by M. D. Laird
“I’m sure you’re quite capable.”
Prince Thomas gave a wicked smile. “I’ll claim the duchy on my return, but I want your daughter now.”
“I’m not giving her to you until the quest has been a success. If it fails, I may still need her.”
“You’ll have to take that risk.”
“This arrangement will cost me two children as it is.” The king snarled. “I will only pay that price for success.”
“Then find yourself another demon.”
“Fine,” the king barked. “Arrange a wedding ceremony, and you can take her afterwards.”
“I mean I’m taking her with me now.”
“You cannot take her virginity without marriage.”
Prince Thomas shrugged. “Summon someone to perform the ceremony. I will wait,” he replied, then added, “Her fertility is going to be a problem for me.”
The king grinned. “I will deal with it.”
Several hours later, Prince Thomas travelled back to the Guild of Sonneillon with his new bride. She sat opposite him in the carriage the king had provided to transport them and her belongings. Thomas had not travelled in a carriage since his decree in Lycea many years ago and had forgotten how infuriatingly slow they were. The horses were no faster with one of Thomas’ demons frightening them along their course either.
Thomas smiled broadly at his wife whose eyes were still bloodshot from her tears. She had been a little disappointed to learn she was marrying him and it took a firm hand and several threats to her life from her father to convince her to say her vows. It also took the hands of several of the king’s attendants to hold her down whilst an alchemist inserted a contraceptive opal stone beneath her skin.
“Tell me.” He grinned. “Have you been with a man before?” The girl swallowed nervously and shook her head. He chuckled. “You’re in for a treat; you’re going to love it.”
“What are you going to do with me?” she asked.
“Well,” he replied, smiling, “first I’m going to tear off that dress and then—”
“I meant with my life,” she snapped. “What on earth does a demon want with a wife? I expect my father to bargain with my life like I’m cattle, but what do you want from this?”
“He is forcing me into his ridiculous plans for Arkazatinia. I had to get something out of him.”
“That’s it?” she exclaimed. “You force me into marriage because you want to get one over on the king. What have I done to deserve this?” She started to cry again.
“Oh relax.” The prince sneered. “You always knew your father would marry you off. Don’t pretend you’re surprised.” He batted his eyelashes at her. “Am I not handsome enough for you?” She said nothing and turned to stare out of the window. He sprawled on the seat opposite her and his foot caught her leg, she turned to face him. He grinned at her again. “Are you going to let me take your virginity?” he asked lazily.
“I’ll have to,” she said, looking back through the window. “It’s not as though I’m going to be able to fight you off, is it?”
Thomas laughed. “I won’t force you.”
She turned her head towards him. “You won’t?”
“I’m not a complete monster.” He grinned. “My decree prevents me anyway. Though if you want me to, I will happily oblige.”
“I will never want to.”
He shrugged. “It’s no matter. I have plenty of other women willing to please me.”
“You don’t intend to be a faithful husband then?”
“I hadn’t given it any thought, but no, I will never settle just for you whether you want me or not.”
“At least you’re honest, most men are just lying scoundrels. What about me? Can I see other people?”
“Why?” He chuckled. “You have some stable boy you secretly love or have you some goat herd you have been having an affair with?”
The princess glowered at him. “He was my educator’s son actually,” she said defiantly. “We planned to elope.”
“And I have come along and ruined everything. I have probably saved his life; your father would have had him killed.”
“We planned to leave the continent and start a new life in Arkazatinia.”
“I have probably just saved our nations from war. If your father found out you were in Arkazatinia, he would have gone after you. That new queen is too soft to let him take you; she doesn’t know what’s good for her. She would have gone to war to protect you.”
“You think she is soft because she isn’t a beast like my father?”
“Your father is pragmatic.” Thomas smiled. “He does what needs to be done. It’s an admirable quality.”
“Only if you’re a demon,” she snapped. “Not if you’re anyone with an ounce of decency.”
Thomas laughed again. “We have not been married an hour, and you’re already assassinating my character. I thought that did not start until after the honeymoon.”
Her eyes bore into his. “Enough games. What can I expect from my life now?”
Thomas shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought this through.”
“Why not just let me go? I could leave with James, and you never have to bother about me.”
