"Milady, they're here… the prince is here."
Evie's shoulders immediately tensed up when she heard the shaken voice of her maid. Cold sweat dripped on her back as she shot a nervous look at her mother who had just arrived to check in on her.
"Mother, I…" Evie subconsciously grabbed her mother's skirt. She couldn't help it. She thought she had prepared herself enough in the last few days but it seemed the fear and uncertainty still threatened to crash her resolve now that the moment had arrived.
"Hush, dear," her mother said as she gave her daughter a reassuring hug, but the concern in her eyes gave her away. "Don't worry, you can do this my dear," she whispered as she gently rubbed Evie's back. "Don't forget the reason you have to do this, Evie…"
Her mother kissed her head and though she didn't look shaken, Evie could sense the anxiousness and distress within her mother.
Evie took a deep breath. "Yes, mother," she replied, as she flashed a forced smile toward her mother. "I can do this."
"Good girl..." Her mother's arms wrapped around her again for one last hug and after a second, her mother nodded at her maid.
"I am going to meet the guests now while you get ready," she told Evie and after giving her daughter one last encouraging smile, Evie's mother finally left the room.
Evie closed her eyes and her maid immediately hovered around her. She tried her best to calm her pounding heart, talking to herself inwardly and telling herself it would be alright, that everything would be alright. She was so focused in hardening her resolve that she was a little startled when the maid finally spoke.
"You look stunning, milady." Evie's eyes flew towards the mirror and she studied her reflection. Her hair was so beautifully arranged; her face painted just enough to emphasize her natural, innocent, maiden features.
Evie stared at herself quietly. It had finally arrived, the day of her wedding. She used to fantasize about this day when she was younger, daydreaming about how magical and wonderful it would be to marry the man of her dreams. She had seen herself smiling with so much happiness and excitement and delight as she marched down the aisle towards her dream groom.
But none of these fantasies of hers were going to happen. Instead of excitement and delight, her heart was filled with dread and unease. Well, nobody could blame her because like most of the ladies in the highest echelon of power, Evie couldn't choose whom to marry. She had mistakenly, stupidly thought she was safe from all these things because she wasn't a princess. However, she was the daughter of the most powerful noble family in the entire Empire. In the end, she couldn't escape this fate. In fact, she couldn't believe she actually had it worse than anyone else she knew, probably even more than the princesses of any Empire in existence. At least those princesses were married off to emperors and high ranking military generals from their neighboring human empires.
Yes, she too, was about to marry a prince but… unlike those princesses, her husband-to-be wasn't human… he was a vampire. And vampires were their enemy, the human's mortal enemies.
"It's time, milady." The handmaid's voice almost made her jump from her seat again. She let out another long and deep sigh - noble ladies like her did not express their dissatisfaction audibly - before she stood up with her head held high, and walked towards the door.
The door at the entrance was opened for her and she stepped gracefully over the sill before proceeding calmly along the corridor. She couldn't count how many times she had taken a deep breath as she walked towards those doors, doors which looked more daunting with each step she took. With one last step, she finally stood just before the large double doors leading towards the wedding hall.
YOU ARE READING
Spellbound
Romantik'He wanted her. Her body, her heart, her blood.' In her daydreams, her wedding day always took place on a fine sunny day. Who would've thought she was going to get married in the middle of the night and to a creature of the night?
