Free Web NovelChapter 89: Chapter 89: The Bride
Chapter 89: The Bride
—ARIA—
’Ugh... my head freakin’ hurts.’
That was the first thought that managed to crawl through the fog in my brain, followed immediately by the unsettling realization that I was definitely not in my room.
Under normal circumstances that alone should have triggered panic, screaming, or at least some level of productive alarm. But my brain was still running on what felt like expired fuel, barely functioning as I lay there staring at an unfamiliar ceiling for several long seconds, while my thoughts slowly attempted to assemble themselves into something coherent.
The ceiling, annoyingly enough, was beautiful, and that alone should have been my second warning because anything pretty in this world usually came with a side of life-threatening consequences.
I had learned that the hard way more than once.
Memories returned in fragments after that.
The argument, the tension, Sebastian, Ezekiel, Matthias, Ren, and then Aelith.
The moment his name surfaced in my mind, my eyes snapped open fully and I shot upright in bed, only to immediately regret it as the entire room spun violently around me.
I clutched my head with a groan, waiting for the dizziness to settle while the truth slowly sank in with all the grace of a falling brick.
I had been kidnapped.
Again.
Although technically, if I wanted to be painfully honest with myself, this might have been my first proper kidnapping, which somehow felt like a terrible achievement I never asked for.
Once the spinning finally eased enough for me to think straight, I forced myself to actually look around, and that was when the regret deepened.
The room was absurdly beautiful and magical.
Massive crystal windows stretched from floor to ceiling, revealing an endless forest of silver trees glowing faintly beneath the moonlight, while elegant white pillars curved upward like living vines. Floating lanterns drifted lazily through the air, bathing everything in soft golden light that made the entire space feel less like a prison and more like a carefully curated dream.
Which, unfortunately, only confirmed exactly where I was.
The Elven Kingdom. Of course it was.
I dropped my face into my hands with a long, exhausted sigh that came out muffled.
"This is bad," I muttered, because it was bad.
Really bad. The kind of bad that involved political disasters, international tension, and at least one stupid prince who had apparently decided that rejection was a suggestion rather than a final answer.
Speaking of stupid princes, something felt off, and that was when I made the mistake of looking down.
My brain stopped completely. I didn’t even blink at first, just stared in utter disbelief because there was absolutely no way this was real.
Yet the evidence was very much real, and it was very much on me.
"...Aelith," I said slowly, his name dripping with enough venom to qualify as a curse, because I was wearing a wedding dress.
Not just any wedding dress, but an elven wedding dress, which apparently meant someone had looked at fabric and decided it was optional.
The gown itself was beautiful in a way that felt insulting, layers of shimmering white silk flowing like liquid moonlight while intricate silver embroidery caught every flicker of light.
Tiny crystals were woven into the fabric, making it sparkle whenever I moved, which would have been impressive if I wasn’t too busy being offended by its existence.
The real issue, however, was the lack of it.
The neckline dipped far lower than anything remotely acceptable in the Empire, and the skirt featured a slit so dramatic it felt less like clothing and more like a suggestion of clothing. Every movement threatened exposure that was somehow both elegant and deeply irritating.
I stared at myself for another second before muttering, "That lunatic," and pushing myself up to stand.
Or at least attempting to.
The moment I stepped forward, my forehead collided painfully with something invisible, and the impact sent sharp pain exploding through my skull as I stumbled backward with a yelp.
A faint blue ripple shimmered through the air in front of me, and my stomach dropped as I reached out carefully, my fingers pressing against an unseen surface that solidified beneath my touch.
A barrier.
I didn’t even need to test it further to understand I wasn’t getting out anytime soon.
Aelith hadn’t dragged me all the way here just to let me wander out like a guest.
The realization settled heavily in my chest as the weight of the situation finally stopped feeling abstract and became painfully real. I was trapped and miles away from home, from the Empire, from everything familiar. And worse, miles away from Ren.
My chest tightened as I remembered the last expression on his face before everything went dark, the way he had reached for me, the panic in his voice, the desperation he tried so hard to control.
