Engagement Ceremony

Engagement Ceremony
The next three days flew by in a blur of preparations and hopes that Elias and his army would show up in time to save me. However, in the end, he never showed up, and the night of the engagement ceremony came.

Vladimier made sure that I was up early in the morning so that I could go through the motions of preparing for what was to come. Starting from fasting from sunup to the ritual cleanse to remove any and all taint that may be on my body from another man, and then, of course, being placed in a parlor to have my hair and makeup done. Followed by being squeezed into a long white dress with too many ruffles and lace.

Staring in the mirror now, I wondered how it would look to see this beautiful woman before me splattered on the ground, because if in the end I wasn't rescued, there was a good possibility that would be my fate. One thing I was well aware of was that if I let this ceremony take place, then my life would be forever tied to Vladimier's. That was simply the way this type of ceremony worked. Our life forces would combine, and once that happened, if I wasn't able to break free of him, then the only way out was for both of us to die.

With this thought in my head, I turned and took in the two women who were watching me with proud looks on their faces. According to Vladimier, they were the best of the best when it came to preparing brides in the kingdom. That was why he insisted on leaving me prey to their work.

"You look amazing." Sonia, a woman in her early forties with curly blonde hair and hazel eyes, said, moving forward and examining me up close and personal. "Never has there been a bride more beautiful than you."

"I'm sure you're just saying that." I said, feeling embarrassed. "There are many women out there much more beautiful than me."

"No, no!" The other woman, Patty, said, raising a hand to her mouth. "You are the most beautiful, miss."

"Please just call me Valerie." I begged for the umpteenth time. "Miss makes me uncomfortable."

"I'm sorry, miss. I mean Valerie." She squeaked, her emerald eyes growing huge. "I'm so sorry if I have offended you!"

"You haven't!" I said, quickly holding out a hand just as a knock sounded at the door.

"It seems that your groom has arrived to fetch you." Sonia said, rushing to let Vladimier in as Patty gave a giggle.

Keeping my expression neutral, I watched as he strolled into the room decked out in a white suite that made him look like a saint. If it weren't for knowing his true nature, I almost would have believed that he was actually one.

"You look lovely, my bride." He murmured, reaching out and grabbing my hand. "I almost don't want to share you with the rest of the world."

Holding back my grimace, I waited as he kissed my hand and smiled.

"You ladies have outdone yourselves." He said, once finished. "You have most certainly lived up to your reputation."

"Thank you, sir." Sonia beamed while Patty blushed ferociously. "It was our honor to be able to help you."

Continuing to smile, Vladimier held out an arm as he fixed his gaze on mine.

"Shall we then?" He asked as I moved forward, hooking my arm with his. It wasn't yet time to cause trouble, and all I could do was go along with it.

"I'm ready." I confirmed, shooting one more smile at Sonia and Patty before allowing him to lead me out of the room and towards the banquet hall where our ceremony would be taking place.

When we arrived, everyone was present, which was necessary for the ceremony itself. When I discovered that it would be a small ceremony with not many people present, I couldn't stop my disappointment. If more people were present, it would make escape easier. With a smaller number of people, it would be harder.

"Are you okay?" Vladimier asked, catching onto my quickly drifting thoughts.

"I'm okay." I responded, plastering a fake smile on my face. "Just nervous."

In a way, I wasn't lying. Although I wasn't nervous about the ceremony itself, I was nervous about throwing myself to my death if it came down to it.

"Don't worry, this will be quick and painless. Then we can enjoy our night together."

Fighting a grimace, I tried to not even think about what he said. There was no way in hell that I was going to share any nights with him.

"Sire." Gerlad boomed, reminding me that we weren't alone.

Turning I took in the man who was quickly making his way towards us with open arms.

"Everything is prepared." He continued, giving me a broad smile. "We can start anytime you feel ready."

Nodding, Vladimier began to lead me forward as the group of officials that he required to be present took us in. As we passed, I could feel their gazes burning into me, indicating that they didn't find me appropriate for their supreme being.

Good, that meant we all agreed.

"Don't forget the prayer I taught you." He murmured as we reached the podium, where Gerald had set up his tools.

"I won't." I responded, beginning to draw in all my courage.

"Welcome." Gerald spoke as he took his place. "We welcome both of you here, before the great ruler Galier, to bind your souls as one."

Taking this as my cue, I tugged my arm hard, managing to break free of Vladimier's grip.

"WHAT?" He boomed as I turned on my heel and began to run towards two large glass doors that sat open, letting a soft breeze into the room.

As I ran, I could hear footsteps echoing behind me. Not bothering to look back, I continued to run as incoherent shouting continued before I exited the room and made my way out onto a large stone balcony with a massive fountain sitting in the middle of it.

Jumping onto the fountain's edge, I began to move, determined to get onto the balcony's ledge before any of the men had a chance to catch me. From the shouts that sounded, it was easy to tell that they were catching onto what I planned to do.

"STOP HER!" I heard Vladimier bellow, his voice full of venom. "OTHERWISE, I WILL HAVE ALL OF YOUR HEADS!"

"Stay back!" I shrieked, reaching my destination. "Otherwise, I'll jump."

Steadying my feet on the ledge, I watched as the group of men quickly began to approach me with their hands out. From the looks on their faces, they were much more afraid of Vladimier's threat than they were of mine.

"I mean it!" I bellowed, shuffling back just enough that my heels were hanging off the edge. "I will kill myself."

It didn't take long for me to realize that the men weren't going to stop. My only other option was to jump. I absolutely refused to let myself be bound to Vladimier, and since I was slowly dying anyway, it wasn't like I had much left to live for anyway.

Letting a smile spread across my face, I swept my gaze across the crowd before finally resting on Vladimier, whose eyes were almost black.

Giving a small wave, I winked at him before opening my arms wide and letting my body fall backwards into the empty air beyond.