(Far away, in the outskirts of Madonia: Albanie)

Fleurie stood in her father's study, her head bowed, heart racing as she bit her lips. She flinched when her father banged the table, her heart skipping a beat. He returned from the council meeting a while back and has been in a terrible mood all this time. She'd come to ask him how it went and this is the reaction she got from him.

" Of course he refused to take back his decision! She's going to be his queen!" He said aloud, his voice laced with anger. Fleurie shivered at the intensity of his words, taking a step back.

"M-maybe it's all just a big mistake." Fleurie tried to say. " I'm sure he didn't mean it." She added in an attempt to calm him.

Gavin glared at his daughter, his eyes narrowing. "What kind of a stupid mistake is that?!" He growled at her. Fleurie recoiled. "And you!" He barked, causing her to flinch. "After all these months, how come you didn't try to make him yours?"

Tears clouded Fleurie's eyes as she tried to defend herself. " I did father, I did my best! I just didn't expect a mere visitation to a neighboring kingdom to turn into marriage!"

" How is that my business? If you have married we would not be having this conversation!" He continued to bark at her, oblivious of the effects of his words.

Tears blinded her vision but she blinked them back, biting the insides of her mouth to keep them from trembling.

" We can't let this continue." King Gavin had begun speaking to himself. " We need to find faults in that union. I'm sure there would be dozens!" He stated vehemently, his brows furrowed in thought.

Fleurie could only stand there, squeezing her fists in a desperate attempt to appear unfazed. The bitter truth was that he is doing this out of his own greed, that she knew well enough. He wants to take control of Madonia using her, since he has the support of the Royal council. She knows this but she was still desperate, Desperate to get away from his hold. After King Dexter killed her betrothed, the crown prince, everyone has been pushing her to him.

She didn't like it at first, but after a while she began to get used to it. She didn't try to deny the attraction she felt for him and had hoped that one day after grieving her intended, he would honor it. Only for him to come two days ago, announcing that he's married. And, who the hell is that? She's never heard of her before. She also had no idea Gegoria had a second princess. She would know since she's a princess too.

" He told me to go back home." Fleurie announced, her voice small, eyes on the ground. She felt her father's glare on her and held her breath, her heart pounding.

" I'm sure you can extend your stay." He bit out coldly. " Find a way to. Find faults in that woman, anything we can use to tear them apart." He stated.

Fleurie knows an order when she hears one. She nodded, steeling her expression. " Yes, father." She whispered, her voice shaky.

" You're dismissed." He snapped at her. Bowing her head, she walked out of the room. Closing the door behind her, she resisted the urge to crumble to her knees. She cleaned off the stray tear that had crept down her cheeks. She started to her room, anger growing in her heart.

They will not have a happy ending, she resolved deep within herself. She will make sure of it.

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Dexter was the first to wake up the next day. He glanced at the hourglass at the far end of the room and at the windows. It was dawn. He turned to Maya who was still sleeping gently beside him, her breaths even. He ran a finger down her face, watching as she slept. Last night she'd had a nightmare that had woken her up. She had trouble falling asleep afterwards. He had to pat her to sleep.

As he watched her sleep, he mentally recalled the things he had to do today. It was a lot, it would be best to get started early. He needed to authenticate their marrriage by calling on a clergy and have another meeting with the council. He gently got out of the bed, walking to the bathroom to have his bath. He could call on the maids but he didn't want to disturb Maya in her sleep. He finished bathing and went ahead to dress up. By the time he was through, Maya was still asleep.

Walking closer to the bed, he debated if he should wake her up before he left. In the end, he decided against it. Bending over, he placed a kiss on her forehead before walking out of the room, closing the door gently behind him.

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Dexter has killed her.

That was the first thought Maya had when she woke up later in the morning and found herself unable to move. Everywhere ached and she felt sore all over. A blush quickly crept to her cheeks the moment she remembered why she was sore. Last night had been incredible. It had been nothing like the books described, she couldn't even describe it herself. She looked around the room and saw it was empty. Where is Dexter?

A knock came on the door, interupting her search for Dexter. She sighed, requesting for whoever was behind it to come in. The door opened and Rosa walked in along with two other maids she hasn't seen before.

" Good morning, Your Majesty." They greeted, their heads bowed. She hummed back a response before going back to the issue at hand. " Where is Dex- His Majesty?" She asked, quickly correcting herself.

Rosa was the one to answer. "He's at work, Your Majesty. He's quite busy today." She replied. Maya nodded, feeling a little downcast. She'd forgotten he was a king and was a busy person now.

" Why are you here?" She asked, dismissing that thought.

" Pardon me, Your Majesty but a clergy is waiting outside to confirm the validity of your marriage. With your approval we would let him in." She announced.

Maya mulled on it for a while before letting them do whatever they wanted. They nodded and opened the door to let a middle-aged man in priestly clothes into the room. He greeted her and immediately set to work.

Once the clergy had finished inspecting and confirming their marriage valid, he left the room and the maids immediately set to work in running her bath. This time however, they bathed her in the king's chambers. Afterwards, her breakfast was brought in and she ate. She ate very little once again but this time, nobody complained. When she announced that she was full, they immediately cleared the plates, leaving the room.

" Your majesty, I would like to introduce your handmaids to you." Rosa announced. " They would be accompanying you wherever you go from today onwards." Maya paused, watching her. Two maids stepped forward, keeping their heads bowed.

" Good morning, your majesty. My name is Olivia and I would be serving you from now onwards!" She announced, her voice bubbly. Maya nodded, a gentle smile on her face before turning to the next one.

"My name is Claire and I would serving from now onwards." The second replied. She seemed a lot calmer, her expression soft.

" Then I would be in your care." Maya replied somewhat stiffly. She didn't like the idea of maids following her around since she didn't have a good experience with them but it's not like she can refuse them anyway. Besides, this isn't her kingdom and duty demands it.

" Your Majesty, would you like to go on a tour of the palace?" The one named Olivia asked, a big smile on her face. Maya watched her, contemplating on the suggestion.

" Sure, I don't really have anything I'm doing anyway." She replied.

Olivia's grin grew, clapping her hands. " Let's get you ready then!" She announced, excitedly

To which Maya replied, a small smile on her face, "Okay."

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Stole it from pinterest by the way... Credits to whoever made it.