The Duke is just in the other room. Thandi can hear the men conversing just on the other side of the door. Her heart is pounding. Just on the other side of this door is\u2026 the next chapter of her life. It will likely be one she will want to forget but\u2026 that can be done. She can forget. But she can\u2019t be isolated for a decade. One was enough for a lifetime. She takes a shuddering breath and suddenly the doors open. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The king\u2019s voice announces, \u201cOur gift, a beauty from another realm. The Lady Thandi Kahsu!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thandi steps into the room and makes her way to the king, her eyes landing on the one unfamiliar face. His eyes slide from the King to her, that manic smile on his face turning into something downright horrifying. She sees his eyes widen, his brows furrow, that smile still spread but growing tight at the sight of her. He stiffens, glancing at the audience all around them as he speaks to the King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA lady-in-waiting? Surely you are joking, your Grace. How does her value come close to what I\u2019ve gifted your kingdom with?\u201d He gestures to the enormous trees that touch the very ceiling of the enormous Court. A servant approaches with a velvet pillow, kneeling before the Duke and holding a gold pen for him to take. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf course, I wouldn\u2019t insult you so. I\u2019ve solved the problem of your legacy, Duke Roseview. I\u2019m offering you a wife.<\/em>\u201d The King opens his arms, looking about to the audience again. Nobility that claps and cheers. Thandi stands across from the Duke, seeing him at last up close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first thing she notices is that he\u2019s not wearing a charmingly embroidered shirt under the rolled-up sleeves of his dark coat. No, the red embroidery runs through his very skin in neat, orderly rows and patterns, roses thoughtfully stitched onto the back of his hands. The hands that pluck up the pen for the marriage contract. It\u2026 maybe it\u2019s\u2026 some sort of\u2026 custom? In East Istres? Though it isn\u2019t one she\u2019s read about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From there, though, it\u2019s hard to notice anything else about him. Dark hair\u2026 dark eyes\u2026 sharp and long features like some sort of vampire<\/em>. Maybe there was some credence to the fangs. She bows her head, keeping quiet. That is a custom that she knows. Silence is the best way to be when you have no power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe is more than just beauty, you know. She also has a head for magic. With your proficiency, perhaps she could prove to be a companion in some regards.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCertainly, your Grace,\u201d the Duke growls out. \u201cHow so very thoughtful.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWonderful! And so, with the highest power bestowed to any in all of Istres, I am proud to present to you Lady Thandi Kahsu. Do the terms of your marriage contract satisfy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Duke skims the single sheet of paper, straightening as he does. He adds an addition, one that frightens her. It\u2019s to be expected from a man so reviled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I, Charles Vanderbee, swear to provide for my now and future wife, Thandi Kahsu -come- Thandi Vanderbee.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I, Thandi Kahsu, swear to provide for my now and future husband, Charles Vanderbee (and will allow him to do with me as he pleases, regardless of health or happiness).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n He signs the bottom and holds the pen out to her, the glare that he gives her icy. She could practically feel his disgust with her through the pen as her fingers tug it from his. The King nods his approval as he reads the change aloud to the Court. There are gasps and murmurings that sweep all around her, rising whispers of shock and fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thandi stares down at the contract and leans down to sign it, heart pounding and a chill running through her. This is\u2026 a nightmare<\/em>. She didn\u2019t want to marry\u2026 well. She didn\u2019t imagine<\/em> she\u2019d ever get married but she thought in the back part of her mind that maybe if it were to happen that\u2026 it would be\u2026 for love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Childish. Foolish. Naive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When she finishes signing, she sets the pen on the pillow. The king grins down at them both from the dais. \u201cAnd now, your vows. Lady Vanderbee, yours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thandi straightens and her eyes slide to her\u2026 almost husband? New husband? Is there still time to consider this null?! The man stares down at her, and the silence grows loud. She wasn\u2019t given anything to say. She\u2019s left hanging, with nothing on her side prepared. No one told her there would be vows. There\u2019s a growl coming from the Duke. \u201cRepeat after me,\u201d he says at last. \u201c\u2018You will be the only one I have eyes for.