The Fake Bride

“Trinity, why do you suppose Lord Detles wants to see me at this time of night?”

The maid’s eyes wandered to the wall toward the dancing shadows of the flickering torch light, taking care not to look at the princess in the eyes. “Oh…well…I’m not sure, but it must be important.”

Her brows furrowed suspiciously. “Trinity, is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Of course not,” she said shrilly, her voice rising a pitch higher at the last word. She clamped a hand over her mouth, chiding herself silently.

“Hmm...You are a terrible liar, but I will tolerate it since it’s you,” Princess Farsiris said playfully, making a point that she was not the least mad at Trinity’s white lie. “What does he have in mind? Does he want to give me a present, perhaps?”

Trinity smiled. The princess mood seemed to have improved despite having been stirred from sleep thanks to the unlikely timing of the earl’s arrival. If only she knew who was waiting for her just behind that door…

“Is it this room?” she asked, indicating the closed door.

“Oh, yes,” Trinity confirmed, stepped closer and turned the handle, pushing at it lightly. The room had brightened considerably in comparison to how it was minutes ago. The fireplace burned with an intense glow as the flame danced and flickered above the crackle of burning wood. Lord Detles was leaning forward in his chair, feeding the hungry blaze more raw logs that were stacked in a pile against the wall. The earl, his back to the two women, stood tall as he rested a gentle hand on the back of the lord’s chair.

“What is this? Do we have a guest—”she stopped herself as her eyes widened in utter dread.

The earl turned around with a returning smile that barely concealed his hurt. “Farsiris, can you not make my heart ache more than it already is?”

Realizing that she had inadvertently hurt him, the princess dropped her gaze; those lucid blue eyes were now dark and sad.

“You must leave,” she said in a low voice, as if she was trying to persuade herself than him. “Now…”

“Farsiris hear me out, won’t you?” The earl took a step forward, which alarmed the distraught princess so that she screamed out without reservation or consideration for his feelings.

“No!” Her voice shook, but it was adamantly delivered at the same time. “There is nothing to discuss. You no longer have the right to show your face before me. Leave—before I would have to make you.”

As she uttered those despicable words of spite, she shot him a sharp look of pure contempt. But to those that knew her well, it wasn’t what it appeared at all. Underneath that malicious visage was a pain that she had covered up with a front to not break down crying before him.
In his most composed stance, the earl opened his hands, facing his palms upward in a gesture of offering—perhaps, his heart to her wholeheartedly. Still, she wouldn’t budge even at the desperation reflected in his eyes.

“Please, my princess, please don’t say such belligerent words. I came because there is still something left undone on my part, and I would like you to give me a fraction of your time because I know even though you resent me—yes, you must be—you love me just the same.”

“Love?” she questioned him derisively, the movement of her features arched so she looked oddly wicked like a celestial fairy, with that ethereal beauty of her, gone rogue. Truly, it was the face of a stranger, and it scared Trinity to think what could have possibly possessed her.

“What good does that bring?” She threw her hands into the air, her pitch rising to a shriek. “Can you disobey Father’s order and oppose his will? No! You cannot and had not,” she said. “As for me, I merely did the same thing as you.”

“I know. And I regret it every second after you left,” he said, his usual assertiveness shriveled up in a pitiful heap. “That is why I want to make amends. I hope it is not too late.”

Disbelieving, she stared at him like how a person might stare at the lunatic without any thought of sympathy. “Have you not heard a word that came out of my mouth? Of course, it’s too late. You can never make amends to me!”

“Farsiris, you can’t possibly mean this. You would never treat me like—”

“Like what?” she interjected bitterly. “I am no longer your sweet, little princess. You should learn your place now, Earl Parlem. You are no more but my subject.”

Something crumpled with the bewilderment unfolding on the earl’s face. And yet, Trinity found to her surprise, his determination did not seem to waver in the face of the princess’ rejection.

