Veil of Royalty

Chapter I

Adelaide swallowed anxiously as she looked down at the people gathered at the wedding. A sea of faces—some curious, some indifferent, and others expectant—stared up at the grand balcony where she stood. Her gloved hands were sweaty, her fingers trembling as they clutched the edges of her gown. Breathing came in shallow bursts, each exhale tight and uneven as if the weight of the crown that would soon rest upon her head had already been placed there. She took what felt like her final breath as the maid tightened the corset as tight as it could go, the strings biting into her back with a sharp reminder of her duty.

"Is it too tight, my lady?" the maid asked, her voice wavering.

Adelaide shook her head, forcing a smile she didn't feel. "It's fine," she whispered.

She looked into the mirror, and for a moment, she barely recognized herself. Her reflection stared back, distant and detached, her face a blank canvas being painted into the role of a queen. As the maids caked pale white paint onto her skin, she felt herself slipping away, hidden beneath layers of powder and rouge. The brownish red of her lips felt foreign, a stark contrast to the girl she once was. The girl who laughed freely, who ran barefoot through the castle gardens. That girl was gone. In her place stood a bride.

Adelaide closed her eyes, her heart racing. The marriage wasn't just a union—it was a transaction, a sealing of fates. She would no longer be Adelaide, the girl who loved the wildflowers and the smell of rain. She would be Adelaide, the Queen, bound by duty and locked in a life she did not choose.

The sounds of the church bells echoed faintly in the distance, a reminder that her time was running out.

a low, solemn sound that echoed through the stone walls of the palace. With each chime, Adelaide felt time slipping away from her, pulling her closer to the inevitable. Her pulse quickened as the final toll faded into silence. The door to her chamber creaked open, and a soft voice broke through the tense quiet.

"My lady, it's time."

Adelaide's breath hitched. Her fingers tightened around the delicate handkerchief she held, the embroidered edges fraying from her nervous grip. Her chest tightened, and she felt an overwhelming urge to scream, to cry out against the chains of duty that bound her. But she couldn't. The Royals didn't cry. They smiled, they nodded, and they obeyed.

She rose from her seat, her legs stiff from sitting for so long. As she stood, the heavy silk gown brushed the floor with a soft whisper, the long train trailing behind her like the shadow of her former self. The weight of the fabric, adorned with pearls and delicate embroidery, made each step feel like a burden. The hem of her dress shimmered in the dim light, but Adelaide found no comfort in its beauty.

Outside, the world waited for her—her family, the court, and her future husband. She had seen him only a handful of times, their conversations short and awkward. His smile never reached his eyes, and though he was kind, there was a coldness to him that made Adelaide's skin prickle. He was not the man of her dreams, not the one she had imagined in her girlhood fantasies. He was a prince, yes, but a stranger all the same.

The walk to the chapel felt longer than it should have, the sound of her footsteps swallowed by the thick stone corridors. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest, matching the slow, deliberate pace of her march. As she approached the entrance to the grand hall, she could hear the low murmur of voices, the shifting of people in their seats. Hundreds of eyes would be on her the moment she stepped through those doors.

Her stomach twisted into knots, and she paused just before the towering wooden doors, her breath coming in shallow gasps. For a brief, wild moment, she considered turning back, running away from everything—leaving behind the palace, the court, the title. What if she could escape into the mountains or the forests, live a life of simplicity far from the watchful eyes of her kingdom? The fantasy was fleeting, vanishing the moment the doors swung open before her.