Chapter 14: This isn’t about me, Angelique.

The meeting with all the members of the alliance will be held soon in the war room. People from Polaris, White, Cross—all the houses—will be there. I had Damien's arm around mine, escorting me to the room. Naturally, he wore blue—the color of his house—and I red—the color of mine. Everyone, of course, thought it was something to talk about. People hate that I cannot be bent into fully becoming a woman of House Cross. They fail to see that I am not just any woman. I am the future Queen of White. I have my own House.

"Mother, Father," I greeted. "How was your trip?"

"Dangerous," she replied, placing her hand on my belly. "I suppose we have much to discuss when the meeting begins. But first, I must ask if you've performed your duty well."

Damien cut in, saying, "She has, and I wish to cut down any rumor suggesting otherwise." He kissed my mom's hand in respect and bowed to my father. "I wish to ask for forgiveness if I have offended thee. I wish to clear any speculation that Angelique, my wife, fails to do her part in our marriage. In fact, she's been a good wife. I would like to think that soon, we will have a child." These kind words coming from his mouth have a price, for sure. He looked at me with an assuring smile, holding me tighter. "Please, do not believe such nonsense coming from lesser people."

I leaned my head against him, smiling. "We are doing our part," I say, "So please be patient. Our marriage won't be for naught."

"Very well," my mother says, nodding. "I would like to express my concerns about Damien's infidelity. I can believe you when you say you're doing your parts, but I shan't be fooled if you say you've been faithful. For God's sake! You haven't even been together a month, and you dare shame my daughter by fucking whores?" T'is lucky that no one has yet entered the war room other than us, otherwise, this would've been a huge scandal. My mother had almost slapped the prince if it weren't for her self-control. "I am very offended by you, Prince Damien."

His father, the king, entered the conversation. "My apologies, your grace," he said, "I am sure my son will end his affairs."

"As he should," my father growls, "This is completely unacceptable! I understand as a man that we have our needs, but couldn't you at least wait until you produce an heir? This is unbelievable!"

"That's enough!" I growled, putting them in their place. "Damien and I have made mistakes; it shan't happen again. Just let us handle our own affairs from now on. We don't need either of you to jump and add to our problems as man and wife. This whole thing is between the two of us." I felt Damien's hand holding mine tightly as though it was his way of telling me that we were in this together. It gave me strength. At least for a brief moment, it did.

"Very well," my mother said, "So long as you fix this. I do not wish to hear rumors of you being a failure to please your husband that he wishes to find pleasure in someone else."

It's funny. Most of them have failed. Why must they put pressure on me when they themselves have failed to keep their husbands in check?

Everyone soon gathered in the war room, ending our horrid conversation. I saw the King of Polaris was present with his brother, Prince Jonah. Both refused to look at me as I expected.

"Shall we begin?" asked the King of Polaris, Jericho.

There were twelve houses in total that attended the meeting today. On the White's side, there were House Polaris, House Noir, House Stone, House Wolf, and lastly, House Claw; on the Cross's side were House Eveningstar, House Everson, House Luke, House Obsidian, and House Ross. It was with these people they signed the treaty.

"First," Jonah began, "During the attempt on the lives of Prince Damien and Princess Angelique, we found out that House Cliffstone was behind it. Because their idea was rejected to end the White's, they turned their back on the Cross. We have yet to discover who else was involved with these attempts."

"House Nevermore, perhaps," I said, "They are among the people who wanted to end my husband's family once and for all."

"There was also an attack on the borders of our Kingdom," said the King of Claw. "I heard multiple attacks were also made on House Wolf and Eveningstar. This is an act of war. I ask you what we intend to do?"

"Do we know what their goal is?" asked Damien, "For sure they will soon send us a message."

"I am more than certain that they want you dead," Jonah says, "Killing you first and soon after taking over your kingdom—that is what I see. I believe they mean to invade your realms. Now that your marriage may have won some people, it also cost you some. Your reign isn't secure—that's one of their motivations."

"Are you yet with child, Princess?" asked King Jericho.

"No, Your Grace," I said, "But I am more than capable of joining the battle whilst there is no child in my belly. As you well know, I am one of the greatest warriors you have."

"No," they all say.

King Richard of House Wolf says, "We need you with a child soon. Now, can you see the severity of the threat? You need to do your part as a princess."

"My daughter is doing her part!" my father growled, "They haven't been married that long. These reactions coming from all of you prove how ignorant you all are. You cannot know when a lady is with a child until after a month. Please, use your common sense!"

"My wife knows the severity of the threat," Damien adds, "So don't talk to her that way. Soon, she will become the White Queen and the Consort of House Cross. Show some respect."

"She is a woman," argued King Louis of Obsidian. "Her job is simply to provide her husband an heir. She has no place in this room."

