In the coming of marriage, she who shall be wed must anoint her scalp and breast in the blood of her betrothed three days before the ceremony. May their pulse of life be joined as their bodies, and spirits until the day of passage. Upon the second day let her be bathed in the oils of Caranthum as those before her. Upon the day of marriage let the two be bound in the temples of the groom's forefathers, before the eyes of those wiser than he. In blood, in spirit, in the flesh shall they become one, with the security of these holy acts shall none tear them apart. She of foreign blood shall through these acts, be reborn in the blessings of the forefathers. Through them, she shall be accepted, through their beliefs she shall be cleansed.
Varueix Incendarie 19-84-10
The prepping for the joining of two spirits had begun. King Calira and his mistress Lady Tonisa, as well as his entire court, had come to join in the Lasmonian mountains. It had been at the request of the witch to be wed against Frostfire tradition. The wedding was to be held in the Valley of the Songs a place held dear to her heart and the King's as well. Various cities had come to join the festivities of a royal wedding, some bearing gifts of peace and others gifts of uncertainty.
"The day grows ever closer, yet your face shows no sign of happiness. If I may be so bold as to ask Lady Tonisa why does your eagerness come to sour?" "No, you may not Emelia! Your duty is to tend me as your future Queen, not to think or be bold. You had a simple task to see completed and you have yet to finish it." Her voice was harsh as always, terrifying, to say the least. In the absence of the late Queen Alexandria, all handmaids had been reduced to nothing more but fragile little mice. They were all scared to live, terrified to laugh and most of all utterly frightened by what their future Queen was capable of.
"Apologies M'lady.." the girl muttered. Her hands shook nervously as she twisted to take hold of Tonisa's heated irons. The young lady saw them put to roast over roaring flame just aside her feet. Parting a section of the hair the young woman pulled the locks taught and saw the sister barrels down the strands. The curls came to cease, allowing her to move onto the next. Her unsteady hands found their way towards the woman's scalp the heat of the irons burning the delicate flesh. Tonisa pulled away hissing, her words coming forth in a wave of insults. "How dare you burn me girl?! Have you no sense in that abnormally large head of yours?!" Her hand came to apply pressure to the injury now stinging in her nest of curls. "I ..I am sorry M'lady I did not mean to burn you, you moved your head without warning." The Tyliquins eyes came to narrow as she snatched the irons away. "You seek to place blame upon me for your negligence?!" She rushed to the fires and saw the irons cooked until they burned red with heat. "No M'lady I take full responsibility, I am not familiar with your texture of hair is all."
Taking her words as an insult, the witch found her hand fisted in the girl's hair and pressed the reddened barrels onto her right cheek. The burn walked from the cheek to her eye and back again until the flesh had been left as nothing more but a brand of discipline. Emelia screamed in agony as the heat overtook her and the pain stung with the salt of her tears. The more she pulled, the harder Tonisa pressed. At last, the bride to be slapped her away, spitting at her feet before throwing the irons across the tent. "If you can not handle such simple task find me someone who will! Get out now before I kill you!" Scrambling the young and scarred girl vanished. Tonisa paced in thought, half her hair silken while the other remained curled and unruly. At last a heavyset woman began to open her curtains of privacy.
"Lady Tonisa I have been appointed to see your curls turned to silk." "Have you?" She walked forward taking the woman's wrist in her grasp. " If you fail at your task you shall get a punishment far worse than the last wench. The woman chuckled as Tonisa let her go. She moved to retrieve the irons and sat the Queen to be in her seat. "I assure you, you shall be pleased with the end result of my expertise." The two came to rest in silence as time and time again she straightened each portion of hair. At the end of the process, Tonisa rose to look at herself a smile coming to grace her lips. Thin fingers came to glide effortlessly through her crown of glory, which had been transformed into strands of blackened glass. "You...are...the Mistress of the Irons. Never before has my hair been so quickly turned to silk." The woman gave a curtsy. "Who are you? I have never seen you in the court of my betrothed." "I am merely a guest, one who wished to attend the glory of such a wedding as this. I pray my presence does not offend."
Tonisa returned to admiring herself. "It does not, in fact, it gives me pleasure. Do you serve another at this current time?" "No M'lady I do not." "Hmm, how about I appoint you as one of my maids?" " I would take pride in being given such an honorable position. Though.. I must with respect inform you that I shall not take such abuse as the young girl who found me." "With hands such as yours, I would not have to discipline you. No need to worry about such a fate coming to grace you while you serve me. Your only task would be the care taking of my hair, the job tires me I have no hand for it." "Such is understandable I had the same problem when I was younger." "Then you understand quite well my frustration."