He breathed in with some difficulty, and then said, “I am here, not as your subject, your inferior. I am here as your equal—as a man who loves you more than anyone could ever love you.” He dropped down on one knee, holding out his hand, willing her to take it.

“I am aware that I have nothing of great importance to offer you. Compared to the king of a prosperous country, I am a mere beggar. The riches, the luxurious life of a princess, I cannot give you like a king can. But I assure you, Princess, if you take my hand I am willing to throw everything else away for you. We can go to a place where no one will separate us, to a place that belongs only to us.”

“What? What are you suggesting?” she muttered, horrified. “You can’t possibly ask me to run away with you?”

“Yes! And I should have done so since the beginning instead of fooling myself into thinking that letting you go was the best option.”

“It’s treason! How could you say such foolish words? You will lose everything. Your title, your honor—are you willing to sacrifice everything that is worthwhile in your life?”

“What’s worthwhile in my life is you, Princess.”

Trinity saw the princess’ clenched fists loosened as if the same was happening to her heart. Just when she thought the princess would take his open hands, she unyieldingly held herself back by folding them close upon her bosom. “No,” she whispered. “I can’t do this. I must not.”

“Please, I beg you,” he persisted, “let’s leave this place together, just the two of us.”

“No,” she breathed tremulously.

“Don’t do this. I don’t want to see you live an unhappy life.”

“No, that’s not true!” she shrieked.

Painfully, but desperately, the earl raised his voice. “Yes, it’s true! You will only be more miserable being with someone you don’t love. I won’t stand for it.”

“You…” Her voice sounded hysterical now as she shook her head, tears falling from her eyes. “You don’t know that. I will be a happy bride. Much happier than—” She fell silent, unable to utter another word of resistance as his arms wrapped around her.

Oh, how small she looked enveloped in his big, warm embrace, like a new born baby who craved the warmth of another human being.

How she could summon the will to push him away, Trinity could not understand. But just like that the link was broken. The princess struggled and shoved him away with what little strength her frail frame possessed.

“I don’t know anymore. Why are you doing this to me?” she sobbed, falling to the floor.

“Your Highness!” It was Trinity, taking flight to rush to the princess’ side. Like a child, the princess leaned against the maid; her hands gripped firmly onto Trinity’s arm. In her delirium, the princess did not notice that her fingers were digging into Trinity’s skin.

“Take me back, Trinity,” she whimpered. “I can’t be here a second longer. I don’t want to see him.”

“Farsiris…” he started, crouching before the princess only to be cut off by Trinity’s cold stare. His approach was gentle; she knew he meant her well, but at the moment, the gesture was ill-received in the maid’s eyes.

“No, not now,” she rebuked with conviction, wrapping a protective arm around the princess’ shoulder. Not in a million years did she imagine she would speak in such an impertinent manner toward a noble, let alone the earl whom she held in the utmost respect. But she was simply too livid for tolerance. In that moment, she hated him, and that was obvious enough that he staggered hesitantly.

Without another word, she gently pulled the princess up and led her out the door, but not before she caught a glimpse of Lord Detles’ curious look. The two gentlemen left behind did not further pursue the matter.



The icy silence that hung in the air above the three despondent figures in the dim light was dreadfully long and agonizing. Head drooped, hands clasped, the earl slouched forward in his seat. Trinity sat on the mat before the fireplace, frozen despite the heat.

The earl’s cousin added to the duo another addition that further sank the mood into a depressing solemnity. Absently, Trinity flung a small log into the fire, keeping it ablaze.

She wasn’t comfortable being in the same room as the Earl, but the princess had asked in a desperate voice to be left alone. Even now, she could not bring herself to look at him. Her mind was clouded in a thick fog of worry over the princess; she could care less about how she should treat him after the mishap.

“Damon,” Lord Detles broke the stillness, “have you given up?”

“I do not know, William,” he said forlornly. “Tell me—what should I do?”
Trinity could not see behind her, but she heard a sound that she could only identify as an impatient grunt.

