The next day came around far too quickly for Kaliana's liking. She had been poked and prodded within an inch of her life by the dressmakers and everyone else who'd come by her room yesterday after that bastard of a prince had left her there. She hadn't set a single foot outside her room – not wanting to see his annoyingly pretty face for as long as possible. She was about to be married to him, and there wasn't a single thing she could do. Law dictated it was her duty to marry him and bear him an heir so the royal bloodline could be passed on. The assassins probably wouldn't stop either even after her marriage. Not until she had a number of children who had grown enough to protect themselves from harm.

Why could they not have had the marriage celebration later? she wanted to ask. It would hardly stop people from trying to kill her.

Curtains were drawn with a snap, a cheery voice sounding as her head popped out from under her quilts. "Rise and shine, princess," her maid called, humming joyfully as she yanked the covers down, uncaring as Kaliana shivered. The morning air was far too cool for her liking, and she didn't particularly want to see Leviathan's smug face. He would just smirk at her again, the bastard. He knew it irritated her. He had to. There was no way he didn't know. Footsteps sounded, and that was the only warning she received before she was plucked from her bedsheets, and practically dragged into the bathroom by the maids assigned to ensure she was ready for her wedding.

It started at noon, when the sun was at its peak, though Kaliana wasn't sure they'd see the sun at all. There was seeming to be a fair few clouds, without any blue sky in sight, and she doubted the weather would be changing anytime soon. Besides, somehow it set the mood. It was a dreary day, not the kind for celebration, and yet there she was, preparing herself for the marriage celebration she had not in any way, shape, or form agreed to.

Her new maids didn't understand her reluctance in the slightest. They hardly seemed to acknowledge the fact she had no desire whatsoever to marry the irritating prince who slept next door. In fact they wanted the exact opposite, which was how she found herself being stripped of her clothing and all but thrown in the delightfully warm waters of the smaller bathtub inside the room. How many bathtubs did one need? She only had one back home, and it hadn't been as lavish as her new one apparently was. Kaliana supposed she should have expected that. There was a leap between lower-class nobility and royalty, which was what she was as of that day. She was being married off to a damned prince, and an insufferably smug and teasing one at that.

Scowling at the reminder, she stared at the ceiling, eyeing the spotlights sunk into the smooth white surface, blinking the spots out of her eyes when she realised how much of an idiotic idea it was. She sighed, trying to remind herself that it was not the end of the world – just the end of her freedom. She was going to be queen. The assassins gunning for her head were proof of that much. She was important now. Part of her rejoiced in that – no stupid girls would deliberately lead her off into the forest and leave her there again.

Glancing over into the gigantic mirror spanning the entirety of one of the walls, she narrowed her eyes on the claw marks marring her neck. They were faint, barely noticeable, especially with the concealer she always wore in that area. She was just lucky Leviathan hadn't disturbed it with all the love bites he had so eagerly left there. At least she now had an excuse for wearing all that concealer – the bruises from Leviathan's so-called affection still stubbornly marking her neck. What face would he make when he saw the scars left by that monstrous wolf? she wondered. Those were the scars which made her a woman of depreciated value. Kaliana scoffed at that old thought... those old words which burnt her, blinking in surprise as a cool creamy substance was slathered across her face.

"This beautifying mask needs to be left on for twenty minutes, so please don't try to wash it off, Lady Kaliana," the Head Maid spoke, pulling her wandering attention back onto the preparations for her wedding. The maids were all bustling about with their preparations and Kaliana dearly wished to vanish into oblivion. She was not ready for anything, let alone her own marriage. "I know you aren't happy about this wedding in the slightest, but I imagine you wish to look your best."

Her lip curled. Beauty was hardly supposed to matter to her anymore.

"As for the scars..." another maid said, trailing off at the stormy look on her face at the mention of the very things which ruined her life when she received with them all those years ago.

"We have creams which will help make them slightly less noticeable," the Head Maid interrupted, glaring at her sharply as she sat in the bathtub. "Scars aren't the end of the world, Lady Kaliana... You're getting married to the prince, for Demorg's sake. Don't sulk. It's unbecoming of our future queen."

Kaliana scowled. "As if you would understand," she spat, rubbing at the pale scars. They were a few shades lighter than her skin, and they shimmered whenever the light hit them at the right angle. She hated them. They were the reason she couldn't get the echo of those words out of her head. The words which ruined any sort of social gathering for her. The words which haunted her no matter how far she ran from society.

Ugly.

Deformed.

"Maybe she can't with whole scar shebang, but I sure can," a younger voice sounded from behind her, and Kaliana turned to face the owner, almost shrinking in on herself when she spotted the girl who'd spoken.

Her shoulders slumped. At least her own scar was somewhat concealable. She should've been thankful for small mercies. It could've been on her face, like the slightly older girl's was – three long claw markings gouging through her eyelid, bad enough to need an eyepatch to conceal the worst of the damage. "But it's different for commoners," she growled. Her situation was different, not, Kaliana supposed, that it mattered too much with her marriage all but assured and about to take place.

"I was about your age when I got this... musta been five or six years ago now," she said, tracing the three scars with her fingers. "Nobody's ever looked twice at me. I'm lucky I got this job in the first place... It was the King's Chief of Staff – lovely gent – who gave me this job, simply 'cause my skills were fan-tastic. I just hafta stay out of the current queen's line of sight, but I can sure live with that... and if anyone aside from the nobility gives me any trouble about it, then I just sock 'em right across the noggin. Works like a charm."

