Chapter 175

Elena’s POV

The palace felt different in the following weeks. For the first time in years, I woke not to the call of duty or the clatter of steel, but to list the types of fabrics, flowers, and menus.

Strange. That’s more of planning life rather than fighting for life, and yet I was enjoying every moment of it. Each day carried me closer to my wedding with Deacon. Though the rumours never stopped and even became worse since that encounter with Glenda and Bryson at the marketplace.

Even with the rumours circling around, I could hear the laughter of the servants as they measured drapes and polished silver as a part of my wedding preparation. Everyone inside the palace helped me, no matter what they were thinking about me. Couriers came and went with swatches of silk. The cooks were also there whispering about the feast preparation.

It was a different kind of chaos, and I couldn’t help but smile. I didn’t want to compare, but I felt a different kind of happiness, too, while preparing for my wedding with Deacon compared to Bryson. The wedding preparation with Deacon felt like my first time being a bride.

“Princess,” one attendants asked. The man was holding two bolts of fabric. One is ivory and the other is pale gold. “For the gown, which pleases you more?

I touched both fabrics. I let my fingers glide across the weave. And my heart found excitement toward

the ivory.

“This one, but the embroidery must be light as if the flowers are woven from the air. Not heavy. I was a warrior before becoming a bride, so I won’t drown beneath beads.”

The attendants nodded. Her eyes were shining. She hurried off, and I just stood a little taller.

At my side, Rafael clutched his sketchbook and his hands were smudged with charcoal. He had insisted on helping, though a part of me was worried about him. I was worried that the servants might just focus on us rather than on what they were supposed to be doing. But how could I say no? He wanted to be a part of a special occasion in my life.

“Aunt Elena, look,” he said as he tugged my sleeve.

He opened his book and showed me a drawing of flowers. They were uneven, petals too wide, but bursting with colour.

“I want your bouquet to be like this,” his eyes were wide. “So when you walk, I want everyone to see them and they will know that you are the strongest and most beautiful bride they have seen.”

My throat tightened. I bent and kissed his forehead. “Then, that’s what it will be. I will have the florist make my bouquet like this.”

Rafael smiled, and it was radiant. At that moment, I forgot the rumours about us.

Days passed by, and the gifts from nobles and other known people started coming by one after another.

-25 Bonus

The passing days got more exciting, and I couldn’t help but look forward to my wedding day.

Sometimes, late at night, I would even wake up with a smile on my lips this time. I was in so much awe because of what’s happening in my life.

Though I wouldn’t deny that sometimes I hear a whisper in my heart, could I truly leave behind the life of a warrior? Could I carry both worlds into my marriage with Deacon? How could I ask like a steel with strength and at the same time soft and ready to surrender?

The wedding preparation carried me through each day. I tasted sauces, selected musicians and walked in the courtyard, imagining the festive setup for my wedding day. Now, I could hear the servants whisper about how radiant I looked. The palace was brighter and joyful compared to my first few days.

For once, I allowed myself to believe them.

But aside from those whispers, another kind was spreading so fast, too. The Lycan King’s hand was moving beyond our walls. News reached me in half–heard murmurs, and Bryson’s name was carried across the conversation. It seemed my ex–husband was about to be married again. But not a second marriage with Glenda. He was to marry another bride who was chosen by the King himself.

I dismissed it at first because I didn’t want to ruin my happiness. Bryson was just a part of my past. Deacon was my future. But deep inside me, I knew why the King had arranged that. It wasn’t just a simple marriage. There was something about it.

And I wasn’t wrong.

One bright morning, I was in the courtyard doing my usual imagining about my wedding day. The sun was shining brightly.

Something had drawn my attention. A rider approached in my direction. His horse was lathered with sweat, and I couldn’t be mistaken, he was sent by the Lycan King.

Being in the same palace, messengers sometimes preferred to just use horses to navigate easily to the narrow shortcut paths inside for faster route.

He jumped down from the horse and bowed down to me. He gave me a case. “For you, Princess Elena.” The air seemed to still. My hands were cold as I opened the case. Inside lay a scroll tied with red silk.

I didn’t know what to do. Should I be accepting? My heart was pounding so fast. I looked at the rider again.

He nodded to me. “The King wants to make sure that you read it, so I cannot leave if you won’t open the case.”

I nodded, though I was still confused about what was going on. That was the last thing I ever wanted. To communicate again with the Lycan King.

I cracked the seal using my thumb.

Then I saw these words.

“An invitation to the wedding of Bryson, consort of the realm, under the blessing of the Lycan King”

I held my breath. I was not mistaken.

The sun was still shining brightly, and the courtyard was alive with the colours and sounds I had chosen for my wedding day, but I felt so cold. It was as if the shadow of the past was trying to chase me once again.