My Royal Bride Was Forced to Wear a Locked Barrel on Our Wedding Day
Previously: Prince Sebastian is forced into an arranged marriage with Princess Evelyn, but when her father presents her with her head locked in a barrel, a terrifying secret is unleashed.
The Secret Sealed in Silence
Inside the dark barrel, Princess Evelyn’s face was pale, her tear-stained cheeks streaked with dirt and blood. But the true horror was her mouth. Her lips were brutally sewn shut with thick, golden thread, the tight stitches forcing her into an agonizing silence. Her eyes, wide and wild with terror, pleaded with me. Scrawled in dark, dried blood on the inner wooden wall of the barrel were four desperate words: "He killed them all."
My heart hammered against my ribs. I realized in an instant that this was no ritual or curse; it was a brutal silencing. King Charles had done this to his own daughter to prevent her from speaking. I looked up at the King, who smiled with chilling satisfaction. "Do you accept your bride, Prince Sebastian?" he asked, his hand resting menacingly on the hilt of his sword.
If I protested now, Charles’s guards would slaughter my family before we could leave the cathedral. I had to play his game. "I do," I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. I closed the hatch, locked it, and led my silent bride away from the altar, ignoring the whispers of the horrified court.
Once we reached the safety of my family's private estate, far from the King's spies, I immediately set to work. With trembling hands and a sterile silver blade, I carefully snipped the golden threads holding Evelyn's lips together. She wept freely as the tension released, collapsing into my arms. When she finally found her voice, it was nothing but a raspy, painful whisper.
"My father... he is not the king," Evelyn sobbed, clinging to my doublet. "He poisoned my mother and the true king, my uncle, to seize the throne. He found out I knew the truth last night. He did this to keep me from screaming it to the world."
Before I could process the depth of this betrayal, the heavy oak doors of my study were kicked open. King Charles stood in the doorway, flanked by a dozen heavily armed knights. "I knew you wouldn't keep the barrel locked, Sebastian," he sneered.
”"I knew you wouldn't keep the barrel locked, Sebastian," he sneered.