Victorian Nights: The Arranged Marriage

The Wedding

I woke up that morning with mixed feelings. It was my wedding day and also the day I was to leave my family. I don’t really know if I will ever get to see them again or if I will be allowed to even send a letter.

As the maids came in and helped me get ready, I fought back tears and tried to act like I was not affected by what the day would bring.

“Would you like the green or the red my lady?”

Only the newlyweds are allowed to wear bright colors at the wedding, either green, blue or red. I chose red because I was told the groom chose the same.

Miriam asks, I stare at the gemstone necklaces and was tempted to tell her to put it away. She was only here to help, sent by my mother to make sure I was well dressed and prepared to be given to the Crown prince of the Celestials…

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, grey eyes stared right back at me, teary eyes. I looked like a bride, with my hair pulled up and the red gemstone earrings and the necklace I had chosen.

“You look beautiful Lady Vera, you make a beautiful bride” I could hear the pride in Miriam's voice, I forced a smile just so she wouldn’t feel bad, what I couldn’t understand was why everyone thought I would be so happy about this marriage. I am getting married to a man I know nothing about, a man I have never seen before yet I have been promised to him since the age of twelve.

The other maid assisting Miriam brought the dress, it was dark red, it reminded me of blood, the blood I had to lie in when my father and brothers were killed. When I played dead on the floor and lay right next to their headless bodies.

I wonder if my father would approve of what was happening today, my mother had given me away to the Celestials at a young age just because she didn’t want to lose her fortune after my father died, the second they asked for a reward she offered her only child…now I am to be the next Crown Princess…I would be the first human to be married into their family.

My uncle the king, he is using me as a way to build his political connections with the Celestials while my mother just wants the name and the fame that comes with being the crown princess' mother.

I put the dress on, it fits perfectly. I wished it didn’t, it hugged my body tightly, the skirt had a bell design…it looked elegant…made me look elegant…graceful.

“You look beautiful my lady” Miriam says for the nth time. Miriam's warm brown eyes stared into mine through the mirror, she was smiling, she was happy. This was a big day for everyone, I didn’t want to disappoint them no matter how much it hurt me to do it.

I return her smile, the door opens and my mother walks in. She is dressed beautifully as always, this time her black dress is lacy, showing a bit too much skin but I know she loves it that way, she likes the attention she gets from men, their lusty stares and disgusting advances. She doesn’t act like a widow but then again I can’t blame her

My father has been dead for years now, even though she moved on just days after his death…I still wish for her to be happy, for her to find a man to love and cherish her, especially now that I’m not sure when I’ll see her next.

“You look so beautiful, Vera” she says happily.

“Thank you mother, you look as beautiful as always” I reply, her eyes shone at the compliment. She links her hand with mine and laughs happily.

“Come…everyone is waiting for you…princess” she says it with so much glee that Miriam behind me giggles as well. They’re both so excited, I make sure to keep smiling without making it look forced as we left the room.

We walked towards the grand hall. My uncle has decorated the palace nicely making sure to tell all of his subjects that his ‘beloved’ niece is getting married to the Crown Prince of the Celestials.

He invited people from far away kingdoms and even different continents, he says it is because he loves me and wants the best for me but I know that is a lie. He wants to show off, he wants to show off to everyone that he now has a connection with the Celestials, a connection that others have been struggling to get for centuries.

“Look alive baby girl, everyone is here to see you today” My mother says, she holds my hand tighter and walks with me through the large, wide open double doors in front of us.

The entire place is engulfed in a pin drop silence once my name is announced, as I step into the hall I feel all eyes on me and my breath catches in my throat.

“Breathe child…you don’t have the luxury of weakness right now” my mother's fingers pierce my skin, making my eyes tear up yet at the same time it calms me. At the end of the hall, there he stands…my future husband.

This was the first time I was seeing him, the closer my mother and I got to him the more his features became clearer to me.

I feel everyone's eyes on me, it makes my back tingle and yet here he stands with a passive expression.

My mother lets go of my hand, she hugs me before she turns around to leave, going to her own assigned seat.

He was wearing a dark red three piece suit looking just as elegant as a prince should look.

His white hair is brushed back, no hair out of place, his bright blue eyes stare into mine, no emotion, not even one. His full brows are slightly furrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line…ok maybe there was a bit of emotion. He looked at a bit angry? Disappointed? Maybe I’m not what he was expecting but to be honest he doesn’t really have a choice in the matter the same way I don’t have a choice. He is shrouded with the aura every royal Celestials carry.

“H…hi” I say, trying to start a conversation. At least I should know little about him considering the fact that I’m going to spend the rest of my life with him.