<\/em>\u2019\u201d She\u2019s got to. Go along with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She gulps, eyes unwavering as she stares at him. It\u2019s true, at least. She\u2019s never had eyes for anyone before. Never noticed or cared\u2026 just\u2026 existed in proximity to people. So\u2026 \u201cYou will be the only one I have eyes for.\u201d She looks down at his hands. Shouldn\u2019t\u2026 Shouldn\u2019t they be holding hands? Or is that\u2026 just Manadesan?<\/p>\n\n\n\n “‘My beloved spouse\u2026’<\/em>” He snaps at her to look back up to him, dark eyes burning into hers. It\u2019s as if she could feel the weight of expectation from not just him, but everyone.<\/em> Every court noble, every servant, every guard, even the tiny dogs sitting in plush laps that have the good fortune to at least be loved by their masters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She steels herself as best she can as she stares back into those dark pools. She notices then that there are tiny flecks of gold in them, hints into his boundless greed. \u201cMy beloved spouse,\u201d she mimics as she takes in more of his features. Furrowed brows, neatly shaped yet naturally so, high cheekbones that would look more at home on an elf than a man, and red lips that remind her of those novels that romanticize vampires\u2026 that nearly fetishize their bloodlust. She gulps, waiting for him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “‘I vow to give my heart to only you\u2026’<\/em>” Definitely a hollow promise. While she admires him, he regards her like a piece of filth. An annoyance. Lower than dirt. As he speaks, maybe she does catch a hint of fang in his mouth. Even the small kindness of guiding her through the vows is more in self-interest than anything else. His wife is embarrassing <\/em>him during a ceremony in front of nearly every noble in East Istres, even some from West<\/em> Istres!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI vow to give my heart to only you.\u201d In some small part of her heart, she wanted to say something like that to someone someday. Even after all the damage of her youth\u2026 adolescence\u2026 life<\/em>. She had a small hope that maybe she\u2019d find one <\/em>person\u2026 that would give their whole being to her\u2026 so she could give all of herself to them. It\u2019s making her throat tight as tears threaten to come to her eyes. Don\u2019t cry here. Don\u2019t cry here<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “‘…to give every bit of my being to you\u2026<\/em>‘” It’s as if the vow is mocking her thoughts. Making her ape the words from the mouth of a man who could only scorn her. He holds his head higher, narrowing his eyes as she swallows and readies to repeat after him again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo give\u2026\u201d She hesitates, eyes dropping for a moment. Every bit<\/em>. Every\u2026 bit<\/em>. Nothing will belong to her. She will come out of this marriage\u2026 broken. The king\u2019s taunts from earlier in the day only remind her of what\u2019s to come. She\u2019ll have to prepare. She\u2019ll have to be ready! Ready to\u2014! \u201cTo give every bit of my being to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n “‘…to be yours til the day I die.’<\/em>” She can see his jaw tightening as he nearly bites off the end of the vow, impatient with her. There\u2019s an energy in him not unlike that of a coiled snake. Ready to strike her at any moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She blinks. Til the day he dies. But she will live past him. She will live past all<\/em> of them. When they\u2019re gone, her journey will only be beginning. In a millennium from now, when she\u2019s looking back at her adventures, this will only be a footnote. A blink of an eye. So she will bear with it. She will endure. She will overcome. She breathes deep and says steadily, \u201cTo be yours til the day I die.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The King claps his hands together. \u201cBy the power vested in me as the King of all of Istres, I now pronounce you, married<\/em>. You may kiss your spouse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thandi\u2019s heart sinks at the words and all the courage she\u2019d had a moment ago vanishes. She\u2019s never kissed anyone in her life! How is she supposed to\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Duke steps round the servant between them, much to the apparent astonishment of the crowd. He reaches out and grabs her roughly by the back of the head, tugging for her to look up at him. His other hand rises to keep her firmly in place as he kisses her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then he devours <\/em>her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The way he\u2019s kissing her, forceful, angry, goading her into opening her mouth so he might even use his tongue<\/em>\u2026! And it goes on! For so long! <\/p>\n\n\n\n She’s going to remember this moment like a stain on her life. Being forced to kiss a man who\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aah!! <\/em>The hand on her cheek has moved to grab her waist and yank her flush with him! Her senses are being overwhelmed by the scent of peppermint, the feeling of his body, the sound not just of the crowd’s disgust and scandalized shouts but of their lips smacking! And when she tries to pull away she realizes she can’t. <\/em>Her body is frozen <\/em>in his grasp. