Chapter 68 The Wife Of The New Century
Cassian woke up glowing so brightly that the other people who actually never saw the halo could see it now. Literally. They all scrunched their eyes, some tearing up as they served him the meal the previous noble had prepared.
It was the one thing Isabella had taught the servants in the Palace… and the only thing Cassian wanted to eat.
Noodles.
There were strangely shaped rope looking things that had been presented to him the day Isabella had come to see him.
Of course, she had left him for a few minutes to go prepare it as the maids themselves did not know what in the gods name it was… but the second it was placed in front of him, he was sure she was just trying to poison him.
He still had no appetite… but she was standing in front of him with a wooden spoon in his hand, and a cross look on his face that made it clear she would hug him if he did not eat.
So he did.
Cassian never really fancied the food in the palace. They were all bland and tasteless… and extravagant, but he ate because he had to. Because everything he did was him being watched and he had no other choice but to make everyone believe everything was fine.
He had never tasted anything like this.
“His Royal Highness looks… well,” One maid said as they placed the bowl of food in front of him. She looked terrified for her life, like she was sure he would slit her neck if she breathed too loud.
Cassian beamed back at her— her eyes watered but she persevered. “I feel better. Thank you,”
And he did.
The noodles tasted magnificent. Warm and with the right spices. It… energized him in some strange way. Made him feel more… alive. Like he could do anything. Be anything.
Like the drugs usually would have.
So naturally, he ate all of what he was given, showed his appreciation to the chefs who were all keeping their heads bowed so he would not see them, and headed back to his room which was now filled with books.
And stared at the flyer he had pasted on the walls.
Or to be more specific, the flyers.
“Hello! As you may all know, I am Isabella Montague who went on a lovely retreat to become one with nature and realized many things on my return back!”
“There are rumours that I was ill for a few weeks which is just false… I am stronger than the bond you have with the men you live with. Anyway, during the retreat I realized— hey! Since I got married to my Vessel, I can get married to someone else. Rack up the punishment scale.”
“And guess who it is? Cassian Wyatt! I am sure all you sad people have never experienced a wedding so you should all prepare. It would be nothing like you have ever seen! And bring gifts. I mean it. No gifts, no entry. And be creative about it too ;)”
What that strange looking shape thing was at the end of the sentence was but when he had been told that these flyers were going around by one of the women he frequently sent for into the palace.
One of them had shown up last night wearing that same dress Isabella had worn to the event he had held underneath her dress. Which he found very silly and ordered that she leave.
She said some… very strange words that he had expected her to say and even rolled her eyes at before he heard her add, “You must forget your place because that woman is going to buy you from your Mother. Good riddance anyway,”
Cassian had grabbed her and pinned her to the wall, demanding for her explanation. She pulled one of them out of her chest, and handed it to him.
He went out that night and found fifty more.
That same night, he picked up all the history books he could find on the term ‘marriage’.
A thing used by certain women who believed their existences were somehow tied to the men they favored— and even though their entire realm was still a matriarchy, there were less laws governing the men at the time.
Because, of course, there was a belief in some form of equality. At the time.
These women ended up being saddled with a man who believed he could control them which, in a matriarchal society, was the social equivalent of a decorative shrub declaring itself king of the forest.
Amusing, for a time, until it became a nuisance.
During the Reaping, men had gotten far too comfortable in their positions as the ‘head’ of the family, forcing their women to the sidelines while taking charge of the home affairs. They had clearly forgotten that women held more mana— which was what the Aeltherran army was made of.
Of course, when his Mother returned after the war ended, she made sure she demoted men even further below their already pitiful status.
Cassian, naturally, had no care for it. He had always been certain that he would be alive but never truly live.
He was fine with it.
He was fine with a life of mediocrity and uselessness…
Until her.
The first time he saw her, he knew instantly that he wanted her. It was a strange thing for a creature like him. Wanting. To have. To own. He had nothing and had been fine all this time. Why her? Why now?
He thought about the first time he'd heard her name spoken with such venom.
It had been late. Or early. One of the married women— he couldn't remember her name, only the ruby pendant that always pressed cold against his chest— had been complaining between kisses.
“She's standoffish,” The woman said, pulling back with an irritated frown. “Because she's the only girl in a decade, she thinks she's so special. Speaks to no one. Refuses events. Rarely even smiles. You wouldn't like her.”
“Why?” The word left him before he could stop it.
She laughed, but it wasn't kind. “Because you prefer your women happy and lively, your highness.” Her hand fisted in his collar, yanking him down. “Now. Can we stop speaking of the lady and you do that thing with your tongue I like?”
He did as he was told.
He did it for all of them, after that. Let them use him however they wanted, as long as they kept talking.
They all had different versions of her. Cold, proud, boring, strange, and he collected each one like precious stones.
None of them knew her. He could tell.
But he would.
“I must see her.” He said it aloud, testing it. His voice cracked. “To discuss. The wedding. Plans.”
It was a pathetic excuse and he knew it.
He didn't care.
Cassian stood, grabbed the first coat he could find, and walked out. He didn't know where she lived. Didn't know if she'd want to see him. Didn't know anything except that he had to move, had to find her, had to—
The guards at the gate stared as he passed.
He didn't notice. He was already gone.