The Duke's Unwanted Wife

The day they would reunite drew closer. Natalia tried to hide her anxiety the way she knew best, by pretending the problem did not exist. Even as the leaders converged in the middle of the Island, where a place had already been set up for them, she still calmly pretended all was well.    

    

It almost came apart when she set eyes on Fredrich once more. He looked different yet he was familiar. She had seen him like this before, when he became king. This life, she didn’t give herself the opportunity to see him crowned and she thought it was right that she didn’t. Seeing him as a king was seeing him further as an enemy. Life only become more miserable when he became king and began to act unhinged towards her.    

    

Fredrich thought his eyes would pop out of his skull when he saw her calmly standing behind the Queen of Polivia. Others, who had heard the Queen of Polivia was dead, were nothing more than shocked to see her still alive and well. The only one who looked so amused to see her was the Crown Prince of the Empire, Reagan.    

    

“Isn’t this pleasant? We’re starting off so strong,” he commented, looking at her. She raised her eyebrow, her eyes staring down at him.    

    

“Why are you standing behind someone else? You deserve a seat at this table. After all, you’re the first Transcendental this continent has seen in centuries.”    

    

This statement soon swept away all their initial shock, doubling it. It was almost hard to believe that the woman who used to operate solely with her brains now had the power to back it up.    

    

“There is no need for me to intervene as long as Polivia is not put at a disadvantage. I’m here as a Duchess of Polivia and not as a single entity. And I read the rules of the treaty. To ensure the leaders follow the treaty’s peace, I have come to compound that convenant. Your majesty,” Natalia turned to the Queen. They had an agreement that if she ever needed to use her powers on a large scale, she would ask her first. She nodded and Natalia began drawing a magic circle by tearing through space with her fingers.    

    

Fredrich could only watch, gobsmacked. Such a feat was only possible for a Semi-transcendental but doing it with this much ease was only possible for a Transcendental. Done with the circle, she placed it in the middle of the marble table and an invisible pulse of magic traveled to the ends of the island.    

    

“Nobody can hurt anybody else on this island and you are safe to conduct your meetings quietly. If you need anything, please speak to her majesty first.”    

    

"I think the thing we would all like to know is why you're still alive and the reason why Polivia didn't report that it had a Transcendental from another kingdom?" The representative from Berinda, Princess Ariella's husband spoke.    

    

"She's a part of Polivia so there's no reason I needed to mention her past," the Queen defended.    

    

"Women can utter such honor covered words without repercussions in your kingdom, can't they?" Crown Prince Reagan asked. This statement angered the Queen of Polivia but she made no comments. It was way overdue for the meeting to begin and the one to be criticized was not Polivia or Natalia but Ducroft. Fredrich, the king of Ducroft hadn't said as much as a peep the entire time and had only taken the time to stare at Natalia in disbelief.    

    

"A god recently ascended in Ducroft. This event could be witnessed from all our various nations and because it happened in the Forest of Damnation, a territory that the Kingdom of Ducroft and the Empire of Illumine shares as a border, it would be a little hard on historical records, you see," the crown prince of Berinda said.    

    

"If that's the situation on the table, then why is this a meeting between all the kingdoms and not just Ducroft and the Empire?" Another king asked.    

    

"Because the number of semi-transcedentals and transcendentals are increasing on our continent. This affects all of us. A single ascension almost wiped Ducroft off the map and would've extended and not only did we not get an explanation from Ducroft, we have an event of similar magnitude happen in Polivia. How can we be sure that any of you won't try to destroy our kingdoms just because you want to ascend?"    

    

"Crown Prince Arken, I don't think you're one to talk, really. You're the descendants of a race who was wiped out because they tried to compete with the gods, an attack that wiped out more than half the continent. The descendants of elves should be quiet and humble when they want to express their opinions," Crown Prince Reagan retorted.    

    

The Crown Prince of Berinda fumed but kept his mouth closed. Fredrich couldn't stay silent any more so he tore his gaze off Natalia and spoke.    

