CHAPTER TWO.

SERAPHINA'S P.O.V.

  The soft echoes of my footsteps reverberated in the empty hallways as my slippered feet made contact with the marble floors. The pale rays of the early morning sun passed through the open spaces between the vertical pillars which held the palace's structure and casted dim elongated shadows on the polished marble floors.

  The anticipation in my mind was evident in the way my feet carried me across the distance from my bed chambers to the second most important room in the kingdom, where I had been summoned to. All of the expectation that I felt had been planted into me the moment that a servant had come looking for me in the early hours of the morning with news of the request to be present by the King of Ravenscroft. Usually, the King was too busy with other matters that had to do with the kingdom's affairs, so it came as a huge surprise to me to hear that I was been urgently summoned to his study as early as that.

  After sending the servant back to the King with an acknowledgement of his request for my presence, with the help of Leana, I had gotten dressed up as quickly as possible and then began the journey to the study.

  That morning, the hallways, which were usually bustling with numerous servants going about their businesses and activities in the palace, were strangely empty. The unusual and uncharacteristic emptiness of the hallways only served to intensify my unease as it was an odd and unsettling sight. 

  Unlike my quiet environment, a war of curious thoughts soared through my head. My heart raced with curiosity while my mind ran through every of the possibilities that could be the reason for the urgent summons. Each step that I took drew me closer to my destination and they caused for an increase in the weight of my anticipation.

  After a few more minutes, I finally arrived at my destination. Two warriors flanked each side of the door, their strong and imposing stance was shortly altered as they gave a bow to me. For a few seconds, I stood in front of the heavy oak door of the King's study and bid myself to be calm. When I felt less jittery, with a hesitant exhale, I balled my right hand into a fist, raised it up and rapped it on the wooden door twice. The sound of the knocking echoed in the quiet stillness of the palace.

  "Come in,"  I heard my father's voice say from within the room.

  I gently pried the doors open, stepped into the room, and pulled them shut behind me. The sight of the King sitting at his table was no surprise to me, but it came as a surprise to see his wife, the Queen, sited beside him. On my stepping further into the room, the serious expressions on both their faces  instantly caught my attention. I could feel the tension in the air as the both of them continued to stare at me with grave eyes, causing my heart to skip a beat.

  "Good morning, Your Majesties." I greeted as I lowered myself into a deep curtsy.

  "Good morning, my princess." King Leopold greeted back, "You may rise."

  As I raised myself up from the bow, I looked up at Queen Edwina who gave me a gentle nod in greeting. The look of concern in her eyes served as a fuel to increase the flames of my curiosity.

  "You may take a seat." the King's voice said, snatching my attention back to his presence.

  I nodded my head and did as I was told. After taking a seat on the lone chair which stood at the other end of the big study table, my fingers started to fidget in my lap as I waited for them to speak. I was directly in the King and Queen's line of vision and they in mine, so it was very easy for me to see the expressions on both of their faces.

  "How was your night, my darling daughter?" the King asked.

  "My night was good, Father. I slept like a baby." I replied.

  "That is wonderful to hear." he said.

  "You and Mother, too?" I asked.

  "Yes, my princess. We slept splendidly." he replied with a smile on his face. "How are you?" the King asked again.

  "I am very well, Father. I hope that you and mother are well too." I said in reply.

  "We are very well, indeed." he said, nodding his head.

  "I am very glad to hear that."

  I could not help the pang of unbelief that arose in my mind. They were both acting so unnaturally awkward and it only served to pique my curiosity.

  "I heard about your combat practice with Gerald under the rain yesterday evening." The King said.

  I could see the playful twinkle in his eyes as he said that and I looked up at mother, knowing very well that she would have the opposite reaction to hearing that information. And I was right, as on her face, she wore a look of disapproval that caused me to blush in embarrassment. I quickly averted my eyes from hers and turned back to face the King.

  "I am quite satisfied with your zeal for knowledge, my darling. You make myself and your mother proud, and I am very confident that you will continue to do so." he said.

  "Thank you very much, Father. I will definitely continue to make you and mother proud. I promise to never stop being a model of dignity for you both, with the Moon Goddess being on my side." I said, my cheeks pulling into a wide smile as I spoke.

  "May the Moon Goddess bless you." the King said with a smile that matched my own.

  Our moment, however, was interrupted by a sharp cough from the Queen's mouth. The smile on the King's face immediately ceased to be and was replaced my the same serious expression that I had first met.

  "Seraphina," the Queen began.

  "Yes, mother?" I said, turning to look at her face. 

  Her voice was gentle but at the same time, stern as she said, "There is something that the King and I must discuss with you."

  Her words hung in the air and I waited with bated breath to hear what it was we had to talk about.

  "Olivia's is engaged." the King said.

  "I know that. She is to be married to a foreign prince; it is not news anymore as everyone in the palace can't seem to stop talking about it." I said.

  "It is true that she was to be married to the prince of Shadowmoor Kingdom, but that can no longer be possible." my mother, the Queen, said.

  "What do you mean? Does that mean that she is to be married to another?" I asked.

  "Yes, my princess. Your older sister is to be married to another man." my father confirmed.

  "Okay? Although, I do not quite understand what that has to do with me." I said.

  I watched the two of them give one another a quick glance. It seemed like they were communicating with their eyes and I just sat there, my heart pounding and racing in anticipation of what it was that kept them in such an awkward position around me.

  After a few seconds of looking at each other, they broke eye contact and planted it on me instead. The King sighed loudly, closing his eyes for a split second before opening them and placing them on me, once more.

  "Seraphina, my princess." he started.

  At that point, I was nearly at the edge of my seat due to the overwhelming curiosity that surged through my veins. My father stretched out his hand to grasp mine, his eyes softening as he gave my hand a light squeeze.

  "You are to take Olivia's place as the bride of the Shadowmoor Prince." he said.

  To say that I was prepared for the words that came out of the King's mouth, would be a very big lie. I looked at both the King and Queen, trying to see if their pronouncement was some sort of joke or prank, however, the grave expressions on both of their faces confirmed their seriousness.

  My eyes widened as I tried to process the unexpected twist of my fate. I had never, in a million years, imagined that I would ever be in that sort of position. Olivia, the intended bride for a foreign alpha prince, was engaged to another and now, I was to be the substitute bride. 

  As the weight of the news settled in, my gaze wandered to the open window in an attempt to sort out my thoughts. It was clear that there was no other solution to avoid the political implications that would come with dissolving the marriage alliance with the Shadowmoor Kingdom and I had also made a promise to do the best that I could for my parents and our kingdom. So with a resolute nod, I accepted the unexpected arrangement, much to the relief of my parents.

  After excusing myself from the study, I stepped out into the palace's hallways, my head still in a daze from the sudden events. Deciding that I needed some fresh air, I headed out to the palace gardens in hopes that the serene environment would bring me some solace. 

  The smell of the garden's flowers eased my nerves and calmed my raging thoughts. And then, as if the world conspired to test me further, my eyes caught a glimpse of movement. A gasp escaped my lips as I took in the sight in front of me; two figures that were so lost in their passionate embrace, that they unaware that they had an audience. My heart raced with shock and disbelief as I stared at their familiar faces.

  "Sebastian? Olivia?"