Oh good, you're right on time—the royal wedding is about to begin. Before you ask, which wedding? It's the marriage alliance between the Kingdom of Dravokia and the Kingdom of Elarion. This union is meant to end the long, bloody war between the two realms. Everyone was thrilled that peace had finally come. Now, their crops could grow in peace, not in pieces.
But not everyone was happy—especially Princess Lilian of Elarion.
She felt torn. Yes, the war was ending. Yes, she was finally leaving that suffocating palace. But she was also being forced to marry Prince Henry, and that dulled any joy she might've felt. Rumor had it he was allegedly gay—though unproven—but what was proven was that he was rude, arrogant, and full of terrible traits. Lilian wasn't surprised her father agreed to the marriage. After all, he never liked her. In fact, he often treated her as though her birth had been a mistake which it was.
King Roland IV of Elarion was a notorious philanderer. Years ago, one of the prostitutes he frequently slept with got pregnant. This created a scandal that could have ruined the royal household. No one in the kingdom could find out that a royal child had been conceived by a prostitute. At first, Roland wanted to have the woman killed—but he couldn't. It was against royal law to kill anyone carrying royal blood, regardless of the circumstances.
His wife, Queen Genevieve, was humiliated. Still, she chose to uphold the kingdom's customs.
"That bastard can live," she told Roland coldly, "if you promise never to marry that whore."
Genevieve had long accepted her husband's infidelity, but she wasn't about to lose her place at the top. If there were ever a royal version of the Met Gala, she would win Queen of the Year. Exceptionally beautiful with flawless, youthful skin, Genevieve did everything in her power to cover up her husband's messes.
That's why—after faking a pregnancy for nine months—she had the real mother and the midwife killed when Lilian was born. For nineteen years and counting, no one discovered the truth. Some suspected Lilian's legitimacy, but they dared not question it. Why? Because dey no born you well to insult or challenge King Roland IV.
So Lilian was raised by one of the palace maids.
Genevieve had two other daughters: Princess Sophia and Princess Clara. Both were beautiful, but their looks couldn't match Lilian's. Every suitor who came to the palace always requested Lilian's hand in marriage, and that only deepened Sophia and Clara's hatred toward her. Clara, now twenty-one, remained unmarried. Sophia, twenty-six, was betrothed to King Richard of Thloyd—a sixty-six-year-old ruler about to take his fifth wife. She had failed to attract any young prince.
When the alliance proposal arrived, Roland was initially against it. He didn't want Clara married to that stupid prince. But Genevieve convinced him otherwise.
"She's eighteen," Genevieve argued. "If she marries him, suitors might finally ask for Clara instead. Plus, Lilian will be out of this kingdom—and we won't have to hear her stupid name again."
Convinced, Roland agreed.
The wedding went as planned. Peace was restored finally.
To peace ✌️