All the people present bowed with respect, but Leviathan was different he didn't even get up to show respect. Petra on the other hand bowed as low as she could until the emperor and empress got to their sit. The emperor raised his hand to show his gratitude's, and everyone raised their heads, but the prince didn't even flinch.
The emperor looked rather displeased because his son was acting so cold. He continued on.
"Good day my fellow nobles, today we have gathered not just to celebrate but to welcome in the bride of ALDORIA!"
Just as Petra was presented by the king gloriously, the crowd gasped, then in came the whispers, everyone expected the girl who would marry Leviathan to be one of the great maiden knights as the rumors implied, but, here before them stood a lowly commoner with plain features and nothing special. Someone then spoke up from the crowd
"But my liege, she is not of noble blood, how dare a lowly commoner fathom the idea of marrying your son"
everyone erupted with more whispers condemning Petra. Petra's heart dropped as she endured the ridicule given to her, she lowered her head in shame and humiliation.
"Who I choose doesn't need your thoughts"
Leviathan's voice came from behind shocking not just the crowd but even the emperor and empress. Leviathan had never once acknowledged any woman, and here he was condemning anyone who dared to ridicule her
"I want no words of condemnation to be said to her during her betrothal to me. So, if you have any complaints… its best you answer to my blade"
the whole room went silent. Everyone was shocked, confused and terrified including Petra, who had initially thought she was just a lowly servant, and here she was hearing about her betrothal to the tyrant of Aldoria. The emperor cleared his throat
"Forgive my son for his poor choice of words. What he meant was that he will be glad if you all accept Petra as a member of the royal family and as his wife as he has accepted her. Well then, since we have now cleared this let us begin the celebration"
The music continued as soon as the emperor gave the order and everyone went back to talking, chatting and so on. The emperor sat down as Petra was led to her seat near Leviathan, who didn't look a tad bit interested in the event at all. At least it looked that way to Petra
"I recommend you eat; you look skinny and I can't be in charge of your health as well"
Leviathan said with lazy bored eyes. Petra nodded swiftly as if it was an order but yet, she didn't touch anything on the table. Leviathan all of a sudden placed two plates of fruit and a plate of steamed pork soup in front of her, which startled her even more, she didn't know what she was meant to do
"Eat!" His stern voice resonated through her ears, without knowing she picked up her cutlery and began eating. This amused Levi as he calmly watched her eat gently as if trying not to hurt the food's feelings, she ate with an expression that screamed delicious as if she had never eaten such.
"Do you think he likes her?" the queen asked the king as they both casually watched Petra and Levi's conversation curiously. At the mention of like, the king paused then scoffed.
"Like? oh please, Eliana you should know your son well enough by now, he is incapable of liking anything, as a matter of fact the only thing that brings him joy more than killing, is torturing people, so, whatever he is planning to do with that girl is probably related to torture or whatever he pleases, and I do not want to be a part of it"
"You might be right, but we shouldn't just decide on what our son's capabilities are. He might actually feel different, maybe, we should just watch their relationship and see. Don't you think Rio?" the queen asked the king who clicked his tongue in annoyance
The banquet was full of gossip and excitement, but the night rushed by and the banquet came to an end with, Petra having more enemies than friends. She hadn't even tried conversing with anyone so as not to disgrace herself and ruin the family's reputation.
Petra's Pov:
The night breeze felt cold, maybe even colder than it usually was, I recounted the events that happened today and I was still in so much shock my thoughts were racing '
I'm getting married and to the fearless ice duke?' those words ran through my mind. I kept wondering why all this was happening, why now?
I had initially thought I was brought here to serve them, but now I was to be wed, and I didn't even know when…. As I kept pondering to myself about all this, the bell suddenly rang, it was 10pm already and everything, everyone at the manor began rushing around frantically.
