while I craned my head to be gleamed by both of our wedding rings as Nikolas stood up, "I am a married man, of course you wouldn't accept that proposal...wouldn't you?" he tilt his head to the side, glancing to king Callum.

Queen Amanda stood up and sighed to herself, "If this is the only way to fix with our allies, we must do it. And as crowned prince, I don't think you will decline this decision, yes?" queen Amanda gave a taunting smile with brows twitching and hands squeezed to a ball as to keep her demeanor tranquil.

All eyes suddenly fell on Aleksander after slamming both of his hands on the table, "Nikolas cannot accept that proposal! That princess is a whore and should be exiled from even stepping on the palace floors!" Aleksander disagreed with king Callum calling his name in aggravation as he also stood up, all royals towering over me with each having a scowling stare.

"I have made my decision! Nikolas will marry the princess!" king Callum furrowed his brows, all of the servants bowing their head low, hiding their gaze from the angered king. I felt like I had no say in the conversation, for I felt lost just from the beginning with confliction humming through the void air.

Nikolas loosened his grasps from my wrists, making my body tremble from how expressed his fiery rage had come to. "I am marrying nobody, father. My wife is mine, and I will never let her go. To the throne or to perish, to hell or to heaven, I will never let her roam without me." Nikolas growled, spitting out those words sternly as he took the knife from the table.

Nikolas began to walk with both Aleksander and queen Amanda trying to protest with fear written all over their faces. I ran towards him and hugged him from behind, with Nikolas's hand roughly trying to yank my wrapped arms off of his waist as to do his murderous act.

"Please don't, Nikolas..." I frowned, resting my head to his shoulder. "Think, Nikolas. Think. I only want what's best for you." I said in a haste as Nikolas looked at me at the corner of his eye, "And why is that, my dearest (y/n)?" he asked with a harsher tone.

"Because..." I stopped as the words vanished from my tongue, my persuasion coming to an end. I felt that I was unable to fit in those words from my labyrinth mind without screaming at myself that it wasn't right. I bit down on my bottom lip and looked up at him, "I love you, Nikolas." I kept my lips sealed while he turned to me, slowly lowering his hand as he turned around with soft, gentle eyes.

Nikolas blinked, furrowing his brows as queen Amanda snatched the knife from Nikolas's hand. "That's enough, Nikolas!" queen Amanda yelled, slapping him across the face as I jumped back from the loud crash against his cheek with her palm. Nikolas craned his head to the side and slowly turned back to queen Amanda, eyeing each other down with a rivalry aura.

Nikolas walked out of the room without glancing back with queen Amanda following suit. After they left, I turned back to the king who was sat down on the chair with eyes closed to a flutter with a heave. Aleksander sat beside him and stared back at me. After realizing that I had been creepily watching, I turned away in a fluster and left the dining hall.

I went up the stairs to hear a loud slam of the door shutting close, their muffled screaming voices to be heard from inside. I looked around the room, the serene moonlight coming from the window as I leaned my ear closer to the door, intruding in their private conversation.

"Why are you doing this to me, mother?" asked Nikolas in frustration, hearing his rapid steps going from left to right. "Once we have the princess in our grasps, I promise she will be gone in a snap." queen Amanda responded in a plea, coaxing the prince as to relinquish his unhinged temper.

"Do you not get it, mother? I do not want to marry some pesky rat that slithered its way to my bed!" Nikolas groaned, hearing a few stomps of his feet with a loud thud! following suit and glass shattering from inside. "And then what? How will you take action to this, Nikolas?" Queen Amanda questioned back, thwarting her way in the midst of their heated contretemps.

Silence. It was all I could've heard until a shrilling scream came, but only to be stifled seconds later. I pressed my hand against the cold doorknob, feeling my palpitating heart ringing through my ears as to scream to run away.

"Tonight, the king dies, mother," a cold, yet trembling voice finally answered as I heard a thud! on the floor once more. I felt myself backing away, seeing the trickle of blood seeping from beneath the door. My eyes went wide as a bowl, unable to gasp but only to cover my mouth with a hand as the door slammed open.

"Ah, my dearest (y/n)," Nikolas beamed, his soulless eyes meeting mine as I saw queen Amanda's limped body from behind. He looked around and closed the door, wiping his stained arm to his black vest. "I believe you had came by at the wrong time."