Cicatrice

Chapter X

QUEEN ESTELLE BELSHAW

I had completely forgotten about the concern Eddie had given me regarding marrying Malcolm in the midst of all the chaos of wedding planning. I knew that if this were to be my dream wedding, everything had to be in order the way I arranged it; for once, I wasn't concerned about becoming a queen or winning over the people.

Hell, I may as well make it a spectacular wedding even if I wasn't marrying someone I truly loved.

Malcolm and I were in my suite, merely talking. I would be lying if I said he wasn't growing on me. It was particularly easy for me to look past the concietedness, straight into those deep, brown eyes that reminded me of dark cocoa. With his arms wrapped around me like silk, my eyes flutter close in pleasure. I hadn't given myself up yet, and we had agreed to wait until I was committed to him.

"Soon, you shall be mine, my darling Este, but now, we just have to wait," he whispers raspily as I turn around to face him, his hand caressing my chin. My smile widens, and our faces are mere inches apart as he places a delicate kiss on my lips.

An excellent kisser, might I add.

I'm temporarily startled out of my daydream by a knock on the door. Eddie enters with his head lowered, but I can still make out a tiny glint in his bright blue eyes.  "My apologies for interrupting, your majesty. May I change the sheets?" He asks without even batting an eye at me.

"You shall face Her Majesty when speaking to her, I will not tolerate such disrespect from a peasant," Malcolm spits, and I feel my heart sink to my chest as I watch Eddie's face fall.

I take Malcolm's arm, squeezing it, but he pushes me away. "It's alright, darling. Let him go-"

"No!" he shouts. "I demand you apologise to her majesty this instant," he bellows like a feral chihuahua, his face growing red as I notice a vein in his forehead.

It was at this moment that Eddie's tearful eyes finally met mine, my heart falling through my chest, a feeling I could swear I had never experienced before. As much as I wanted to spite Eddie, I knew he was right - I didn't love Malcolm, and I never could love him.

I was a fool.

"I-I am sorry, your majesty,"

Malcolm scoffs. "Somebody like you should be kissing Queen Estelle's feet, you disgrace!-"

"Malcolm!" I yelp, catching him and Eddie by surprise. With my face growing red, the two men stare at me in bewilderment. "Stop whining like an entitled bootlicker and leave Eddie alone, for chrissakes!" I whimper, wiping a tear from my face.

"Bloody filthy peasant, you are!-"

The room moves so swiftly I can't process the next movement of Eddie throwing a punch toward Malcolm's chiselled face. With fire in his eyes, he strikes him with all of his might, no doubt fracturing his wrist. My ears are ringing so loudly, that I don't even hear myself scream. The room is blurry, and all I can make out is Malcolm throwing the next punch, perhaps even mightier than Eddie's had been.

Blood, bruised, tears, screaming, crying.

"Stop! Stop!" I wail, watching Malcolm inch on top of Eddie, striking his fists to his pretty face. "Malcolm!" I screech.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Father enters, his eyes filled with terror. He becomes a saviour as Malcolm stops throwing his fists.

Although I still was upset at Eddie, the sight of blood on his beautiful face was just enough to send me into a distressed rut. I didn't know why I had cared so much for him, even after he had disrespected my title and fiance. I just couldn't shake the feeling that he was the most sincere person here in France and meant no genuine harm.

"Guards!" As he realises what has happened, father yells, a look of rage on his face. Within a heartbeat, two guards respond to my father's request by racing to his aid.

"Take the servant from my line of sight, immediately," he demands.

Eddie's face was all but recognisable as the two guards assisted him in standing up by his arms. Malcolm had gotten him good, as seen by the blood dripping from his mouth and nose and the colour of his black and blue eyes, and I could not loathe him more for it.

Eddie's swollen eyes crush my heart as they stare at me, and within an instant, he was taken away into the unknown.