The King's Cursed Bride

A Fool: Part 1

Carissa jolted awake and scrubbed her eyes. It seemed the carriage had bumped over a rock in the road. If only she'd slept the rest of the trip. Even in the carriage, the mountain air nipped at her ears no matter how high she pulled her hood over her head. She rolled her shoulders, feeling stiff from the frigid air and hours of riding.

"Good, you're awake."

Carissa glared at Elon. Yes, she was awake, but he needn't act so happy about it.

He grinned. "You'll be glad to be awake for this part." He gestured out the window.

"What par—" Carissa glanced out of the window and stopped breathing.

They were passing over a ridge, and the trees had cleared for a moment, revealing the palace a few miles off. Archways wreathed the palace, revealing open-aired walkways. The marble walls were the ripe white color of a full moon, glittering like a faceted diamond beneath the sun. Towers were capped with blue domes and spires, matching the color of the lake pooling behind the palace.

The palace teetered on the edge of a cliff. Waterfalls seemed to gush from the rock face itself before tumbling down in foaming ribbons to crash into a second lake below. Jagged mountains lined the horizon, as if a giant clawed creature were cupping the scenery in the palm of his hand.

"You needn't act so surprised, Carissa."

She turns to face him.

"I mean, surely you were expecting a man such as myself to own a rather impressive castle."

She laughed, and Elon's eyes brightened at the sound.

After a few minutes, the thump of hooves announced a new arrival. Elon rapped twice on the ceiling, and the carriage halted just as Elon stepped out. After assisting Carissa, he turned to the rider.

The man was a King's Knight, judging from his armor, but she didn't recognize him. He must have come from the palace. The man dismounted and knelt. "Greetings, King Elon."

Elon nodded. "Rise. What news have you?"

The man stood. "The nobles saw you from afar and bade me to inform you that they've prepared a ball for your arrival."

"Thank you for informing us. We'll be in attendance."

A ball? With nobles? Oily fear slicked her stomach. She tried to catch Elon's gaze, but he remained focused on the knight. She'd lived on a farm most of her life and had no training in etiquette.

She glanced at the palace, certain that disaster awaited her there.

Elon took her arm, and she suppressed a startle. It seemed the conversation was over.

As he guided her back into the carriage, Carissa tugged on his sleeve. "I can't go, Elon."

"Why ever not?"

"Well, because I'm–I'm..." She gestured to herself.

"Lovely? Beautiful? Sublime?"

She smiled. "I was going to say an uneducated, graceless farm girl. And former nightwoman." The contents of her stomach grew hot and sour, and she suppressed a bout of disgust. "Without hours upon hours of training, I'm hardly noble material—much less queen material."

Elon opened the door, gesturing for her to enter before him. Once they were both seated, he draped his arm around her shoulders. Their sides touched, from their torsos to their legs, and despite the upcoming ball, the tension in her muscles unraveled.

"Carissa, what makes you a Queen?"

"Marriage to you."

"Not etiquette lessons?" He knocked twice against the ceiling. His grip on her shoulders tightened briefly as the carriage lurched forward.