Before she could finish, she was pulled from her chair, stripped of her plain dress, and dunked into a tub of steaming hot water that appeared out of nowhere.
They scrubbed her as if she were a dirty pot. They filed her nails. They yanked a brush through her hair with the kind of force usually reserved for taming wild animals.
Luna was too shocked to fight back. She just went limp and let them handle her like a life-sized doll. After the bath, they forced her into a dress.
It was a monstrosity of white silk and lace, with so many layers she could probably survive a blizzard in it. It was also incredibly itchy.
"Can someone please tell me what is going on?" she asked, but the maids just kept working, their faces tight with that familiar look of disgust.
Okay, so no answers. Big shocker.
For the next few hours, they poked and prodded her. They even put makeup on her face, which felt like smearing colored mud on her skin.
Through it all, Luna's mind slowly went from confused to annoyed, and finally, to a strange sort of happy.
Something was happening. Something big. And whatever it was, it probably meant she was finally getting out of this room.
She didn't care if they were sending her to the salt mines or selling her to bandits. Anywhere was better than here.
Finally, they were done. They dragged her out of her room, down the long, dusty hallway she'd never walked, and into the main part of the mansion.
It was bright and loud and smelled of flowers instead of old books.
For the first time in sixteen years, Luna stepped outside.
The sunlight was so bright it made her eyes water. The world was huge and colorful. And standing right in front of her was a carriage.
It wasn't just any carriage. It was massive, carved from white wood and gold, and pulled by two horses that shimmered as if they were made of moonlight.
'Solstrider - Level 10.' Luna was happy to see her reading prove useful in identifying the beasts.
Surrounding the carriage were knights in black armor, sitting atop giant, tusked hogs.
'Ironhide Hogs and their bonded. They are mighty in the real world, too.'
These were the Emperor's personal guards. The best of the best. What in the world were they doing here for her?
A guard opened the carriage door. Her mother and father stood a short distance away, not even looking at her.
Her father just gave a curt nod to the guard. That was it. No goodbye. No "try not to get eaten." Nothing.
Luna just shrugged and climbed into the plush, velvet-lined carriage. The door shut, and with a lurch, she was moving. Freedom, at last.
Inside the carriage, Luna started to think. This all screamed of a common trope in cliché romantic stories: marrying off the daughter. But who were they marrying her to?
The carriage rolled through the capital city of Luz. Luna pressed her face against the window, watching the world fly by.
She had no idea where she was going. They were clearly marrying her off to someone important, if the fancy ride was any indication.
"Is it the Emperor?" she muttered to herself. He was supposed to be a hundred years old, with hair growing out of his ears.
She almost retched at the thought. Well, if the creepy old dude tried to touch her, she'd just have to kill him. Simple.
The carriage passed through the grand city gates and into the wilderness.
'Not to the Emperor. Then to a bandit leader? That would be fun. What if it is an orc king? Whoa, can he fit inside me?'
For hours, she watched forests and fields roll by. Then, she noticed a change. The air grew colder.
The vibrant green trees gave way to dark, spiky pines. The sky turned a permanent shade of gloomy grey.
This was the direction of the Obsidian Realm, the land of the Demonic Dragon.
'Oh. So someone from there. But why? As far as I can recall, my father is their greatest enemy—the man who killed their emperor.'
Luna had read about the son of that slain dragon, a man who despised humankind to his core. Who in their right mind would marry the daughter of the man who killed his father?
'Or are they giving me as a sacrifice?' Goosebumps rose on Luna's skin.
'No way, right? Not with all this commotion.' She hoped so.
Suddenly, the carriage ground to a halt. Luna peeked out the window. She heard the thunder of hooves, but they were going the wrong way.
The Emperor's knights, her grand escort, were galloping back towards the capital as fast as their hogs could carry them.
She tilted her head. "Well, that's not very professional."
A shadow fell over the carriage, so vast and sudden it plunged the inside into darkness. The air became freezing cold.
Luna looked up through the window in the ceiling.
Her jaw dropped.
Descending from the sky at a terrifying speed was a dragon. It was an enormous, skeletal beast made of black, jagged bones, with terrifying blue flames burning deep within its eye sockets.
It wasn't just a dragon. It was a bone dragon.
And it was coming right for her.
"Damn it. So they are sending me as a sacrifice to the dragons."
A familiar blue box flashed in her vision, bigger and brighter than ever before.
[Threat Detected! Adrenaline surge has triggered an EXP bonus!]
[You have reached Level 5!]
[New Face Unlocked: The Winter Wolf Queen]
'What was that?' Luna had no time to care about the blue box as her carriage started to shake violently, throwing her up and down, making her scream.
When she thought the shaking was going to break her bones, it stopped. She brushed her hair away from her face as she felt a presence behind her. She turned around.
A man was sitting there. On one half of his face, veins shone dark red like streams of blood streaking down from his forehead.
On the other half, a scar sliced through his brow, extending down to his chin. His piercing pupils burned deep red, staring intently at her.
His frame was huge; even while sitting, he seemed taller than her.
Luna gulped. This man was dangerous. The kind she liked to read about, but not face in reality. Absolutely not as…
"I refuse to marry you," she blurted out before considering the consequences. 'Oh no. If he is angered, will he kill me?'
So she corrected herself, "I was just joking, my husband. I am wholly ready to marry you." She gave him a smile she believed to be her prettiest.
"That's not for you to decide." His voice was deep, reverberating inside her ribs.
Luna gulped. "You don't like me? Then don't marry me. I am fine."
"Hah..." he scoffed, his eyes blazing with hatred. "You are the same as your father. Shameless."
"Haha..."
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because I agree with you. My father is surely shameless."