Princess Willowyn's Arc

Chapter 59 of 70

King Aurelius led Willowyn and Kai through the golden halls. The tiger cub trailed at Willowyn's heels, its tail low. Willowyn felt cold. If she did not know the words of the pact, she could not know what it cost Kai. She could not protect him from a bargain she had never seen. The king pushed the doors open. A king and queen rose from the table inside. Both were old, both wore red robes trimmed with white fur, and gold crowns sat on their heads. The king had golden-brown hair. The queen's was light blonde. They had traveled far from the reaches of Allorie to hold Aurelius to his word. Kai and Willowyn bowed their heads and sat. "What is this about?" Kai asked. He looked at his father. Before Aurelius could answer, the Queen spoke plainly. "It is about you marrying our daughter. You have been promised to her for fourteen years." Kai slammed his fist on the table. "This is some cruel joke. It must be." "It is no joke," the Queen said. She drew a folded parchment from her robe and set it flat before them. "Read it yourself." Willowyn reached for the document. This was the thing she needed. She smoothed it open and read every line. The old king watched her without speaking. The words were plain. Aurelius had pledged his firstborn son to their firstborn daughter to seal peace between the kingdoms. The parchment named Kai. It named a wedding. It bore Aurelius's own seal in purple wax. But Willowyn read further, past the pledge, to the final clause. Her finger stopped there. "The betrothal holds," she said slowly, "unless the promised son is already bound to another by a royal house." She looked up. "Bound. Betrothed or wed." The old king leaned forward. "He is bound to no one. That is why we came." Willowyn's heart pounded. She thought of her mother, of the crowns that already knew her name. But she could not speak because Kai had never proposed or even made sense of what their relationship was. For months they spent time together, shared kisses, held each other, but never spoke on what it was. The Queen looked over Willowyn and spoke “And you, who are you to this Prince” but Willowyn could not answer.