🥀This isn't your typical Sleeping Beauty story🥀
...
"Don't make me do this, Evangeline". The tortured whisper sends goosebumps racing across my skin. I hate the way I love the sound of my name on his...
"Evangeline Vincenzio, you are herby charged guilty of high treason against the Forsythian Empire by conspiring with fallen heathens and facilitating the bombing of Ayrshire Island and the death of a monarch," the imperial judge declares from the temple dais where the wedding had taken place a mere 12 hours before.
I kneel before the enemy court, bound in countless chains. They chafe my wrists and neck, but I keep my head raised high.
"Since you cannot hang for your crimes, you are sentenced to imprisonment on the remnants of Ayrshire Island until you succumb to the curse. Crown Prince Leander has authorized that your body be burned on the day of your death."
"Objection," Malcolm's voice echoes through the chamber. The gentry stiffen as he enters and stands before the imperial judge.
"My Lord, you cannot object to an imperial court sentence—".
"Evangeline of Gardenia," Malcolm interrupts, turning to me. Then, before all the Forsythian gentry and nobility, he kneels. "Will you marry me?".
"What is this nonsense?," Leander seethes, entering the floor.
"Consider Evangeline your gift to me in celebration of my rise to power," Malcolm smiles. His teeth glint menacingly.
"I cannot gift an imperial prisoner to you, much less one already betrothed to my naval commander," Leander replies, struggling to control his rage.
He realizes too late his mistake as Malcolm stands, brushing off his suit, and turns to the naval officer. He ignites into flame and ash, his screams echoing in the chamber. The nobility begin to scream and run, but the doors are barred.
"The betrothal doesn't seem to be an issue anymore," Malcolm replies pleasantly.
"You dare murder a member of my court?," Leander snarls.
"You dare imprison my wife?," Malcolm counters, his pleasantry gone. Leander scoffs, stepping closer.
"She has never been, and will never be, your wife. Regardless of who you kill, she will always belong to me."
"Then it seems the solution is quite simple," Malcolm sneers as they stand inches apart.
Leander is the first to unsheathe his sword, but Malcolm strikes first. The hiss of their blades echo in the chamber as the nobility gasp and cower. Leander is swift as a snake and lightning fast, but Malcolm manages to block his blows. Suddenly, a sword skids across the ground towards me. I look up to find the tip of Leander's sword pressed against Malcolm's neck.
He grins, grabbing the blade in his scarred hands. It melts away in his palms. The color drains from Leander's face as the grin disappears from Malcolm's face.
The crack of bone rings in my ears as Malcolm dislocates Leander's jaw, throwing him off balance with a single blow.
The guards enter in swarms and chaos ensues. Leander and Malcolm remain locked in combat while soldiers struggle to wrestle away the Infernal Lord and assist their king.
Suddenly, Malcolm is tackled to the ground by nearly a dozen armed soldiers.
"Don't kill him," Leander instructs the guards. He gathers himself, running his hands through his hair, and then approaches me.
"You conniving bitch," he chuckles bitterly, blocking my view of the fight. His smile is bloody. "How do you get the worst men to fall at your feet?".
"Let them go," I hiss. "I'm the guilty one. I told Ambrose to attack at the wedding, and I asked Malcolm to marry me first. This was all my doing."
He shakes his head. "They must be punished for trying to take what is mine."
"He cannot take what was never yours, Leander," I rasp. "I forsake thee as my stepbrother, and I forsake thee as my king. I revoke the Vincenzio name and surrender myself to the Infernal Courts."
He tilts my chin so I'm forced to stare into his merciless emerald eyes. "All I ever wanted was you, yet this is how you repay me?".
Leander's betrayal suddenly crumbles into furious grief. His eyes glisten as he grabs the sword at my knees and points it towards his chest. "Might as well stab me in the back—."
He chokes, hands gripping the blade of the sword—the sword in my hands. I tremble as I watch blood drip down his chin and splatter onto the blade piercing his heart.
"I did say I'd be the death of you," I whisper, unable to stop the tears from trickling down my face. He shudders as he chokes on his blood and smiles.
"I hope...I h-haunt you, Vlahos."
I pull out the sword and let his body fall, convulsing, to the ground.
Malcolm stands before me, silhouetted by the rising sun rays flooding the chamber. He is beaten and bloody and triumphant. The guards lie unconscious or dead on the courtroom floor. All the guests have fled.
The Infernal Lord does not smile nor speak as he helps me to my feet and melts the cuffs on my wrists. Then he kneels once again.
"Will you leave with me?" he asks.
"Yes."
"Stay with me?".
"Yes."
"Marry me," he whispers, golden eyes shining.
"Yes."
The Forsythian army bursts into the court chamber, led by Queen General Amaryllis, Malcolm and I are long gone.
As we ride to the border, a royal bounty on our heads follows us: Traitors to the Crown. Killer of Kings. Infernal Nemeses.
War is on the horizon.
"Why did you change your mind?," I ask Malcolm as I hold onto him. "You said our marriage would bring anarchy and chaos."
Though he is faced away, I can hear him smile.
"Anarchy, darling, is my birthright. And chaos is my creed."
For the first time in an eternity, I laugh.
I'm not yet a queen, but soon I will bear the weight of a crown and a kingdom.
And when I bear that infernal crown, I will fight. ...
RIP Leander you were problematic but so hot
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
