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Gwen paced back and forth; somehow, Adric’s words worried her.
"What did he mean by he is going to bring his bride?" The woman folded her hand on her chest. She knew that the crown prince was unpredictable, but he wouldn’t possibly just return with a woman, right? These thoughts worried the woman; she needed Adric to remain single so that her grandchildren had the chance of taking over the throne. Luckily for her, Adric had never shown interest in any particular girl; all he did was hang around with different women, but none of them was brought back home as a wife he was interested in.
Gwen chewed her nails. "This won’t do," she made her way to her husband’s chambers.
"Announce me," she ordered the maid in waiting.
"Your Majesty, Her Majesty seeks an audience," the maid said, and immediately Gwen walked inside the room.
Fidelis sat on his couch, he wasn’t doing anything in particular but staring blankly into space.
"I have a feeling Adric is going to cause trouble," Gwen barked, without waiting for the man to speak.
The king sighed, touching his chest to ease the pain he was feeling. "What happened?"
"He suddenly left, saying that he was going to bring a wife," the woman reported. If there was anyone that could talk to Adric and he listened, it was his father.
Fidelis hummed, "Then that’s good news; we should prepare him to take over the throne."
"No! Adric is not capable of handling it; you should be in charge. And we are not sure if he’s really going to bring a bride... you know how he can be," Gwen retorted.
Adric’s father inhaled deeply, taking the small cup on his table he drank the contents. "Adric is very capable; he has been handling the affairs of the Kingdom that nobody has noticed my deteriorating health. Most of the lands Avon conquered was because of him," the man paused to catch his breath, "Gwen, it’s time for you to really see Adric as your son and support him fully."
Gwen rolled her eyes, but she didn’t say anything else. She walked towards her husband, sitting beside him. "How is your chest these days? Does it still hurt? I will have the physician get you something stronger; it seems like these ones are not helping." The woman touched her husband’s back gently.
Fidelis smiled, "I really miss the days you only worried about me; maybe we should move to the old palace after Adric settles down and becomes king. Just the two of us, aging together. What do you think?" He said, bringing his face closer to his wife.
Gwen nodded with a tight smile as she tried to move her face to the side. "You’re right; let me make your bed ready. You should sleep," they were interrupted by a noise outside.
The Queen raised her brows, "Who is there?" She called, and a maid quickly ran inside.
"Your Majesty, His Highness has returned to the palace, and he is not alone,"
"What?" Gwen turned to look at Fidelis, then the maid, without saying anything else she dashed out of the room.
Outside the palace, Adric walked beside the horse, holding the reins while Oriana sat alone on it with a veil covering her face. The palace servants all came outside to witness this, including Adric’s whole family.
Oriana didn’t know why she was shaking, but she was really shaking. At this point, she didn’t have a choice, either with the old man or with Adric. Her life no longer belonged to her again; she was sold off by her family to repay a debt. And if she looked at it on a brighter side, with Adric, she would stay alive as he already knew she was no longer pure. But the problem was Adric’s mother. The woman appeared to be even worse than her own mother. Oriana didn’t know how long she was going to survive in Avon. Either way, her life had no rosy path.
"Brother Adric," Princess Jasmine was the first to speak, "Are you really getting married?"
Adric smiled at his sister, "What do you think?" He asked, finally stopping the horse. The maids ran to help Oriana down the horse, but he stopped them. "I’ll help my bride,"
It was the same time Gwen was running out; the woman didn’t want to believe what she was seeing. "Adric, you can’t bring in just anyone as your wife; we should have a discussion as a family, and it must be from a reputable kingdom."
Adric smirked, ignoring the woman’s chittering; he helped Oriana down from the horse, fixing up her veil properly.
"That girl is now allowed inside until we are sure she is eligible to be the Crown Princess of Avon. Let’s go inside and discuss this," Gwen raised her voice; she wouldn’t let this happen, not after she had planned how to smoothly coronate one out of her two grandsons.
Adric raised his hand for Oriana to place hers, but Oriana was still listening to the woman speak. She couldn’t deny that she was scared. Turning to Adric, she said,
"Maybe this is all a bad idea; your mother doesn’t even know it’s me yet. She would never accept this marriage." The princess bit her lips nervously.
Adric nodded, "That’s the whole point of this, someone my mother would never accept," he grinned.
Oriana finally started walking; somehow she prayed that the walk would be a little longer. She was not yet ready to face Adric’s mother. The woman would rather die than see her as a daughter-in-law. But soon they stood in front of everyone. The first thing she noticed was the difference in dress style. Unlike Orion, the ladies in this kingdom didn’t need a full layer of skirt, and their dresses had shorter sleeves. Somehow she liked it very much.
"Adric, who is she and from which kingdom?" Gwen asked when they finally arrived. The woman tried to squint her eyes to look at the person’s face behind the veil, but the person was moving her face.
Oriana tried to turn her face to the side; she didn’t want the woman to see her, but it was inevitable.
"Worry not, Mother; she’s a Crown Princess from a decent kingdom." Adric replied, and this had Oriana turn to look at him. But she was not even a crown princess; why was he lying?
Gwen cleared her throat, "What Kingdom?"
Adric smiled, "I chose a kingdom you would love, Orion, of course."
"Those liars? We can’t trust them, no!" Gwen turned her face to the side.
Adric shrugged his shoulders, "That’s a problem for you, not me. Work on your trust issues. But the marriage chest has been exchanged; you should prepare for the wedding."
Gwen sighed; she wanted to retort more, but it was not going to yield anything. She finally calmed down. If it was the Crown Princess of Orion, then it wouldn’t make any difference because the girl she met was very dumb and simple. At least it wasn’t the second princess. The woman nodded to herself; she could easily tame the first princess.
"Let it all now be known to all present here that this woman is going to be the next Queen of Avon soon, and all respect should be accorded to her," Adric reached out for Oriana’s veil, but she held it, shaking her head.
"No..no, don’t," Oriana begged him, but Adric’s grin widened; he moved down the veil from the back, and it fell, revealing Oriana’s face.
"Your Majesty," Oriana bowed with an awkward smile.
Gwen’s eyes widened as she pointed at Oriana, "You?" The woman’s hand moved behind her neck, her eyes rolling back as she lost her balance.
"Mother!" Her two daughters shouted, rushing to hold her.
"Her Majesty," the servants shouted, going to also help the Queen.
Adric, on the other hand, was laughing, while Oriana fiddled with her hands, worried that the woman might actually die of a heart attack.
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