Forced to marry the enemy prince in her sister's place

A few days had passed since they sent some spies out to scout the other kingdom. Astrid was in the inner courtyard, lounging on one of the daybeds, enjoying the silence and warmth. She liked the feeling of the sun on her skin; it was accompanied by the cool afternoon air, which grazed her face as it passed.

Augustus went up to her when he spotted her as he was passing by. "Why would such a beauty like yourself be all alone?" he asked.

"Because this is what beauties like me do; soak up the sun and the silence. It’s been nothing but noise and blood since we left Erindros. I want to preserve this moment in my mind because I know I will need it sooner rather than later."

"This might sound like a thoughtless thing to say, but you could have stayed back at Erindros, you know? If you hadn’t been able to save your kingdom, your parents would never blame you."

Augustus sat down on the daybed, near her feet, and crossed his legs.

"Unfortunately for me, Augustus, I am heir to the throne. It is my duty to protect my kingdom no matter the cost," Astrid said lazily.

"Ah, yes, of course."

"How are things going on your side?" Astrid asked, "Any news yet?"

"Well, it’s much worse than we thought. Anatolia seems to have the largest reserve of bombs among all the other kingdoms. They have the largest mines for copper and tin. It’s a complete disaster."

Astrid sat up to face him, "Don’t look at it that way, Augustus. At least now we know. Now, we don’t have to barge in like sheep and get slaughtered. We have information, and that is all that matters."

"I suppose you’re right. It simply baffles me that all these kingdoms have something that Erindros has been making for years, as per the prince. And I know our empire, whatever would give them the advantage, would never be revealed. Whoever did this has to despise it so much."

Astrid chuckled, "I wouldn’t even really blame them. The empire runs a tyranny."

Augustus scoffed and stood up to look at the skies, "Before I forget, how’s Doris? I haven’t been up to date with her condition."

’’Well, on some days, the physician says she’s doing better, on other days, she’s on the verge of death." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I know you must feel terrible."

"I do, but honestly, I’m ok with the way things are. She’s still alive, that’s what matters. So, no matter how I feel right now, nothing triumphs the knowledge that she is still with us right now, at this very moment."

Augustus smiled at her softly.

"Astrid! Astrid," Andrea called, rushing in, "It’s Doris. She opened her eyes."

Astrid shot up from the daybed and rushed past her. She stopped at the door when she arrived and took in a deep breath before she opened the door and entered the room.

Doris sat, leaning against the wall, her droopy. "Astrid," she drawled. "It’s good to see your pretty face again." Her grin was lopsided, and her head swayed gently from left to right.

Astrid walked towards her slowly, like she’d been stunned by a miracle, because it was. She’d never thought she would see Doris smile again, or hear her try to make annoying jokes, but there she was, alive and well.

"You moron," Astrid said as the tears dropped one by one, "I thought you’d never wake up. What took you so long?"

"Forgive me, Astrid, I was just fighting death, you know. I think the god’s love me a little too much. They had to chase me back here because they knew you would cry so much if I left without saying goodbye."

Everyone laughed.

"What do you mean by goodbye? You’re back with us now, and you’re not going anywhere ever again, even if I have to sacrifice a limb or two."

Doris smiled weakly, "No need for all of that. So... are we still in Thalassia?"

"Of course, we are silly, where else would we be?" Andrea chimed.

"Exactly how many days has it been since I was unconscious?" Doris asked.

"Six days," Adonis said from the side.

"That’s a long time. You shouldn’t have stayed here for me. You could have bundled me up into the ship and continued on your journey."

Adonis smirked. "No need to feel too guilty, sweetheart, my men needed the rest as well. So, it wasn’t only just about you."

"Well, that’s a relief."

Everyone stared at each other as the silence settled. Augustus cleared his throat and shuffled his feet, and Adonis shot him a glance, running his eyes across his length.

"Why don’t we all leave her to rest?" Astrid said abruptly.

"Yes," all of them chorused.

"It’s good to have you back with us, Doris. It would have been such a shame otherwise," Adonis said and left.

"It’s good to have you back, my lady," Augustus said, bowed, and left.

Astrid and Andrea remained in the room till dark, watching her sleep.

"It’s getting a little late." Andrea lightly got up to stretch. "We need to go to sleep."

"I think I’ll just stay here tonight, in case she needs anything."

Andrea laughed, "I know there’s no talking you out of this one today." She sat back down on the bed near Doris’s feet. "Why don’t you go ahead and take a bath at least? Then you can come back and take care of her till morning. She’s alive, with us, Astrid. Nothing could go wrong now, so take care of yourself."

Astrid sighed. "Fine, Fine." She got up and looked down at Doris one last time, "I’ll see you guys in a few minutes."

Astrid shared a room with Andrea on the second floor of the building to the right. The bathroom was a little farther down. She went to their room first, took off her jewellery, took down her hair and outer garments, then tied a shawl around herself and went to the bathroom.