"Lia!" Alexei rushes to her room and immediately closes the door. Amalia scrunches her face and rubs her eyes. Dawn is still upon them, and Amalia sees her brother under the flicker of the candlelight. His hair is still tousled, his face unwashed. His eyes are wide, as if he just saw a ghost.
He never does this kind of gesture, except when things are in dire need of her attention.
She slips out of her bed. "Yes, brother?" she asks, and his brother runs to her bed.
"I dreamt," he says, sitting on her bed, and that made Amalia turn to him with full attention.
The house of Crane where Amalia belongs has a secret, and it is the gift of sight. Every member of the family has varying prowess in seeing the future, which makes their position in Ereon always at a tipping point. The house had a history of the church burning them at the stake as heretics making fake prophecies, and so to protect themselves now, only the emperor knows their secret.
As the heir, Alexei is more powerful than the rest of the family. While Amalia can only dream of one major tragedy, Alexei had dreamt several since twelve, all of them beneficial to the Cranes and the royal family.
"Tell me now!" Amalia says, her breathing heavy.
"No one should know of this," he warns, and Amalia nods. He nods back, and then continues, "The House will fall. Father will be sick and I will be accused of rebellion—you need to escape."
"What?"
"I don't know what will happen to the whole House when I am accused. I will be in the castle dungeons for a long while. You need to be out of this house before it happens."
"What if… just tell father? Surely he and the emperor will—"
"Whatever father does will not affect the future, and you know that. Like that one dream of yours that is the reason why you are delaying your marriage."
"What?" How did he know?
Amalia never told her family about the constant dream that bothered her through the years. The fact that Alexei knows of this must be Liliana—
She hears Alexei sigh. "If you think that it only concerns you, then no need to tell me. As for my dream, I will tell father, of course, once he is back."
Amalia nods. "We shall decide then."
Amalia continues her day They never get to decide with their father. They found out that the Count of Crane already collapsed and was staying in the royal infirmary the same night, and Alexei and Amalia are forced to discuss what she dreaded.
Marriage.
The next day, Amalia wakes up from the dream. It is always the same: blood on her shoes, a man holding a knife against her neck. She shivers, still feeling the cold blade against her skin and the hot blood that gushes out of her. The man is still unrecognizable as ever, but his hand is sure to cut like a sword master. And, like most houses in the capital, the décor of the house is new that she could still smell a hint of varnish along with blood.
'My wife' are the only words she could hear from the man before she feels the blood on her neck—before she wakes up.
This is why she never wanted marriage. It would mean willingly ending her life, and it is her wish to live for a very long time. But then, now that she doesn't have a choice, not only did she need a husband who likes her even for a bit, she also needed a husband that lives as far away from the capital as possible—all to make sure she lives as long as possible.
For that reason, Amalia reorganized all the marriage proposals she received all throughout this year. She specifically picked up proposals that would satisfy every criterion she laid in her mind.
A week was spent secretly looking for a husband, and now she and her brother are in front of the Duke of Adendiff, who proposed to her not six months ago.
"Your Grace," Amalia only stands from her curtsy when Duke Henrick Adendiff recognizes her and her brother. Alexei's hand rests on the small of Amalia's back, guiding her to their seats.
"I didn't expect you'd call for me, Alexei," Henrick says, placing cups in front of the siblings. He pours tea one after another before sitting across from them. "To what do I owe this visit?"
Alexei pushes a piece of paper to him, and Henrick wasted no time and reaches for it. "It is your marriage proposal that our house received months ago. We are interested and want to ask you if you still are."
Henrick only looks at Alexei, as if testing him.
Amalia has heard a lot about Henrick. The emperor—the duke's uncle—may look like he sees the duke as one of his own, but there are rumors that he treats him with hostility, like his brother and the former duke of Adendiff. The people may adore him, the hero of the north, but the nobility sees him as well as his mother's family, the Frealwoods, as more like a beast than men.
For Alexei, Henrick is a loyal man who would never break his promises, even if it meant journeying to the depths of the underworld and back. Of course, it meant that this man is also careful with his words, most often threatening and scary, so Amalia does not know where this conversation will go.
Amalia glances as the duke then drinks from his cup, and then exhales. "Can I talk to Lady Amalia?"
"Of cours—"
"Alone."
Alexei glances at Amalia, waiting for her answer. Holding her brother's hand, Amalia reassures him with a nod.
"Then I will leave my sister to you." Alexei squeezes Amalia's hand as if giving the last ounce of protection to his sister. He clearly doesn't want to leave, but Amalia wriggles her fingers out of his brother's hold, signaling that he should.
"Is your family forcing you to do this, my lady?" Is the first question he asks when Alexei is out of their sight. Amalia only looks at him, surprised by the question, but in the end shakes her head.
