Chapter 56: Chapter 56

“I kept my promise to you; now, you must keep yours,” King Caldwell muttered to Shia when she was just about to go down from the carriage that they shared.

Shia painfully gulped down the tears and the uncertainties that were stuck in her throat. She recalled the promises he had asked her to keep the night before when they were discussing at the dining hall of the Rubiyah Manor.

“This wedding has its own terms, love. If you expect me to keep my end of the bargain, you have to fulfil your end as well,” the king declared as he drank his wine from a fancy chalice.

“What are these terms then?” she asked dryly.

“I will release your dear prince and his guard if you fulfil all my wishes. I will release the guard first, but your prince will be kept locked up for a month until after our wedding. I have to ensure that the wedding has been fully consummated before I release him.”

The term ‘consummate,’ made Shia’s blood boil and shiver at the same time. “A month? That’s too long.”

“Marriage is much longer, love; it’s for all eternity. I have to make sure you fulfil your duties as a wife satisfactorily first and foremost before I could even consider releasing him.”

Shia wondered what his criteria of a ‘satisfactory wife’ were, but she did not ask lest she feels more and more repulsed by the king.

“During the time he is imprisoned, you mustn’t meet him in any way, shape, or form. I forbid any type of communication between the two of you. I don’t want him knowing the details of our deal. Do I make myself clear?”

“Alright, I hear you...” she said reluctantly.

“Once I release him, he must never set foot to Gascone again, unless you successfully bear me my first child.”

“What?” Shia said, clutching the hem of her skirts so hard, she would have ripped them to shreds. She couldn’t believe the ideas coming out of his mouth. “You want me to carry a-a child for you?!”

“Hopefully, a pair of sons, or daughters, or both; I don’t mind, as long as they are my very own flesh and blood.”

“Then, why not just marry anyone else? Anybody else can become your queen. It doesn’t have to be -”

“No, it has to be you, and no one else! It’s your bloodline’s repayment for all the heartaches Tristal had caused me!” King Caldwell said, lunging forward towards her chair, his eyes popping out of his head in anger while seemingly possessed by a wicked spirit.

Shia held her tongue. ‘So this wedding is also an act of vengeance in the king’s part.’ she thought.

Although she herself was ablaze with anger, Shia knew that it was no use trying to bargain with the king if he was this furious. She had better talk to him on another time and convince him to release Langrion earlier than he planned.

“Very well; I hear you, your grace... Let’s talk at another time to discuss my terms.”

Shia rose from her seat gracefully, but the despicable king caught her wrist. “Don’t try to do anything out of sorts with me. If I ever catch you doing or planning something odd, I will have your prince executed immediately; and I will see to it that you’ll be forever disgraced by becoming my bed slave whether you like it or not!”

She yanked her wrist forcefully away from him and said nothing, knowing that he just might do what he had said to spite her.

Now, the king who was holding the carriage door in front of Shia felt like a different person; he was so unlike the same king who had threatened her the night before.

“I will fulfil it as long as it follows our transaction,” she replied.

She ran hurriedly to get away from the carriage, to get away from the suffocating sight of the dreadful, spiteful, old king. She ran until she reached the final carriage in the procession, where she knew Khailis was hidden.

“Khailis!” She said, panting as she held the carriage door open. True enough, Lady Khailis was there, her hands and feet still bound by chains, but she was there, and she smiled one of her brightest smile when she saw Shia.

“Shia!” she remarked.

Shia boarded the carriage, and she immediately hugged her and cried.

“I-I am so sorry,” Shia began to say in between sobs.

“That’s alright. It’s not your fault,” she said. “How have you been?”

“Terrible... And you?”

“Much terrible; but hey, it’s better now. It’ll get better soon, alright?” she said trying to cheer Shia and herself up.

She proceeded to unclasp the cuffs that bounded her hands and legs, and once Khailis was free, Shia hugged her again a bit.

“How is Langrey?”

“I don’t know. We stayed in separate jails. The guards and servants hardly spoke to us and to each other. I’m pretty sure they wanted us separated throughout the interrogations. I had been treated well, though, so I guess he was treated better since he’s a prince.”

“I hope so... I just really do hope so,” Shia said as more tears ran down her face.

******************

Caldwell was still looking at the disappearing form of Lady Shia Andry, Tristal’s granddaughter, and now his betrothed, as she ran swiftly to the end of the procession of carriages. He remembered the sight of his own beloved’s back when she ran away from him many, many years ago after he had made the mistake of sleeping with Amira.

He sighed deeply, thinking of the old times. No matter how much he regretted how things turned out, he cannot get them back. Tristal would never come back to him...

He was about to close his carriage door when a hand held the door ajar. He looked at the owner of the bastard hand; it was Danterion, his other wretched nephew and the twin brother of the cursed one he was keeping hostage in a cell.

“Uncle dearest, I see you have emptied your carriage to make room for me just now. May I join you on the ride back to the Capitol?” his detestable nephew said sarcastically.

“Do I even have a choice?” he said.

His despicable nephew took a seat from across him, and he closed the door of their carriage. They started to sneer at each other silently, sizing up each other’s motives. After a few more minutes of awkward silence, Caldwell began to snap impatiently towards him.

“What do you want? Are you going to talk to me about freeing your brother?”

“Oh, no, I wasn’t thinking about that at all. You can keep him in jail for as long as you want; I’m not complaining.” he said bitterly, “I’m here to talk about something else.”

“And that is?”

“It’s just that someone told me that you had a hand on Nana’s demise and my own mother’s death. Was that true?”

Caldwell snorted. News did travel fast. “And that someone would be your Nana’s granddaughter, I suppose? Of course she’ll say that. She despises me to the core for now.”

“True, I despise you to the core myself, so I can’t blame her,” he sneered. “But her accusations against you were so outrageous, could it be that she’s telling the truth?”

Caldwell smiled triumphantly. “And if she was, who are you to reprimand me? You are not king, so you can’t possibly do anything against me, child! In this world, it is power that enables it to revolve, and you don’t and won’t have that!”

Danterion looked back at Caldwell, his hatred of him burning strongly in his eyes. Caldwell smiled back.

Danterion knew that he was right; As an Imperial Heir, he has apparent powers, but no actual powers for now. He has no army of his own, and the rumors about his twin being a cursed one would ricochet back to him if he succeeds in ascending into the throne. If he starts accusing this king now of murder, he would gain nothing, not even a morsel of sympathy against the masses since they will always see his twin brother’s curse as a far greater threat.

“You are right, uncle. I am not king yet, but you don’t have an heir as of this moment, so unless that would happen anytime soon, me and my brother would continue to remain as thorns in your neck,” Danterion began to say. He signalled towards the knights who were riding along outside the carriage to halt the procession.

“What; is that it? You’re surrendering your banters for now? You’re going to run back to your fiancé and hide inside her skirts?” Caldwell said, mocking him. Danterion eyed him from across the seat as he opened the door of the carriage silently.

Before leaving though, his nephew moved towards Caldwell’s ear and whispered, “Contrary to that, I dare say. Unlike my lovesick brother, I wouldn’t lose to you and your antics, uncle; Who knows what I’m planning inside this deranged head of mine? So, if I were you, I’d convince that reluctant queen that you are snatching away to bear an heir soon before you accidentally slip and lose your hold on the throne.”

That was an outright death threat, but Caldwell couldn’t care less. He knew Danterion couldn’t possibly succeed in ascending to the throne with those crazy personalities of his, and if he could only succeed in killing the other cursed twin, he could prevent the entire prophecy to happen. He could definitely live a long, happy, and exciting life with his new wife.