I let out a shaky breath; trying to reel in my anger, but to no avail. I had been glaring at the white fabric; spun into a stunning dress, lying on my bed. I was done trying to calm myself down, I could take it no more, turning around like a tornado I walked out of my room, slapping the door close with unnecessary harshness, and narrowed in on my target; Alonzo Gritti's room. Knocking or any other pleasant etiquette was not high on my list. Without a warning, I barged into the room.

"What in the name of all the gods is that dress you sent me?"

"And I was under the impression that a lady of your status would be able to discern her wedding dress with ease."

He replied nonchalantly, not even bothering to look up from the documents he was busy scanning through with his green orbs that rolled slightly from side to side giving away the man's concentration. His attitude did not sit well with me, and just added fuel to the already crackling fire of my anger. Without a second thought, I rushed towards the oak wood chair hosting the infuriating man, and grabbed the soft fabric covering his torso. With the collars of his shirt fisted between the fingers of both my hands I did not stop, but pulled up to his feet the undoubtedly surprised male, only to push him against the stone made wall behind him with roughness, toppling over the chair in the process. Stepping closer to him, enough to feel the warmth of his skin on mine, I fixed him with the deadliest of the stare known to mankind.

"Señor Alonzo Gritti, do not ever repeat this mistake of making me stoop to the likeness of a common whore in your mind. I am a lady, the sort who knows very well how to command respect for her. Do not dare again to think of me as some piece of flesh you will add to your harem, I am not some whore selling herself off in some brothel to the likes of you. You will respect me, or I will make you. When I talk, you listen and pay attention. Make sure that this fact is clear in your mind," I nothing less than hissed, while freeing him from my stare for not even a second.

"My apologies, my lady, did not mean to offend you."

I uncurled my fingers from around the fabric of his shirt, and stepped back from him. With not so much as a word of acknowledgement for his apology, I turned around and made my way towards the chair set such as to face the one that Alonzo was formerly seated on. Adjusting my petite frame in the more than accommodating chair, I crossed one leg over the other, and placed my hands on my knee.

I remained silent, giving with my eyes the idea to Alonzo to settle down. With a nod he stepped ahead, up righted the fallen over chair, and made himself comfortable in it.

"Señor, I thought I had made it perfectly clear to you that, I would marry you once and only once Vincent takes his place as the king of the Estercrest Empire, and even then it would be nothing flashy but just a simple union with as few people as ourselves, and the priest. My question is; when I have once before already stated all the former words to you then what is the meaning of sending me the god damned dress?"

Alonzo waited patiently for me to finish, before he took a deep breath and lifted himself on to his feet.

"So, that is what all the fuss is all about."
"Like, you did not already know." I snapped, shooting daggers his way. If looks could kill he should have been crumpling to the floor at the very moment. Narrowing his eyes at me, he walked closer to where I sat, and rested his hip against the desk facing me. His ankles rested one against the other, whereas his arms crossed in front of his chest, giving him a relaxed yet intimidating posture, but I was never the one to be intimidated.

"Lady Black, as a first mistake made in ignorance I will let it go this once, but I am the man in charge here, and you will respect me by all means. Now, to answer your question, I am not a fool."

"What kind of explanation is that?" I inquired with confusion groping my mind.

"My dear lady, I have not reached this position, where I am currently, in my life by being foolish and careless. What you ask of me is just not practical on my part. Once the prince enters the royal castle as the next king, and embraces his new status, he will have far too much power for me to assume that I can put him down with ease. I am well aware of the fact that he is held very dear by the beings that are native to Estercrest. Once he wears the crown, he would gain incredible measure of power, the complete army of Estercrest will be under his control and the commoners would not let anyone stand against him either. With this amount of power at his side, you will have no reason to not return to him. From the way you invest all your energies to the very last bit to secure the longevity of his life; it is not hard to come to the conclusion that he did not force himself upon you, and you willingly opened your legs for him. It may not be love but you have strong emotions when it comes to him, so it is not a notion to be doubted that if given a chance you would want to return to him and raise your child alongside him. Hence, to secure this alliance, you will consent to marriage with me before my departure to go fight at the side of Prince Vincent, and the marriage will take place after the eyes of hundreds of influential people from across the world, as a further security measure. They would be eye witnesses to our marriage in case you would want to run back to the prince and pretend nothing happened."

I sat gaping at his face while he went on and on. I was enraged that he would assume me to be such a low person as to go back on my words, but the same part of my mind, which surprisingly was more dominant than usual, reasoned that he was right in his place. He did not know me in person to deem my words credible enough.

Putting my hands on the arm rest and uncrossing my legs, I propelled by body onto my feet. Stepping closer to Gritti, I whispered close on his lips in a very seductive yet dominant purr.

"Smart move, and fair enough, but Señor Alonzo Gritti if I do not get things my way, you would not either." I stepped back, and winked, before continuing, "The wedding contract we sign will have stated all the points and details of our agreement, and every person present will get to read the contract, and that is nonnegotiable."

With that I turned around and swayed out of his room.