Destiny

Dreams

The life of a flower
Depends on it's grace
Plucked at a timely hour
For only the beautiful ones are taken from their place
-marlaena

  ~~~
"You will marry him Alaethia. End of discussion!" My father yelled. His teeth knashed into an angry grimace. Father had never yelled at me in such a way. "I have a say in who I will marry, and it will not be to that monster, I refuse!" I demanded, crossing my golden arms across my silk gown. "You are a girl, one that will do well to learn how to hold her tongue." His words stung like the thrash of a whip. Our land must really be in danger, it was not in my father's nature to be so cruel. Well at least not to me, and now I have become a bargaining tool for his war. Marriage was never one of my primary ambitions in life. I would prefer to stay snuggled within the confines of my chamber and write poetry, or even read a great binding of philosophy. I have no wish to marry some strange man just to please the blood hungry Generals of the world. I stomped my way up the staircase, fighting so that the burning tears would not fall upon my cheek. "Princess slow down." My best friend Merie whined, hot on my trail. "Not now Merie." I ordered slamming the door to my room. "Alae you must accept your duties as Princess, our empire needs you to secure allegiance with Rome, You are our people's salvation Alae." Merie reasoned at the opposite side of my door. At this statement I broke down. Merie was right. Merie was always right. If our Empire fell to the hands of the enemy, it would all be my fault. This was my oppurtunity to save my people, But what of my destiny? Would my life only amount to being some tyrants wife? I will accept the marriage, yet not him. I will fight him every step of the way. I will never be his property. 

~~~

I sat in the velvet chair, grimacing as my servant Raina ran the golden brush through my coarse brown hair. My hair was too curly for this silly hairstyle she was trying to complete. I usually preferred my hair to be up and away from my face which consisted of rolling and tying. Yet Raina insisted that I wore my hair down in the traditional style for the arrival of my husband to be. That thought made bile rise up in my throat and my body more anxious to the tugging of the brush. As she placed golden beads around the crown of my hair Merie walked into my chambers. "Alaethiya, they have arrived at the gates." Merie rushed gripping the handle of my door in excitement. "I am almost done princess hold still." Raina demanded as she brought a dark coal substance underneath my eyes. "I refuse to wear that substance on my face Raina!" I announced hopping out of the chair and racing out of the door in hand with Merie. I ran down the halls focusing to not trip on the lilac colored gown that I wore. We stopped at a window above the meeting grounds outside the palace. There stood three men. All paler and bigger than the people that graced our lands. Yet among the men, there was one that exuded clear dominance. It was not that he was bulkier than the other men, yet the way his muscles rippled underneath his skin pronounced that he was very lethal. All of a sudden his eyes flashed to the window where Merie and I spied. I dropped to the floor, my heart rushing at a rapid pace. Fear. It was a sick feeling, but I knew deep down that the man was meant to be my husband. Something was so feral about him, deadly. Gabriel. I had not heard much about him, but from fathers conversations with the council, I knew that he could be a threat to our empire. Any man that could kill for power was not someone I wished to share my bed with. Yet this I knew, if I were to deny this marriage, it would be a clear insult to the Roman general. Thus, ensuring the fall of my home. How could I make it through this marriage alive? From the way his eyes burned I knew he was capable, capable of committing very evil acts. "They opened the gates Alae!, they're coming now." Merie squealed clutching on to my shoulder. I arose from my sanctuary underneath the window seal. With every step I took towards the banquet hall, was a step away from my freedom. As Merie opened the double doors a gush of wind laced over my body, intertwining with the nervousness settled in my stomach. Goosebumps traced up and down my body, marking my fear and desperation.

***********************
As I walked through the double doors all current occupants of the banquet hall turned their eyes to me. One stare, burned through all the rest. I could muster the courage to meet his gaze. Fear that I would collapse or merely tremble at the intensity of his stare, I rested my eyes upon the marble fountain placed in the opposite corner of the room. "Shall we commence the wedding rituals?" My father announced, not meant as a question at all. It broke my heart. The way he smiled at all the guests and avoided my gaze, my father, a emperor at its best. "Come Alaethiya, stand in the middle of the room please." My father commanded. It was like I was under a trance. My body moved yet I was no longer there. The high priest came to bless me with fertility and longevity. Yet all his words went through me like water hitting sand. That is when I felt his presence near me more and more. He circled around me like a wolf, me, his small little prey. This thought made me shiver, causing me to straighten my back and tilt my head higher. I would be no mans subordinate. He chuckled lowly, with the lack of true amusement, finding my new sense of confidence laughable. The high priest took a loop of ivory ribbon and placed my tiny wist next to that of Gabriel's. I had never felt skin so rough and full of warmth. My soft brown skin tingled against his pale wrist. As the ribbon was tied, it seemed as if his close proximity to me disgusted him. As the Priest groaned on chanting and wavering around incense Gabriel grew incredibly impatient. The clear frustration painted his face as he glared at the priest to quicken his pace. As I looked up at him I couldn't deny that he was handsome. His grey eyes were secured within a predatory glance. His eyebrows seemingly furrowed in a permanent frustration. Strands of his black hair hung over his forehead, escaping from the other obedient locks upon his head. His nose had clearly been broken before yet was still strangely attractive. The small scar placed underneath his chin on top of his jugular made it very clear why he was the General of the Roman army. His head snapped down towards me catching me in my secretive appraisal of him. I quickly turned my head bowing in embarrassment. "It would do you good little one, to avoid me at all costs." He declared still glaring down at me. These were not the usual words spoken from the tongue of a husband, yet in that moment I knew that he was right. Yet how she could avoid a man she was married to would be the true task at hand.