Castle Of Secrets - Arranged Marriage Love

Chapter 1

I was standing in the church area of my castle, waiting to see who my father picked to marry me. It was 2106, shockingly, the world hadn't fully gone downhill, well, it sort of had. Back in 2040ish, the world had gone into a complete ice age and we had to get rid of everything that we had created, basically, we were reverted to the 1300s lifestyle. This is not the life that i wished to lead, especially getting an arranged marriage. 12-year-old me would've been so mad. But at my current age of 16, i can't get mad, my castle and whole family relies on this man for money. They don't care if I'm happy anymore, they only care for this stupid castle. I partially agree with them, as father says, our bloodline relies on this, but at the same time, I'm so mad that i can't get my dream wedding with a man who I've loved for years. As I'm standing there, i hear my father call me up to the stand, I'm wearing a white dress, my fire red hair tied back in a bun. This is my first time meeting him, and it's our wedding day. How great. "Elara Stormborne" I hear father say, I slowly walk up to the altar, holding in any tears that could possibly come out, while everyone in the cathedral is cheering. They are under the impression that I've known this guy for years and have been secretly dating for years as they would never remotely agree with the idea that I had an arranged marriage. I listen as my father calls out my new husband's name, "Cedric Lorcan" I stand there in shock for a second, "no way it could be Cedric from the Lorcan castle. That man killed his brother in cold blood while they were at war with each other." i think to myself. As the man walks in, my brain and body sync up, realizing it is him. He walks up to me, and grabs me by my hand, i pause for a second, taking in this moment. His raven coloured hair and his bright blue eyes stared into mine with a mind-boggling amount of intensity. It felt as though every glance was a match, igniting a flame that flickered inside of me with a crazy amount of command and mystery. I swallow, realizing how crazy my life is right now.

After the ceremony, the reception began and my father rushed us away from the crowd. He brought us up to my room, planning for us to "bond" before going out to see the crowd. We stood in the room for a few seconds, silence filling the air like a heavy cloak, hitting every corner and thickening the air with unspoken tension. He looked at me with so much intent in his eyes. "This is not happening right now" I say, turning around and attempting to grab the handle. "Elara, M'lady, please." He spoke. The tone of his voice was like nothing i had ever heard before. I gave in, turning back around. I grunt, angered and storm to my bed. "You're like 85, why did you get picked out of all the possible suiters." He lets a small chuckle escape his lips, "First off, I'm not 85, I'm 20. I know that may seem crazy to you, but you're only 4 years younger than I" I snarl, not liking his knowledgeable remark. "You killed your brother in cold blood. How could someone ever like you" i say, annoyed at everyone and everything. I could tell what i said hurt him, but did I care in that moment? Absolutely not. Suddenly my father barges in. "Come on, people are waiting for you two to make an appearance." he says, before walking off, leaving the door open. Cedric attempted to grab my hand, but I pulled away. "Two rules here, okay?" I said to him as he stood up. I stared into his chest as he towered over me, as his gaze sent shivers down my spine that i didn't want to feel when I was trying to be stern with him. "Firstly, absolutely no kissing me, under any circumstances. And secondly, stay at least 30 centimeters away from me the whole night. I don't want you to be too close to me. Okay?" He nods, "yes ma'am" he says. We head downstairs and everyone's so happy for us. Within about 30 minutes, everyone had cooled down and I was finally sat down at a table, looking around and realizing that all these people were celebrating a lie. A complete and utter lie orchestrated by my parents. As i was in deep thought I felt a tap on my shoulder, i jumped, bringing me quickly back to reality. "Izzy! My goodness you scared me there." I say. Izzy, short for Isabella, was my best friend. We had been through everything. Thick and thin. Isabella had gotten married earlier this year, but to someone who she knew, and loved. It was one of the guards who worked at my castle. His name is Alexander. He was a nice guy; he was 19 and had just recently left the army. He was known as a decorated veteran. Isabella and I sat and talked for what felt like hours. She knew this was all a lie. She knew it all. Suddenly I see a hand in front of me and I see Cedric trying to get me to dance. "Ew no. You know the rules." I say. He clears his throat and tilts his head to the right as he looks in that direction. I look over to see my father, very annoyed, looking for me to pay more attention to Cedric. I reluctantly grabbed his hand and he gracefully walked me over to the dance floor. He dances with me while I fake a smile. As he spins me, I feel myself begin to get dizzy and i fall over mid spin. He quickly catches me, "Close one" he says, smirking as he brings me back upright. I roll my eyes. The song changes and we begin to dance slowly. He whispers in my ear, "Your father said to bring you up to bed after this. We're almost done." I snarl at him, "I'm not a child you know." he spins me once more. "You damn well act like one" he says, his words slicing through the air, each syllable as sharp as a dagger. The tone left me feeling exposed, as if his voice had the power to wound with every uttered sentence. "Oh, shut up" I whisper back. He smirks. After we danced, I said bye to Izzy and walked up to my room, Cedric following closely behind me. I got into my room and grabbed out my night gown, I headed to the washroom and didn't say one word to him. I hear puttering around as i put on my nightgown. I slowly opened the door and smiled, noticing that he had already made a makeshift bed on the floor, I couldn't help but feel respected. He had gone ahead and did that, knowing I wasn't comfortable with him sleeping in the same bed as me. I may hate his guts, but for a few seconds there, I felt genuine love for him. I lay down that night in my bed, thinking about the crazy day I had just experienced.

The next morning, after breakfast, mother says that I should show Cedric around. I reluctantly agree. I kind of realize that if I'm gonna spend the rest of my life together, and make an heir, which seriously repulses me, i must at least get along with the guy. I asked Cedric and he immediately got up halfway through eating. "I meant after breakfast, but okay." I say. He smiles. As I'm walking around, showing him the small parts of the castle, we get to my favourite spot. The lookout spot. "I usually come here whenever I'm stressed, or worried. You can perfectly see everything from here. My favourite thing as a kid was to watch the huge ships come in. I was so innocent back then." I sigh, "I wish she could've known what was coming for her." I look back at him, bringing myself back to reality. I shift back to normal, getting mad at myself for letting him see that side of me. After the tour, we headed to my room, he was doing some sort of essay for the local college he was attending. As I lay on my bed, reading Pride and Prejudice, one of my favourite books, i thought about my earlier life, back when that war was ongoing. "Hold on" I say, sitting up. He nods, "hm?" he asks. "i swear I've met you once, like for a few seconds." His eyes widen. "Elara. I didn't think you'd remember that." He says. "I was maybe 12. That would've made you 16 then. God, you were young in that war" He nods, still on edge of what i was about to say. "I remember that you sat at the base of a tree, practically bleeding out right in front of me." He nods, "That day was hazy" he says. "Yeah, no doubt. I went and got my dad." I say. "You know you saved me that day, right?" I shake my head, "I don't think it was that bad." I say. "It was. Marcus had stabbed me in my ribs, with a poisoned stick. After my brother attempted to take my life, i became so angered within myself, I killed him. I know those people always say that I'm so evil and should've never done any of that, which i can agree with, but i had to. He threatened a part of myself that i never knew i had." I nod. He slowly goes back to writing, as I continue reading. 

________________________________________________________________________________

Hey guys! This is the start of my new book! I am an aspiring writer, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks, Sam <3