“You aggravate me with your indecisiveness, Damon,” scolded the lord. “When it comes to the most important matter, you waver. You’ve always been that way since we were little. Don’t just sit there and expect me to come up with a solution for a problem that you yourself instigated.”

Another noise—a raucous shuffle of the chair fabric as the Earl rose to his feet. “I waver because I love her,” he retorted. “I thought that the best thing for her was to let her go.”

“And look where that got us.” He closed the distance between them and stabbed an accusing finger at the Earl’s chest. “Why change your mind after all those pretty talks about doing the best thing for her? Why didn’t you take her far from this place to begin with?”

“It was all I could do at the moment. I had no other choice!”

Lord Detles snickered scornfully. “It was all you could do? I’ve misjudged you, Damon.” He shook his head disappointedly. “Now I finally know your true nature. You are nothing but a coward!”

Trinity spun to the scene of dispute just as the earl brought his fist down and struck the other man’s face. Before anything else, she was taken by the impulse to throw herself between them to stop their ridiculous, childish quarrel. The Lord, his lips now trickled with thin blood, stomped forward with murderous intent. Trinity jumped in and pushed him back with one hand, while the other was occupied with blocking the Earl’s path.

“Stop, you two! Stop!” she screamed. “How could you fight when the princess is just down the hall? She can hear you. You can kill each other however many times you like, but do not harm the princess.”

It had managed to hold them off. But rather than them coming back to their senses, it was more that they were stunt at Trinity’s unpredicted action. As a final warning, she glared at the lord…then the earl. “You will regret this if you dare to raise your hands against one another. I mean it.”

Something in the Earl’s angry exterior faded, like a turbulent current subsiding to a calm ripple. The Earl collapsed back into his chair, his form slump and small as if he were already tired of everything. He heaved a sigh, and then spoke to Trinity with a gentler note, “I am sorry, Trinity. I shouldn’t have upset you needlessly like that.”

Her anger toward the earl did not readily subside, so all she could manage was a nod.

“I apologize for I was also at fault,” the other offender said, wiping the thin trail of red at the corner of his mouth.”But I won’t apologize for what I’ve said.”

She snapped her head back sharply, her green eyes severe and incensed. “Even though His Lordship had not done the best thing, he still did so with good intentions. You have no right to disparage him.”

And instead of being fazed by her, he simple held her gaze. “I have every right to say it.”

A terrible wave lurched in the pit of her stomach; something in the way his eyes sparkled than dimmed alarmed her. “What do you mean?”

He did not answer, looking at her but not truly seeing. Finally, he turned to the window and stared into the distant. “Never mind that. First we must find a solution to this problem,” then his voice dropped to a whisper as if talking to himself. “If only there is a way…”

The door rasped and Trinity turned to see the princess standing timidly behind it, her expression haggard and wary. “What happened? I heard loud noises—” her words broke apart when her line of sight rested upon Lord Detles’s split lips. “William,” she gasped. “You’re bleeding.”

“It was nothing—” he nonchalantly brushed away her concern, when the princess pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve. He was genuinely startled when she dabbed tentatively at the wound. For a moment, his eyes seemed to dance with a warm glow, his smile small but conspicuous. But faster than Trinity can blink, it vanished, leaving her wondering whether she had imagined it. He clasped his hand on hers and removed it.

“I am all right. You must not concern yourself over such frivolity.”

Her forehead creased, deepening the worry lines. “If you say so…but it’s still best to have it treated,” she insisted. “That aside…how did you get hurt?”

All the eyes turned on Earl Parlem. Trinity held her tongue, but Lord Detles’ mouth tipped slightly at the edge. A wry smile. “Ask the gentleman over hither.” He flicked his fingers toward the earl’s direction, who sat erectly in his chair, his face a picture of shame.

The wicked grin of satisfaction was more noticeable than ever, confirming to Trinity that he was taken advantage of the situation to take revenge on the earl for the bloody punch. Trinity felt the urge to wipe that insolent smirk off his face. There was time and place for everything. Now was not the time or place for his nonsense.