    

"The god that recently ascended is the Fairy Mother. Fairies are considered another race and reside in the forest of Damnation so they are not classified as part of the Kingdom of Ducroft."    

    

"Of course, they are not. Your kingdom has a history of hunting them almost to extinction, right?" The Queen of Polivia snidely commented.    

    

Fredrich didn't respond to provocation, staying silent.    

    

"The fairies aren't also considered a part of the Empire since they never actually leave the forest of Damnation so we won't claim that either."    

    

"Will you then declare the forest of Damnation a separate Territory?" The Crown Prince of Berinda asked, enraged.    

    

"Whether or not that is done wouldn't concern you, Crown Prince Arken. After all, it's the border between both our nations. Would you like to place yourself in such a volatile and dangerous place?" Reagan said, provoking him. Arken shut his mouth once more. It was obvious the meeting was not going anywhere and they were not going to do anything but argue.    

    

"If this meeting is not going anywhere, then why don't we take a break and plan out our concern so we can address them uniformly? It's the civilized thing to do," unexpectedly, the woman seated beside Crown Prince Reagan spoke. She was Amanda Illumine, his cousin. Even though they wanted to spite her, her words were wise.    

    

They grudgingly agreed and separated to their various tents to come to an agreement. As Natalia and the Queen were making their way back, Natalia felt her hand grabbed tightly by someone else. She didn't need to look back to know who else would hold her as if she was just a travel bag.    

    

"King Fredrich, is this the kind of discourtesy you use to treat foreign delegates."    

    

"Natalia, what are you talking about?! You're supposed to be dead!"    

    

"Yes, I actually did die. But from I heard, you didn't have any regard or respect for my body, leaving it to rot just mere hours after I passed. I was moved here to Polivia and came back to life because the new god, the fairy mother, decided to revive me. As far as I known death did do us apart and whatever was between us is over. Didn't you received the dowry? We're now strangers. If you feel inclined to disrespect me again, then…"    

    

Fredrich felt the hand he held on to was starting to get inhumanly hot. He snatched his hand back to see it was red and close to melting off.    

    

"If you'd excuse me," she gave him a short bow and left with the Queen of Polivia. He watched her walk away, grinding his teeth. The days where he could toss her around and control her life and death were in the past. Now, she could kill him just as easily as he could kill her then.    

    

"Why did you lie?"    

    

"I didn't lie for him. Everyone else was listening in. It's a good story and mixed with the truth, it's believable."    

    

"You truly are frightening, Natalia. You could've easily changed your name and your face. You could've avoided him. Why did you have to do that?"    

    

"Everything else has already been stolen from me. Why should I let them take away my identity and my name as well? Besides, I can't hide forever. We need to get back so we can table our complaints. Please give me your hand, your majesty."    

    

"I hate teleportation."    

    

"I apologize in advance," Natalia said, her lips twitching. The Queen took her hand and Natalia snapped her fingers. When they appeared back in the camp, Marvis ran towards her. Waddling in behind him was Princess Ariella.    

    

"Your highness, are you trying to cause political conflict between Berinda and Polivia?"    

    

"Of course not. I just wanted some company and I thought you would be here. That was a mistake on my part. But Sir Jane was such good company. He knew exactly how to care for a pregnant mother and I felt my baby kick today! I was worried because they didn't respond at all but now I'm glad to know they're alive."    

    

"I'm glad you're happy, your highness. Please make yourself comfortable. We are only on a short break from the conference. Whenever you wish to return, a steward would escort you back."    

    

"Could Sir Jane escort me back?"    

    

The glare she received from Natalia made her wish the ground would open up and swallow her. She mumbled an apology, lowering her head. Marvis took Natalia's hand in his in an attempt to calm her.    

    

"He will not escort you, Princess Ariella. Please do not covet what is not yours. If you'd excuse us," Natalia took their intertwined hands and stomped her way to the tent. Where she could see, a mischievous smile crossed Ariella's face.