A Bargain Under the Veil

Synopsis

On the eve of the royal wedding, my elder sister drugged me. She stripped the white lace from my body and donned the bridal gown herself. "I'll marry that crippled heir in your place," she sneered, gripping my jaw with bruising force. "The Crown Prince is a bloodthirsty savage. You can go die in my stead." My father pushed open the door, looking at me coldly. "Dying in your sister's stead is a blessing you don't deserve," he muttered. On his command, the servants shoved me into a dilapidated carriage. I was carried through the side gates of the palace and into the suffocating gloom of the prince's manor. There, my bridal veil was ripped away by the tip of a blood-stained broadsword. The prince, the man rumored to kill without blinking, wrapped his hand around my throat. I stared back into his vicious eyes and, without flinching, reached out to grasp the sharp edge of his blade. "Your Highness," I whispered, "I have brought the seal of the legions you've been looking for."