“Why…how did this happen? You get along so well.”

The earl took her direct eye contact as a sign that she was not avoiding him, that she was willing to settle the affair in peace. Something about the way her lips pressing together told him that she was embarrassed of her recent behaviors. He rose, forced on a meager smile, and came to stand before her. To his relief, she did not break down in hysteria nor did she flee. The only thing that disheartened him was Trinity, who had appeared by the princess’ side like the faithful servant that she was, all stern and tense. She might as well be wielding a sword, ready any moment now to tackle the enemy that was him.

“I must apologize for both my and his fault,” he admitted. “We were too caught up in the heat of the moment, and I…um…lost my patience. It was an embarrassment now that I consider it.”

The princess glanced between the two men. Finally, her eyes questioned Trinity in silence. “What were you arguing about?”

Now is the time to tread very gingerly, Trinity thought. Very gingerly…

“We were trying to find a way for you two lovebirds to elope,” came the very intelligent words of none other than the oh-so-clever lord.

The earl turned his head; his face looked like he was going to choke. Trinity muttered a nasty curse; she wanted to beat him bloody, more bloody than what the earl had done to him.

“What?”The princess blushed, but then the blush darkened into a gloom. “What are you suggesting?”

“I am suggesting that you two should leave together, to a far away land where no one will find you. Find a nice place to live, have a few children, and live happily ever after.”

“Now is not the time for jokes, Lord Detles.”

“What part of me is joking?” he asked incredulously.

Princess Farsiris opened her mouth, ready to reproach the young lord for his thoughtlessness. But she hesitated just as the first breath escaped her mouth. Instead, she held his gaze as if challenging him to take back his words.

He smiled in reply, continuing, “Is it not also something you wish for?”

The princess was conflicted, Trinity could tell from the look on her pale, ghostly face, half shadowed by the fire’s glow. When she did not give a reply, Lord Detles took it that he had somehow won this argument. He directed the next question toward the earl this time.

“Don’t you think so too, Damon?” he said slyly.

The earl’s incredulous gaping of a mouth snapped shut with a start; the initial shock had yet to fade. “Well…I…had thought so, originally,” he admitted uncertainly. “But the way you put it…I don’t know. Now that my head has cleared, I feel that my proposal was too rash.” And then he added hastily, for the princess’ sake, “I don’t want to hurt you with my imprudence.”

Subtle relief washed over the princess’ flushed cheeks as she gazed at him, and him at her, in a way that was so intimate that Trinity felt compelled to look away. An understanding was reached between them, and the princess nodded.

“Thank you for your concern. I will take the time, too, to think it over. I will not behave like I did earlier.” The sound of her soft voice almost fooled Trinity into believing that nothing over the past few hours had taken place, that everything was how it was supposed to be with the two of them still deeply in love.

Naively, she thought the earl would open his arms to her and she in return would run into the embrace that she had so long missed. But none of that happened; whatever the earl was compelled to do was suppressed with the way the muscles of his arms tensed. The princess, too, distracted herself by sitting down beside Trinity on the carpet, cracking a smile of reassurance. She took Trinity’s hand and gave it a light squeeze as if to say that she was all right.

Still watching the princess, she wondered aloud. “Then, what must we do?”

“Elopement is still an option,” the lord offered vacuously.

Trinity ignored him, but echoed vaguely. “If you were to run away, the king and queen will be accused by the king of Elithianora.”

Her mistress shook her head regretfully. “I can’t possibly do that to my family. Think what may happen; the two countries will be at war again, and we are in no shape to win a war.”

“Perhaps we can still talk to the king and queen,” the earl said hopefully. “We should try once more to persuade them…I can even get down on my knees and beg the neighbor king if I had to.”

“Such naïve thought,” his cousin reproached. “Do you think the enemies’ king will let you trample all over his royal pride? Doing so is like spitting insult into his face—stealing the bride right before the wedding night. You may even lose your life before you can step a foot out of his palace.” He didn’t sound mocking, only contemptuous and humorless.

