Adelaide

"You do not need to worry about anything. I will handle the matter. If asked, you just have to say that you do not want to be the concubine. Okay?" This was the umpteenth time when her father had told her the same statement. Yet she nodded obediently. 

She knew that her father was worried about her. She would lie if she said that she was not! But yet she behaved bravely as she did not want to worry her father further. She turned and looked out of the window. She had crossed this path to reach the palace many times in the past too, but there had always been anticipation to meet the crown prince, to complete her training and learn the etiquettes of the palace. This was the first time she was going to end all of that.

Yet she did not know how to feel about it. An invisible power started to clutch her heart. She started feeling suffocated yet the smile did not leave her face.