This is a shorter chapter than usual, sorry :/

Emmaline continued with the wedding plans for the rest of the week, feeling a piece of her heart get chipped off at every finalized decision. They were getting closer and closer to the inevitable, and she could almost feel her future with Anna slipping out of her grasp.

She knew it was naive of her to hope that she'd be able to stay unmarried. Her fate was sealed the moment she was born, there was never another option.

Anna had still been coming to visit her almost every night in the gardens, despite the princess's protests. Emmaline eventually gave up on trying to make the girl stay away from the castle and just relished as much time with her as she could.

Elizabeth hasn't said a word about the girls to anyone, although she did ask Emmaline about it quite often. She had lots of questions, mainly about whether love felt like it was said to in her books, and Emmaline was happy to indulge her curiosity.

Emmaline and her father were currently on very thin ice, the girl biting back retorts at almost every sentence that came out of his mouth. If it were only her in danger, she would put up much more of a fight, but since Elizabeth's happiness was on the line, she conceded with all her father's wishes.

Emil, much to Emmaline's dismay, was extremely excited about the wedding. Emmaline felt bad because anyone could tell that he genuinely liked her, and she just couldn't return those feelings. He was trying his hardest to make Emmaline as comfortable and happy as possible, and didn't pressure her into any certain decision. He was a lovely person and Emmaline would love to be his friend, but it just wasn't meant to be.

Emmaline quietly rushed down the stairs, going to meet Anna at their usual spot. Elizabeth had shown them exactly where to stand so the bushes would conceal them one night, which made Emmaline feel better about Anna coming to the castle.

Emmaline sat down behind the bush with her lantern faintly glowing next to her, waiting patiently for her love to arrive. She heard a rustling and looked over to see a foot swing over the ivy, just barely visible in the dark night. A figure dropped down, sitting still for a second before crawling over to Emmaline. The lamp illuminated the girl's features she neared closer, confirming it to be Anna.

"Hello, my dear." Anna greets in a teasing tone and she stretches her neck forward to kiss Anna's cheek. "How was your day?"

"Boring," Emmaline answered, holding in a laugh at Anna's mockingly formal tone. "I missed you."

"It was only a day," Anna laughs and slides back to lay down, resting her head in Emmaline's lap.

"It felt like forever." Emmaline sighs dramatically, causing Anna to roll her eyes with a smile.

Emmaline began to run her fingers through the girl's hair as Anna looked up at her, eyes shining with happiness. For just a moment, she was able to forget; She was able to forget about her marriage, her parents, her future. And for a moment, it was just her and her Anabel Lee.

Anna sits up suddenly and stands up, confusing Emmaline. She scrunches her eyebrows together as Anna holds a hand out to her.

"Dance with me."

"But we have no music," Emmaline points out, but she takes Anna's hand anyway.

"We don't need any." Anna smiles and pulls her to her feet, placing her hands on her waist.

She begins to slowly spin around, pulling Emmaline closer. Emmaline rests her head in the crook of Anna's neck, putting her hands on her shoulders.

"I love you," Emmaline murmers into her neck, nuzzling her head closer.

"I love you too," Anna lays her head on the other girl's, continuing to sway them slowly.

Emmaline picks her head up to kiss the other girl, moving her hands to hold her cheeks. The girls both move to sit down again, not breaking the kiss. Emmaline's heart is bursting with happiness, doing her best not to smile into the kiss.

"What in the hell is going on here?!"

Emmaline jumps and whips her head around to see har father. He was absolutely furious, but disgust soon overtook his expression. Emmaline's stomach drops as she scrambles to her feet.

"Is this what you've been doing in the gardens?!" He shouts, storming towards them. "Emil!"

Emmaline pales as she sees her fiance jogging up to them, looking between the three of them in confusion.

"Emmaline? Who is this?" He gestures to Anna, who Emmaline is trying to block from view.

"Take Emmaline." the King growls to him as he reaches forward to grasp Anna's bicep, yanking her away from Emmaline.

"No!" Emmaline cries and tries to reach Anna but is pushed back by her father.

"What's going on?" Emil looks between the two, confused and conflicted. He doesn't know what's happening, but he doesn't want to hurt Emmaline.

"I said take her!" The King yells at Emil, who finally rushes forward to Emmaline. The girl tries to push him away, but he wraps his arms around her stomach and pulls her back.

"Stop! Let go!" Emmaline thrashes around hopelessly, smacking his arms.

"Lock her in her room." He orders before looking down at a terrified Anna. "This one will be taken care of in the morning."

Emmaline's face pales and she kicks desperately at Emil's legs behind her, trying anything to break free.

"No! Let her go!" Emmaline shrieks, tears brimming in her eyes. "Please! Please don't! She hasn't done anything wrong, it was me, I'm sorry! Don't hurt her!"

Emmaline is able to get one more look at Anna's teary eyes before she's being dragged away.

"No! Let go of me!" Emmaline screams at Emil, who has kept a firm hold on her throughout ber struggling. "Get off, I need to help her!"

"I'm sorry, Emmaline. There's nothing I can do." He tries to reason, but Emmaline keeps clawing at his arms in an attempt to escape. "Please calm down, I can try to pardon her, whatever she did."

"Get off, get off, get off!" Emmaline sobs, in near hysterics as she watches her father take Anna closer and closer to the castle. "Anna! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Please! Let her go!"

"Emmaline, she's just going to the dungeons, nothing will happen tonight. I need to take you to your room." Emil tries to calm her, but Emmaline isn't listening to a word he's saying. Her eyes are glued to the door they went through, desperate to get Anna back.

"Stop! He's going to kill her, let go! Get off me, I fucking hate you!" She screams as sobs wrack her body, ignoring the burn in her throat. Emmaline feels a wave of hopelessness overcome her, slumping over in Emil's grasp as she sobs.

"Emmaline." Emil says softly, but Emmaline only cried harder. "Come on, I'll take you to your room and then try to reason with the King. Please."

Emmaline is still gasping in breath as she looks up at Emil, who was holding a hand out to her with an expression of sympathy. She shuts her eyes for a second and nods, standing up shakily.

Emil takes her back to the castle giving her a sorry look as he locks her back in the room with Elizabeth. Elizabeth sits her on the bed next to her and tries to comfort her, as she probably looked like a wreck, but Emmaline wiped her tears and stands up. She had no tears left, the sadness in her stomach had dissolved.

She was angry.

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THIS IS THE PART I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR! Just you guys wait, I've been ready for these next couple chapters since the beginning.

Love you guys lots!