I closed my eyes briefly.
I missed him more than I wanted to admit. More than made sense. After all the running, all the denial, all the stubborn excuses I had clung to, it suddenly felt stupidly obvious that the person I wanted next to me right now wasn’t a prince or a noble or some powerful mage.
It was just Ren. The idiot who followed me everywhere. The idiot who had somehow become the safest place in my life without me even noticing.
A frustrated sound escaped me as I opened my eyes again.
"This is your fault too," I muttered to no one in particular, because obviously blaming Ren while he was not here to defend himself was the most logical coping mechanism available.
I let out a small laugh despite myself, then another, until I was sitting on the edge of the absurdly luxurious bed laughing at the sheer nonsense of my life.
A month ago, I was worried about avoiding death flags.
Now I was trapped in a magical cage wearing an elven wedding dress after being kidnapped by a prince who thought rejection was negotiable.
Honestly, the author of this world needed therapy. Ah, my sister. I almost forgot.
So Aelith had meant every word. He had declared war, disrupted political balance, started something far larger than a personal obsession, and brought me here as though I were a prize instead of a person. That kind of determination wasn’t something you laughed off.
I pushed myself upright again, forcing my fear to settle. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
Aelith might be powerful, he might rule this kingdom, he might have dragged me into the middle of his world, but I wasn’t going to sit quietly and become anyone’s bride.
Absolutely not.
"If he thought I would just wait prettily inside this cage until a wedding ceremony happened, then he clearly did not know me at all."
And that was when the door opened.
I froze.
Damn, I guess I spoke too soon.
Aelith stood at the entrance like he belonged there more than anyone else ever could. His silver hair caught the dim light, that perfect face carrying an expression that was far too pleased with itself. And those eyes, those unsettling crimson eyes that had not been there before. The moment they landed on me, his smile widened as though he had just been waiting for this exact moment.
"Slept well, my love?"
I stared at him. Then slowly looked down at the dress again. Then back at him. The silence stretched until he tilted his head slightly, visibly brightening as if my reaction amused him.
"You like it?"
That question alone nearly ended my remaining patience. I lifted a hand and pointed at him first, then the cage, then myself, because apparently subtlety was no longer part of my personality.
"You kidnapped me."
"Yes."
"You trapped me in a cage."
"Technically, it’s a magical protective enclosure."
"You dressed me like a bride."
For a brief second, pride actually crossed his expression.
"I picked that one myself."
That was it.
Something inside me snapped.
For a few seconds, I simply stared at him. The anger, the fear, the frustration, the humiliation of waking up in a cage dressed like a bride, it all tangled together overwhelmingly so that I could barely think straight.
I closed my eyes and forced myself to take a slow breath. Then another. When I opened them again, I looked directly at him.
"What do you actually want from me, Aelith?" I asked calmly. "I thought we were friends."
For a moment, he simply looked at me.
Then he laughed.
"Friends?" he repeated, sounding genuinely amused by the idea. He tilted his head slightly as though I had said something ridiculous. "Who told you that?"
The smile on his face widened.
"Aria, I have never treated you as a friend."
A chill ran down my spine.
The atmosphere in the room changed so suddenly that I found myself unconsciously taking a step backward until I fell back on the bed.
Aelith slowly walked closer to the barrier surrounding my cage, his crimson eyes never leaving mine.
"From the moment I saw you..." he continued, his voice dropping lower, "I knew you were mine, Celia."
I immediately froze as every muscle in my body locked.
For a second, I couldn’t even process what he had just said.
My mind desperately searched for another explanation.
But there was none.
I abruptly stood from the bed.
"What...?"
The word barely escaped my lips. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Shock flooded through me so violently that I almost forgot to breathe.
Aelith only watched me with that same infuriating smile.
"You look surprised."
My hands trembled.
"You..." I whispered.
Aelith’s smile deepened.
"You must be wondering how I knew you."
A thousand thoughts crashed through my head at once.
My chest tightened.
My pulse roared in my ears.
Aelith leaned closer, then he smirked.
"I...was the one who brought you here."
