Till Death Do Us Part

I can’t remember what I had been dreaming of. To be honest, I can’t remember falling asleep. The first thing I can remember is my bedroom door – which I shared with my two sisters – banging open. I sat up, groggy, when someone grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me up.

“Get up, now,” came my mother’s rough voice. “Quickly!”

I rubbed my eyes with the palm of my hands and stumbled after her. I didn’t know what was going on.

“Mother, where are we going?” I asked, glancing out the window of our small hut. The sun hadn’t risen yet. “It hasn’t even reached daybreak.”

“Silence,” my mother snapped and threw the door open, pointing to a carriage.

I shivered in the cold night air, wrapping my arms around myself, wishing I had grabbed my cloak on the way out. The carriage was completely black. Inside the bench was a black plank of wood that creaked as I sat down. My mother slammed the door shut and called out to the driver. The carriage lurched forward and I shivered with cold and nerves as the carriage swayed.

It felt like hours before the carriage creaked to a halt. The sun was still down. The carriage opened and a man thrust his head inside.

“Time to go, miss,” he said and I flinched as he held his hand out. He frowned a little. “My masters are waiting.”

“Masters?” I repeated but he just gestured at his hand.

I let him help me down and looked up at where we had stopped. My mouth fell open. It was a mansion. One I had viewed from the distance, wondering who lived there and why I never saw any signs of life in it. The driver then offered me his arm and I started to get the sense that he was more than just a coach driver.

As a man in a black cloak opened the mansion door, I became painfully aware that I was dressed only in my thin brown nightgown.

It was cold in the mansion. I tried to look around but the man leading me didn’t stop. Another door opened to our left and he steered me into it. We then walked – no, not walked, it was more of a forced march – down a long corridor. The floor was black marble with a dark red velvet rug.

The driver pulled a gold pocket watch out of his coat pocket and grunted.

“We’re running late,” he muttered and quickened his pace.

Finally, we reached the other end where five doors led to different rooms. There were two on the left side of the hall, two on the right, and one right in front of us. The man contemplated the doors before nodding and picking the first door on the left.

“In you go,” he said, ushering her over the threshold. “They’ll be with you shortly.”

I walked in and looked around, hugging myself as I walked tentatively into the middle of the room. The fireplace was barren but there were many candles on the mantle, small table, and chest of drawers. Fear gripped my stomach. I had heard horror stories of young women being stolen in the middle of the night and forced into sexual slavery.

My mind went down a path of panic and I started to shiver more. Suddenly, the door behind me and I whipped around.

“Thank goodness you’re here.” A middle-aged woman came up to me and snapped her fingers. A second woman around my age shut the door and stood next to the first. “You really are a beauty. Don’t look so scared,” she added, seeing my terrified face. “We’ve been waiting for you. Now, what’s your name dear?”

“Celfina,” I mumbled.

The first woman grinned. “A beautiful name for a beautiful young woman,” she said and gestured to the two of them. “My name is Angelina and this is my apprentice, Amelia. We’re here to get you ready.”

“Ready for what?” I blurted out. “What’s going on?”

Angelina blinked, looking taken aback. “Didn’t anyone tell you?” I shook my head. “Dear, you’re here for your wedding, of course!”

I felt like the floor was falling out from beneath me. Wedding!?

“I think you have the wrong person,” I breathed. “So, I’m just going to go.”

I tried to step around them but Amelia blocked my way.

“Your mother contacted us five days ago,” Angelina explained while analyzing my long black hair. “Your father used to be on the Elder Council before he passed, am I right?” I nodded mutely. My throat clenched at the mention of my father. I missed him more than anything else. “God rest his soul. Your mother stayed on in his stead. Our master has been ready for marriage for quite some time now.”

“Who is your master?”

Amelia cleared her throat. “May I remind you that we are on a tight schedule?” she said quietly to Angelina who nodded and clapped her hands.

Amelia rolled over a trolley. On top was a beautiful white dress with gold embroidery. Before I could protest, Amelia tore off my nightgown and Angelina was pulling the wedding dress over my head. She and Amelia talked in quick and quiet voices as I was then sat in front of a mirror. Angelina pulled my hair back in a tight knot and fixed the end of a golden veil to the knot. Amelia put makeup on my face as I tried to hold in all of my questions and fears.

They had just finished slipping me into white slippers when there was another knock on the door. A small girl poked her head in.

“They’re waiting,” she said to Angelina and Amelia. “And they’re getting impatient.”

Her eyes landed on me and she paused before leaving. Angelina draped the veil over my face and smiled at the effect.

“It goes so well with your beautiful silver eyes,” she smiled as they led me out of the room.

The small girl was waiting and handed me a bouquet of white roses. I tried not to accept them but she pushed them in my hands and I was led off down the hall. Surely this must all be a joke. There was no way this could be happening to me. It was all too sudden. I fully expected my mother to be on the other side of the door in the foyer with my sisters, laughing at me.

The small girl opened the door and I faced a shock. Six people stood in rows, three on each side, forming an aisle for me to go down. They were all straight backed with their faces cloaked in the dim light. It was so dark I couldn’t see anyone on the other end.

Angelina and Amelia suddenly disappeared from my side and I hesitated. The small girl turned a little and waved her hand behind her, telling me to follow. Someone ahead of me cleared their throat and I began walking again. It was just 100 steps but it felt like much longer than that.

Finally, I reached the end and looked at the three people standing in front of me.