Sanity

13. The Wedding

The day had finally come. Jaelyn had never been so nervous. Noah was still not willing to share his master plan, but he had assured her that everything would be revealed at the wedding. This only peaked her anxiety; she had no idea what to expect, and what he was planning in regards to William. All she knew was that after today, nothing would be the same again.

"You do look beautiful," Maeve announced with a sigh, stepping back as she admired her handy work. She had never dressed another person in her life before she was sent to 'work' in the palace, but Jaelyn had to admit she did a good job. Even though they didn't have to pretend around each other, Maeve still had orders to remain incognito, so she did her pretend job regardless of how many times Jaelyn told her to piss off.

"Thank you," Jaelyn murmured, looking down at herself in the mirror with a dead look plastered on her face. The dress was beautiful; it had long sleeves, and the thin material clung to her curves as it travelled over her hips and down to the floor loosely. It exposed her collarbones with its off-the-shoulder look, but despite how simple it was it truly was the most stunning thing she had ever seen. "It is a pity."

Her brown hair had been styled up on her head in a gentle twirl, with a nice jewelled pin holding it in place. Her makeup wasn't too much, on request, but still made her look different. She didn't look like Jaelyn Bronte anymore. More like a ghost of that girl. She looked more like the woman she wanted more than ever to be. Gentle, kind and beautiful. Not a liar. Not a murderer.

"What is a pity?" Maeve questioned, frowning at her words. Jaelyn blinked, looking at the girl with a blank look on her face before she realised what she was referring to.

"The... the dress," she replied, stumbling slightly on her words. Shit. She was so sure she had convinced Maeve she had a plan for her contract; it was too late to expose herself now. She couldn't afford to have any more suspicion on her. "It is a pity it will be stained with blood. It is almost too beautiful to trifle with."

"Oh." Jaelyn couldn't tell if she had made a convincing act or not, but she had no time to fret on it. It was almost time. "So, you are going to kill him at the wedding? That is your plan?"

"All will be revealed in time," Jaelyn replied coldly, dropping her hands to smooth down her delicate dress. "You will see eventually. Best not to ruin the surprise."

"Understood." Maeve paused, a hesitant look crossing her hard features. "Jaelyn," she announced quickly. "You do know what will happen if you fail, right?"

This time, Jaelyn wasn't surprised or uncertain. This was the one thought that had occupied her mind since stepping off that ship the very first day she became Kamryn Matzen, and she had no shortage of time to think about its answer.

"I will not fail," Jaelyn answered simply, turning until her eyes fell back on the girl behind her, who was watching her intently. When it became clear that she was not going to get any more out of Jaelyn, Maeve straightened her shoulders, bowed dramatically, and left the room.

Jaelyn's eyes hardened as she struggled to find a breath. It was show time.

The wedding was taking place in the front palace courtyard, where dozens of wooden pews had been set up in rows leading up to the altar where Jaelyn's soon-to-be husband stood, waiting for her with a nervous energy hanging about him. There were so many people that Jaelyn felt slightly overwhelmed, especially considering she knew none of them and they didn't know her. She could almost bet that Tank would be blended in with the crowd somewhere, watching her, making sure she was going to be true to her word. This annoyed her, but all she could hope was that he wouldn't intervene when she broke her contract. She just had to trust in Noah and hope that this plan of his was going to save William.