Page 46 of A Kingdom's Heart
thought tangled into the words:marry off his daughter.
By the time the castle walls came into view, my breath was ragged. I slipped through the back entrance that led into the healer’s wing, the same one I always used to sneak out.
Raven looked up from where she was tending to a guard’s arm, her sleeves rolled to her elbows. “Woah, you look—”
I didn’t let her finish. I rushed past her, nearly knocking over a
stool. “I’ll be back,” I muttered, though I didn’t even know if I would.
I pushed through the next door and into the corridor. My steps echoed against the stone as I moved, faster with every turn. The hall stretched long and endless, sunlight spilling through the tall windows in bright streaks across the floor.
When I reached the throne room, the guards straightened at the doors. Their eyes flicked to me before they bowed and stepped aside. The heavy doors opened with a low groan.
I stepped inside, the doors closing behind me with a heavy thud. The air felt colder here, sharper somehow.
“Father,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt.
He didn’t look surprised to see me. His gaze lifted from the parchment in his hands, slow and measured. “You’re supposed to
be helping Raven in the healer’s wing,” he said.
I took a step forward, my hands curling into fists at my sides. “You’re marrying me away?” The words came out louder than Iintended, thick with disbelief. “You said we’d wait until I was 18!”
His expression hardened, the faintest crease forming between his brows. “Where did you hear this from?”
“That’s not important!” I snapped. “Explain it. Now!”
He exhaled through his nose, setting the parchment aside with deliberate calm. “I said,” he began, “that you would be married
within the next monthifthe threats from our borders grow worse.”
My heart pounded in my chest. “What threats?”
“None you should concern yourself with,” he said, his tone clipped.
“That’s not fair,” I said, my voice rising. “You can’t just decide my life for me. I should have a say in who I marry.”
“If it secures the safety of our kingdom,” he said, rising slightly from his throne, “then yes. I will gladly do it.”
The words hit harder than I expected. My chest tightened. “So all you care about is the kingdom? Not me?”
He looked down at me, his face carved from stone. “You are a princess before you are my daughter.”
Something inside me broke. I stumbled back, trying to breathe, but the air felt too thin. Tears gathered behind my eyes, hot and sharp, but I forced them down. I would not let him see me cry.
He saw anyway. His jaw tightened. “Get out.”
I turned and walked away, my steps quick, uneven. The guards
lowered their heads as I passed. The servants drew back, startled, their voices falling silent until only my footsteps filled the corridor.
When I reached my chambers, I shut the door behind me and leaned against it. The sound echoed through the room. The fire had burned low, the faint glow flickering over the walls.
He would marry me off within a month. Not when I was eighteen. Not when I was ready. Within a month.
Anger rose sharp in my chest. He didn’t see me as his daughter. Only as a piece to trade. A means to strengthen his throne.
The tears came then, no matter how hard I tried to stop them. I pressed my palms to my eyes, breathing hard, until the room blurred.
