The Bride-to-Be
AN: I honestly don't know what happened to this. This...sounded so much better in my head. This is why I should stick to writing about children
The guard announced their names in a booming voice as the giant double doors of the throne room opened to admit them in. As they simultaneously entered the room, the captain of the king’s guard and his chief advisor were greeted by the sight of their king on his throne, conversing happily with a woman at his side. Upon realizing who she was, they both exchanged looks of displeasure, which they quickly hid.
This woman, the king’s betrothed, was why they had sought this present audience with His Majesty in the first place. They had certainly not expected her to be present, especially not when they were about to cast doubt on her intentions in her coming marriage to the king.
The captain and the advisor bowed in front of their monarch, who turned from his betrothed to acknowledge them. “Captain, Sir Lionel, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
“We requested an audience with you earlier, your majesty,” Sir Lionel replied, trying to keep his eyes from straying towards the king’s fiancée. She was staring at the two, appearing to be observing them both very carefully. Her unwavering gaze made the advisor feel uneasy.
The king, oblivious to the tense atmosphere, smiled warmly at the advisor. “You two know that those formalities don’t apply to you. If you wanted to see me, you could’ve just come.”
“It is an honor that you hold us both in such high regard, My King, but we came to discuss a very…serious matter with you,” the Captain answered, trying to explain without alerting the king’s betrothed of their intentions. It seemed though, from the irritated expression on her face, that she already knew.
The king’s face filled with concern. “Go ahead then, what do you need to talk to me about?”
The advisor swallowed nervously. “I think perhaps we should discuss this in private, Your Majesty.”
At this, the king’s betrothed suddenly smiled, a sickly sweet expression which brought more fear to the pair than her smoldering gaze. “I’m sure His Majesty won’t mind if I stay. If I am to be his queen, after all, he will have to trust me with these matters.”
The king turned to her and with a reassuring smile. “Annalise, I’m sure it’s not about you being here. We just usually have these audiences alone and they’re probably just used to it that way.” Turning to the Captain and Sir Lionel, he said, “She’s quite right, though. Any information you have for me, you can impart on her as well. So, what is this serious matter?”
“Well, My King, it’s about…the upcoming marriage.” The advisor’s voice faltered towards the end as he noticed Lady Annalise’s stare fixed on them again. If it was possible, her expression now looked more displeased than it had been earlier.
“Is something going wrong with the preparations?”
“No, Your Majesty, the preparations are going excellently. It’s just…” Sir Lionel trailed off, unsure how to finish, and looked at the Captain imploringly.
“What Sir Lionel means to say is that, there has been some…negative opinions about the wedding,” the Captain said.
The king’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Negative opinions? Like what exactly? Do the people think I’m going about this wedding through extravagantly?”
“No,” the advisor replied. “It’s not that, Your Highness.”
“Well, what is it about then?”
The two looked at each other again, unsure of what to do next. Truly, they wished to warn their king of their suspicions, but if Lady Annalise was really what they thought she was, then it would be a great risk to put the accusation forward in her very presence. She would deny it, of course, and the king would believe her. Anyone with eyes could see how besotted he was with the woman, how thoroughly she had put him under her spell. Enchantment or not, no man would want to believe that their betrothed was a treasonous witch.
“The people think,” Sir Lionel finally answered, “that the wedding celebrations start too early into the day. Seeing as it’s harvest season, they probably need some time to work on that in the morning before joining the wedding feast.”
“Is that all?” the king asked, looking relieved. “Well, then make arrangements to start the celebrations a two hours later than we originally planned. If that’s alright with Lady Annalise, of course.”
“It’s quite alright with me, My King,” she replied. To the two, she directed a smug smile. She knew what they had meant to say and that she had won in intimidating them out of admitting it.
“Thank you for bringing this up then, both of you,” the king said. “Please, just make sure those arrangements are taken care of.”
The Captain and Sir Lionel bowed and turned to leave. When they were safely out of the throne room, the Captain said, “What’s going to happen now, with that sorceress on the throne.”
Sir Lionel shook his head. “I don’t know. I just hope we’re both wrong.”
With that, they parted ways to take care of their own separate wedding preparations. They both hoped, for the king’s sake, that the Lady Annalise was really who she claimed to be.