"Excuse me?" Queen Grea growled. "If you say that, then you say that to every woman in this room! How dare you?"

The meeting was a bloody screaming mess. It took a long time before the arguments were pushed aside and the real meeting took place. The meeting took about three hours before a conclusion was made. Of course, the conclusion is me tucked away safe from harm until I have successfully given birth to an heir. Damien will follow Jonah and the other troops to war once he's given me a child. Those were the main points they made. It was twelve houses against me; I couldn't win the argument.

I feel so betrayed and used. After my family has used me to win their victories, they want to tuck me away somewhere. Even when Damien agreed to side with me, everyone still pushed the decision of putting me away like a child. I left the room right after the meeting ended with a heavy heart.

"Angelique," Damien called, following after me. I was too angry to wait for him. My feet seemed to have their own mine as they dragged themselves away from the wretched war room.

Damien caught my wrist, making me face him. "I'm sorry it didn't work out for you."

"Your words don't make a difference," I snapped, emotionless. "You must be happy. This is an opportunity for you to get back in the game and make your mark. You will be remembered."

"This isn't about me, Angelique," he argued, "Didn't I tell you yesterday that I'd choose to protect you and the child you will carry? Do you think I'm happy that they picked our fate for us? I'm not! Believe it or not, I'm not happy about it. I don't even know why I'm telling you all this."

I looked at him, fighting back the tears that were threatening to flood. I was so angry. After they use me for all I'm worth, they cast me aside. They even dare to insult me and say that all I am good for is bearing sons for the future of our kingdom.

He placed his hands over my shoulders, looking me dead in the eyes. "Do not let them see that their words have affected you, Angelique. Everyone could tell that you're enraged."

"And what? Do they expect me to smile after what they've done to me?" I asked him, my voice cracking. "They're just waiting for me to decide on which fortress I am to stay in, and they'll ship me off! I bet you're happy that I'm being treated this way."

"I am not," he says, "You are married to me. If they treat you like this, it means they think they can treat me the same way. Should they try to insult you, it means they insult me too. I do not relish in your pain right now, Princess. Though I should, I don't. As your husband, I cannot just watch as they insult you like that."

"What are you saying?" I asked.

He replied, "I want a warrior Queen by my side. The one you claim yourself to be. With that person by my side, no one would dare strike us down. And if they should, we both know they won't stand a chance. When you become Queen, no one will dare disrespect you again; I swear this to you." He pulled me into an embrace. He didn't say anything further. He just stood there and held me as though he knew that I needed him to. I burrowed my face against his chest, closing my eyes. The warmth from his embrace calmed me down.

"To think that you and I loathe each other and yet here we are," I commented.

He sighed, "We do. We're just taking a short break from fighting."

Jericho and Jonah passed by, looking at us.

"Still in the honeymoon phase, I see," Jericho comments, "I apologize if we upset you with the decision. I say this as your friend, Angelique. Jonah and I would like you to be happy, but we need you safe."

"We appreciate your concern, King Jericho," said Damien, bowing lightly in respect. "I also give you my thanks for sending the troops to our rescue."

"Of course," replied Jericho, "Anything for Angelique."

"Thank you," I said, "Please take care of yourself."

Jericho looked at his younger brother, shaking his head. I suppose he knows what happened between us. Of course, he did. I turned his younger brother down more than once.

"Jonah?" he asked.

Jonah looked at me with blank eyes. "Please take care of yourselves, Princess Angelique, Prince Damien." With that said, he walked away. Jericho gave us a nod before leaving as well.

"Did you date the king as well?" Damien asked curiously. I wasn't sure if he was genuinely curious or just trying to make me laugh.

"I did not," I said, "What now? If we leave the Estate, it's either my home or yours. I would like to return to mine."

"I know," he says, "We shall go to your palace for the time being. But when I leave, I should like Maidservant Rose to tend to you. She's someone I can trust to take care of you and our child."

"Alright," I agreed, "I should like to have her at my side as well. She's kind... When do you plan to set forth Palace White?"

"Tomorrow?" he replied.

Curiously, I asked, "Did you finish the book you were reading? The one about the forgotten queen and the king."

"I have," he said, "I could lend the book to you when I leave." He pushed my stray hair away from my face, smiling. "For the rest of the day, we have to decide on what we want to do. We need to give them the impression that we're in love."

"Or we can retire to our chambers," I suggested.

"No," he says, "Why don't we go riding? A breath of fresh air may relieve our stress."

I nodded in agreement. Perhaps riding will relieve us of our stress. Now that I think about it, maidservant Rose mentioned that Damien enjoyed riding. Perhaps we could start getting to know each other. In that way, we could also kill off all the rumors surrounding our marriage.