"Marriage to a Silver-Haired is what's best for the Empire, your heirs should be pure blood warlocks, that is what The past Emperor would have wanted" I answered before he could go on.
He frowned. "I know for a fact that arranged marriage is made by the higher-ups, no other have a say in the matter"
"Yes which is why the marriage will happen"
"No" he cut me off, his serious gaze on me. "I expected you not to agree to this," he said.
I huffed at his words which were rather rude of me but I didn't care.
"Would my voice have mattered?" I began a little loud that caught others' attention. "If I had said NO then would it have mattered?"
"Sylvia" he began but I didn't let him, it was high time I set myself loose.
"We live in a world where Silver-Haired are treated beneath a diamond rather than the jewels they truly are. You fixed us on marriage you all so please... either we find love or we find hate" I looked towards Camille but she looked away.
"Some of us find love" My gaze to Danette, her hand on her round stomach, then it fell on Dalton beside her. "And we get hate in return from the ones we love".
Dalton frowned before he looked away.
"Some of us are too late to even approach such feelings", my gaze on Mother. "And then we end up regretting it for the rest of our lives", A tear fell for one of her eyes.
"And when we find love, respect, and a soul... it gets taken away in a snap. It gets torn from you like it never did matter," My gaze back to Lawrence who looked at me with so much intensity.
"I was taken from my family... It was duties... I was married off to a man I never knew... It was duties... I was expected to represent and do what was expected of me... It was duties... but then I fell in love, duties were damn but yet they were still held above all graces... but that love, that love broke all that"
"I once told you it was either laws or your happiness but seems like the laws won," I add in disdain. "What is all this... some kind of trial by fire!" I yelled, saying that right now something struck me, as a deep feeling ran through me.
'You will learn Yelena... You will learn to respect the laws of your people' at the unknown voice in my head I shook my head, I felt dizzy all of a sudden. What was that voice and who did it belong to? The power that came from it.
'Love will destroy you, all you need is your duties, all you will ever need is a partner and not a soulmate, a partner you would perform your duties with... all you should think about is your people and your Realm'
"Sylvia" Lawrence said, holding onto me so that I wouldn't fall, I moved my gaze to him.
'No I will not!' this was another voice and it was stronger and braver, it sounded like mine?
"No," I said, he frowned.
'I choose love because when there is love there is hope, I choose love because I love my people and that happiness is what everyone needs... I found love and that freed me... I do not care of what you think'
"I will not marry you", at my confession the clamorous thunder stroke.
Everyone gasped, and I moved away from Lawrence's hold.
"I refuse to put duties over my own feelings"
It was like a weight was lifted off my chest like a chain was broken, and like my eyes were open to possibilities. And then Instantly time stopped around me, a pause I never thought could happen.
"Mother?" I said she was frozen like she was, I whirled around, every single thing was in pause, every detail, they all looked like sculptures before me.
"How is this possible?" I murmured in total confusion, was I losing my mind right now?
"What happened?"
"Finally... and here I thought I would have to drag you back with me"
At the newfound voice, I panicked. "W-Who's there?"