CHAPTER 2 — "THE WEDDING THAT EVERYONE BELIEVED WOULD REVEAL A MONSTER..."
News of Prince Richard spread across every kingdom within days.
People mocked him openly.
"He wants the throne."
"He'll run away the moment he sees her."
"He'll faint before saying 'I do.'"
Richard ignored every insult.
When he first met Princess Elina, they sat in complete silence across a long wooden table.
She wore the same heavy helmet.
He couldn't even see her expression.
Only her quiet breathing.
Finally, Richard asked,
"Do you want this marriage?"
A long silence followed.
Then she answered softly,
"No."
Richard frowned.
"Then why agree?"
Another pause.
"Because my father believes it's the only way to save the kingdom."
Those words stayed with him.
Something wasn't right.
She didn't sound cursed.
She sounded terrified.
Over the following weeks Richard visited her every evening.
They played chess.
Read poetry.
Talked about music.
Dreamed about places beyond the palace walls.
Without ever seeing her face...
Richard slowly fell in love.
Not with beauty.
Not with a crown.
But with the gentle soul hidden behind cold iron.
Meanwhile strange things began happening.
Richard repeatedly noticed shadows following Elina through the palace.
One night he saw an old royal physician secretly entering the king's chambers carrying dusty journals wrapped in leather.
Another evening he overheard two elderly guards whispering.
"If the helmet comes off..."
"...everything begins again."
Richard confronted the king.
"What exactly are you hiding?"
The king stared into the fireplace.
His voice broke.
"I'm not hiding my daughter."
"I'm hiding the world from her."
Richard demanded an explanation.
But the king refused.
"You'll understand on the wedding day."
That answer only deepened the mystery.
Days before the ceremony...
Richard wandered into the abandoned west tower.
Hidden behind loose stones, he discovered Queen Isabella's forgotten diary.
Its final page contained only one unfinished sentence.
If Elina ever discovers who she truly is...
The ink stopped abruptly.
As though the queen had been interrupted forever.
Richard barely had time to hide the diary before palace guards burst into the tower.
May you like
Someone had been watching him.
Someone desperately wanted that diary to disappear.
Related Stories