“Is James the goat herd or the stable boy?” He mocked.
“Please,” she pleaded, “you don’t need a wife; you’re just going to make my life miserable.”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple, Princess. If you leave with the goat herd and people find out, it reflects poorly on me. Then I will have to find you, bring you back and punish you by killing him.”
“So I have to be unhappy for the rest of my life?”
“Cheer up.” Thomas chuckled. “We have our honeymoon to look forward to.”
“Honeymoon?”
“Yes, we leave for Arkazatinia soon.”
“Why do you want me to go? Aren’t you afraid I will betray my father’s plans to the queen?”
“What a traitorous thing to say?” he remarked, giving her a wicked smile.
“I owe him no loyalty.”
“What about your brother? Surely he would prefer to be the consort king of the lovely Queen Genevieve rather than the husband of some mid-level lord?” He grinned at her. “Unless you want him to be saddled with an awful marriage as well.”
“My father destroys enough lives.” She snarled. “He does not have to destroy the queen’s happiness too.”
“If I leave you at home, what is to stop you running off to your stable boy?”
“Are you going to hold me prisoner and prevent me from seeing him?”
He shrugged. “I’m not the jealous type, but I don’t want another man messing with my property.”
“I am not your property.”
Thomas smiled. “According to your father you are. I own you now. Your life is mine. That includes your virginity.”
“I’m not a virgin,” she snapped. “James took my virginity years ago. I knew my father would have me married and I wanted to choose for myself and lose it with the man I loved.”
“I feel cheated.” Thomas laughed. “You are lucky you have married me, that little stunt could have cost you your life.”
“I have no life anyway.”
“Just out of curiosity,” he asked. “I thought you said you planning to elope?”
“We were.”
“And how long have you been planning?”
“It’s not that easy, we need money to begin a new life.”
“Was he putting it off?” he chided.
“It wasn’t like that,” she stammered.
“It sounds like he was using you, Princess.” Thomas teased.
“You don’t know him. He has been saving what he could.”
“It doesn’t take that long to make a plan to elope. You could have gotten jobs when you arrived at your new life. Unless working is beneath you?”
“You don’t know anything.” Sh
e snarled. “He loves me.”
“Well, at least I don’t have to worry about him running away with you.”
“Just let me go,” she pleaded again. “You can pretend I’m in your guild. I can come back to keep up appearances if my father ever asks to see me.”
“No. That plan makes me look foolish.”
“Does it matter? It will make me happy.”
“Why should I be concerned with your happiness?”
“Because I’m your wife.”
“You’re my wife, and you’re asking me to let you leave with another man on our wedding day.”
“Do you delight in tormenting me?”
“I’m a demon, I delight in tormenting everyone.”
“I could hide from you. You won’t find me.”
“If it were so easy you would surely have hidden from your father.”
“I thought I would have some notice,” she said bitterly. “But I had a plan.”
“Let me guess. You were going to save up all of your pennies and pay a dark alchemist to hide you?” She glowered at him, and he laughed. “It won’t work, Princess. No alchemist would risk the wrath of the king, or a demon now, for coin. He would want nothing less than your soul to make that bargain. Your freedom won’t belong to you if you no longer have your soul. And I would find you.” She began to cry again. Thomas rolled his eyes. “Does this happen a lot?”
“Yes it does,” she snapped. “I hate my life, and I hate it even more now.”
Thomas gave her a slow smile. “You’re a dramatic thing, aren’t you?” She glared at him through her tears. He laughed. “Oh, hush now,” he said. “You never know, you may actually like being married to me. You may find yourself wanting to take me to your bed. I am very entertaining in the bedroom you know.”
“I shall take your word for it,” she said icily. “If I am to remain in your guild then I have some demands.”
“Is that so?” Thomas chuckled. “You are hardly in a position to make demands.”
She glared menacingly at him. “You’d deny me a few comforts? You didn’t have the sense to negotiate a dowry for me, but I know you can well afford to keep me and I shan’t go without.”
What have I gotten myself into? She seemed so timid.
“Are you always this haughty?”
“It has been a source of pride for my father and no doubt the reason he has struggled to marry me to a lord.”
“You mean I’m the only person stupid enough to marry you?”
