After that, I could no longer hold myself back. I argued back and forth with Morwenna, and though I made a complete mess of it, she wasn't having any of it. She made sure every word sounded like an order. The worst part was that Father was taking her side. She had probably filled his ears with something ridiculous. Mother Elowen stood beside me, but she couldn't truly go against them. She did try, though.
I stormed into my room, pacing aggressively, trying to find any way out. Two days passed. Morwenna told me that the lad she had chosen would arrive in about two weeks with his family so they could discuss the marriage. And in a month, she would have me married off. Fuck you.
I didn't talk to anyone besides Mother Elowen and Tamsin. At night, Tamsin and I spoke, but my mind kept lingering elsewhere. I would randomly pause mid-sentence. A series of different emotions churned through me, and even that pissed me off. Then Mother Elowen came in and locked the door behind her, breathing deeply.
"Lucia," she began, looking down. It seemed as if she was rethinking what she was about to say.
"I'm sorry, Lucia. I'm afraid I have no power here. I can't even convince them to postpone the marriage."
Her voice alone told me that Mother Elowen had tried her best. Really, talking to those two was like talking to a wall. I hadn't been expecting anything anyway. Tamsin, however, had been hoping. She was really stressed out, but she couldn't do anything.
"I thought things were changing. I felt like fate was shifting toward the good side. Your father was changing because of you."
Mother Elowen looked up with a hopeless expression and continued.
"Almost all fathers change for the sake of their child. But sometimes there is more to it."
She said this while coming toward me. Tamsin stood up to give her space to sit beside me. I hugged my knees as Mother Elowen placed a hand on my shoulder. She took a long pause before speaking again.
"Because of the death of your uncle, the family business is in losses. That was obvious, but—"
She couldn't speak the rest of the words in one go, but I saw them coming. I buried my face in my knees.
"Then your grandma got a business proposal, and to tighten it even more, they arranged this marriage."
Her voice grew lower with every word until it was barely a whisper. I couldn't hold my tears any longer.
"So every girl is just a bargaining chip then?"
I said, my voice breaking with sobs. Mother hugged me tightly. She couldn't hold herself together either, but she was doing better than me and Tamsin.
Tamsin didn't say much. She simply sat on my other side and gripped my hand. This was the first time she had acted like a friend in the presence of another family member. She was growing.
"I wish I could be a better mother… and a wife," Mother Elowen started. Every word seemed difficult for her to utter. I hugged her back because I didn't agree with her. She was a great mother and a wife. The only one who was defective was Morwenna.
"I thought I would never ever have to say this… Every girl goes through it. We just need to adjust. I'm no exception, nor are you."
It was hard for Mother Elowen to tell me this. Something similar had been said to Cassia, and now I was feeling the same hopelessness she must have felt. We cried for a while, Mother holding me tightly. This was the kind of feeling only a woman could truly understand. After a few moments, we quieted down and wiped our tears.
"Your father told me that he is from a good family. A tier-two royal family that owns an Ore Consortium business. That's all I know."
Mother Elowen said after composing herself, though the aftereffects of crying didn't fade so easily. Tamsin was still lost in a hazy, tearful daze. As for me, a new thought surfaced in my mind.
"We can only hope he is a good man, at least."
Mother Elowen said, looking away. Not all hope was lost. No — I wasn't talking about wishing that the man would turn out to be good. This was Morwenna we were dealing with. I didn't believe he was a good man at all. I could tell, even though I had never met him. I just knew it as a fact.
I was talking about Aurelian. I could simply send him a letter, and he would take me away from this puppet house. I don't care if I never attend the royal academy. Marrying Aurelian was a far better choice than letting Morwenna or Father decide my fate. He was madly in love with me and would definitely do as I pleased. Yes, I had made up my mind.
Actually, I don't think I needed to run away with him. My future husband, Aurelian D'Arthemont, is a law student, and his parents are lawmakers. Therefore, I could make Morwenna beg for every sin she had forced upon me.
I didn't need a man who owned an Ore Consortium business. What kind of sick business deal were they made anyway? Our family dealt in farming, so what were they doing? Supplying farming tools? Who cared. They could all go to hell for all I cared.
I would marry Aurelian, and then I would be called Lucia D'Arthemont… That actually sounded sexy.
Why hadn't I thought of this earlier? Ah, anyway. The next morning, the first thing I did was write a letter explaining the hopeless situation I was in. Even my handwriting was affected by the tension. I told Tamsin to drop it in the post box like I usually did. When she was about to leave, I remembered something as I glanced outside the window.
"Tamsin, wait," I called out.
"Yes, Miss Lucia." Tamsin stopped and turned around toward me, sliding the letter into her pocket.
"That little boy. I remember telling you to check up on a boy."
I asked casually. Tamsin remembered and placed a hand over her chest.
"Oh, you mean the boy who was getting chased by dogs in our garden? Yes, I remember, but when I got there, I didn't find him."
Tamsin said with a concerned voice, and she should be. A few days ago, I had been looking outside the window and saw a boy being chased by dogs. First of all, that was strange because security was pretty tight here. Even Aurelian had a hard time when he sneaked in.
And yet a little boy had somehow managed to get inside. It was a mystery. So I was naturally concerned about this mysterious little fellow. Unfortunately, I had been very sick around that time, so I couldn't leave my room. Otherwise, I would have gone out to check myself.
Tamsin didn't have anything else to say, so I let her go. She left to put my letter in the post box.
Then I was staring outside the window again. It was normal for a castle princess, but appreciating the view helped. The different shades of the morning sky, the flowers and bushes in the garden — it almost made me forget about the marriage situation.
Suddenly, Tamsin opened the door, breathing heavily. She must have come running.
"What happened? Did you finish the work I gave you?"
I asked casually. Tamsin didn't answer at first, just catching her breath, inhaling deeply. "He is coming."
Who exactly? Aurelian? No way — I had just sent him the letter today. What was she talking about? Tamsin looked tense and worried.
"The lad that your grandma chose." She made sure I heard her loud and clear.
"What do you mean? They said he would be here in a week or so."
I asked. One sentence was enough to shatter the fragile calm I had found only minutes ago. I was tense, and I wasn't blinking.
"Yes. But he sent a note just now saying that he was out for some business and the place happened to be close to here. So he will be here in a few hours. And—"
Tamsin cut off the sentence. She had been straightforward until then, but now she looked down. My heartbeat quickened, matching her energy.
"Your grandma told me and the other servants to get you ready," she added. "He is coming to see you personally. Without his family."