"My father and Alexei can never force me into doing what I don't want, Your Grace," she smiles as she drinks from her cup. "I know you have heard of our current state. My brother desperately needs someone to protect me, as he couldn't at the moment."
"I know," he replies. By now, no one in all of Ereon is unaware of the Crane family's misfortune. "But are you saying that your brother cannot protect you?"
She couldn't tell about Alexei's dream, as it will expose the Cranes, so she just smiled. "I… couldn't possibly burden my brother forever, Your Grace. This is why we are humbling ourselves and asking for you to take me as your wife, if your proposal still stands," she says, dodging Henrick's question. The man looks at her.
"Then my proposal only mattered the moment your father fell ill?"
Yes, Amalia wants to answer, this would never happen had Alexei never had that damned dream.
In the end she says, "I initially never had a mind in marriage," She looks into Henrick's golden eyes, like the gleam of her father's golden watch against the sun. She remembers the rumors that the duke is also not close to his mother's family, because of those eyes that doesn't resemble the Frealwood's crimson and scarlet ones.
The duke only frowns, as if he needed more convincing. Taking it as a sign, Amalia gives him another paper. Henrick looks at her with query visible in his eyes before looking at the letter once more.
"What is this?"
"A contract, Your Grace," she waits for Henrick to open it before speaking again. "My father is sick, and my brother is aloof, so I know no man of a sane mind will take me in. I may not be able to guarantee your position to the throne, but I can secure the emperor's favor for you… as well as an heir."
"An heir?" he asks, and Amalia nods.
"Yes, Your Grace. I will give you an heir, and I promise that whatever happens to my family in the future shall never change the child's purpose. He or she will solely be an Adendiff," Amalia pauses, her throat drying at the thought of her family. Stopping her hands from shaking, she continues, "I… will need your protection only until the child is born. I don't care about the alimony, and the dowry—"
"Alimony?"
"Well, we shall sign a divorce once the child is born. Surely you wouldn't want to associate yourself with a fallen family for longer than necessary."
"Fallen… family?"
Amalia looks up, surprised. Too much sentiment will make her confess, so she better step back a little. "Father is a solid pillar of the empire, and with him ill, I wouldn't know what will happen to the favor His Majesty has given to us." Amalia looks at her cup, afraid that the duke will see through her lie. "Still, I am confident his favor extends to you if we marry as soon as possible, so you may enjoy its perks while it lasts.
"Of course, you may divorce me once you feel like I am already a burden, even with no child. Just notify me a month before we sign the papers, so I could look for a home and move my things in advance," she continues. "All these, in exchange of protection and a promise the you will never put a blade to my neck."
"And why do you think I would do that?"
"Those are my terms, and you cannot ask about them," she replies, drinking the tea in front of her to quench her thirst. "However you may change yours as you see fit."
She is sure she gave Henrick enough power, so the decision will be his.
"Is your brother aware of these terms?" he asks instead. She looks up at him.
"No. And even if Alexei knows, he wouldn't care that much."
"So, you are saying that you waltz around Strolis, in and out of men's houses asking for protection in exchange for an heir? And your brother has no knowledge of it?" Henrick asks once more. Amalia only smiles, albeit it is too uncomfortable. She needs to endure everything, even if she is to offer her body in exchange for safety.
"Aside an heir and the emperor's favor, I can give you anything that is within my power. You can tell me your demands."
"And what if you cannot?"
"If we cannot reconcile, then I shall move on to the next unmarried suitor." Amalia puts her cup down as Henrick sighs. He runs his finger through the paper as if reading each and every letter, before calling for someone.
A man younger than him, with the same lustrous silver blonde hair but of green eyes much lighter than hers, walks in and smiles at Amalia before leaning down at Henrick. After Henrick whispers in his ear, he leaves.
"I will sign this document, my lady. We can talk about the details tomorrow, but for now go home and get some rest."
Then, he signed her contract without any hesitation. By the next week, they got married. Amalia never saw her brother so relieved. She tried to be as well, but she kept fidgeting until the small wedding reception was finished.
Alexei was safe the whole day, but he made sure his little sister would truly escape the Crane household.
The couple didn't spend the whole night in Strolis, as Henrick also, albeit curious to Amalia, knew her brother's wishes. But halfway through, Henrick received a letter from the emperor, demanding him an audience.
He only looks at her, as if to ask if this is the favor she is saying, but she only stares. The emperor didn't say anything during the reception, but a decree is a decree, and so Henrick made his way back.
Everything happened like a whirlwind—she could still feel the loneliness of being away from her family she was once with every single day of her life, and the ineptness of her new husband's assurance before he leaves her utterly alone—and the next thing she knew, she is inside the Adendiff castle, with nothing and no one but their marriage contract, Henrick's letter of introduction he hurriedly made for her, and a ring, embellished with a single, round black opal, and etched on the steel are some symbols along with the old Northern word Adendiff.