Surprisingly, Vered had returned to have her escorted to the banquet as per the queen's orders. He sighed as he led her down the spiral of stairs and she could see the pain evident on his face. The urge to apologize for all she had said to him was too overwhelming to ignore and she strived as hard as she could to ignore his very presence.
Their journey down the great stairs was a painfully silent one and all Bronwyn could do was to distract herself with what the prince of Narva might look like and in a few more minutes, she could see her father's face beaming with smile just as he approached her direction.
Dressed in his signature Elrandal regal attire, his crown stood perched on his head, the weight of the ornate jewel nearly baring on his neck.
Vered bowed, glancing at her one more time before turning to leave, disappearing through the hallway at lightening speed.
"Father!" she exclaimed, rushing over to him to hold him in a tight embrace.
He sighed, patting her back softly, "My little baby is all grown, you're going to leave this old man alone in this desolated palace that is almost in shambles."
Her father said halfheartedly and she stifled a laugh at his pinched expression, "This shambles is your kingdom, father."
"Indeed."
She unfurled herself from the hug, reclining her neck as she smoothened the edge of her dress. By gods! Her mother would have her punished if there was as much as a dent on her dress or a smudge on her makeup. Her brows creased as she arched a brow,
"I thought you were happy to see me get married? You and mother?"
"No child. I have no hand in this, this was entirely your mother's idea! But I have to admit, I am relieved to see you get betrothed to the prince of Narva. Lucien is a fine man, you know."
He held her hands to urge her forward and they continued on their journey to the hall, "Do you not care what I want, father? What if I do not want to get married to the prince?! I've barely had enough time to explore Elrandal, I've barely had enough time to learn to be a princess and now I'd be shipped off to god-knows-where to be an Empress!"
Even if she gathered the whole of Elrandal in its entirety to wail and bemoan the loss of her freedom, it still could not change her mother's unwavering determination to get her married and to make her an Empress, guards curtesiesd as they trailed their path down to where the banquet hall was, her father had been kind enough to come and be her escort for the night and she just couldn't thank him enough.
He patted her arms softly, his gaze softening, "Tell me, Bronwyn. Do you not want this? Just say the word and I would put an end to this once and for all."
She kneaded her temples, saying no could make matters worse. It was already as hard as it was on her father and the union hadn't entirely being a bad thing to begin with.
"No father. I will do what mother says. What's the worse that could happen anyway?"
She gave her a small nod of assurance patting the back of her hand that he held onto. Then they came to a halt right in front of the large mahogany doors, the knights situated at the entrance curtesiesd, bowing their heads before lifting to shrug the door open.
Once Bronwyn stepped into the courtroom, the royal announcers had made ready their instruments, the melodious tunes of an impending ceremony floated throughout the entire room. The merry looks on the faces of every royals present, jubilating at the god's forsaken union that was about to be formed irked her the most.
If it wasn't for her father's warm, callused palms caressing her knuckles assuredly, she would have burrowed into the ground at the sight of the magnanimous crowds present.
It had been as if the entire kingdoms of the Highlands were present in the hall. She nearly recoiled back from fright when a wave of panic washed over her and if it wasn't for the stern glare her mother shot her from amidst the crowd, she could have turned on her heels and fled.
Dukes, Viscounts, Marquis, Earls, Kings, Queens and princess all together preened their necks to get a good glance of her. She couldn't remember a time when so many royals had gathered under the same roof for a single cause since the Black Veil War.
Now her marriage was doing the good of uniting kingdoms too, she scoffed at the absurdity. Her betrothal had been nothing short of a fall from grace, in her opinion. She scanned the room for sights of the one she was doomed to spend the rest of eternity with.
Carlisle, her father led her towards the podium her legs quaked beneath her. He turned to face the audience once they stopped up, flashing them one of his best smiles before leaning down to whisper in her ear. Carlisle was an aged man in his mid forties, but he still managed to tower above her with his huge brooding physique that always seemed to intimate his opponents in battle.
"It is time, baby bird." he said almost inaudibly. While she nodded before he proceeded to clear his throat.
"Everyone, please welcome my lovely daughter, Bronwyn Ravencroft. Princess of Elrandal,"
She swallowed the bile that was beginning to rise in her throat when an ear deafening applaud rang through the entire room from all directions. She gathered herself together, and in one swift movement, did the ceremonial bow. Making sure there was mistake in the elegance she tried to exude.
When she leaned back up, her eyes scanned the halls for faces of a prince she might have never seen before her mother ushered her to her seat, which was a little higher than that of even the emperor and his queen.
Bronwyn gazed at the empty seat beside her that was supposed to belong to her betrothed, she sneered. Thinking maybe the prince had also objected to the unprecedented and preposterous union as much as she did.