“Hmm... not quite right, let’s try another one.” Merkha gestured the maid standing beside holding a bunch of wedding dresses. She passed the next dress to Fate and Fate walked behind the divider.

“You will see Fate this wedding will be so grand that all the kingdoms will only talk about this for the whole year. It will forever be a memorable event for you, for all of us.”

Behind the divider Fate got into the tightly fitting full dress. It had tight full sleeves and was too narrow towards the knee and calves. If this dress gets chosen then she doesn’t know how she will be able to walk without falling or at least tearing the dress off.

Fate came out and stood with head down in front of Merkha. Nervousness can be seen through her actions, she was shifting weight from one leg to another frequently and sweat beads were formed even on her wrist.

This all might be actually because of the tight dress but then there will be addition of a few more body parts where she is feeling very uncomfortable at the moment.

“Umm… this one…” No please, not this one. Fate internally screamed in worry. The air around her felt so heavy that she feared she might literally be squished at the spot, faint because she couldn’t breathe properly.

“Not this one. White really doesn’t suit you.”

“I am sorry”, she heaved a sigh of relief. Fate couldn’t understand why Merkha was doing all this. She was not her daughter, she was just a replacement then why was everything progressing as if she was the real princess.

She should have been brave and said ‘no’ when her aunt asked her to fill in place of Valyne for marrying prince Waron. She might have had to live a life harder than she already was, maybe exiled but at least she wouldn’t have to go through all these mess.

She couldn’t deny the fact that she was the princess but when has anybody acknowledged that. Her father Lorid, elder brother of king Tranid met his tragic end along with her mother because he had married a mere human going against the royal rule.

Eight months old Fate was also decided to be eliminated but then queen Merkha came to her rescue. She held three months old Valyne in her hands and maybe her motherly instincts kicked in at the right moment but at last it was her who saved Fate’s life.

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Fate was always thankful to her even if that’s the only thing she did for her. Since that incident Fate has never seen the inside of the palace, she wasn’t allowed to enter even as a commoner. In fact, she was ordered to stay far away from anything royal.

A small cottage was built for her at the end of the kingdom near the borders where till she was two years old a maid was provided for taking care of her and after that she was all alone. She fetched her own food and water, made her own clothes and grew herself up.

On top of all this she was more useless because she didn’t obtain any powers the elves had. No elemental magic, no healing, she has got nothing of her father other than his silver lavender hair and pointed ears which barely made her fit in the community.

She had no idea that Merkha still remembered her and thought of her as someone who could match Valyne. It would have made her happier though if the reason Merkha came to find her for was something not selfish.

Anyways, this was the only family she had left and it’s way beyond her power to say ‘no’ to be helpful to them. She was just happy to be back as a part of this family and the uncomfortability because of a few clothes can’t lessen that.

“Change into the next one Fate.” With Merkha’s command Fate took the dress from the waiting maid and repeated the whole dressing up process.

This time when she went out Merkha stood up and delightedly clapped her hands. “It’s this one. This is just perfect! Go see in the mirror.”

Fate lifted her eyes and saw a gorgeous off-white gown. Its sleeves were off her shoulders and her chest and stomach was kissed by the smooth texture of the garment. The deep v-neck showed more of her cleavage than she wanted and she couldn’t help blushing. Below the waist the gown was like an oversized umbrella and she could freely walk in it. The hem of the gown touched the ground and swept the floor as she walked.

Her dark sea green eyes and long silver lavender hair provided a good contrast to the color of the gown she wore. The embroidered patterns and small shiny stone laden outside of the dress was enough to lighten a dark room.

“Bring all the jewelries and other accessories. Now that the dress is selected we have to match up everything else to this.”

The maid excused herself and Merkha held Fate’s hand and made her sit on the bed. “I know it’s late and you must be tired but this has to be done tonight. Tomorrow morning will be pretty hectic as I have to make sure the other preparations go well and soon it will be time for the wedding at the evening.”

Fate smiled and nodded but kept on thinking how fast all this was going. Valyne has run off and now it’s her duty to save her family and kingdom but just how far can she carry this duty off. It’s one thing among her own people but will the Rhizens understand and let her off easily if they find out the truth?

Merkha has assured her that a situation of that kind will not arise if she stays alert and uses her head to handle matters but will it really bother anyone if she died in Rhize. Tranid and Merkha were king and queen, they can easily get out of this but who was she?

Only time will answer all her questions but right now she has to go through more wearing sessions because the maid who left alone was back with three more maids carrying two flat, square boxes in each hand.