The carriage went through the gate of the castle. It was stern in a way no castle from the south was. It towered like a menacing shadow over the town. Its walls were dark and void of any decorations.
Bel, the woman in the carriage, didn't even bother looking out the window. She was pretty, beautiful even. Her features were a perfect mix of sharp and soft. Her soft brown curls framed her face like a halo. Her face was akin to a painting, with rosy cheeks and porcelain skin. But a painting would have more feeling than her face, more stone than human, yet she exuded an aura of sadness.
Her eyes stared at the void, her face expressionless. The inside of the carriage stayed dead silent, no one dared to make a noise.
The carriage stopped. Bel didn't move, she didn't have the strength to do anything anymore.
" Lady Belladonna, please come out to greet your husband. " Urged the maid beside her
Bel turned her attention toward the woman, her cold eyes glared at her. The maid visibly shivered.
Bel was annoyed, but the maid was right. She couldn't avoid her fate forever. She slowly stood up. Her servant opened the door. She stepped out with difficulty, holding her dress close to her. It was a beautiful dress, and was also too inconvenient to have been chosen by her. But who cared about her choices, she wouldn't choose her dress, her husband or her life.
As she went out in the cold weather, she wished for nothing more than to be curled up in her bed, with all of this being just a horrible nightmare.
A man in an expensive suit came out to greet her, probably her husband. She looked up to stare blankly at his face. Bel could understand why they called him ugly. His face, that might have once been decent enough, was marred by a scar that had permanently frozen his expression in a snarl.
" It is an honor to meet you, Lady Belladonna. " He gently took her hand and kissed it.
Neither his lips or his hands were soft. His lips were strangely shaped because of his scar, and chapped too, so much so that it was a surprise they didn't leave a bloody mark on her hand. They called him a serf but his fingers had more callouses than an actual serf's.
He was tall, muscular too. It would hurt.
" Duke. " She acknowledged him.
She had forgotten his name, but not his rank. Or his reputation. They called him a warmonger, a monster, a bastard. She could believe all of those. Not that it was hard when most men fit that profile easily. Although most men weren't a mountain of muscles and scars.
Her short answer didn't seem to please him. Her mouth twisted into a rictus, what could he do about it when everyone was watching. Hitting his woman was his right, but hitting his woman in public was disrespectful to the wife's family. He clearly knew it too if he let go of her silent taunt so easily. He turned away from her and signaled to one of his servant.
" Show her the room she will be living in. " He ordered his man.
Oh ? They wouldn't immediately share their bed ? What a gentleman, she thought without much conviction.
The servant lead her inside the castle, her maid followed closely with her luggage. The servant looked more like a soldier than a servant.
" My name is Dereck Manifold. " He introduced himself with a nervous smile.
" Hm. " She just hummed to show she heard him.
She didn't really care for conversation right now. Manifold stopped at a rusty door. She slammed it open and let the maid put it in her luggage before throwing both of them out.
She slammed the door close and laid down. Her body started shaking, her vision blurred. Tears silently went down her cheeks. She cursed internally. She cursed herself and her life and everyone around her that had led her to this point.
This was her fourth marriage. How can one be on their sixth marriage at eighteen, someone may ask. And to that Bel would nonsensically answer reincarnation. Bel was already on her third life, and this one already looked particularly worst than the others.
Her first life she was married to the prince, before he beat her to death. Her second life was spent much the same way. On her third life she managed to convince her parents to marry her to the count who was, somehow an even worst man.
And now she was married to this guy after having thrown tantrums after tantrums to avoid being married to the count or prince. She sighed, her frantic breathing calming down. He couldn't be a worst husband than the count, she actively refused to believe someone could be worst than the count.
She missed her family.
She slowly breathed out her nose.
She stood up on shaky legs and removed her bothersome dress, only leaving the inner layers. She started unpacking her bags, putting all her clothes in the wardrobe. Hidden in-between two gowns, was a sharp dagger. Her finger run through the blade, a red droplet ran along the edge. Her lips displayed a small smile.