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Duke Roseview! I take it you are perfectly charmed\u2014”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She can see out of the corner of her eye, the hand that was in her hair pulls away to hold up a single finger. He’s telling the King <\/em>to wait.<\/em> The gravest insult. The King’s face goes redder as gasps and silence falls again. The Duke peels away from her, eyes wide as he grins at the King. “I do perfectly adore your gift, and I know you would enjoy seeing quite how much <\/em>I adore it. I will be making good use of it soon enough.” He turns to look at her again, eyes raking over her in a disgustingly lecherous way and then he licks her cheek<\/em>, dragging his tongue up from her jaw to her temple. “It’ll be my pleasure. It was my mistake in not seeing her value.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The King is practically shaking with rage at this, and yet the Duke smiles as if they were discussing the weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The Treaty, your Grace. I know you have much to ponder, but I would very much like to leave and return to my home and give you the space you so deserve.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another servant rushes in with another pillow. The Duke narrows his eyes as he spies something he doesn\u2019t approve of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Three signature lines, your Grace?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “But of course. You and the freshly minted Lady Vanderbee stand as one, do you not? Her decisions weigh just as heavily as your own, now. We in Istres afford our women quite a few privileges, the signing of official documents being one. Or have you forgotten the latest treatise?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The Green Coast prefers our women in their proper place. No matter. I relish this opportunity. Thank you, your Grace.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n A different pen is brandished as the King whips his signature across the bottom in blood red ink, smiling as much as the Duke. He takes the pen next, and she could see that the ink is not ink. The pen has a tiny needle in it. They’re signing this in blood<\/em>. The Duke’s spatters across the bottom of the document, nearly obscuring where her signature needs to be placed. He holds the pen out to her without even looking, and at last she is free to move her body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She gasps and breathes deeply before taking up the pen and\u2026 she stares at the needle, fear creeping in. She doesn\u2019t like this. It\u2019s one thing if it\u2019s for magic. It\u2019s another\u2026 when ink would suffice. It\u2019s just as binding in a world like theirs. The only power it has is\u2026 theatrics<\/em>. She bites her lip and closes her eyes as she digs the needle into her finger. It makes her wince and bite harder on her lip but she manages it. She signs with her blood and quickly pulls the pen from her skin, bringing her thumb up and covering it with her other hand, massaging it where she bleeds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Duke reaches out to yank the bleeding hand into his, squeezing painfully tight. He tugs her hand up and to his mouth, bringing her thumb into his mouth. His tongue swirls around the pad of her finger before he sucks. It’s hot and wet and disgusting<\/em>. Paired with the heated look he gives her, like he\u2019s liable to bend her over in front of everyone and take her regardless of anyone’s wishes to the contrary\u2026 this is horrific. And the Court disapproves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He pops off her thumb loudly, a satisfied sigh dripping from his lips. He smiles, teeth showing, and he does <\/em>have fangs! They’re on display for everyone to see! He kisses her knuckles and looks to the King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Thank you, your Grace. By this time next year, there will be a young heir here to learn how truly kind our King is.” His hand slips behind her and he forces her to bow with him. “I am truly honored.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “As am I. Go in good graces, Vanderbees.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “As you wish.” And she\u2019s yanked out the great double doors to her new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022\u2745\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2727\u2745\u2726\u2745\u2727\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2745\u2022<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Duke is just in the other room. Thandi can hear the men conversing just on the other side of the door. Her heart is pounding. Just on the other side of this door is\u2026 the next chapter of her … Continue reading