I stood there frozen. The image of Elanora crumbling to her knees, begging her father for mercy, was etched into my mind. That’s when Elanora looked at me, her pleading demands subsiding. I could see her thinking of a way to get out of this.

“Please, your majesty, I’ll live peacefully in the annex, quiet as a mouse. You’ll never hear from me. Please do not send me to that barbarian of man.” She clung to her father’s robe, trying to persuade him.

“Use that useless wet nurse Maia’s daughter instead of me. It’s not like anyone knows what I look like.” she screeched, pointing a finger at me.

The king’s eyes seemed to alight at the mention of my mother’s name. My heart began to race as the king looked at me. I didn’t want my mother dragged into this, especially if she was excused for being useless. My mother had run the annex for twenty-two years without fail or having to ask for help from the main palace. My mother was anything but useless.

I stood in fear as the king acknowledged my presence for the first time since I had entered the room. His Highness eyed me up and down as if appraising a new piece of livestock. Taking a small step towards me, I could hear him muttering to himself about how it may just work. I couldn’t comprehend what was going on. How could he even entertain the idea of me replacing a Princess to marry a foreign king?

“you’re the daughter of Maia. How you’ve grown.” there was an odd twinkle in his eye as he mentioned my mother’s name.

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Don’t be shy, girl. What is your name?” his tone had gone from desperate talking about marriage to inquisitive about my mother and me.

“Cora, your majesty.” I sputtered with all of the courage I had.

How is your mother? I didn’t see her at the annual feast last month.” His line of questioning didn’t make any sense to me. Why would he care about a mere wet nurse?

She’s ill, your Highness, but when a doctor can visit her, I know she’ll make a full recovery. ”

I didn’t want him to know how sick she was. I didn’t want him to kick her out of the annex for being a useless servant. Nodding his head, he sighed as if saddened by the news of Mother.

“My daughter wishes for you to take her place as the King of Andals bride. A much better position for you than a mere personal maid. You’d be a queen.”

His attempt to twist the fact that marriage to such a man would be a death sentence would have been comical if it wasn’t now my death sentence. My knees became weak, and the room began to spin, but I refused to show weakness in front of him and Elanora. If his majesty ordered me to marry the king of Andal, there was no way I could refuse. To refuse would be treason.

“Yes, your majesty, it would be.” my voice shook as I held back my tears.

“Father, she has also studied alongside me. She knows how to conduct herself in a royal court not only as a servant but as nobility too. It wouldn’t take much to teach her all of the proper etiquette one would need to serve a king as his wife.” Elanora piped up as she realized her ridiculous outburst was working.

The king continued to nod, agreeing with Elanora as if her idea was the most brilliant thing he had heard all night. My vision became blurry as realization hit me. I could feel my world crashing down around me. I had nowhere to run, and my fate was sealed. My head hurt, and my body felt like it was shrinking. Everything felt too tight on me. Rubbing my arms, I tried to bring myself back to reality. As I looked up, I could see both His Majesty and Elanora standing, looking delighted at the turn of events.

With a clap of her hands, she went from looking like a woman about to be hung to a little girl on her birthday awaiting her presents. She started to ramble on about how much there was to plan and what needed to be done.

“My mother,” I mumbled, trying to find my voice.

“Please, your majesty, if I do this, will you promise to care for my mother?” I asked, trying to talk around the lump in my throat.

If my life had to be forsaken for this kingdom, at least I could save my mothers’. I wouldn’t beg for my life or mercy, but I would beg for her life. A look of compassion as I spoke of my mother briefly crossed the king’s face.

“By you standing in for Elanora, you are not only helping her but also stopping our nation from going into a war we can not possibly win. I will personally see to it that Maia is taken good care of.” His words did little to reassure me of my fate and my mother’s fate.

Trying to control my shaking, I thanked him, bowing my head in gratitude for his promise to take care of my mother. He dismissed us after telling Elanora that the financial advisor would send a message for a new budget for the time the King of Andal would stay with us. So we could take care of the wedding plans.

Once inside the carriage, my mind seemed to realize the situation I had been dragged into. My thoughts seemed to bounce all over the place, from who would take care of my mother to telling the staff and my mother about my upcoming wedding to what Elanora would need before I left.

When I had imagined my wedding when I was little, I thought I would marry a citizen or maybe another palace servant, someone I loved surrounded by family and friends. Instead, I would marry a rumored psychopath surrounded by political figureheads and people I considered my enemy. Hopefully, my new husband would be too busy killing nobility and starting wars to even realize I was there. One could only hope.