She returned the dagger inside its sheath and hid it in the inner pocket she had sewn in her chemise.
She was self-taught, but her skills with a dagger were still pretty good.
Once everything was unpacked she put on a more simple dress above her chemise.
Someone knocked at the door.
" Duchess ? " Asked the voice behind the door.
She paused, before realizing she was the duchess.
" You can enter. " She said.
She heard another knock. He hadn't heard her. She sighed, annoyed. She opened the door with a bit more force than necessary, almost knocking out the servant.
It was Manifold again.
" What. " She didn't even try to control her tone.
Can't a woman be left alone for a few hours ?
" The duke wishes to see you over dinner. " He informs her.
She looked out the window. Oh. It was indeed dinnertime, she hadn't seen the time pass.
She nodded and followed him.
The dinning room was big yet void of any decoration, much like the rest of the castle.
" Duke. " She gave a nod of acknowledgment toward her husband.
" You can call me by my name. " He said with his rough voice.
Bel didn't even know his name, and she wasn't about to ask. The duke waited but she stayed silent.
" May I call you by your name ? " He continued.
He was surprisingly unassertive for some bastard noble. It was… maybe, kind of, cute. Still, Bel went by Bel for a reason. She hated her name, but she wouldn't make the mistake of dirtying the nickname her family gave her again.
" No. " She responded without more if an explication.
If his face wasn't stuck in a snarl, Bel would have thought he was frowning. Whatever. She didn't want him to call her by name, what is he going to do about it ?
She glared at him, head raised, daring him to do anything, to hit her, to insult her. He didn't. His arms stayed firmly tucked, and his mouth stayed downturned.
" I wanted to discuss this marriage. " He announced, his eyes observing her face closely.
She hummed in acknowledgement. She didn't like it but it was necessary.
" How many children do you want ? " She asked upfront.
He grimaced. His expression turned guilty. She sighed.
" If you have bastard children tell me now. " She said.
" No, I do not have any children. Let us just say children will not be an option for now. "
" If you don't need children, we're not consummating this marriage. " Bel imposed firmly.
He just nodded without much hesitation. That was much too easy for her liking.
" I'm serious. " She added. " No… night activities. " She blushed, not quite knowing how to formulate it.
He just nodded again.
" As for money, how much do you want per month ? "
Well, if he was going to approach the subject himself.
" First off, I wanted a bank account independent from yours that you wouldn't be able to touch. " She laid out, leaving no room for arguments. " Second off, I want a two thousand gold allowance. Finally I am free to do whatever I want in my free time, and I do not owe you any money. " She established.
She had been stuck because of her lack of money and independence too many times.
" You know, just because I am not from the noblest background doesn't mean I am going to steal from my wife. " He said, his tone a bit short.
Bel marveled at how long it took him to get snappy, but he didn't do anything other than that short reply.
" So that's a yes. " She ignored his complaint.
" Make a bank account in her name. " He signaled to a servant standing beside him.
" No. " She refused. " I will do it myself, thank you. " She thanked him with as little sincerity as possible.
She didn't trust his servants. Nothing against the duke, she had simply grown distrustful of people in general.
He sighed, aggravated, but let it go.
" Any other request ? " He asked.
Bel shook her head. She started leaving the dinning table.
" You didn't eat anything. " He remarked.
She ignored him and continued walking back to her chambers.
As soon as she entered the room, she locked the door. She removed her outer dress again and passed down on the bed.
Something knocked on the window. She flinched, her eyes opened and she pulled out her dagger. Fuck. She couldn't see. Her heartbeat speed up. She swung her dagger in the air, hoping it would land on flesh. What if it was the duke. What if he did want to consummate this marriage.