The Celestial stares at me like I hadn’t said a word, I was a bit upset at this but I didn’t say anything else. It was very obvious that he didn’t want to talk to me.

Maybe he is feeling exactly the same way I am, I don’t want to be here either but I thought that maybe he would at least try to make an effort to make this work.

“We are all gathered here to witness the joining of two souls, the joining of two families, the joining of two kingdoms…” The Celestial priest spoke loud and clear, his voice echoed across the hall and I could hear bits and pieces pf people’s murmurs agreeing with what he was saying.

“The Joining of Marcus, the crown prince of the Celestials and Vera, the first daughter of the Dacres and the beloved niece of the king of Tetmo”

He is looking into my eyes, his anger now showing clearly, like I am the cause of all of his problems. I ignore him, I already have enough things on my mind as it is.

Leaving my family, my home and going to the land of The Celestials where I know no one, I have to start over…I don’t want to…

“…I do” he finally speaks, his rich baritone voice echoes across the hall and it draws me out of my thoughts.

“And do you, Vera Dacre agreed to form a soul bond with Marcus Ordeum and become his other half and him yours for as long as you both shall live?”

A soul bond, kind of like the werewolves mate bond. It can not be broken, once I go into this marriage there is no turning back, no matter what the future would hold or what will go wrong. A soul bond…this is why marriage in the land of the Celestials is such a big deal and is never taken lightly.

“I…” if I make this choice I would be bound to him for all of eternity, I will live his immortal life with him and if he dies…I die though not physically, it is said that the pain one experiences after losing the other half of your soul is unbearable.

I notice the glare my mother sends my way for hesitating, the prince looks as if he expected this to happen, he looks at me with a bored expression waiting for my answer.

“I do…” I say in a low voice, my fists clenched and my eyes closed, I feel a tear skip down my cheek and then the priest grabbing my hand.

I open my eye at that moment, he is holding a red string, he bounds both I and Marcus' hands together. We hold hands, his palm covering mine and providing it warmth I didn’t think I needed till I felt it.

I let out a shaky breath as felt the string tighten around my wrist.

The Bonding String…

It bounds souls together, connected them, as thin as it looks it is on of the strongest objects ever made by Celestials.

“Your souls will be bound together and become one, you will feel each other and will grow together”

The string disappears into our skins and I feel a slight burn in my chest…my heart pounds faster and faster and then it stops…

It is almost like the string was never there to begin with.

Marcus still held on to my hand, I let him. His grip tightened slightly but not with intent to hurt.

I felt it somehow, that he was bothered by what just happened, bothered by the bonding, bothered by me.

It was the bond I’m sure, that made me know what he was feeling at that moment.

“I present to you The Crown Prince and Princess of the Celestials” The priest says and soon the entire hall erupts in applauses and cheers.

My mother and uncle look the happiest in the entire hall, almost like they are the ones who were made to marry the prince.

So here I was, no longer the young lady of the Dacre household but now the crown princess of the Celestials.

There was a reception after the bonding ritual, I stayed close to Marcus the entire time as we left the hall and went into the Royal carriage that would take us to the land of the Celestials for the reception.

Once we were in the carriage, just the both of us he then let go of my hand. I felt the absence of his warmth more than I should have and I felt his eyes on me through out. I kept my eyes down, I doubted I could look into his with the way he was trying to glare a hole in my skull.

“Why are you so quiet?” he asks, I was caught off guard by his question and also the fact that he was speaking to me.

He sounded angry, like my being quiet was something that was against the rules.

“Because I have nothing to say” I tell him, I look out the window of the carriage and watch as the trees pass by quickly. We were slowly leaving Tetmo, the land I was born in, the only place I know.

“You seemed to have a lot to say at the bonding ceremony” his tone was so hostile that it was annoying, why was he acting like I was his enemy, whether or not he like the fact that we we’re now married he has to accept it.

“But you didn’t” I look at him, his blue eye burn into mine. He is angry and he is looking at me like I am the reason he is angry. I could feel it, his anger was directed at me, but why? I was also forced into the bonding just as he was so why is he acting like he is the only one who this marriage has inconvenienced.

“You should know now…” He grabs my wrist tightly and pulls me closer.

“You’re hurting me” I say and he ignores me, instead his grip tightens harder and the burn on my wrist becomes more prominent.

“This thing between us will never work, we can pretend in front of everyone else but when we're alone I don’t want you looking at me or even talking to me…” his blue eyes are darker, filled with anger and something else I couldn’t understand.

“You are nothing to me! Do you understand?”

I knew that this was going to be hard for me to adapt to but now I was starting to realize that my future I going to be worse than I thought.