Light And Shadow

Switched Bride

"I won't do it. Why not just throw me into a beggar's hovel, because I'll never agree to this, even if it'll be the death of me!" 

Anna's piercing shrieks reverberated throughout the castle for days on end. It was a blatant rejection of the arranged marriage decreed by the newly enthroned king, Cayden. Her hysteria only intensified as the days went on. Dressed in a soft gray-blue silk dress and with her fine, golden hair styled in the latest fashion of a neat bun, she stomped her feet and wailed. Hot tears streamed from her shining blue eyes and down the cheekbones of her beautiful face; the face that made the hearts of many a man race had become even more prominent after several days of a hunger strike. 

"How can you sell me to a poor excuse of a noble with commoner blood? I can't possibly go. I refuse! Haven't you heard the rumors, father? About his plebeian status? No matter how much the world has changed, to have to breathe the same air as him? That thought is horrifying! You can't send me into the arms of a barbaric manwho slaughters like a common butcher!" Anna screeched inconsolably. 

Viscount William and his wife, Jocelyn, stood silently as they watched their daughter throw a tantrum. Unable to face his strong-willed child, Viscount William looked feeble and insignificant. He endured her meltdown with embarrassment, while his wife, from whom Anna inherited her delicate features, gently wiped her tears with an expensive lace handkerchief. 

Having harbored lofty aspirations of marrying his beautiful daughter to the king, the viscount was equally vexed by the unexpected decree. Emerging victorious from the civil war, Cayden had ascended to the throne and bestowed the title of duke on Eli, a brave commoner who had saved the king's life many times. The king's order for the marriage of Anna to the newly-anointed duke was seemingly an attempt to legitimize and secure Eli's standing in noble society. Since William had sided with the dethroned late King Ducaine III, he had no choice but to accept Cayden's order for the survival of their house. 

As the date of the wedding steadily approached, now only a week away, Anna's fiery resistance was reaching its peak. With a tear-stained face, Anna coldly declared, "I'd rather die. If you intend to send me off like this, I'd rather hang myself and die!" 

"No! You can't, Anna! How could you say such things in front of us, who've done our best to raise you preciously?" Jocelyn wailed. "Even if we dislike him, if you don't go through with the marriage, it spells the end of our family! What would you ask us to do?" 

"You ought to save me even if it means laying down all your wealth to the king," Anna spat, before she glared at her father. "It's possible for you, father. What's so valuable about the farmland and this old ruin of a castle that you'd sacrifice me to protect this?" 

The viscount did not react to Anna's barbed remarks, and his mouth remained tightly sealed. His silence surreptitiously revealed his unwillingness to abandon his land and title. Anna, as the eldest of his five daughters, was a necessary sacrifice for the sake of the family. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the viscount was doing his best to protect what remained and avoid bringing doom upon himself. If the king or Eli caught wind of Anna's staunch refusal, he was certain immediate bloodbath would rain down on his territory. 

"It doesn't have to be me! Choose from among one of my younger siblings and send them. That would do just as well." 

"Anna! They're too young! How could we send off a child who hasn't even reached the tender age of 12 years old? If you'd only be willing to endure, you'll secure peace and comfort for everyone. It's high time you accept it," the viscount admonished.