Marrying a Stranger

Aeris's Pov

"I will marry her!!" Those words came crashing down on me as I looked beyond the crowd accumulated in the hall.

There stood an unknown, but a handsome man. The guards stood at the corner, bowing down to him so it only signified that he was a royalty. Of course, his blazing red crown above his head had a story to tell, but this wasn't the time to ask about it. Instead, I got up and glared at the man who dared to be volunteering as a substitute for my groom.

A guard came from behind and rushed to the king to deliver a personal message. My father gasped and looked at the man and got up from his throne to descend down the stairs. I wondered what power this stranger held that made my father run down the stairs.

"King Caspian! It is such a pleasure and an honor to have you in my kingdom. I wished you had informed us about your arrival prior so we could have welcomed you in a manner." Said the King of Mistfall.

The stranger smiled slightly and bowed to my father. "The pleasure is all mine, King Aramus! I was passing by the kingdom and thought of having a visit. But it seems like your family is having trouble here."

His eyes landed on me, and I looked sternly at him.

"We can talk about that later, King Caspian. You must have been exhausted from the trenches in this hot weather. I would like you to stay and have some rest."

My father escorted the King to the Quest chamber, and I stood with a bouquet in my hand while Izel stood next to me, whispering in my ear, "Looks like I have got a completion now, but don't you worry, dear. I will have an upper hand in this marriage." He smirked before running out from the hall, and the others followed suit.

I sighed and threw the bouquet on the polished marble floor and headed out to gasp fresh air in the garden my mother used to stay in all day.

"This issue hasn't resolved yet." I heard my father speaking behind me.

"I understand your concern, but I won't marry that cheater at any cost." I was determined.

"So you want to marry a stranger instead?" He asked further. "What if things go worse than now? I have heard rumors about King Caspian, his cruelty and ruthlessly ruling strategy had spread terror among the continent. If you don't marry Izel, then you have to marry King Caspian since he had given the proposal. His power and authority are much more vast than mine. I have no control over his dominance. You can choose wisely."

I thought about what my father said and looked at the sun, which was about to set. " What if I say I don't want to marry any of these men?" I asked him to know what he thinks of me in such a situation.

"If you don't marry any of them, I have to make Arabella marry. She would choose Izel if they had been in an affair and you don't want Izel's interruption in the kingdom's affairs. I am sorry, my child, but one of you had to marry. I know you are an intelligent girl and you will choose the best path." Such as my father finished his words, I didn't dare to look at him because the battle going inside my head was loud.

Suddenly, he fell on the floor and the loud thud brought me back into reality and I screamed my father's name.

"Father!!!!!"

The next thing I knew was that medical servants and healers came running to save my father and for hours, they had him locked inside his chamber to perform surgery to save my father's life.

Not only the known family members and guests arrived, the king of an unknown territory came down from his chamber after hearing the news of my father collapsing on the ground.

Izel and Arabella were shameless people and still came to show their faces to us. I tried my best to ignore them, but Arabella approached me and tried to slap me. Just in time, I grabbed her arm and pushed her away from me.

"How dare you?" I glared at her with my intensified gaze.

"Because of you, our father is lying on his deathbed. You gave him anxiety, you pressured him even knowing how sensitive his health was. Your stubbornness will cost you our father's life." Arabella yelled loudly at me.

I wanted to yell at her back, but the fact she pasted on my face was not a lie. My father collapsed because of the anxiety I had given to him. If he died today, I won't be able to forgive myself.

"I don't really know whose fault it was, but you have no right to talk to my future wife in this tone, Princess Arabella." A low and dangerous voice rumbled behind me.

I gasped and looked at him. It was King Caspian. Did he call me his future wife?

"Oh? Why are you so sure that she will be your wife? What if I become your wife?" She asked with a high pitched, extra sweetened voice.

The man glared at her with a blank expression and smirked. "I proposed to the elder Princess of Mistfall. If I wanted to marry any girl, I would have said."

It was a tremendous blow to Arabella's pride, and I felt the humiliation on her face. Instead, she stomped and left before giving me one last glare.

I turned to face this man. "I didn't ask you to save me."

"I wasn't saving you, either." His words sounded harsh, but it was the first time I met his eyes. Those golden orbs hit differently from the one I even saw. Those beautiful eyes were captivating and mesmerizing. I felt drawn to them, but before I could stare any longer, the door of the chamber opened and the healers came out.

"The king is safe, but his health has deteriorated. We suggest not giving him any anxiety pressure to avoid chances of another stroke."

"What? Stroke?" I was in shock.

"Yes, and my lady, the king has requested your presence in the chamber." Said the healer.

I went straight to see my father and sat beside him.

"Father!"

"Aeris!"

"I am sorry, father! Because of me, you had a stroke." I cried at his feet.

"No, my child. I am getting old. You are my precious treasure. How can you be the cause of my illness? Your mother will hate me if I even made you cry." said father.

"But it was because of me."

"No… it wasn't. But since I am getting old, I need a ruler to take care of my kingdom. Have you thought about it?" He asked.

"Yes! I have decided. I am accepting King Caspian's proposal because I will never let Izel have his hands in my kingdom." I started with confidence.

"Are you sure?" He asked again.

"Yes… I am sure."

The news of the wedding spread like a fire and the next day, my marriage with King Caspian happened. It was a sort of formality since I didn't want anything grand after yesterday's incident. We wore shiny silver attire with a red cape falling down from his shoulders like a bloodlust waterfall. His eyes held no emotions but something hideous that I noticed well. I was wearing the same white gown I chose to marry in. There wasn't much crowd inside the hall and I felt suffocated in the thick air.

Arabella was present at the wedding because of Father's request and Izel was nowhere to be found. I sighed deeply before exchanging the vows and finally starting loudly, "I do!"

"Would you choose Princess Aeris as your bride?" The priest asked from King Caspian.

His intense gaze was glued on me and something stirred when he locked his eyes with mine. "I do!"

Those words were going to change the path of my life.

"You may now kiss the bride!" The priest said.

"I won't touch my wife until she says so." King Caspian stated while looking into my eyes.

I was hesitant to share any kind of intimacy with anyone because I was being cheated on and I had no strength to look for love in another man's eyes. Although, I married a stranger and was going to devote my life to him but before we take this marriage to another level; I had to find out why he chose to marry me instead of any girl in this kingdom? What were his intentions of visiting our kingdom? What exactly was he hiding behind that smile?

"Let the elders and other guests bless the newly married."

The priest left the stage, and now it was only the two of us.

"I know you have many thoughts about this marriage, Princess. Believe me; I am as curious as you are to know why you married me. After all, this wasn't just a coincidence." King Caspian stated with his gaze locked with mine and his held pressing my wrist firmly.

"I knew there is a motive behind your ravishing smile, King Caspian. Trust me; I will rip that smile apart once I find out why you are here." I never stopped glaring at him till the guest arrived.

"I love to play your game, Foxy!" King Caspian winked at me and turned his gaze away in a seductive gesture. Wait till I find out your intention, dear husband!