Marigold had finished squeezing the air out of my body and was helping me into the dress that Deimos had made for me when he knocked on the door. I knew I was running a bit late but him trying to rush me sent a wave of irritation through my body. Part of me still wasn’t on board with marrying him but with the makeup request and now this, he was testing the part of me that was on board with it.
“We’re almost done!” I shouted.
As Marigold buttoned up the back, I took the time to admire the dress. While I had plenty of ballgowns, Deimos insisted that I get something new for such a special occasion. I’d been too busy unpacking and settling in, so Deimos somehow found the time to pick something up for me. It was the classic princess silhouette in a beautiful lilac color with pale yellow lacy details. It truly was beautiful, but the corset underneath was sure to be the death of me. It had been so long since I’d had to wear one that my body wasn’t used to being squeezed into itself.
“All done,” Marigold said.
“Thank you, Marigold,” I said smiling. “You’re free to go.”
As usual, she didn’t hesitate to get out of the bedroom as soon as possible. I knew Deimos was waiting in the hallway, so one more quick check in the mirror and I was out the door. Deimos was dressed in his classic black on black suit, but as a demon it suited him. He had his horns on display today and it was the first time I was able to get a good look at them. They weren’t completely black like I had originally thought. They faded off into a dark red that you could only see in the right lighting.
“Wow,” Deimos said. “You look beautiful.”
“You have a good eye for dresses.” I smiled.
“I was terrified that you would hate it.” He said laughing nervously.
I linked my arm through his, “I love it.”
He looked down at me with a soft smile on his face, “Are you ready to meet your future citizens?”
“Not really.”
“You have nothing to be nervous about Nesryn. They’re going to love you, I know it.”
I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves, “Alright, let’s get this over with.”
He walked us down to the ballroom. There wasn’t anyone there yet, but I assumed they were waiting for our arrival before letting people in. It was the first time that I had gotten to see the word that Deimos had put in. He seemed to have more than an eye for dresses.
There was a small stage in the front of the ballroom along with space for the dance floor. The other half of the room was full of tables and chairs while the buffet tables lined the back wall. Everything was done in a black, red, and gold color scheme that felt demonically royal.
“It’s beautiful,” I said looking up at Deimos.
“I hope so, it’s a color scheme that my mom made popular around here. Before that, it was blacks and purples and deep reds, but my mom thought adding gold in there would brighten our dark world up a bit.” He said.
“I wish I could have met her; she sounds lovely.”
“She would have loved you. Probably would have even insisted that she train you instead of me.”
“We’ll just have to do both our mothers proud with this.”
“Then let’s get these people in here and introduce them to their new Queen.”
Deimos gave the okay for people to be let in. As we waited, we made our way to the stage so we could give the announcement as soon as everyone was inside and settled. As people slowly shuffled in and found their seats, all eyes were on Deimos and I. I watched the chairs fill up and then watched everyone start to whisper amongst each other.
“Are you ready?” Deimos whispered when he saw all but our table was filled.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
We stepped up to the microphone which was enough to get everyone’s attention. He took the microphone off the stand taking control over the situation which for once today, I was grateful for.
“Before I get into the announcement, I would like to thank you all for joining us tonight. Whether you were able to be here physically or you’re watching this at home, it is lovely to have you.” This got a round of applause and a few cheers, all of which Deimos ended as quickly as it started. “As I’m sure you all know, my father King Cainen is looking to step down soon which means I will be crowned King. This has led to a lot of questions about who will be your Queen and you were all promised that we would keep you updated. Well, through the last few months I have been making my rounds to meet all the eligible Princesses and I am pleased to announce that I have found your future Queen.
“If you were out, wandering around town last week then you most likely already saw each other together. If you didn’t, then she is the beautiful woman standing next to me. I am honored to introduce Princess Nesryn from Freyborne to all of you tonight.”
This time, there were no cheers or applause to follow what he had said. It was only hundreds of curious and judging eyes staring at me and only me. I gave them a small smile and an awkward wave while Deimos continued to speak.
“I know that some of you might be concerned because you have all been very vocal on not wanted anyone less than demons ruling over you. Well, I happy to tell you that we got extremely lucky with this. We have confirmed that Nesryn is as much of a demon as all of us here tonight. Her mother’s side of the family has traces of demon blood in their line and decided that Nesryn’s soul is powerful enough to handle our wonderful powers. This means Xavaria will continue to be ruled by demons and only demons.”