She warily approached the window, before wrenching the curtains open. The meager light of the moon brightened the room just enough to see. Her arms returned to her side, there was… no one ?
She lit up a lamp to see better, and finally found the source of the noise. An injured bird was flapping its wings on the edge of the window. It probably hit the glass and was unable to fly away. She sighs, releasing just a bit of tension. She gave a nervous little laugh. All of this for a pigeon.
The carriage went through the gate of the castle. It was stern in a way no castle from the south was. It towered like a menacing shadow over the town. Its walls were dark and void of any decorations.
Bel, the woman in the carriage, didn't even bother looking out the window. She was pretty, beautiful even. Her features were a perfect mix of sharp and soft. Her soft brown curls framed her face like a halo. Her face was akin to a painting, with rosy cheeks and porcelain skin. But a painting would have more feeling than her face, more stone than human, yet she exuded an aura of sadness.
Her eyes stared at the void, her face expressionless. The inside of the carriage stayed dead silent, no one dared to make a noise.
The carriage stopped. Bel didn't move, she didn't have the strength to do anything anymore.
" Lady Belladonna, please come out to greet your husband. " Urged the maid beside her
Bel turned her attention toward the woman, her cold eyes glared at her. The maid visibly shivered.
Bel was annoyed, but the maid was right. She couldn't avoid her fate forever. She slowly stood up. Her servant opened the door. She stepped out with difficulty, holding her dress close to her. It was a beautiful dress, and was also too inconvenient to have been chosen by her. But who cared about her choices, she wouldn't choose her dress, her husband or her life.
As she went out in the cold weather, she wished for nothing more than to be curled up in her bed, with all of this being just a horrible nightmare.
A man in an expensive suit came out to greet her, probably her husband. She looked up to stare blankly at his face. Bel could understand why they called him ugly. His face, that might have once been decent enough, was marred by a scar that had permanently frozen his expression in a snarl.
" It is an honor to meet you, Lady Belladonna. " He gently took her hand and kissed it.
Neither his lips or his hands were soft. His lips were strangely shaped because of his scar, and chapped too, so much so that it was a surprise they didn't leave a bloody mark on her hand. They called him a serf but his fingers had more callouses than an actual serf's.
He was tall, muscular too. It would hurt.
" Duke. " She acknowledged him.
She had forgotten his name, but not his rank. Or his reputation. They called him a warmonger, a monster, a bastard. She could believe all of those. Not that it was hard when most men fit that profile easily. Although most men weren't a mountain of muscles and scars.
Her short answer didn't seem to please him. Her mouth twisted into a rictus, what could he do about it when everyone was watching. Hitting his woman was his right, but hitting his woman in public was disrespectful to the wife's family. He clearly knew it too if he let go of her silent taunt so easily. He turned away from her and signaled to one of his servant.
" Show her the room she will be living in. " He ordered his man.
Oh ? They wouldn't immediately share their bed ? What a gentleman, she thought without much conviction.
The servant lead her inside the castle, her maid followed closely with her luggage. The servant looked more like a soldier than a servant.
" My name is Dereck Manifold. " He introduced himself with a nervous smile.
" Hm. " She just hummed to show she heard him.
She didn't really care for conversation right now. Manifold stopped at a rusty door. She slammed it open and let the maid put it in her luggage before throwing both of them out.
She slammed the door close and laid down. Her body started shaking, her vision blurred. Tears silently went down her cheeks. She cursed internally. She cursed herself and her life and everyone around her that had led her to this point.
This was her fourth marriage. How can one be on their sixth marriage at eighteen, someone may ask. And to that Bel would nonsensically answer reincarnation. Bel was already on her third life, and this one already looked particularly worst than the others.
Her first life she was married to the prince, before he beat her to death. Her second life was spent much the same way. On her third life she managed to convince her parents to marry her to the count who was, somehow an even worst man.
