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Erienne, princess of the powerful Samaria, is faced with one of the most dreaded situations of all time: an arranged marriage. Bound by a blood oath, she marries her unwilling groom. As circumstances shift out of her favor, Erienn...
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"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
The room was uncomfortably quiet. The father stared deep into his daughter's eyes. "Do you understand?" he repeated. The daughter nodded, seeing no other way around the question. She'd known it for years, and yet, she'd managed to ignore it.
She didn't face the knowing. She shrugged off the sense of impending doom. But now it was here, staring her in the face.
"I am to be the Prince of Weiss' wife." The words felt heavier than the feeling of knowing, and she almost collapsed under the weight of it.
"Do you swear, upon your blood, to uphold your promise of engagement?" the father asked.
"I swear," answered the daughter. In the dark heat a figure scurried toward her. In front of the daughter they deposited a dagger and a bowl. The daughter wasted no time. She made a clean incision across her palm with the knife and then squeezed a few crimson drops into the bowl. Lifting it, she uttered the words she'd dreaded for years. "Upon my blood, I do solemnly swear to uphold my promise of marrying the Prince of Weiss to the Sovereign, to the Kingdom, and to myself."
"And do you understand that such a violation of a promise will be punishable by death?" the father asked. The daughter swallowed, but didn't dare delay in a reply.
"Yes. If I were to commit the sin of violating this oath, I will accept death. In whichever way presented to me." Her words echoed in the hall. A tall figure, a step beneath the throne of the father unraveled a scroll and began to read the contents.
"Hear ye, hear ye members of the Royal Court. On this night forth, Princess Erienne of Samaria has pledged to marry the Prince of Weiss, future Emperor of Weiss in the presence of our Sovereign, King Holt of Samaria, by oath of blood. She has done so with the Royal Court bearing witness to her promise." Each word struck a chord in Erienne's heart. There was a heavy pause in the court. Then King Holt rose and everyone stood to their feet. His face was unreadable, masked by the darkness that engulfed the room. He simply stood there for a few minutes, then, without a word, left. Erienne waited till she could no longer hear his footsteps. Then she left too.
The atmosphere in her chambers had a deeper note of despair. Her servants couldn't hide their pitying glances and Erienne didn't know which she despised the most; the urge to break into tears or the indiscreet faces her staff chose to wear. As she took her bath, she decided not to dwell on either of the two. Instead she closed her eyes, letting the heavenly scent of perfumed oils waft into her nose, and thought about how much she hated her father. He had allowed all of this to happen.
Arranged marriages weren't commonplace in this age at all. It had been something abandoned decades ago. Kingdoms tied together by love rather than obligation, the Sovereigns began to realize, prospered better. No one had had a forced union in decades. Until Erienne, of course. She was the payment for her father's decision. When Erienne was no more than five years, the Emperor and Empress of Weiss had visited the palace. Her father was a widower, for Erienne's mother had suffered death in childbirth. His next actions were inexcusable. Somehow, he'd seduced and bedded the Empress and convinced he and herself that they were in love. The Empress, consequently, refused to return to Weiss with her husband.
