Inferno's legacy

Chapter 3

Roman was nowhere to be seen the next morning and Eretria couldn't deny the pang of disappointment that stabbed her. She was already stressed from barely getting any sleep the previous night and to top it all, her father had called for breakfast with his children. He never did that, except he had something really important to discuss. Her heart sank at the thought of it. Being the youngest, she never thought she'd be the first to get married. She had six siblings, five brothers and a sister and the king had never raised the question of marriage but with her, it seemed the only way.

Wil, the eldest was set to take the throne after his father. Everyone could agree he was the perfect fit for the position. Aside being the eldest, he had proven it in everyway. If he wasn't fit for the position, everyone knew the king would have moved on to his other sons.

Gwen, her only sister had always been the perfect princess. Eretria had often been chided for not being like her sister. She had tried, but Gwen was born with a talent of perfectection, accompanied with a kind heart and soft words. Eretria definitely couldn't beat that.

Roman was the adventurous one. He was hardly ever home. He preferred traveling around rather than being cooped up in the castle. Lucky him. He'd rather travel than stay in an old castle bounded by duties. He did everything to avoid duty and every knew he'd never settle down.

George was just like the king. Stone faced. She couldn't remember the last time she saw a smile on face. His face had some lines from frowning. Wearing a smile couldn't kill but it seemed it could hurt him. He was a general in the royal army. Th highest ranked and most feared one.

Good old Storm was not quite the talker. He was the quite type who spent hours reading. He was the exact opposite of his name. When one heard the name, the vision of a coldhearted man came to mind but Storm was anything but that. He could have been her next favorite if he wasn't to damn quiet most of the time.

Ander was her twin. She wasn't quite fond of him and well, the feeling was mutual. He had quite a number of characters. For one, he could be so annoying sometimes, Eretria would want to strangle him. It had always been that way. But sometimes, he cared for her in a way that warmed her. But the next minute, he was back to his annoying self, claiming he didn't actually cared what happened to him. And sometimes, he acted so mature she wondered if he was actually her twin. He probably had the most mysteries to him.

She wondered who would marry her. Then she thought again. Someone would. Her kingdom was the most powerful in the continent. Anyone given a chance would take her for power.

"Eretria, are you okay?"

She raised her head from her food and stared at Gwen. When she did, she could see Roman walking in from behind her. He shot her an apologetic look and she knew he had a reasonable explanation and she was going to listen to it.

"Do I look pale?" She asked, bringing a hand to her cheek. Gwen always said she turned pale when she isn't feeling okay.

"Not that. After yesterday's incident. It must have been a shock."

Eretria wanted to roll her eyes. Wasn't for her or for Gwen? She doubted it was for any. No one should be shock that she caused such damage, especially since it wasn't the first time. "It wasn't. It just happened." She said, facing her food. Roman came to sit beside her but she didn't turn to him. He was late. That only meant he was on an errand. For what? Her marriage?

"Eretria."

The baritone of her father's voice made her raise her head. She didn't miss the coldness that drip off the way he called her.

"The king of Mondrid will be coming over to seal the alliance." Her father said.

She had been expecting it but she couldn't help the way her heart sank. The king of Mondrid? Seriously? The man was her father's age! Was he that desperate.

"His sealing it when I haven't even consented to it?" She asked, suppressing the quiver in her voice.

She misread the stare everyone gave her. "What?" She made sure her gaze settled on everyone, longer on Roman who stared back at her. She had expected him to look away and longest on her father." You don't think I have a say in this? You could have at least told me before hand." She almost choked but she would pat herself for not breaking down.

"You never liked discussing such matters. It didn't seem like a big deal not to involve you." George, her third brother said. There was this awkwardness on his normally hard face that made her want to fling her plate at him.

Wasn't a big deal? To exclude her from plans for her life wasn't a big deal?

"Well, I definitely would have loved discussing this one." She said.

"Why are you making a big deal out of this?" Wil spoke. He sounded... amused?

Eretria slammed her fist on the table and stood up. She wasn't going to sit here and let her family talk about a drastic change in her life like it was nothing. Her action surprised everyone.

She turned a death glare to her father who didn't look surprised. So he had expected her reaction?

"Why are you doing this to me?! I never understand you. Why does it always have to be different with me? You don't treat the others this way but when it comes to me, you seem to hate the very sight of me! What did I do to deserve this?!" She exploded. It had reached the extent where she couldn't swallow it anymore. She just had to pour it out and let him her stand when it came to their relationship.

Ander who was sitting on her right side reached for her hand to draw her back to her seat but she flicked it away.

"Don't touch me!" And she stormed off.

Her words lingered, an unsettling silence passed over them as they digested her words. No one, absolutely no one had expected that reaction.

"That was intense." Wil muttered.

Ander bit his lip to prevent a laugh from breaking out and he wasn't so successful. He earned glares around the table. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect such a reaction to an alliance." He said, still shaking with laughter.

Roman swatted him across his head causing him to bit back his laughter.

"I think she got the wrong idea." Storm said. Everyone turned to him. "That much was pretty obvious." He added.

"Well what is she thinking?" George asked.

Roman rested his elbow on the table and buried his face in his palm. A second later his back shook. Why the hell did he find this funny? His sister had just completely misunderstood everything and he should explain it to her. But the thought of her outburst, compared to the cause of it was amusing.

"I'll talk to her." Wil said, pushing his chair backwards as he stood up.

King Aleric didn't say anything or move. He swirled the contents of his glass and Will could swear he swore a ghost smile hanging on his lips. It was barely noticable and was gone the second it came but he knew he saw right.