All The Demons Cry 'Cause You And I Found Love In A Broken Place

Chapter 1

"Please, stand still." Her mother said while she was tightening her corset. Through the mirror, she watched her braid Katya's blonde hair and picking off any micro little strand that might have fallen on her dark green dress. Her mother left the room without any announcements and Katya loosened up her corset a little bit. Her mother came back bringing a little metal pot with her. It was red pigment. Her mom dipped the tip of her index finger into it and leaned close to Katya's face.

"I can do it myself." She said. Dipping her own finger into the pigment, Katya applied it on her mouth, making them bright red.

"You look beautiful, Yekaterina, Ragnar is gonna love it." The thought of the marriage made her stomach sick. She was being forced to marry a stranger, a strange man, actually. Her mom took a deep breath. "Put your shoes on, I'm gonna check if the carriage is ready."

Katya looked at herself one last time before leaving the room. She was really beautiful, but she didn't do it for her future husband, she did it for herself and she secretly wish she was doing this for another girl, but since her parents found out she was having "lesbian activities" with her maidens they banned female servants from their castle.

"Your Highness, your carriage is ready." One of the guards said.

"Thank you, Sebastian."

Katya and Ragnar's marriage would happen at their palace. It was a long trip and Katya was already feeling sorry for the horses, she gave each one of them some sugar cubes and a little kiss before she entered the carriage.

"Smile, Yekaterina! You're getting married. Look at her, Galina, she is acting like when we told her she couldn't have a pet lizard."

"Dad, you know I don't want this."

"дорогая, we've talked about this... We need King Frey's support. Do it for your people."

"I wish you had another daughter..." Katya said under her breath.

"You can complain as much as you want here, but once we get at the palace I want you smiling and being polite." Her mom looked at her. "And keep an upright posture."

(...)

The Hansen's castle was way nicer than The Zamolodchikova's castle. It had three towers and a beautiful lake behind it, and Katya was mesmerized by the architecture of the place, however, all the enchantment of the castle was gone when she remembered she was going to live there for the rest of her life with a man she didn't love.

The Hand of the King welcomed them to the kingdom and showed them the way to the dinning room. The castle was dark, with lots of torches hanging from the wall and a red carpet covering up the whole floor.

"Here is your bedroom, Your Grace." The old man said. "I hope it is of your liking."

"Thank you. Please, show Lady Yekaterina her room and let King Frey know we're already here." Dimitri said.

"Of course, Your Grace. Please, follow me, Lady Yekaterina..."

"Katya." She said. "Call me Katya, please."

Her mom gave her a look that told her that was inappropriate. Having your servants calling you nicknames was very strange in her parents mind, but Katya never liked to feel like she's superior to them, and she also hated her birth name.

"I- Please, follow me, Your Highness." He seemed nervous because he didn't want to disobey Katya's orders, but also he didn't want to provoke the Queen.

Once they got away from Katya's parents, she said:

"Sorry, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."