Consequences

A woman in a queen's crown stood in a dark iron-barred room with little light. The queen was folding her hand with sharp eyes staring at a girl with a look of despair.

"Have you lost your mind?" The queen cursed in a low and pressed voice.

"Mother ... I have no other choice. I do not want to marry him ..." whined the brown-haired girl as she squeezed the dark blue dress she was wearing.

"I know you don't like him. But you can't always act as you please! A princess has a big responsibility!" obviously, the number one woman in the kingdom of Ruxenia, Queen Adaire Dione.

"Why me, Mother? Why do I have to endure the king's incompetence leading Ruxenia to become stronger?" Syrena replied nonchalantly. The princess's heart was still very irritated, considering her irrevocable engagement.

The queen's hand floated in the air as if ready to slap her daughter on the cheek. The queen's chest also looks up and down due to anger.

"Why are you silent, Mother? Just hit me! It's better than losing my freedom for the rest of my life!" said Syrena with tears in her eyes.

Although the look of queen Ruxenia's grey eyes looked smouldering, the queen failed to hit the princess she loved. After taking a deep breath, Queen Adaire lowered her palms back down.

"I know, My Daughter. Sometimes life isn't fair. However, I hope you can go beyond what you have in mind about the future. I hope you will become the queen of the Lagardioz kingdom in the future."

"Mother...."

"This is no longer the time for you to be childish. Protecting the people from the wars and attacks of the wizarding kingdom is also a responsibility on your shoulders." The queen took a deep breath.

"Moreover, you have committed a great crime by bewitching Prince Agenor. You must be held accountable for your actions! Don't you know, Prince Agenor is on his way here with his army? Will you let the prince conquer this country, Syrena?" said the queen. The point was that Syrena would no longer be able to escape from her engagement.

"Again, everyone involved in your crazy act of escaping from the palace and poisoning Prince Agenor with magic potions will be sentenced to death!" Queen Ruxenia insisted.

Serena's eyes widened while her mouth was agape.

"No, Mother! Don't do that!" The grey-eyed girl whined.

Syrena did not expect that her reckless actions would drag those loyal to her into trouble.

"This will be the last lesson I give before your wedding day." The queen confirmed her words right in Syrena's nose.

Bowed down to reach for the queen's gown, Syrena whimpered again and begged for forgiveness for the maids and guards who had helped her.

The queen turned an unconcerned face and ordered the guards to arrest the maids and guards involved in Princess Syrena's fault. It wasn't long before a dozen maids and guards knelt before the jail where Syrena was.

"Princess, help me!" shouted the maids with their hands tied behind their backs. Their faces looked terrified, and they cried.

"Anna!" shouted Syrena for her maid.

"Whip them all to death!" The queen's orders made the blood seem to freeze because of the fear of death.

"No! Don't! Please don't do it, Mother! I promise to marry Prince Agenor! I promise!" said Syrena, still prostrate while holding her mother's red dress.

"Very well, since you have promised to marry Prince Agenor, their sentence will be reduced."

For a moment, Syrena breathed a sigh of relief. The brown-haired girl's gaze fell on the maids who were in tears.

"Behead them!" cried the queen.

The executioners immediately raised their swords, causing the atmosphere even tenser.

"Mother, why are they still receiving the death penalty? I promised to marry Prince Agenor!" said Syrena, disappointed.

"The mistake they made was fatal. Getting beheaded is better than being flogged to death." The queen's words shocked everyone.

Syrena screamed and kowtowed under the queen's feet. Unfortunately, the queen didn't care. The dozens of maids and guards were about to be executed.

"No!" shrieked Syrena.

"In life, you can do whatever you want. But remember! Every action has a consequence."

Paying no heed to Syrena, who held onto the queen's gown, the number one woman in the Ruxenia kingdom came out of the room with iron bars. The expression on his face was icy even though with teary eyes watching dozens of maids die in an instant before her eyes.

Again, Syrena could only howl from behind the iron bars and stare at the death of the loyal servants. The princess's eyes were so hot when she saw the ring with the red gemstone given by Prince Agenor on her ring finger.

"If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened! I promise you will pay for today's incident!"

***

"Cold..." Syrena muttered through gritted teeth.

In the dark, damp room, Syrena huddled while hugging her knees. More than a bone-chilling chill, Syrena's heart froze. She remembered that her father pawned her life for the entire country's safety. The silent night became so long.

The echo of the sound of a lock opened interrupted the thoughts of King Dione's eldest daughter. A glimmer of hope re-emerged in Syrena's heart.

[Maybe mother has changed her mind and will set me free.] However, Syrena's eyes widened like a full moon when the door opened utterly.

A well-built man and a pair of black wings entered the room, which suddenly felt cramped.

"Good evening, Princess Syrena." The second prince Lagardioz spoke softly in a condescending tone. A hideous grin appeared on Prince Agenor's lips.

Immediately the brunette princess sat up when she heard the voice of the second prince of Lagardioz.

"Why so surprised? This isn't our first meeting, is it?" Agenor folded his legs to get a closer look at Syrena's face.

"Beautiful..." Agenor muttered barely audibly.

Prince Lagardioz's hand gripped Syrena's cheek. The tip of the prince's pointed nails almost tore apart the smooth skin of the elder daughter of the ruler of Ruxenia. Syrena roughly threw the white-haired prince's hand away from her face. The eyes of the two brides-to-be met fiercely.