Villainous [Wattys 2021 Shortlist]

MALEVOLENT 9: Pale Wraith

"I can't get married."

Kaya paused where she was adjusting the folds of Delilah's gown, and didn't meet her eyes.

"Your silence tells me you think I have no choice."

They had a precious minute alone before the delegation arrived to fetch them. The handmaids had only just left.

"Find a way to blackmail him," Kaya suggested. "Whoever he is. You must control him, or he will control you."

Delilah scowled. Her stomach was an eel's nest; standing still while her ladies had dressed her had been unbearable. Nervous energy coiled like springs in her muscles, begging for release.

The door opened and Kaya stepped away from Delilah with a carefully crafted blank expression, as if she was a stranger to the princess.

"Are you ready? Good." Zehra filled the doorframe in rich, violent purple, her dress like boiling clouds in the moment before a lightning strike. The Oanu girl smirked as she beheld Delilah, drab and faded in comparison, her dress muted orange bordering on beige. They'd been forced to dress her in Pelenan colours, but they had tried to give her the most unassuming outfit possible. The plan was for her to blend in among the other royals today.

That wouldn't happen when her hair shone like a beacon of flame and the city folk would be baying for her blood.

"I do love your dress sense," Zehra sneered. She knew perfectly well Delilah wasn't in charge of her outfits or her life anymore. "It really screams 'princess turned commoner'."

Sensing Kaya's attentive eyes, Delilah lifted her chin and straightened her spine, assuming the posture of a ruler which had been beaten into her as a child. With a surprising amount of dignity, she swept past Zehra, roughly brushing her carefully-arranged skirt folds and sending them into disarray.

"There is a difference between those who are royals through marriage... and those who are born into it," she said, clasping her hands behind her back. "No flashy dress can cover that up."

Zehra's face curdled like milk but Delilah swept ahead. She could almost feel Kaya's silent glee shivering in the air.

The small victory was chased away by the roaring in her ears by the time she reached the palace entrance, where the royal procession already waited. Kaya trailed behind, ready to serve, and an elite unit of knights stood to attention around the party, all wearing Pelenan black and red armour with the salamander emblazoned across their chests. All except the Silver Knight, who watched her draw closer.

"We'll be travelling on horseback through the city until we reach Lord Caldor's estate," Gaol announced. Aylin and Alana were to remain behind – the heavily pregnant woman would not be able to make the journey, even in a litter.

Thank the ancestors we will not be in litters, Delilah thought as she swung herself into a saddle. There was something appealing about being carried by other people, but she hated the enclosed boxes. And now, if there was trouble... a litter would be a death trap.

Finias cleared his throat.

Delilah raised an eyebrow.

"Princess..." He gestured to her, then to Zehra.

Delilah realised she was astride the horse like a soldier, her dress riding up to her knees, while Zehra was seated in perfect side saddle.

Clenching her jaw as everyone looked at her, she quickly shifted and pulled the dress down to her ankles. She refused to blush, refused to be humiliated.

Before they exited the main gates, Finias attached a chain from his saddle to hers, giving her an apologetic look as he did so. Delilah's grip on the reins turned white-knuckled.