She was totally appalled at the command and the cold tone of his voice that she was left speechless for a minute or two. Never, had he ever spoken to her this way before. It took an extreme effort to shake herself free from the dread twisting inside her and speak. Finally, she managed to let the words tumble out. “But, papa, how can you make me do such a terrible thing? How could you send me to this barbarian and force me to wed him? If you make me do this, papa, I will never forgive you.” She wrung her hands in fear. She let the tears fall as she stood staring pleadingly up at her father. It was impossible to hide her terror or how distraught she was over what he just ordered her to do. She still could not believe he would let such a monstrous thing happen to her. Surely, he would help her out of this horrendous situation. She did not want to think about what would happen to her if he didn’t. When he spoke harshly, her eyes widened even more. “Enough, Trista, the king, your godparent, has made his decision and you have no choice but to wed the Highland Scot.”