“What do you suppose we should do then…besides the option of elopement.” The earl sounded weary.

“Surely, I can talk to father. He will hear me out, I’m sure of it.”

“A father who had so willingly sold out his precious daughter to the crude enemies, I doubt he will have the heart to rescue his daughter at the cost of his life,” he sneered, but the dejected look on her face silenced him immediately.

“Why does it have to be the princess? Why our princess? Why isn’t it someone else?” Trinity said to herself miserably.

“You are right,” the lord agreed, but he wasn’t looking at her; he was staring off into the horizon, where the first rays of dawn were beginning to pierce the solid night sky. “Why is it the princess? Why couldn’t it be someone else? If only there was somebody to take her place. If only…” He shook his head, clearing the absurd thought.

A spark…no a resonating sound, or perhaps it was a slap in the face. Whatever it was called, Trinity had her answer. A terrible but wonderfully marvelous idea came to her and all the little details that entailed rushed into her brain like an overflowing flood that Trinity began to feel dizzy as she struggled, battled against herself to swim through it and stay afloat. She felt like she was drowning, and quick. But she didn’t mind; it was as if she enjoyed the sensation of everything coming at her at once. She didn’t care either way; she had her answer.

“I still believe we should make an effort to appeal to father.”

Trinity struggled to hear the princess’ words, but all was lost in the sound of raging water like a violent storm. Everything was swirling as her mind raced to keep up with that one terrible idea she grasped for. Even worse, fragments of memories were floating around as if urging her to fit them together like a puzzle piece.

“Father told me that the ambassador who delivered the letter left without taking a single portrait of me.”

“We can give the king pieces of land in exchange for your freedom. After all, that is what he desires all along.”

“You will not be able to escape this fate. One of you has found a love more precious than life. One of you will have to sacrifice for it.”

“He will not sit back to watch another man take away his prize.”

“If only there was somebody to take her place.”

Incoherent words…those were all she heard. The three of them talked on, but she felt herself unable to keep up. All her senses were dull, only her mind existed and the world beyond it.

“What will you do?”







“What will you do?”

She gasped aloud, her chest rising and falling with every breath. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized that she had stopped breathing. Her eyes blinked open, wide with horror and wonder as if she were seeing the light for the first time. She gripped her pained chest, as the princess shook her arm with worry.

“Are you all right? You suddenly went pale.”

The face of her princess, white against locks of golden hair, was brighter than anything she had witnessed. She stared in awe, nodding clumsily.

“I’m fine. Completely…fine,” she stuttered. She must had been a mess, for both of the men looked at her with those eyes of bewilderment as if she were a creature that they didn’t know existed.

Rising, to the dismay of her wobbling knees, she made her way toward a nearby window and fixed her eyes on the white sun, hot against her bare skin. She watched as the wonderful sun lifted toward the sky and remembered how many times she must had watched this same sun break through the darkness and into staggering luminosity. She stared directly at its center the most intense of all white light, even though her eyes hurt and she thought for a moment that she was going blind. It was a beautiful beginning, and in spite of the ominous path that she would have to walk on up ahead, she smiled for she was glad she had lived long enough to witness such beautiful sight.

For this one person, I will do it.

Clutching the curtain, she inhaled deeply. She spun around, her gaze engraved with determination.

“I’ve found a way,” she declared. For a moment, her voice sounded hoarse. “Both of you won’t have to sacrifice yourself for the country or anybody.”

Blinking, the princess did not fully grasp Trinity’s intention. “Impossible! How could there be another way?”

“There is,” she said and, somehow, found courage in her voice to help her finish what she wanted to say most. “The king will have his bride.”

“What do you mean?”

Trinity smiled. A pretense, perhaps, but it was also one of a girl who had realized her purpose in life at last. It was a smile of triumph. It was too late to go back now. And so she spoke.

“It’s me. I will go in your place as the king’s bride.”