"The Lynd family name was the last one which had survived throughout the ages, almost unharmed. In the past, the Lynds were relatives of the King of Elympios.When the Great War broke out, the King was no more. The people united and decided to not let the monarchy rule them any longer. The Lynds did not oppose to this unlike other households who were dying for an opportunity to become Kings and Queens. Unlike them, they already had made a pretty penny from the toy and candy factories they had invested in and couldn't care less about ruling Elympios. Because of this, the Lynd name survived through the ages.Despite so many years passing, no one stopped calling the heads of the household Lord and Lady Lynd. They were quite possibly the last royalty of Elympios, that is how they were known in historic texts ".

Evelyne sighed deeply and closed the tiny journal her father had insisted she'd read all the time when she was young. With little care, she shoved the thing in the bookshelf and left the library quietly, streching her arms. She had been studying for so long after all.

Shoving her hands in her pants' pockets she headed for her room, gently nodding her head or smiling at the maids that passed by her. She knew them and their daughters, which had later come to work for them, since she was a child, therefore she viewed them more as close relatives rather than staff.

Seeing a window open, she rushed to it. The wind was blowing violently today and the curtains were flowing back and forth, covering the hallway. Her hair was whipped back from the force as she tried to close the window. With a little more muscle power than she thought it would need she managed to close them in the end.

She took a look outside, for a moment. The sky was gorgeous this time of the day, with all its reds and oranges and yellows. The sea had been dyed in the colors of the sun too. With mania the ocean waves hit the rocks, leaving a trail of foam behind them which disappeared shortly after.She sighed deeply at the sight. She longed to go outside! Explore the world outside of her window, see forests and beaches and cities all across the world.Evelyne could not fulfil that wish however. Her older brother, lucky as he was, had the chance to take a hold of his dreams and join the diplomatic force. While she, on the other hand had been left to take care of her father's business. It was her duty as she was the only daughter left.Her dreams would have to come at a stop, for now. Maybe one day, she could expand their business' to Rieze Maxia and travel there as well!

Unless... Her father deemed her as unworthy of handling his companies and forced her to be wed to someone who could.

"Lady Evelyne !" the familiar voice snapped her from her train of thought. She turned slowly to see one of their cook's daughter, Cynthia running towards her. She was adorable with her orange summer dress and her pigtails.

"Slow down a bit, would you? What's going on?" she questioned, smiling at the young girl. Everyone liked her for she brought some fun and light into this, at times, dreadful place.

"Some men in suits are asking for you downstairs. Lady Lynd asked me to call you!" Cynthia said once she caught her breath. Evelyne frowned deeply, what could she possibly have been summoned for?

"Alright... Let's go, shall we?"

Suddenly, a feeling she could only describe as anxiety settled into her stomach.

-White Orchids-

"It's time to wake up milady" her personal maid announced, pushing the curtains aside. Evelyne awoke immediately, although she wasn't exactly known for being a light sleeper. Maybe it was because she had trouble sleeping last night. The wedding celebrations were going on until late at night and she had always been accustomed to sleeping early. She expected to sleep without even blinking twice once she got into bed since she had been wide awake since early in the morning to get prepared for the marriage. However that wasn't the case.

"His Majesty and sir IIbert are expecting you" the maid continued and brought a cart out full of breakfast without missing a beat. She helped her into her robe and served her morning tea. Afterwards , Evelyne checked the newspapers left under the first tray.

Her wedding to King Gaius was on every front page. The journalists commented on either the political meaning of their wedding and how it would affect the two region's relations. Apart from this, of course, there were gossip columns as well, discussing her dress and critising the private reception that took place later on. She scoffed at the ridiculous comments about how better her wedding gown could have been or improvements that could have been made on Gaius' appearance. Didn't these people have anything better to do with their lives?

"The bride did not seem to be particularly happy to be by the King's side. You could almost say that she was obligated to do this!"

"Both the groom and bride were looking quite grim during the wedding. Perhaps a domestic went between them before the marriage? Will this relationship survive?"

"Lady Evelyne Vesper Lynd looked quite anxious during the wedding. If she's this nervous then, how can she handle her duties as Queen later on? "

Evelyne scoffed at these comments. Although they did annoy her, she could not help but feel a little offended by some of them. She and Gaius were not a couple, obviously, this marriage was done for politics mostly. But this wasn't anyone's business! Wasn't a marriage supposed to be a ceremony that included the two people getting married?

She then remembered that they were a royal couple and of course everyone would care. Sighing deeply, she pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to calm down. Gossip columns could write whatever they wanted, even though it was mostly true.

She got dressed up quickly with her maid's aid despite asking her not to. Evelyne could perfectly dress up by herself. She wasn't completely useless although she had been treated as a lady her whole entire life.

Getting out from her Chambers, the maid escorted her through the Palace and led her straight to Gaius' office. She hadn't really taken the time to explore the castle as she hadn't been here before. Hopefully someone would give her a tour soon so she could navigate herself in this place with ease. It was so huge, that she'd definitely get lost in it if she were to explore on her own.

Gaius' office was a large, circular room. All the walls were covered with mahogany bookshelves, all of them filled completely. As she expected, everything seemed well organised. No chaos ruled inside of here, unlike her office back home. The marble floor was covered by a rich red carpet which seemed ridiculously soft. What's more is that there was a fire place with two armchairs in front of it and close to the windows Gaius' desk was placed. Again, the books and files on it were in perfect order, leaving room for the King to work in peace and grab whatever he needed if necessary.

"Good morning your Majesty" Rowen greeted, bowing his head slightly. Evelyne couldn't help but cringe slightly at the title but did not comment on it. Rowen was standing over Gaius' who seemed focused on a file. He only grunted to acknowledge her presence.

"Good morning" she replied, standing awkwardly in front of them. Her clasped hands felt a little sweaty all of the sudden. Rowen smiled softly at her and waved for her to sit down.

"Have you seen the papers yet?" he asked first and foremost.

"Yes" she nodded, trying not to comment on how dreadful they were.

"Some people are suspicious still but do not let that worry you. It will quite possibly fade over time. We'll have you make a public appearance or two in the future so you both needn't worry that much".

Evelyne fought the urge to roll her eyes to the ceiling for she wasn't the least worried and she could not care any less. The marriage was indeed fake after all.

"Until then however, Lady Evelyne, you need to be taught a few things. Like proper etiquette, you are a Queen now after all..." he seemed to be deep in thought for a bit before he continued. "I'd also like for you to have some lessons on history and diplomacy, these will be very much needed in the future". Evelyne merely nodded at that, she had been kind of expecting it.

"You will also be trained in combat, since I'm aware you haven't ever fought in your life, have you?"

"It wasn't needed. I mean, no one really wanted to harm us" she tried to look at Gaius, silently pleading for help but he didn't even look at her. He seemed to be completely lost in his thoughts. It almost felt like he wasn't really in the room.

"I see. This will change however. There wi be people who'd go against you. Of course, you will have security by your side but in case of an emergency it would be beneficial for you to learn how to defend yourself".

"I...understand" she said reluctantly. Such things weren't ever needed in her world. The fact that someone would want to harm her seemed a tad far fetched to her. She didn't plan on hurting anybody nor had she attempted to do so before in her life.

"Then I would like for us to start quickly, even now".

Now?

Hello, hello! How do you do?

I was very happy to see some reviews on the previous chapter, I didn't expect it at all! I hope you liked this chapter as well. Things will start picking up on the next one and Gaius will get more screen time too :D