Early SF Post and Chapter 7 Teaser

Sooo...I got to thinking and decided I wanted to post the wedding and the wedding night in the same week. In addition, chapter 6 was very short....so I posted tonight and will post the wedding chapter on Monday. Want a Teaser? Just scroll down...


Sovereign Fate Chapter 7 Teaser

The streets were lined with cheering people. Isabella’s heart sank even lower at the realization that total strangers who would more or less be completely unaffected by her union were a hundred times more joyful about her special day than she was. She smiled and waved, performing her duty as a royal, but below the perfectly groomed surface, she was screaming.
The carriage stopped in front of the massive cathedral, the shadow of the tall spires at the front of the church casting them in shadow as Isabella accepted the steward’s hand to assist her out of the carriage. Alice and Angela were right behind her, adjusting the hem of her dress while carrying the cathedral length veil that would be placed upon her head in a few short minutes in preparation for her walk up the aisle.

Each step Isabella took toward the massive double doors felt like they would be her last, her knees trembling, weakened by her nerves and fear. A steward manning the door, opened it with a flourish, and Isabella stepped through quickly, grateful for the reprieve from the scrutiny of the Spanish subjects, yelling best wishes to her from the street.

The smell of sickeningly sweet incense made Isabella’s stomach turn even more ferociously, threatening the return of the light breakfast she had been able to choke down, at the most inconvenient of times. Alice and Angela fussed with Isabella’s dress and hair before placing the long flowing gossamer veil atop her head, affixing it with a golden tiara before pulling the front portion forward to conceal her face, as was tradition. They both hugged her, handing her the bouquet that was waiting for her in the vestibule where she prepared to begin the walk that would seal her fate.

Before Alice was ushered away to sit with her family, she turned to the nervous bride with a bright, excited smile. “May the Lord fill your days with sunshine and your life with warmth, Princess Isabella of Spain and future Queen of England.”

Isabella gasped in surprise at the familiar salutation she had first heard only two years before, the day she first met Tony. Her mind was muddled in a quagmire of confusion as she watched Alice bounce away on the arm of the steward who was leading her to be seated with her family, her thoughts too hazy to put the pieces together, but feeling a strange sense of foreboding.

While Alice left to go join her family, Angela stayed by Isabella’s side. Isabella’s hands began to tremble noticeably, vibrating the bouquet in her grip. In one last attempt to calm her, Angela turned to her with a smile.

“I love you, Bella. Please have faith. You never know when your most fervent prayer might come true. Have faith and be strong. I promise you that this is not the trip to the gallows that you are envisioning. Jacob told you himself, and I have heard rumor that his admiration for you is already adjusting his actions. Your father sent him Jessica night before last and he turned her down and all but tossed her out on her derrière. He is an honorable man who will treat you with respect, Bella…far more respect than you have ever received from your father. Please, just trust me and relax.”