The Tale of a Mad King

Chapter 2

Their wedding was everything she prayed for and more. It was perfect. The great hall where the ceremony was being held was beautifully decorated. From the ceiling hung gorgeous bouquets of white roses. The pews on either side of the hall were made of a marvelous dark brown wood. Alined on the pews were blue carnations. Going down the aisle was a light blue carpet with cloth snowflakes sewn into it. The alter also had a mix of white roses and blue carnations surrounding it. Her dress was made out of the finest white fabric with beads embedded from top to bottom. The sleeves were made of lace and came to slightly hang off her shoulders. The sleeves hugged her arms but not too tightly and on the entire dress were intricate designs of little snowflakes. The dress was an A-line silhouette, not too big or nor too small. Half of her hair was done up in a bun while the rest of it hung down on her shoulders. In her bun was light blue flower hairpins that held the intricate lace veil. Lastly,  her bouquet was made up of white Ornithogalum and light blue forget me not's. She never felt more beautiful in her life. 

It was almost time to walk down the aisle. Alexander's brother Prince Aiden was supposed to walk her down. He was running late. She had met Prince Aiden once before very briefly. It was on her first tour of the palace about a month beforehand. King Alexander was out dealing with a trading scandal out in the north. She had been walking the halls taking the beauty in when suddenly she felt something or someone crash into her. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! let me help you up." The boy rushes to help her up. Looking up from brushing the dirt off her dress Leah sees a handsome young man. He has light brown hair, hazel eyes, and thin lips. He is tall with pale skin and a boyish look to him. "No, it's my fault I should have been looking where I was going." Leah apologizes quickly bowing her head in shame. "I was the one running. You were just minding your own business. It's not your fault the scenery is so beautiful you just had to stare." He says putting a finger under her chin, lifting her head, and smiling down at her. She smiles back at him "yes it is very beautiful isn't it." She agrees looking around. Her eyes widen "oh dear, I'm sorry I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name's Leah Fawn and yours is?" "My name's Aiden William. So, Leah Fawn huh? you're the girl marrying my brother." 

"B-brother?" She suddenly realizes why his name sounds so familiar. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you were the prince." She says quickly lowering herself into a curtsy. He lets out a loud laugh "it's ok, you really don't have to bow." "But I do it's a sign of respect." "If that's the case then." He dramatically leans down into a bow "only the utmost respect for my future sister-in-law." Leah blushes at this. "Oh no, I don't deserve your respect." "Of course you do. Your tying down my brother, only the greatest woman could do that." Looking down once more she finds herself blushing even harder. "I-it's nothing really. It's an arranged marriage. I had nothing to do with it." He chuckles at hearing this. "You have a very sweet spirit about you." This makes her look up. "You really think so?" She asks "yes, I do. You are a very sweet woman Leah Fawn. I'm sure my brother will recognize and appreciate that." She smiles brightly up at him. "Thank you for saying that. I appreciate it so much." "Anything for my future sister-in-law," he leans down to softly kiss her cheek. "It seems I must go now. The life of a prince is very busy you know." Aiden smirks as she places her hand on the cheek he kissed. "Ok, I will see you soon, I guess." She mutters hand still on her cheek. As the prince walks away he looks back one last time at the girl he would soon call family.

Leah smiles fondly at the memory. It was the first time anyone really complimented her like that. She wasn't used to that kind of attention. She didn't even know how to respond. Now he was running late. What was she gonna do if he didn't make it on time? Before she could ponder the thought any further she sees Aiden sprinting towards her. "I AM SO SORRY. I got caught up talking to miss Sasha. I swear that lady never takes a breath." Aiden says slightly out of breath from running. "You almost made me late to my own wedding," Leah states placing her hand over her heart to try and stop the pure panic from rushing through her veins. "I know, again I am so sorry." He apologizes once more making her feel guilty for being so grumpy with him. It's not his fault the lady wouldn't let him leave. "No, I'm sorry I can see you tried to get here as fast as you could. I'm sorry I snapped at you." She places her hand on his shoulder trying to make him feel better. "Heh, you really are too kind. If it was my wedding, I would've been way worse than you. We should hurry up though if you wanna make it down that aisle in time." He says holding his arm out for her to take. She smiles and loops her arm around his. The doors to the great hall open and music starts playing. They slowly start to walk down the long aisle. At the end of it, she sees her future husband looking back at her. He has a blank look on his face. Shouldn't he be at least a little happy? 'Well, it is an arranged marriage' she thinks. Maybe he isn't ready for marriage and he's being forced. She wouldn't be happy either if she was being forced to get married. 

Is she the reason he's unhappy? What if he did want to get married but she's not the one he wanted? What if he's in love with someone else- she doesn't get to finish that thought. She's already down the aisle. Aiden puts her hand into Alexanders who in turn helps her up the steps to the alter. They are now standing in front of each other. Leah gives Alexander a small reassuring smile. He gives what looks like a fake smile back. The pastor goes on to say his part. Everything goes well they say their vows and their 'I dos'. They share a sweet kiss when the pastor says to. Leah's first kiss. She had never been kissed before this. Its everything she could've hoped for. After that was finished they had the reception which was just as beautiful as the wedding. The wedding night was perfect too if not a bit awkward. They went just south of the castle to a home that he owned. It had acres and acres of land. It also had stables which made her very happy. The house was almost as big as the castle. So big she wasn't sure she could call it a house. The next morning after their amazing/awkward night Leah woke to find Alexander gone. She was confused but didn't think too much of it. Maybe he's just an early riser. A really early riser. After that first night, he didn't really touch her much. He seemed more interested in a book or in playing chess. He kissed every morning when they woke up and every night before bed but that was it.

He didn't even go horseback riding with her like he said they would. She had to go by herself. She was still optimistic though. It had only been a week maybe he just needed more time to get to know her. Maybe he would even grow to love her. She already was so infatuated with him. She had no doubt that she would fall in love with him too.