Ice Princess

Chapter 3

The wedding ceremony took place the next day at noon. Lilith numbly allowed servants to fuss over her and dress her. She remained expressionless, but compliant and resigned to her fate. After all, she had always expected she would be married off someday. It wasn't like she had a choice in the matter. It was simply something that had always been expected of her as a princess, but she has no childish dreams or romanticization of marriage.

She was the 7th child of the King's third wife, who had died giving birth to her. As such, her prospects were never expected to be very great, and this arrangement, her father had explained, may even lead to her ruling as a Queen of Capella someday. Marrying the first line in line for the throne of a neighboring kingdom was the best success in her life she could hope for.

Even though her face was vacant throughout the ceremony, she looked simply stunning, like a porcelain doll. She was dressed in a flowing white dress that showed off her attractive figure and it was adorned in glittering jewels. Her long blond hair had been pinned up elegantly with matching jeweled pins as well. So chiseled were her features and naturally graceful was her form that she was an ethereal beauty in her wedding attire. The curious Cappellan crowd all agreed on her beauty, but noted that there was no warmth in the expression on her face.

Weddings were usually a joyous event and a grand celebration in Cappella, especially royal ones, and so of course the wedding drew a very large attendance. Elian tried his best to play his part and appear to be cheerful about the marriage as he waved and smiled, leading Lilith around by the arm, however, it was obvious that his bride was less than interested. Seeing this displeased the people, as they were very fond of their kind prince.

The reception following the ceremony was unlike any party Lilith had ever seen. The feast contained fruits she did not know the name of and pastries unlike anything she had ever seen before, and she had to admit the food was probably the best she had ever eaten in her life. After the meal, the music and dancing began, but Lilith really could not bring herself to enjoy it at all. She moved stiffly around the dance floor with Elian for the first dance, doing only what was expected of her before she excused herself to sit down for the remainder of the party.

Sure, she knew how to dance and she had learned some dances in Merak during her education. It was expected of her as royalty, but dancing was not really customary in Merak. Lilith watched somewhat wistfully as the graceful maidens of Capella twirled around the dance floor with their partners. She wished that just for once in her life she could feel so relaxed and carefree, and dance with abandon like those other girls, but she was exhausted. All of the sights and sounds of the evening were becoming overstimulating to her, and she wished it was acceptable for her to retire for the evening, but it was her party so to speak.

When the evening finally ended and it was time for everyone to leave, Elian was just as exhausted as Lilith, but mostly because he had spent a good portion of the night dancing and the rest socializing. During the festivities, Lilith's things had been moved into Elian's room, and now that he remembered that the thought of having to sleep next to Lilith made Elian extremely uncomfortable. He was dreading having to face her that night once the two of them were finally alone together.

He found his new wife sitting quietly at the head table, not speaking to the servants who attended her. Elian dismissed them for the evening and offered Lilith his arm to lead her to their room, waiting nervously for her reaction. But she only took his arm and said nothing as they walked in strained silence to their quarters.

Once inside the chambers, Lilith's expression quickly turned to malice.

"You will sleep on the davenport tonight," she ordered Elian, pointing rather petulantly at it. Lilith stood uncertainly by the bed. She was nervous, Elian realized, and now he also noticed for the first time the fear in her eyes. She was like a kitten with its fur standing on end trying to look larger and more intimidating than it was, and for the first time since she arrived in Capella he felt pity for her. 

Oh, Lilith had heard all about the happenings of a wedding night from one of her cousins who had married earlier that year. There had been a dinner party, and Lilith and her cousin had each drank a glass of wine while she told her scandalously all about it. "On the wedding night," she announced loudly, "your husband's snake will want to come visit your garden."

"What?!" Lilith had burst out, shocked. Her cousin only giggled, her tight curls bouncing up and down. And then she had explained that it was something men liked to do, and that the first time there would be pain and blood, but after that it became much more bearable. It sounded positively awful to Lilith, to have someone so strange and unknown so close to her intimate parts, and the mere thought of it had paralyzed her with dread all evening. Even though she knew it was expected of her, she simply couldn't go through with it, and so here she stood staring Elian down instead.

"Yes, of course," Elian began slowly, finding himself suddenly very nervous too. He hadn't been sure himself how this evening would work. He had sort of thought they would just figure it out as they went along, but now after actually meeting Lilith, he had to admit he was a little relieved to put off this act for a while. "It's only natural for us to wait until we get to know each other better. We're practically strangers after all. You needn't worry about me forcing myself on you. I'll wait until you're ready."

He thought he was really being very agreeable, and he hoped his wife appreciated his kindness, because his sleeping arrangement left much to be desired. The davenport was more of an ornamental piece of furniture than a functional one. It was hard, and didn't quite leave enough room for him to stretch out his body completely. But he grabbed a feather pillow from the bed and one of the blankets and tried to make the best of his uncomfortable sofa bed.

Lilith shyly stepped behind a folding screen to remove her wedding dress. When she emerged dressed in her nightgown, she sat down quietly in front of the vanity table to remove the pins from her hair, letting the golden locks fall down loosely over her shoulder. 

Elian couldn't help but watch his wife silently from his spot on the sofa. She really was very lovely, and at least with her appearance he could find no fault. He could only hope that someday they might grow to care for one another, or at least tolerate each other. Afterall, it was expected that they would consummate their marriage and at some point produce a future heir to the throne. But he could not let himself forget how very young she was. And he supposed for this reason it was only natural for her to be nervous around him and their marital bed. If he was being honest with himself, he was just as trepidatious. He had never lay with a woman before either.

He also had to admit that he hadn't really given it proper thought when he came up with this idea of a purely political marriage about what it would really entail to have to have a wife or the expectations that went with it. The relationship between his mother and father had always seemed so effortless and natural, and it was clear when anyone was around the two of them that they were truly madly in love with one another. He sort of supposed those kind of things just happened between a man and a woman, and he certainly hadn't expected the level of indifference Lilith displayed towards him. Most women in his kingdom were eager to engage him in conversation, so he never had to work at it before. People were naturally drawn to him and almost everyone found him likable. Her disinterest was puzzling to him.

Elian rationalized that her behavior was due to her youth and inexperience, and the fact that the Merakians were an uncouth people. Perhaps he could teach her, in time, to adjust to the way of life in Capella. He couldn't help but think of his wife as a child, and so despite how lovely she was he didn't allow himself to look upon her in a sexual way. His feelings toward her were somewhat paternal in nature. This is what he was thinking as she quietly slipped into the bed and extinguished the lights, without so much as bidding him goodnight.