Once Upon A Bride (M×M)

Chapter 4: The Ceremony

We journeyed for seven hours without pause even moving with such fast speed, the Nnath Sultanat's Imperial Palace was just that far away from the Fae Kingdom.

Then finally, I could see it in the distance, massive towers reaching so high into the sky you couldn't see the end of it. Even from afar, the grandeur of the Djinnath's Palace was no laughing matter.

I could feel the carriage descending as we neared the monstrous piece of architecture. But as beautiful as it was, a sinking feeling fluttered in the depths of my mind, just looking at it.

It was dark and imposing.

The Palace.

Filling me with an inexplicable sense of dread.

The Djinnath was not a kind man, I heard, and back when he first rose to power, stories of his unhinged cruelty ran wild in the Empire.

He waged wars that lasted centuries, and at the end of it all, there was only the Nnath Sultanat and its Vassal nations remaining.

All that resisted his rule were annihilated.

I couldn't even begin to imagine what urged him to suddenly want a marriage with me, surely he can't bear to torture an excellent specimen such as me?

The shaking of the carriage brought me back to reality, with a light thud we'd reached the ground once more.

Massive, and I mean massive gates swung open backwards, and slowly, we moved inside the Imperial Palace.

It took us nearly an hour to travel from the main entrance of the Palace grounds, to the palace itself.

Soon, I felt the carriage halt while I shifted in my seat, was I supposed to open the door and come out? Or should I wait?

I'm not sure what amount of respect they'll treat me with here...

I hadn't yet reached a decision, when the door was pulled open from the outside, and a hand came into view. I couldn't help but notice, it was a nice hand, with long, well-shaped fingers and prominent joints.

One could imagine the strength of those hands by the...

"Prince Ivor?"

That voice snapped me out of the daze, "Sorry, just a moment."

Gathering my robes with one hand, I placed the other hand into the outstretched palm of this unknown person.

I could feel the grip tightening around my fingers, as I stepped out of the carriage. As soon as my feet touched the ground, my hand was let go and a solid arm wrapped tightly around my waist.

Only one person could be daring enough to touch me like this in this palace, only the Djinnath himself.

I pulled back, placing my hands on his chest and making some distance between us, then I bowed my head slightly, "Your Majesty."

There was no response, and the longer he remained silent the weirder I felt. Wasn't he supposed to tell me to look up already?

Instead, I saw him extend his arm in my direction;

"Come along Prince Ivor, the ceremony should happen as soon as possible."

I hesitated briefly, after all, I had always been the one extending my arm to my partners, it felt strange to be the one on the arm for the first time.

But I could hardly refuse, so I curled my arm in his, looking at him for the first time since I got here.

It's not like I hadn't seen good looking people before, but the one in front of me somehow managed to leave me stunned.