Narrator's Pov:
Petra felt so confused as Ylva her personal maid came into her room and immediately shut her windows
"My lady you must be on your best behavior, his highness will arrive soon so please try not to show fear, ok?" Ylva said to her worriedly, Petra nodded once still at a loss but that alone was enough to make Ylva calm down
"Ok my lady good night I hope to see your ladyship in the morning and if you need anything please don't hesitate to ask any maid." as soon as she said that she rushed out of the room, but not before looking back and giving Petra a silent yet worried smile then scurried off. Not so long after that, the entire manor went completely silent, even a Pindrop could be heard, the emperor and empress had obviously exited the manor and returned to their estate, so it was just her a few servants and…... she hadn't even finished her thoughts when she heard it. A low hiss came from behind her; she turned all of a sudden hitting her head on its scaly head
"Ouch… I'm so sorry are you okay?" she asked worriedly she held it tightly against her chest which made it hiss in annoyance
"Oh, my I must call for help" she began franticly whispering as she went back and forth, when the snake grabbed her by her feet raising her high in the air
"Woah oh no that's N-not a good idea snaky, I'd recommend you please put me down and we talk about it like regular friends don't you think?" Petra shakily said as she was very afraid of heights, the snake hissed as he rose its majestic head to her eye level, she looked into his eyes trying not to focus on how high up she was at the moment
"Y-you have the prettiest eyes I have ever seen" she said with a genuine smile, the snakes grip tightened a little before it suddenly placed her on the bed. She looked so pitiful as if she was on the verge of tears. It turned away from her and began moving in the opposite direction
"Woah? D-did I say something wrong or … no I should apologize for saying that I mean of course only master can admire your beauty... I mean praise you…" the snake paused then turned back to see her in tears already, on the bed
"I'm sorry, I'm a mess and I've made you really upset and I'm really sorry, I just wanted a friend and when I saw you, I thought that I had actually found one, one who wouldn't yell at me or make fun of me or look down on me. I understand if you don't want to be my friend anymore. So, I sincerely apologize for everything." Petra's sudden outburst made the snake a little confused. It hadn't done anything to make her feel that way at all so why exactly was she sobbing. This made the snake very annoyed so, it moved closer to her picked her up and flung her high in the air, this sudden action freaked her out making her scream loud enough to alert the entire manor. This certainly amused the snake because it waited for her head to be an inch close to the ground before saving her. Petra's eyes filled up with more tears as her heart pounded against her chest, she was hanging upside down from his tail as he stared at her teary-eyed expression an amused glint flashed in his eyes and without warning he flung her even higher this time, high enough she could almost touch the chandelier, she screamed once again in terror tears spilling from her eyes. Once again, he caught her before she landed on the ground. Her face was brought closer to its face, her face already pink from the crying
"Why are y-y-you doing t-t-his?" she asked though sobs she was already completely drained and now felt extremely tired. It placed her gently on the bed, laying her carefully on her back, it watched as she fell asleep while still mumbling to herself.
The night once again came to an end, as the windows gave way, the room flooded with sunlight waking Petra up. Ylva gently tapped her on the shoulders
"Your ladyship, please do wake it is morning and you have a lot of matters to attend to"
Petra sat up, rubbing her eyes "good morning miss Ylva" hearing the word miss from Petra made her blush
"Your ladyship shouldn't call me that I'm just your maid" Ylva said with her head down, but Petra gave her a hug which took her by surprise
"You are not a maid, Ylva is my best-friend, right?"
Petra's innocent smile made Ylva tear up, ever since she started working at this estate, she had only lived in constant fear of being killed or even imprisoned but here she was being appreciated by such an innocent and purehearted girl. Ylva smiled and nodded a yes hugging Petra back, she was going to take good care of this girl and protect her at all costs
Petra sat down carefully at the breakfast table seated across was Leviathan her future husband who she had only seen once. The room was silent, up until the doors to the room flew open and in came a tall brunette with beautiful hazel eyes holding a cute puppy in her arms, she sat right across from Levi and sat right next to Petra, she stole a glance at Levi then smirked, she then cleared her throat.
"So, Perla, right?" she coldly commented
"Petra"
Leviathan's firm voice cut through the air making it feel icy and tense, Petra took a cold breath in and out, feeling cold all of a sudden, the Brunette and her puppy felt it as well, her face pale and frightened. She looked around feeling embarrassed, she cleared her throat, taking a sip of water. She scoffed to herself. Since when did Levi ever take anyone's side, he was always cold even to her, she liked him but didn't have the courage to marry him, because she too feared death. She was completely at a loss for words, she watched the girl who suddenly came into his life eat, with so much anger, she dug her nails deep into her hand with rage, when suddenly, Levi stood up from the seat which threw her off guard. Petra stood up as well thinking she was meant to follow him
"Stay, Petra I'll be back later." Levi said without any emotion to it before giving the brunette a cold look which sent shivers down the brunette's spine then leaving.
"What was that?" the brunette whispered to herself before stealing a glance at Petra.