And now she was married to this guy after having thrown tantrums after tantrums to avoid being married to the count or prince. She sighed, her frantic breathing calming down. He couldn't be a worst husband than the count, she actively refused to believe someone could be worst than the count.
She missed her family.
She slowly breathed out her nose.
She stood up on shaky legs and removed her bothersome dress, only leaving the inner layers. She started unpacking her bags, putting all her clothes in the wardrobe. Hidden in-between two gowns, was a sharp dagger. Her finger run through the blade, a red droplet ran along the edge. Her lips displayed a small smile.
She returned the dagger inside its sheath and hid it in the inner pocket she had sewn in her chemise.
She was self-taught, but her skills with a dagger were still pretty good.
Once everything was unpacked she put on a more simple dress above her chemise.
Someone knocked at the door.
" Duchess ? " Asked the voice behind the door.
She paused, before realizing she was the duchess.
" You can enter. " She said.
She heard another knock. He hadn't heard her. She sighed, annoyed. She opened the door with a bit more force than necessary, almost knocking out the servant.
It was Manifold again.
" What. " She didn't even try to control her tone.
Can't a woman be left alone for a few hours ?
" The duke wishes to see you over dinner. " He informs her.
She looked out the window. Oh. It was indeed dinnertime, she hadn't seen the time pass.
She nodded and followed him.
The dinning room was big yet void of any decoration, much like the rest of the castle.
" Duke. " She gave a nod of acknowledgment toward her husband.
" You can call me by my name. " He said with his rough voice.
Bel didn't even know his name, and she wasn't about to ask. The duke waited but she stayed silent.
" May I call you by your name ? " He continued.
He was surprisingly unassertive for some bastard noble. It was… maybe, kind of, cute. Still, Bel went by Bel for a reason. She hated her name, but she wouldn't make the mistake of dirtying the nickname her family gave her again.
" No. " She responded without more if an explication.
If his face wasn't stuck in a snarl, Bel would have thought he was frowning. Whatever. She didn't want him to call her by name, what is he going to do about it ?
She glared at him, head raised, daring him to do anything, to hit her, to insult her. He didn't. His arms stayed firmly tucked, and his mouth stayed downturned.
" I wanted to discuss this marriage. " He announced, his eyes observing her face closely.
She hummed in acknowledgement. She didn't like it but it was necessary.
" How many children do you want ? " She asked upfront.
He grimaced. His expression turned guilty. She sighed.
" If you have bastard children tell me now. " She said.
" No, I do not have any children. Let us just say children will not be an option for now. "
" If you don't need children, we're not consummating this marriage. " Bel imposed firmly.
He just nodded without much hesitation. That was much too easy for her liking.
" I'm serious. " She added. " No… night activities. " She blushed, not quite knowing how to formulate it.
He just nodded again.
" As for money, how much do you want per month ? "
Well, if he was going to approach the subject himself.
" First off, I wanted a bank account independent from yours that you wouldn't be able to touch. " She laid out, leaving no room for arguments. " Second off, I want a two thousand gold allowance. Finally I am free to do whatever I want in my free time, and I do not owe you any money. " She established.
She had been stuck because of her lack of money and independence too many times.
" You know, just because I am not from the noblest background doesn't mean I am going to steal from my wife. " He said, his tone a bit short.
Bel marveled at how long it took him to get snappy, but he didn't do anything other than that short reply.
" So that's a yes. " She ignored his complaint.
" Make a bank account in her name. " He signaled to a servant standing beside him.
" No. " She refused. " I will do it myself, thank you. " She thanked him with as little sincerity as possible.
She didn't trust his servants. Nothing against the duke, she had simply grown distrustful of people in general.
He sighed, aggravated, but let it go.
" Any other request ? " He asked.
Bel shook her head. She started leaving the dinning table.
" You didn't eat anything. " He remarked.
She ignored him and continued walking back to her chambers.
As soon as she entered the room, she locked the door. She removed her outer dress again and passed out on the bed.