Chapter 4| Dinner

The huge palace doors opened as we went inside. The palace is beautiful. It was enormous. The flag of Kashmir was hung on every column, and the large glass windows were frosted with ice. Further along the hallways, you could see the different paintings of the royals that lived in this kingdom.

A stunning woman with green eyes and black hair approached us and hugged Julian. She squealed. "Julian!"

He returned the hug and looked at her. "Meredith, meet my wife,"

The woman named Meredith shifted her attention to me. Her eyes raked over my body, studying my features. Her green eyes looked back up and for a moment, I thought she was gonna scoff and walk away, but I was surprised when she gave me a full-blown smile and hugged me tightly.

"Meredith, you're suffocating her," Julian told Meredith which withdrew from me, an apologetic look on her face.

"My apologies, anyway, let me introduce my self. Princess Meredith of Kashmir, pleased to meet you. Ooh, and by the way, you can call me Meredith, or whatever you like,"

I smiled at her chirpiness and curtsied. "Princess Aurora of Desrakil, pleased to meet you as well,"

"Oh my god, we will be the ultimate best friends!" She squealed and hugged me once again.

I laughed at her. She pulled back and linked her arms to mine. "Julian, I will steal your wife away from you,"

He just narrowed his eyes at her before shaking his head. "Where are our other siblings Meredith?"

She stiffened. "They are planning for strategies this coming full moon,"

Julian just nodded. "And father?"

Meredith hesitated to reply.

"He... I tried telling them to wait for you, but they did not listen. They already buried him and gave a proper ceremony,"

He let out an exasperated breath. Meredith felt sorry for him. "Julian I... I'm really sorry, I tried to stop them but-"

"I understand Meredith," he tried to smile but failed "Can you go with Aurora to her private quarters? I have matters to attend,"

"Sure,"

He walked away from us. I felt sorry for him as I stared at his retreating figure. Meredith, along with the maids, showed me to my private quarters.

It was on the west wing of the palace, and from there, you could have a clear view of the entire Kingdom. It was truly breathtaking.

The maids left a while ago, but Meredith insisted to stay. I stared out of the window, not getting tired of looking at the whole kingdom.

"Do they always treat him badly?" I asked her.

She smiled sadly. "Yes, since the incident,"

"What incident?" I furrowed my brows.

"When he was just 12 summers, he was caught by our rival kingdom. Tortured to the brink of death, our best soldiers were sent to save him. But they were too late. They watched as he put the whole kingdom on fire, and walked out of it with a smile on his face,"

Goodness Gracious. He did not tell me how old was he when he burned the kingdom to the ground. I was mortified. If he did that when he was just 12 summers, how much more did he do when he grew up? But then I was confused.

"How did he set a whole kingdom on fire when he was tortured to the brink of death?"

"That, Aurora, we do not know. Anyways, I should probably get going,"

She stood up and smoothed her dress before sending me a smile. I walked her out of the door and closed it.

A yawn escaped my lips reminding me that I needed to rest. I did not call for the maids because I wanted time to myself.

After I changed from my journey clothes, I laid in the warm mattress and wrapped the thick blankets around me like a cocoon. This is comfortable. I snuggled my self deeper into the blankets as I felt my self drifting from consciousness.

"Milady? Please, you must wake up," A voice made its way into my ears, so I slowly opened my eyes. A maid was looking at me, looking really apologetic.

"Just come back later," I closed my eyes again, in an attempt to go back to sleep. I heard the door opening followed with heavy footsteps.

"Has she woken up?" Julian's voice reached my ears.

"No your highness,"

"Leave. You are dismissed," light footsteps and the door gently closing followed.

I could feel his hot breath on my cheeks as he gently woke me up. "Wake up Aurora,"

I groaned as I attempted to move away from him.

"Aurora, you need to wake up," he gently shook my body, causing me to open my eyes.

"What?" I groggily asked him.

"Dinner will be starting soon,"

I shot up from the bed and went straight to the window. "It's already night?!"

I must have been really tired to sleep for the whole afternoon.

"Yes, and if you do not want us to be late, you better hurry,"

He got out of the room and after a few minutes, 3 maids rushed in and helped me get to the tub. My bathe water has flower petals and was poured with oils.

One of the maids gave me a cup that was filled with an opaque colored liquid. "What is this?"

"Rose tea, milady. To soothe your nerves and prepare you,"

I was confused. "Prepare for what?"

"For the consummation, milady,"

My eyes widened as I finally remembered. The consummation! I can't believe that I forgot all about it. The consummation is the most important latter part of the ceremony, as it will be the night where the husband knows whether the wife is fertile.

The maids dressed me in a beautiful white gown and my hair was made into 1 elegant braid. My skin was soft from the bath, and it glowed under the candlelight.

"You're all set, milady,"

I smiled before dismissing them. I just kept staring at my reflection in the mirror, different thoughts swarming in my head. A knock erupted from the other side of the huge oak doors. "Milady, his highness is waiting for you,"

"I'll be there in a minute," I replied as I gave my self a final look in the mirror.

Julian was already waiting patiently outside, and when he saw me, he did not comment, only held his arm out, and guided me to the dining area.

The dining area was huge, with high, painted ceilings and gold-colored walls. The throne was at the front, but it was covered with black cloth.

Julian guided me to the left side of the huge table and sat there. When I looked up, I was greeted by a smiling Meredith. I waved at her and she enthusiastically waved back.

There were three other men seated. They all had green eyes like Meredith, but their hair was pale. I found out that Julian was the only one with a different eye color.

The men's wives were glaring at me like I did something wrong. I only just got here! What is their problem? A glass tinkling sounded throughout the dining area, and all the noise died.

"Tonight, we have yet another addition to the family. Welcome, bride of Julian," I smiled at them but deep inside, I got a bad feeling about them.

The feast started. Julian and I ate in silence while the other princes conversed among themselves.

"Where are our manners, gentlemen? We haven't introduced our selves to the bride of Julian,"

They laughed, but it was the kind of laugh that is mocking you. I felt Julian's body become agitated beside me, his fists curled under the table.

I placed my hand above his fists and pried them open, holding his hand firmly. He turned to me, looking thankful. I just smiled in return.

One of his brothers stood up. "I am Prince Delvin of Kashmir and the man on my right side is Oscar, and to my left is Helius."

I smiled at them. "Princess Aurora of Desrakil, or should I say Kashmir. The pleasure is all mine,"

The other princesses frowned at me. What did I do now? They were really confusing me.

"So, you must have heard the rumors, that he is the sinner of Kashmir. What do you think about it?" a prince who I remembered the name was Oscar, asked me. The table was now quiet, waiting for my response. I squeezed Julian's hand for reassurance.

"Those are just rumors, aren't they?" I answered him, my head high in defiance.

Another Prince named Helius spoke."But sometimes, those Rumors can be the truth. Maybe he really is the Sinner of Kashmir,"

" If he really is the sinner of Kashmir, I think it is okay. After all, we are all sinners, aren't we?"

They just looked at me, an unreadable expression on their face.

"How does he treat you, If I may ask, milady?" Prince Delvin raised a single brow.

I surprised them by chuckling. "You see, Prince Delvin, I am not a queen yet, but he already treats me like one,"

The whole conversation ended, the princes minding their own business. Meredith kept looking at me proudly. I just smiled at her. Julian relaxed after a while and went back to eating his food.

The feast was over, and I was escorted to mine and Julian's private chamber. I only knew one thing. It is time for the consummation.

<gdiv></gdiv>