The Veil of Darkness

(She was like the moon --

Part of her was always hidden away!)

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On top of the Midnight Tower, around a few hundred people were gathered to attend the most peculiar wedding that had ever taken place in the Seelie Realm. It was a wedding where the grooms had refused to make an appearance.

All those people who were excited to finally see the appearance of the famous but also mysterious Dark Lords of the Cursed Castle, had met with nothing but disappointment.

The Dark Lords had been living in the Seelie Realm for nearly five centuries but not even once did they step out of the Cursed Castle, not even on the night of their wedding. But almost no one appeared to be really surprised by their absence, not even the bride herself.

The top of the tower, where the wedding was taking place, was decorated beautifully in white theme. Long white curtains, white magical light balls, white spiritual flowers, and white statues were beautifully arranged to prepare the place for the wedding.

Even the bride was wearing a lavish white gown made of the fabric of finest quality. Diamond jewelry and light makeup gave her beauty another bounce and made her appear as one of the most beautiful brides to ever exist in the Seelie Realm.

Annalise Sylvester, the only daughter of the Grand Duke and the youngest cousin sister of the King of the Seelie Realm, was getting married to the Dark Lords of the Cursed Castle to complete the alliance that was very important to save their realm from the dark force that was invading it.

For the past couple of years, mysterious things had been happening all over the realm, threatening not only the lives of the common people but also challenging the power of the Royal family. And in order to keep the realm safe, they needed help from the Dark Lords as their enemy was much more powerful.

"Your Highness."

Annalise was pulled out of her thoughts when her personal maid handed her the glass of red wine. Her ocean-blue eyes wandered toward the other three wine glasses that were sitting on the pedestal standing in front of her.

"Your Highness, it's time to pay respect to the Stars and the Elements and drink the wine to complete the rituals. You... you have to finish all the wine..." Sera trailed off as she couldn't bear it anymore. Not only her lady had to marry three monsters because of the Royal edict but she was also humiliated to such a degree at her wedding.

"It's alright, Sera." Annalise tried to comfort her maid as she gave the girl a small encouraging smile.

She tightened her hold on the wine glass and after getting the approval from the High Priestess, she moved towards the Circle of Elemental Stones that was revolving in mid-air as she emptied half of the wine of the glass into the little pool beneath it before drinking the rest of the wine.

She repeated the same process with the other three wine glasses to finish the ritual in place of her husbands who didn't find it necessary to attend their own wedding. She wasn't really surprised though, the Dark Lords had never stepped out of the Cursed Castle and she could never be the reason to make them appear in front of everyone.

The High Priestess moved forward and wrapped a glowing blue thread around Annalise's left wrist before handing three similar threads to her as she spoke, "These are for your husbands. Help them wear these as the moon threads are the symbol of your marriage."

Annalise accepted the Moon threads and nodded her head in understanding. Her heart, which had been calm all this time, suddenly started beating faster as she waited for the High Priestess to speak the final sentence of the wedding ritual.

"With the blessing of Stars and Holy Elements, the marriage between Annalise Sylvester and the Dark Lords of the Cursed Castle is sealed. May they live a happy and prosperous life as husbands and wife."

The sound of clapping and cheers filled the air as the High Priestess made the announcement. However, these cheers were not for Annalise but for the King and the Seelie Realm. With this marriage, she had sealed the pact between the Royal family and the Dark Lords.

Annalise found herself looking toward the balcony from where the King and the Grand Duke had been observing the wedding. She was probably one of those few luckiest people in the Empire who were graced with the presence of the King at their wedding but she was also pretty unlucky as her own family wasn't present there except for her father but he too remained mostly distant from the ceremony.

Her eyes moved to look at her father who was standing like a statue beside the King. She knew that her family was suffering even more than she was because of the marriage. Her mother was in such bad health after receiving the Royal edict that she could hardly stand on her feet and her father was suffering because of the guilt of failing his daughter and his family, he was bound to his duty to put the country before everything else.

Her gaze met with the King's and she found His Majesty giving her a slight nod. The two of them weren't really close but they had maintained a positive sibling relationship.

While the King wasn't feeling as sad and devastated as her parents, he too felt a little bit guilty for using her. But that little guilt wasn't enough to make him change his mind. He had to save his empire and people, and he was ready to pay the price for it, and the price in this case was Annalise.

Annalise pulled her attention away from the balcony and moved to stand next to the high railings as she looked down at the night view of the Capital City. Her eyes wandered toward the high peaks located in the north outside the capital and the view of a castle appeared in front of her vision.

That was her new home where she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with her three husbands!

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