“It certainly seems that way,” she replied coldly, though she appeared a little offended. “Are you going to hear my requests?”
“Ah…they are requests now. By all means, request away, Princess.”
“I want my own room,” she began and paused waiting for him to respond.
“You think I would throw you in my dungeon?”
“I don’t want to share with you.”
“Well, I don’t want you to share with me either, Princess. Especially if you do not intend to please me.”
“I want a joining bathroom if you have one, or at least, a bathroom of my own.”
Thomas shrugged. “Anything else?”
“Yes. Where do you take meals?”
“There is a communal dining room.”
“I want to dine in my room. I wish you to provide me with an attendant to bring me my meals and refreshments. I want an allowance—I don’t want to have to ask you for money every time I wish to buy myself something. It should be generous and not subject to conditions—I won’t earn pocket money like a child. I want to be able to leave your guild to visit the town.”
“That is quite a list. I should perhaps have thought more carefully before marrying a spoilt princess.”
This time she was offended. “I’m not spoilt,” she replied. “My father did not treat me well.”
“I see. This is just your no-nonsense attitude, is it? Are you starting as you mean to go on?”
“Just forget it,” she said dejectedly before turning away from him to gaze out of the window.
He smiled slyly. “Why should I give you a life of luxury? What do I get in return? Now perhaps if you were a little more…accommodating, I might be as well.”
“I said forget it, Prince,” she said without turning to look at him.
“I’m just toying with you, Princess.” He chuckled. “I will agree to your demands.”
She turned to face him. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“I too shall start as I mean to go on,” he said sternly. “I am a prince of the first order and the master of my guild. I have tolerated these little lapses in respect so far as you’re a little upset, but do not make the mistake of thinking you can continue to speak to me like this. I demand respect, and I will not tolerate anything less. You may be a princess, but I outrank you—do not forget that. I hope that’s clear, Princess.”
She swallowed and nodded slowly.
To be continued…
What do I write here? I feel as though I am giving a speech! I started writing this book at Christmas 2014 after I had what turned out to be the first chapter buzzing around my head. I could get no peace until I had committed it to my hard drive and then it started again. Eventually, I thought, ‘Hang on, this is about as long as a book’, and I decided to write a book. After giving a very rough (cringe-worthily rough) draft to my sister to read and have her affirm she would buy it, I decided to publish it.
It has been a rollercoaster and a minefield, and I could not have done it without the help of many people along the way. Firstly, I want to thank my fellow writer friend LK Watts for her advice and tips and for helping me realise that it is possible for a dream to become a reality. I want to thank my amazing graphic designer and formatter JC Clarke at The Graphics Shed for my beautiful cover and formatting. JC has been incredible with her help and advice and has truly gone the extra mile to help me. I feel I have imposed on her/stalked her since our first conversation and she has always been awesome. Thanks also to Tami Adams at Magic of Books Promotions—again another thank you for tolerating my constant emails.
I have received a ton of support and encouraging messages from friends and family. Thank you, Eric, for being the first person, who is not a blood relative, to read my book. Thank you for your help and advice but mostly for your encouragement. I was terrified at the thought of having someone read my work, but your support really helped. If you hated the ending, then please feel free to blame Eric as he suggested I change it. Thank you to Hannah for your enthusiasm and your inspiration, I shall see you soon for a turn about the room.
I must also say thank you to my sister Carrie. Carrie read the book very early in its development, but her question will always be my favourite question ever: ‘Is it incest if you want to marry a figment of your sister’s imagination?’ We never decided.
Thank you to the rest of my family for your support. Thank you to my mum and dad, my Auntie Wendy and also to Dave. Thank you to my son for tolerating the moments when I have just had to write things down.
There are many friends who I want to thank for their supportive comments and messages, I can’t mention everyone, but you know who you are. Thanks also to my social media friends for putting up with my shameless self-promotion and for helping to promote me as well.
If you are reading this, then that may mean that you have bought my book and I also owe special thanks to you. Thank you very much. If you liked The Crown Prophecy, please leave me a review somewhere… anywhere. If not, well…who reads reviews anyway?
Love you all and thank you again
Carpe Somnium
MD
xxx
; -moz-filter: grayscale(100%); -o-filter: grayscale(100%); -ms-filter: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share