1 Impetuous Wedding

March of Tenth used to be an insignificant date marked on the calendar. It had been for many years. Except for this year, March of Tenth was officially declared as a national public holiday for the Taaffeite Kingdom and many more years to come.

Why? It was the day, I, Princess Farah - the true heir to the Taaffeite Kingdom, wed the warrior King of the Hawthorn Empire, King Wystan.

It was meant to be a joyous occasion. At least it used to be a few weeks ago. The sounds of bugles with our national flag attached were expected to excite the people but even the sound came out rather dreary. One would think it was a funeral for the royalty. Not a sight of excitement filled the air but tears of fears for their princess.

"Are you sure you want to proceed with the wedding, darling?" begged an old man on his knees with a dignified aura, whose face aged with wisdom but covered in cold sweats. Moustache trimmed, dashing blue black-haired combed to the back, with gel to keep them in place, all ready to attend the biggest event of the decade!

In that big, vast dressing room stood my father and me alone. No servants, no helpers, no make up artists, what-have-you. There we stood, casting our titles aside, as nothing but father and daughter, in an unexpected predicament.

"Oh Papa, was it not your very idea? Did the whole Kingdom not celebrate with extravagant joy when the announcement was made?" My frustrated voice resonated in the quiet room.

I paced back and forth in agitation with the ludicrous thoughts Papa was suggesting as my gown sashayed noisily behind me. I was already in my champagne ball gown wedding dress, with white-clothed flowers as my straps, ready to walk down the aisle and be promoted to be Queen to another Kingdom. There was NO turning back. Right?

How could I? How dare I? Would it not be considered traitorous?

I was baffled by Papa's suspicious attitude lately. It was superbly weird with the drastic change. A month ago, Papa was so firm with his decision to the arranged marriage and now? What's with the sudden change of heart?

To make matters worse, Papa made a royal announcement, not just to the people of our Kingdom but ALL! All royalties from far and near were invited! The date was set right from the beginning! The cherry on top of the icing? That's how the King and I found out of our engagement!

Do pray tell, is Papa not setting a death trap for the Taaffeite Kingdom? Did we not try to declare war with the Hawthorn Empire by rashly deciding for them when they have their own voice? Is that not reason enough for King Wystan to march down with his troops?

Oh for the love of God, why did Papa have to act so rashly?

The people of our Kingdom were deceived by Papa as they were ecstatic thinking that their princess finally "made her decision". I'm still young, for goodness sake. What's with the unnecessary worry?

Do they really believe in the old prophecy - 'Once a princess bears a daughter, the Kingdom would finally be happily ever after'? Dodgy if you ask me. There were too many variables to consider. We all know when it starts, but when did it end? How long did the happiness last after Papa and Mama got married?

Despite their initial joy, like high on caffeine, the people now seemed as though they were experiencing a caffeine crash. Everyone was definitely singing a different tune now that March tenth had arrived. As if the wedding was such a preposterous idea that I single-handedly thought of!

"Please, my darling Farah. I'm sure the groom is kind enough to give you time to reject the marriage."

"Papa!! What nonsense are you spouting about-"

"Think about it, won't you, my dear? Your mama would have been —"

"— Don't you think it's a bit selfish now to back out? WE were the one who self-declared to wed King Wystan and now we have the audacity to take it back???"

Rude as it may, I had to stop Papa there before I lost my mind. Rage was not even enough to explain how furious I was with Papa. He was the one who brought it up when I wasn't even thinking about marriage. He was the one who said the marriage would be beneficial for ME. Yeah right, me my ass. I should have noticed the red flag then.

Next thing you know, he went all excited on his own with his so-called brilliant ideas and declared nationwide that his dearest daughter would marry the warrior King.

Goodness gracious, how am I ever going to live on our first night?? He probably thinks I have the hots for him, that I am soooooo into him. A King nonetheless! Can't he be a prince at least? Goodness knows how old that man is!

"Farah, please. Papa is begging you to call off this wedding, yes?"

Ughh… I rolled my eyes so much, I wonder when the time would come for it to be stuck at the back forever?

I wanted to retort, give him a piece of mind, guilt-tripped Papa - saying if he could simply marry me, why can't he be the one who breaks the news? But I bit my tongue. Oh, how I wish it bleed, but I selfishly and cowardly didn't want to endure the pain.

"Look Papa, we shall proceed with the wedding. How bad can it be? Did you not promise me that he would protect me for life? Did you not foresee that calamities might befall upon us soon? If what you had seen and said is true, then be rest assured. We have our pride as royalties too!"

Phew! I finished off the last sentence with determination. I hope Papa would be convinced by the words he threw at me a month ago.

I gulped. An involuntary action I wished didn't happen because that might have implied that maybe, JUST MAYBE I was the one who needed to be convinced.