“Father! You can’t be serious!?! Mother, please get some sense into him, please!” Pleaded a young girl in a beautiful lavish pink gown, who looked no less at the age of 16. Pleading to her father and mother to reconsider their plans of having her marry an Emperor from a faraway empire.

“Don’t talk back to me! My mind has been set, there’s nothing that can be done! We need this, to survive!” Her father the king argued back, not wanting to listen to his youngest daughter in getting her out of this engagement. Her mother, the queen, agreed with her husband. Not wanting such an opportunity to go to waste.

“Your father is right. Think about how much power and wealth you will achieve when you marry the emperor. An emperor! Someone far better than a king, no less. And will treat you as the empress as you so rightfully deserve!” Her mother told their daughter happily, convincing and painting such possibilities.

“But I don’t want to marry a man I don’t know! To a place far, far away in which I’ve never been! Especially one who is the reincarnated evil, Demon Lord himself! I do not wish to marry the Lord of the Demons! Please don’t give me away, to such a beast… please don’t sacrifice me to the pits of hell on which he calls his empire!” The young girl tearfully begged and pleaded. Begging on her knees before her parents to reconsider, in hopes of changing their minds about this arranged marriage.

Though what the young princess said is true. The empire of what she speaks has never been visited by theirs or any other kingdom. It was rumored that the empire of Crystallia was overrun by monsters and demons. The empire was hot from the temperatures of the desert's blazing sun, and the long vast ending dunes of his land. A fitting place for the people of the empire and the reincarnated evil of the Demon Lord to be, as it was nothing but a dead wasteland that never met the other greener lands such as theirs.

“We know what he is capable of if we don’t send him a daughter to be wed to him. He could simply cut up our throats, chop up our limbs and feed them to his spawn, to satisfy his pleasure and his monsters. Or worse, the neighboring kingdom of Heradian would send their skilled assassins to kill us off for not paying back the debts we owed them!” Her father said nervously, reminded his daughter of such horrible things that the emperor would do to them.

“The kingdom will fall without the emperor’s support. He promised us great wealth that would help not only us. But to the rest of the kingdom. That way, the people won’t rebel against us and take everything away from us. Vidalia… Try to understand… we need this to survive.” Her mother then added, convincing their daughter of the situation that they were in.

But their reasoning and ways of convincing her did not reach her. Only fear coursed through her mind, she didn’t want to imagine how her life would be in a world that was much farther than her own, away from her home and away from her family. Which was something she couldn’t bear. “I don’t care about any of that! I won’t go through with this insane plan and arrangement! It’s not my fault nor my brothers that Xaven is dying because of your greed! I will not marry someone I don’t know and don’t love because of your benefit and to get you two out of this predicament!-” Vidalia argued, fighting her parents vocally for her right to decide for her life. But immediately was kept silent as she was struck by the back of her father’s hand. Her mother did nothing to comfort her daughter from being slapped in the face; she thought it was fitting for her to accept such punishment in speaking back to them.

“Listen clearly. You will do as we say. You will marry Emperor Gladiolus Dragmire, and become his wife. Once you're wed, be sure to produce an heir to tie both kingdoms — making ours untouchable and ever so powerful than the rest. If you think otherwise, then I will not hesitate in having you marry someone much older and rich from a nearby kingdom, that way we can still have what we want.” Her father coldly ordered and threatened his daughter.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Vidalia trembled and quivered in fear of her father’s power, as his desperation and greed clouded both his and her mother’s minds, and only cared only of themselves than the people of their kingdom that they said they did.

As Vidalia was slowly accepting what awaited her, her mother then began to think. She thought long and hard of this little predicament they were in. Her smile was crooked and sinister with what she thought would help them in their troubles.

“Dear, she’s right,” She said to both her husband and daughter. “Darling, our darling and youngest Vidalia is too young and precious to be wed to someone such as the reincarnation of the Lord of the Demons. She was bred to be wed to a noble husband close to her age, who could treat her better and would shower her with so much riches.”

The king looked dumbfounded and taken aback by what his wife had even said. Thinking if she even knew what she was saying and, more importantly, knew what she was thinking.

Wanting to not anger her husband, she cleared her throat and wanted to be clear with what she had to say.

“But don’t fret dear husband. We will grant the Emperor our daughter’s hand in marriage, that he kept insisting in his letters.” She told both her husband the king and their daughter, reminding them of the persistent letters sent by the emperor from time to time before.

Vidalia was puzzled over what her mother was implying, as she was their only daughter of two older sons. She wasn’t sure what her mother was even saying as nothing seemed to be making any sense to her. But her father, the king, looked as if he knew far too well what his wife meant. The look on his face looked as if he remembered such a thing from a long time ago, which brought an eerie pleased look on his face.

“Don’t you remember dear? We had another daughter 20 years ago, one we had to give away to our old staff, because of her… appearance and unholy wicked abilities. But we can send her to the Emperor as his wife instead. Afterall he did say he wanted our daughter’s hand in marriage, he didn’t say which one though. So all of this will work splendidly and we will have what we want for her exchange! Isn’t that just the perfect plan, my king?” She said with such confidence and satisfaction.

Vidalia was shocked to learn that she even had a sister, and mortified of the horrible things that her parents did. Disposing their daughter for being born into this world, only because she looked different, and was deemed as something they either feared or despised. As curious as she was, she wanted to know who her sister was. Or has she met her once before?

The king loved the idea that his wife had constructed. As he rejoiced for his queen’s plan, he was overjoyed. “You're right my wise queen! We still have that ‘one’ daughter to sacrifice. And what’s perfect, is that we’ll be given away this daughter to the Demon Lord to be his wife instead. I can already imagine such a perfect pair to be!”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself.” The queen said with such praise.

“Call for Hydra! Tell her that the king and queen have something urgent and important to tell her.” The king announced, commanding the few staff that they had left to bring them Hydra.

Hydra was somewhere on the opposite side of the castle. Focused on her tasks, in cleaning some areas inside the palace. Working endlessly to help support the only parents who had raised her, as they were dismissed by the king and queen of their position long ago since her youth.

This didn’t bother her, though. As she would do anything for the people who raised her as their own, and not disown her for looking and being different. But what nobody knew, except for her adoptive parents of who and what she is, of her past life.

One of the staff had finally found Hydra, and with no time to waste, had informed Hydra. “Hydra, the king and queen, they wish to speak with you.”