Everything in her room was a pleasant violet color, as it was his favorite, just as the lavender was. It was only fitting that his fiancé have what he wanted, after all. But on that day, a few more colors were introduced to the room. A dazzling gold, an elaborate design decorating the edges of the veil. A shining silver, for the ring to be placed on her finger. An opulent white, the color of her dress, symbolizing her innocence and purity. These colors were bright, bringing in a new feeling to her room.
The feeling was one of dread.
The proposal was romantic. Dinner with the Emperor himself present, the finest cuisine in front of them. He had interrupted the meal to make a speech, and at the end she found him on one knee before her. Everyone looked at her with anticipation, as if her answer was something she would consider. A great cheer followed, and afterwards came wine and more celebrating. The planning for the wedding began immediately.
And so she stood in the middle of her room, a great mirror before her as many maids fussed around her. One toyed with the hem of the dress, as she was quite small compared to most people. Another attacked the tangles in her hair, bringing it into a gorgeous braid decorated with white lilies. One more fussed over the corset, as her bust was greater than most (something that while the males appreciated, the females thought indecent).
"Where is the veil?" A woman with chocolate hair wrapped into a neat bun asked, her arms folded as she watched the events before her.
A maid came forward with a box containing that which she wanted. She untopped it, and together they placed it gingerly over her head. A few of them actually gasped, some wiping a tear, all of them looking quite pleased at their masterpiece. The girl only stared at herself in the mirror, expression blank as the women congratulated one another.
"Well done, ladies." The brown haired woman was pleased with the results, and she took the girl's hand, her thumb on the diamond that her fiancé had presented her. "What do you think, my daughter?"
To most, this question seemed like her mother was, well, asking for her opinion. The reality was that it was far from it. She was not asking what she thought. She was telling her to say what she wanted to hear. She did not stop looking at the mirror as she recited, "Wonderful, Mother. I believe His Highness will be pleased as well."
One of the maids then frowned. She then came forward, bowing. "A thousand pardons, but...I do not believe that the veil you selected will work." She then pointed to her head. "You see, my lady, once she is married, they will place her crown on her head."
Her mother looked at the maid in disbelief. "And exactly why have you all failed to mention this until NOW?" She snapped, letting go of her hand as she reeled on the maids.
"It isn't something that can't be fixed." One offered nervously.
"Yes, we could perhaps modify the veil?" Another spoke.
"Or we could discard it." One interjected.
"The veil is necessary! We must make it work!" Yet another exclaimed.
As the women began to squabble amongst themselves, the girl closed her eyes. She then carefully removed her veil and went behind the changing shades. She removed her dress, slipping into one colored a pleasant green, and simply walked out of the room. Her heels clicked against the floors of the palace, echoing off the walls.
Another set of footsteps followed; she stopped, and as she turned to greet her mother, was met with, "I did not dismiss you. We were not finished back there.]/b]"
She looked out the windows, at the many birds flying by. Gathering up courage, she looked at her mother. "[b]I do not wish to get married."
Those words were as insulting as they were, and her mother was seething at this point. "You wish? YOU wish? Child, have you lost your mind?" She snapped. "When your father hears about this..."
"I could care less." She snapped back, clearly matching her mother's anger.
"You listen here young lady, after everything your father and I have done to make sure you could eat, that you could have toys, that you had a roof over your head--this marriage is for your sake, so that you may lead a comfortable life." She said, her voice somewhat more controlled. "Tell me, what do you have to gain from refusing this? Please tell, because I can't understand."
"My sake? More like yours!" His words rang in her head at this moment. "Exchanging the hand of your daughter for a title...it's sickening. All you're doing is using me!"
She slapped her daughter sharply, enraged at this point. "Whatever it is you are babbling on about needs to stop immediately. You WILL obey me, you will NOT disrespect me, do you understand?!"
A doll after all, because after that she never defied her wishes.Emiri's eyes fluttered open, wincing as the pain in her cheek rose sharply. She groggily emerged from the tangle of blankets she was in, and touched her cut. Viera magicks were truly something to behold after all. She had finally gotten the cut to close, but the pain didn't seem to want to go away. Then again, she could place some of the blame on remembering the very first time she had defied her mother.
She sighed, almost wanting to go back to bed, but forced herself to get up. She had decided to sleep in her underwear, and as a result had buried herself in multiple blankets. She shivered slightly, tip toeing to the closet. She opened it carefully, stifling a yawn as she rummaged through them, trying to decide what to wear.
One
blue dress caught her attention. She examined it, admiring the detail, though once more lamented at its shortness. She was tracing the hemline when, for some reason, she thought the pattern looked almost like a snowflake. She puled the dress closer to her, and something clicked in her head.
These were
her dresses.
Emiri dropped the dress in shock at the realization. Why didn't Jaakuna mention anything? Maybe the one she had on was one that Savayna didn't wear much? Briefly, her mind wandered in another place as she pictured the geneal wearing the more casual dresses. It made sense; they were short to show off her gorgeous legs, and she was unsure because of the armor, but perhaps she had a smaller bust then Emiri. She felt weird. Why? The thought of these clothes being on that woman made her slightly uncomfortable. Maybe that's why Jaakuna never said anything? Or maybe because they reminded him of her?
Emiri then sighed, picking up the dress and tossing it back where it was. Why was she getting so worked up about this, anyway? It's not like it was any of her business. And she was just borrowing them. Still, as she looked through her choices, she made a point not to wear anything blue, deciding on a
simple red dress that didn't quite match her
boots, but she didn't really care.
Mmaking her way to the kitchen, Emiri searched the cupboards. Upon feeling like a nice cup of coffee, she left it on the stove as she contemplated their options. She half-wished she could've properly spoken to Nadeline. Or at least knew what the Viera had in store for her. Once the coffee finished, she left the pot on the stove as she started cooking breakfast. Like everything else on the ship, it was simply divine.
"Spare us your stories, I know who you are and what you've done."Emiri vaguely remembered Nadeline's words. The ship made much more sense if you thought of Jaakuna as a prince. Why then, would a prince be going around as a Sky Pirate?
Not like I don't have my fair share of secrets. She grimly reminded herself. For now, she didn't care. Besides, if she asked him about his past, then she might have to reveal hers...though Nadeline had shed some light on it. Emelia. Just remembering her name made her blood boil.
She realized she was holding her cup much too tightly, and set it down. No, it wasn't that she didn't want to reveal her past. She just didn't want to remember it.
Taka
AlteredTundra
Cyadical
Asura
Xiro Zean
Lemons
Izurich
ThatCharacter
Kero
Mcmolly
