Chapter 4
All of the kingdom, both distant and near, were required to attend the King's wedding. All of my sisters in-law and brothers in-law's wives prepared for the most grand event of their lifetime. Only I dreaded returning to the place I vowed never to set eyes upon again. I was a wife, and a noble, and I had promised before God to obey my husband. With an empty heart I packed. I took little part in the conversations on the road to Bucharest. I ate even less.
On the day we arrived at the palace, my husband was taken ill. We were shown to our room, but I refused to go in. The King, in a sick act of cruelty, specifically ordered we be shown to the same room I once occupied for over a year near my cousin's chamber. The nightmares returned that evening. I slept in the garden. The next morning I was introduced to the bride to be. She was a gorgeous young Princess from the city of Venice. The marriage was made to strengthen the bonds between the two countries. I recognized the look of hope and dreams fulfilled in her eyes. It was the same one Debra had the day before her wedding. Even though I tried to smile, I could feel nothing but sorrow for the girl.
The day of the wedding was like none anyone could remember. The sun was bright, but the breeze was cool, and smelled of fragrant flowers. The attendees filed into the cathedral in the early evening for the ceremony was to begin at dusk. As the bride made her way down the aisle, tears started streaming from my eyes. I couldn't look at the young woman holding her train. I was told the event was spectacular, but I did not see it. I told everyone I needed to check on my husband, but I never made it beyond the cemetery. I spent the two hours of the King's wedding at my cousin's grave.
The King and his new Queen led the procession through the streets on white majestic horses, where the commoners could get a rare glimpse. Forty minutes it took us to arrive at the palace where the evening festivities would begin. The King waited for the stable hand to take his horse, but none came. A soldier finally took the horse and the King dismounted. He helped his new Queen down himself. The two of them walked up to the doors, but they did not open. Two more guards rushed up the steps to open them for him. The King stormed into the palace and shouted, but there was no there to answer him. He personally threw open the doors to the grand room, and witnessed one of the bloodiest sights he has ever beheld. The servants, and guards, and stable hands, and cooks, were slaughtered and placed in the chairs around the tables reserved for the guests. But that is not what frightened the King. Sitting upon her throne was Queen Debra. She was just as beautiful as I remembered her, except her skin had turned pale white, and her stare was ice cold.
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