"So if anyone gives me any trouble, then I should just punch them?" She tilted her head, silently weighing up the idea, a grin spreading across her face at the thought. It would be lovely if she could get away with that, but sadly there were expectations and none of them involved physical violence. Ladies were only meant to use basic self-defence if the circumstances required it so, and that was yet another thing Kaliana was lacking in.

"Righ—"

"WRONG!" roared the Head Maid, slamming a hand over the younger maid's mouth before she could get another word out. "Ladies, especially those of the nobility are meant to be refined and dignified—"

Kaliana glanced over at her new scar buddy. "What is your name, commoner?"

"Rochel, milady," she said with a curtsey. "With your upcoming marriage to the prince, might I suggest something for ya?"

"Sure. Go ahead," she mumbled, staring at the greyish brown tiling of her bathroom. It was a wonderfully boring distraction from the hustle and bustle around her. Sparing the rest of the wall from her bored stare, she turned her attention over onto the second pool of water in the room. Why she needed a second bathing pool, she wasn't certain. It was quite a sight – a larger, deeper basin of water, which could have easily passed for a swimming pool, tucked right up against the wall leading to the annoying prince's bedroom or perhaps his bathroom. She hadn't seen the other side to be sure, and she didn't particularly want to.

"The prince will likely be makin' a visit to each of the other kingdoms before his coronation takes place in a few years' time, which means you'll eventually be visitin' the Mage Kingdom..." Rochel trailed off taking her hand in her own as another maid took her other, nail scissors and other nail buffing equipment at the ready.

"What of the Mage Kingdom?" she asked, curious about the kingdom of humans. She was compared to them far too often for there to be anything less than a large sliver of curiosity about the slightly shorter-lived species.

"They can create markin's known as tattoos on the skin," she explained, polishing Kaliana's nails to perfection. "They're ideal for coverin' up unwanted scars and the like... and there are many different styles... The only problem is that they can be a bit pricey, since they require a mage's... mana, I think it's called – or somethin' like that – to create. I don't think that'd be much of a problem for ya though." Rochel smiled. "Something to think about, eh? If ya want to stop worrying about slathering on that concealer every mornin'."

Lying in the bathtub, Kaliana only listened as the Head Maid snorted derisively. "Tattoos?" she muttered, voice scathing. "Nonsense. Do not go filling the princess's head with such ridiculous thoughts, Rochel," the Head Maid warned. "She will be queen, and she will have to lead by example."

"And the queen is the trendsetter." Rochel shrugged. "It's just somethin' to think about – that's all. Could probably help with confidence and the like... especially if you get nice designs..."

Kaliana paused, mulling over the idea. It was nothing she had thought of before... but it might have been worth thinking about, that was for sure. The scars were not going anywhere on their own. She sunk lower in her rose-scented bath. She would have to look into these tattoos a bit more before she did anything, though.

"Concentrate on your work Rochel," the Head Maid warned. "We need to get Lady Kaliana through her wedding."

Kaliana swallowed. How could she forget? She had a git of a prince to marry... and, sadly, there were only a few hours before they tied the knot.

A knock at the door made her thoughts stop in their tracks. It wasn't the door she had entered through. Instead it was the other one, the smaller white slatted door – the one which likely led to her delightful husband-to-be's rooms, and that thought was soon proven correct as his voice rang out.

"Everything going well over there, honey?" Leviathan called, and she gritted her teeth, willing herself not to rise to the bait. He would only embarrass her more if she did that. "You're not being too bratty are you? Because if you are... well, behave like a brat, and I will have to treat you like one tonight."

Familiar anger stirred in her gut, overriding the embarrassment she could feel, and Kaliana snapped her lips shut. Things would only become worse should she scream a reply. She knew that much, but still... her self-control was pretty abysmal, and a certain pointy-fanged prince really enjoyed trying her patience.

"Darling, do try to remember that I am not alone in here," she ground out, her hands twitching as the urge to burst through the thin wooden door and strangle him overcame her.

The Head Maid ignored the pair of them with an ease which spoke of years of experience, instead turning the shower on, rinsing her hair through a few times as the conversation went on.

"Oh, silly me... and here I thought you hardly cared for audiences... especially when insulting me with that talented mouth of yours." She could hear his grin in his voice, stomach sinking like a rock as his voice continued to reverberate through the room. "You were so much easier to tend to in the carriage, you know."

Her lips pulled back in a snarl, the familiar insult falling from her mouth before she could stop herself. "Bastard!"

"Honey," he called teasingly, "you know what calling me that makes me want to do to you..."

Her face burnt, teeth grinding together as she heard his soft laughter, and she tried to pull her attention away from the irritating prince next door. Instead, she focused on the hands rinsing the conditioner from her thick long inky locks, sighing as a hand tugged on her arm.

Rather than making the maids drag her about again, she followed their instructions instead, praying it would get her out of the room connected to his that much quicker.

Leviathan seemed to enjoy riling her up for reasons unknown to her.

Thankfully, he fell quiet whilst she soaked in the rose-scented water, though if Kaliana had her way, she wouldn't even be there in the first place. She would be far away from him and his castle if her wishes came true.

She really hated those assassins. If it weren't for them, she would be tucked back up in her bed at home. They had completely messed up her perfect plan for her life, and she swore they would pay dearly for that.