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“Eira..” Maria sat on the bed and placed a hand on Eira’s forehead. “Are you okay? Do you feel unwell?”

Unwell was an understatement, Eira felt like her soul had left her body. She was tired, she was sad, she angry, and she most of all, she felt incredibly lonely.

She sat up and gently pushed Maria’s hand off her face. “I’m alright..” she mumbled as she slipped off her bed. “I just need a bath and I’ll feel much better.”

Maria frowned. She had never heard Eira’s voice sound so incredibly sad before, it was heartbreaking, if only she could do something to help, but what?

*

“What happened out there?” Damien asked Zhelimir who had just come from calming the ruckus that was going on outside. “Did Jacob try and force his way into the palace again? I told lord Ivan to keep an eye on his son.”

Zhelimir shook his head, “no, it wasn’t Jacob this time. There was a late entry for the candidacy for Eira’s hand, and the royal guards were not too happy with it.”

“Late entry? Who has been added to the list this time around?”

.....

Zhelimire stepped aside and revealed the person who was standing behind him. Damien’s eyes widened in shock, his mouth gaped open but words refused to come out. Why would this person attest to be Eira’s suitor?! This was absurd, the king would be furious!

“Right this way,” Zhelimir directed the person to the library. “The princess will be meeting all of you in the library momentarily.”

Damien watched as their late guest walked into the library and closed the door behind them. He then turned back to Zhelimir with an unsettled look painting his face.

“We could get into big trouble for allowing this Zhelimir,” Damien advised his cousin. “This person shouldn’t be allowed to-”

“She was crying last night..” Zhelimir spoke in a low pained tone. He then looked at Damien, sadness very apparent in his eyes. “Eira, she was crying, I’ve never known her to cry, she must be so unhappy.”

“What..?”

“I know we have a duty to the crown Damien, but Eira is like our little sister..” the blonde grabbed Damien’s shoulders and looked into his eyes. “Will you really be okay with all of this? Even if it means she will be miserable her entire life? Will you be okay with watching Eira cry the rest of her days because we chose duty over family?”

Damien lowered his gaze and sighed. He too had noticed his bright and bubbly cousin slowly falling into a pit of despair, and many a time he had wanted to take her away and put an end to all of this, but he had never gathered the courage to defy his uncle and aunt’s wishes.

“If there is any chance of Eira’s happiness,” Zhelimir spoke and pointed towards the door. “That person is our only shot.” He lowered his arms and fixed his attire, “I’m willing to take the fall for it, as long as I can protect Eira’s heart in the process.”

Zhelimir started walking towards the door, before he could enter, Damien called to him.

“Wait..” he walked to Zhelimir’s side, and for the first time, a small smile painted his face. “I can’t let you face our uncle’s wrath alone, I will go with you.”

*

“Today is the last day,” Maria spoke as she gently brushed Eira’s beautiful red hair. “In about eleven days you will be betrothed to a handsome man of your choice, awaiting to be married in what might be the wedding of the century. Aren’t you excited?”

“I suppose,” Eira muttered in a low tone.

“I know you must be feeling exhausted right now,” Maria added on. “But once you start preparing for the wedding, all of that will turn into excitement. I remember how it was when your mother was getting married, it was such a magical time.”

“Tell me Maria,” Eira asked the woman who was now tying her hair. “How is it that my mother can marry two men of her choice, but I can’t even get the chance to get to know the man that I love? Doesn’t seem very fair now does it?”

The nosferatu woman was taken aback by the question. She put down the hair brush and awkwardly tightened the ribbon in Eira’s hair.

“Well, your mother’s situation was a little different..” the nosferatu woman responded.

“I bet it was,” the princess replied and got up. “She agreed to marry one man, then broke his heart and married another. And now because of her mistakes, I have to suffer.”

“Eira, that is your mother..”

“I know,” the princess walked towards the exit. “She makes sure to remind me of that every waking minute.” Eira opened the door, before leaving she curtsied to Maria. “Thank you for helping me get ready,” and she left, leaving Maria with an unsettled feeling. Why did things have to be this way?

*

Gareth kissed his wife’s cheek and gave her a smile. “Are you ready to meet the last batch of suitors?”

Melissa shook her head, “you can go on without me,” she responded. “I think I will sit today out.”

“It’s Eira isn’t it?” Gareth asked and crouched in front of his wife. “I too cannot bare to see the look on her face becoming grimmer and grimmer with each passing day. You know Mel, it’s not too late to do the right thing and-”

“And what? And let Elric have at her?” Melissa stood up and walked back to the bed. “Never... you don’t know that man like I do Gareth, he’s crazy! He could use Eira to spite us, he could make our only child miserable, I cannot allow that. I made that mistake once, I will not let her do the same, forget it.”

Gareth sighed and nodded. “I see..” he stood up and walked towards the door, his heart feeling a little heavier with each step. His family was falling apart, his wife had a grudge she could not let go, and his daughter was slowly starting to despise them. And as much as he wanted to blame someone for all of this, as much as he wanted to say this was Elric’s fault, he couldn’t. Elric had done nothing wrong this time. When he first met Eira, she was the one who seeked him out, and at the time he had no idea who she really was. And even after he knew, he did not harm her or use her in anyway, in fact he seemed to have listened to the warming given and stayed away from Eira.

But now what? Elric was out of their lives but things were going to pieces regardless, so what was the point of all of this?

The elven king closed the door and walked down the hallways towards the library, he felt terrible about what he had done. He couldn’t believe he was forcing his daughter into marriage, after he swore he would never do that, after he swore he would let her find a man she loved and support her all the way. He had gone against his words, as a king and as a father.

Outside the library doors stood Zhelimir and Damien who bowed at him. “Are all the suitors already inside?”

“Yes your majesty,” Damien responded. “And the princess is on her way here.”

Gareth had the right mind to just call the whole thing off, walk to his daughter and embrace her lovingly. He wanted to apologize to her and tell her she could be with whoever she wanted, as long as she was happy again.

“Good morning everyone...”

The three men turned to look at Eira who was curtsying. When she looked up, all of them felt a jab in their chest, the princess looked terrible. She had bags under her eyes, her once radiant skin had paled, her smile was gone, and the glimmer in her eyes had long since disappeared.

Gareth took a step towards his daughter and reached for her, “Eira are you alright?”

“Yes,” she responded and dodged his hand. “Shall we meet the suitors now please, I still have to review them all later today and come up with the final list like you requested. I would prefer we do this quickly.”

Gareth nodded, but on the inside he was weeping, that look his daughter had on her face, it was the same one he had all those years ago when everyone was against him being with Melissa. He had been absolutely miserable, so much so that he thought he was going mad. And now he was doing the same thing to Eira.

They walked into the library, Gareth’s eyes fixed on Eira whose face showed no emotion at all. But suddenly, her eyes widened slightly and shock painted her face. The king followed her line of sight to look at what had startled her and then gasped himself.

“You..?” Gareth spoke. “What are you doing here? What exactly is going on here?”

“Good morning your majesty. Just like everyone else in this room, I am here to contest for the princess’ hand.”