The King's Bride

Not What She Expected

Everleigh sits on her bed, still in shock, after her meeting with the King, the cool breeze coming from the open balcony doors doing nothing to center her. The meeting hadn't been what she had expected, at all. It already has been a couple of hours since she returned to her room and she still can't wrap her mind around what the meeting was about.

She met the King in his study, being led there by Princess Mackenzie, who then proceeded to leave them alone. Everleigh bowed to the King and greeted him, preparing herself for the possibility that she might been on the verge of losing her home. However, nothing would have prepared her for what he told her, or how he treated, as if this was all her fault.

For starters, the King was not the man everyone had told her he would be. Everyone back at the Estate had said that the new King was a kind and good man, slow to anger and was compassionate. The man she met in that study was cold and detached, and clearly wanted nothing to do with her. Polar opposites, it had been Everleigh's thought when she met him.

Everleigh shakes her head in anger. She doesn't know if she is angry with the King for the way he treated her or with her father for going behind her back and doing something like this. All she knows is that she is angry.

It turns out that, when her father and the late King were alone, they had agreed that Everleigh would marry, then, Prince Jensen, so she would have a fighting chance at surviving his death. Hence why the late King had called for a scribe, so he could write up and sign the papers that made it official.

Only God knows how hard it is for an unmarried woman, with no family to speak of, no matter what her social standing is, and it was clear to her that her father wanted to make sure she was taken care of when he died. Ultimately, he was just trying to protect her and he used his friendship with the late King to ensure just that. But was it really necessary to forge a marriage agreement?

Now Everleigh is stuck in a marriage agreement that neither her nor the King clearly want, if the way he treated her is any indication of what he thinks about the whole thing. Not to mention that she is far from home, with no one to help her navigate this situation.

Everleigh rakes a hand through her hair, letting out a breath, thinking that this is a bad situation that has the possibility to become even worse. She doesn't know what to do and that worries her.

Despite everything, she thanks her lucky stars that her father had made sure she knew Court protocol from a very early age, just in case she ever went to Court, as he would tell her, but she never thought she would ever really need it. It was never in Everleigh's plans to come to Court, let alone marry the King.

Everleigh wishes her father was still there to help her through this, tears lining her eyes. She quickly wipes them away and takes a deep breath, knowing that tears won't do her any good. Not when she doesn't really have a real choice here.

She decides then that she will play her part and will try to make the most of it, even if the King doesn't seem all that too inclined to do the same. Everleigh looks out the open doors and prays that she is strong enough to handle all the obstacles that are about to be thrown her way, especially once people discover that she is the King's bride.