A HEART AS DARK AS MINE caos caliban x oc

Pre-wedding gifts (edited)

I'VE ALWAYS HATED WEDDINGS.
A ring has always seemed more like a chain than a token of love. The irony of it was stomach twisting, I realised, glancing down at what was supposed to be my wedding band.

I had two options, my maids had told me. They were both as horrible as each other. The first was a circlet of golden thorns, edged with spikes so thick and deadly they'd end up buried deep into the flesh of my finger. The ring would be impossible to remove. Painful and binding. It was adorned with small ruby roses, richer than blood, and a terrifyingly similar shade too. A beautiful chain that made no attempt to disguise its ugliness.

The second was a plain gold band lined with freshwater pearls, and dripping ruby beads like fresh blood. The inside of the ring was a charred black and coated with the same thorn-like spikes.

The sight of them both, laid out plush silk cushions embroided with the same ruby tassels, I couldn't help but grimace. This felt like nothing but a cruel joke. Pick your cage, Sera.

"Aren't they beautiful, ma'am?"

I pretended not to  notice how they'd stopped calling me "your highness" or how they'd stopped watching me with fear. They no longer feared me, or respected me either, given how often they now gossiped about me.

"They're certainly something." I muttered. "Tell me, which do you prefer?"

The two maids stiffened.

"I'm not sure it is our place to say, ma'am." The second answered.

"The thorns." The first said at the same time.

The first maid dipped her head in apology, no longer meeting my eyes. "Apologies ma'am, she is right, I spoke out of turn."

I smiled to myself. She was new. I'd never seen her before today. I always preferred the new maids, thought none of them ever lasted long- but when they were still new, they had some character. They were yet to lose themselves to this place. I enjoyed that. It was refreshing.

"I agree, it is rather beautiful."

I turned to the second maid, "Please inform the king of my decision."

"Oh, the king asked me to deliver you this," She handed me a letter, giggling as though she had already read its contents, though I knew that it was likely she had.

I took the envelope from her, and with a nod the second maid scurried away with both rings. The first turned to follow her.

"Wait." I said softly.

She stiffened. She was scared. I didn't want her to be afraid. She was only a child, and I knew why she was here. The palace staff were children whose parents had sold them in deals with my father. I tried to show kindness to as many of them as possible, perhaps because they reminded me of myself. Eternally burned by the faults of their parents.

"What's your name?" I asked her

Her dark brows knitted together in confusion. But the fear had subsided a little. She had expected me to be callous and cruel, as I was with the courts. As my father had been.

"Abigail."

The ghost of a smile brushed my lips, "How old are you, Abigail?" She couldn't've been any older than eighteen.