Everyone looked a bit less judgmental at this announcement of my status. This was enough to get them all to break out into cheers and applause once more. Deimos bowed and I curtsied before we walked off the stage to take out seats at a table with King Cainen. When we approached him, he stood up and patted Deimos on the back looking like the proud father he was. What shocked me was when he pulled me into a hug.
“Welcome to the family Nesryn. I know when it’s time, my Kingdom will be in great hands with you.” Cainen said as he released me.
“Thank you,” I smiled. “That really does mean a lot.”
Deimos pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, “I’m going to grab us some food before everyone rushes the buffet tables.”
Cainen chose to join Deimos which left me at the table by myself sipping on a glass of wine. Someone behind me cleared their throat making me turn around. It was a girl with white-blond hair and large red eyes who couldn’t have been much older than I.
“Hi. Um. I know this isn’t appropriate but I didn’t know if I would get a chance to talk to you once you and um Prince Deimos started to make your rounds.” She said.
“I’ve never been one for formalities.” I smiled. “What’s your name?”
“Aster.” She replied hesitantly. “I was hoping I could ask you a few questions about you and Prince Deimos.”
Aster was shifting nervously on the balls of her feet. I couldn’t tell if it was simply the fact that she thought this wasn’t appropriate or if there was something more to it. Something told me it was something more though.
“Ask anything you want.”
“I was wondering if he-”
“We’ll take time to speak with everyone after we’ve eaten.” Deimos’ voice cut through hers like a knife. “You may speak with Princess Nesryn then.”
She immediately stopped shifting as her eyes grew wide. She looked like a child who had been caught doing something they shouldn’t be doing.
“Yes, Prince Deimos. I apologize.” She said quickly, sounding almost robotic. She curtsied respectfully before leaving as quickly as she could.
I took a moment to study Deimos. He looked a little upset as he watched Aster make her way back to her seat. After a few seconds, he seemed to snap out of it and a smile found its way back on his face. Did he and Aster have history together? If they did, things clearly did not end well for them.
Deimos set a plate in front of me, “Here you are.”
“Thank you.”
He sat down next to me and we both started eating. It was a few minutes after that when Cainen rejoined us. He and Deimos struck up a conversation about Kingdom business that I didn’t yet know about. I wondered when I would get to join Deimos in helping Cainen run the Kingdom properly so we could do it together when the time came.
I finished eating long before Deimos did since he was also busy talking. This left me waiting around for him to finish as I watched other people start to move around and mingle. It seemed to take an eternity, but Deimos finished eating and finally turned his attention over to me.
“Are you ready to go meet some of your people?” Deimos asked.
I grinned, “Definitely.”
We both stood up and I linked my arm through his letting him lead me around. We approached the first group of people we saw and instantly they were chattering away about how happy they were to have me here. That’s about how it went with everyone we spoke to. We got through introductions and then I was welcomed with open arms. Everyone seemed genuinely excited to have me there and they did not hesitate to tell me so. They also were amazed at how Deimos was able to find the one demon Princess that didn’t come from Xavaria or Hell.
“I can’t believe that you managed to find a demon Princess out in the world! And in Freyborne of all places!” A girl exclaimed. “Though I suppose if anyone would be able to do it, it would be you, Prince Deimos.”
I opened my mouth to say something cheesy, but Deimos squeezed my upper arm interrupting my chain of thought.
“I wasn’t expecting it either, but I really did get lucky with this one. I might even go as far as to say she’s perfect for me.” Deimos smiled. “It’s been wonderful speaking with you, but we should move on. I want to introduce her to everyone if possible.”
And that was something that kept happening throughout the night. Anytime I would try to answer a question or say more than hellos he would do something like squeeze my arm or my hand then answer for me. The longer it went on, the more frustrated I grew. I made sure to keep a smile on my face as to not give away my true feelings to anyone, but when we got back up to our bedroom I made them clear.
“I don’t appreciate you cutting me off in every conversation tonight,” I said as I began taking off my jewelry.
“I thought it would be best for me to handle the talking since you don’t know about our world yet.” He replied.
“But not every question or conversation had to do with your world. I can talk to someone about being excited to be here or how happy I am that we met.” I argued.
“I did what I thought was best.” He said firmly. “We should get ready for bed. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”
Like earlier with his comment about my makeup, he walked away before I had the chance to say something else. The only difference was that this time I could feel the anger rolling off him in waves. I bit my lip looking at the doorway for the walk-in closet wanting to express my opinion more, but something inside me forced my brain to drop the idea. I knew that continuing this conversation would only end in an arguement. Ultimately, I let it go and continued to get ready for bed.
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