The Dark Dragon King came to enter the tent. He wore blackened armor that held the shine of silver. His hair had been braided down his back in a cleansing oil. Though his bride did not wish to partake in any ritual of his kind, he was superstitious. "Ahh, I see you have at last found someone to turn your scalp of coils into waterfalls. You look lovely my dear." He turned to face the woman. " Gratitude for your services but I will need to speak to my beloved privately." She bobbed a curtsy. "Your Graces." The two met as they always had on such joyous occasion. "I bring fantastic news, my future wife." "What news could you bring me that would out shine our coming wedding day?" "The news of an enemies death." "Oh?! Is it your sister?" The King laughed. "No, the hound known as Zacura Bloodclaw, the one who lead my sister's army is dead."
Tonisa arched a brow. "How? Last I saw her she was out cold as I chased after you. Upon my departure, she drew breath, her guardian made sure of that." "Well he must have forsaken his vows, I have received word from commander Jurawl that her body was found. He examined both her and the wolf of white, he found no breath in their lungs and no blood pumping through their veins." "Then why have their heads not been delivered upon spikes?" "Sir Jurawl is a very religious man, he was the only one who could give such an order. He says the old wolf was the last Keeper, and that his soul would be damned if he brought harm upon his body. Though he vows on his life that he is certain they both came to perish." She kissed him. "This is excellent news that parasitic mutt was the greatest threat we had to face. With her gone, it leaves your simple minded sister vulnerable. Though this is pleasant news, I wish to converse about our gifts of unity."
Draconvieh moved to take a seat on a nearby lounge. He stretched out and offered for his lover to come and join him. Accepting his invitation, Tonisa came to rest within his muscular arms. "Tell me what your heart desires, and you shall have it." "Oh, I have no doubt, because if you refuse me, you shall damn our love and our marriage." Her words made a tingle shoot down his spine, and suddenly he felt sick. He knew what she would ask for, and with her words, he would have to refuse. "Then see your request into my ears." "I want Abagelle killed, I want you to slay her for her betrayal. I want you to sever her head from her shoulders and see it crushed beneath your talons. If not for her sudden act of treason the stone and the brotherhood would be ours." His hands came to grasp both sides of her face. "Why do you wish her killed, honestly, my love? Is it because you fear I will one day love her more? Or do you actually want her crimes to be paid in blood?"
A growl of jealousy came to pierce her lips. "She should pay for all she has done. Do not think me a fool if your heart does not wish her your cock does. I want blood to be spilled, and her life cursed for what she has stolen from me and from us. Never mind my heart what of your throne? What of the time and the masses lost because of her immaturity and idolatrous spirit. Crimes shall no longer be overlooked no matter the bonds we may share with the people who commit them." "You understand that I too now must ask you to grant me my gift." She sat up and turned to face him. "What is it that you ask of me that I have not already given you?" He kissed her. "I request that my life mate brings no harm to my son's mother, for she was, a mere child turned into our tool of corruption." "So you expect me to grant onto you more gifts, while I am granted none?" "No, I gave you the permission to slaughter my wife. I gifted you the ability and the tools to torture her for the years her life took from us. Something that if I am found to have had a hand in doing, could make you a widow." "You are being quite irrational Calira, you expect me, out of all beings, to accept a gift of death that had been already given. Me being able to torture her, as I have been, for the past countless decades, was simply an added pleasure that I had earned. Abagelle robbed me of giving you your firstborn son, bastard as he may be."
"Oh, my dear you worry about such foolish things. He is as you name him, a bastard, our children, will sit on our thrones after we are long gone. He will never be equal to his brother's nor his sister's if any present themselves. But as for his mother, promise upon our love and our future marriage that you will not bring harm to her. It would be wise for you to be presented with the death of another, later on, you never know what the future holds. Swear it to me, swear it before the gods we believe in." Her eyes came to roll, she had to admit he had a point. In her world, Abagelles death could be forgotten for now. Her eyes came to lock with his, a soft look coming to overtake her features. " I swear, my wicked and pertinacious King, that I shall bring no harm to her."
He gave a curt nod. "Good, let us begin at least the beginning of our joining in peace and joy." His hands stroked her hair gently and almost child like. Her hand slapped at his. "Do not touch it, your strokes will aid in the rapid return of those horrid curls. I wish to leave that duty in the hands of your grasp when you are buried balls deep inside me on our wedding night." His hand came to fist within her strands as he forcefully pulled her to capture his lips. "When you are at last my wife, there shall be no part of you these hands will be a stranger to." His dominance forced her into submission, and she grew weak in his grasp. "I shall see your natural beauty return a thousand times and a thousand more, your maids shall flatten them." Her eyes looked into his lustfully. "Now what do we say Toni when you agree with my choices?" "Yes, Master." "Very good." He set her aside and came to stand. " See your scalp and breast anointed with my blood, Out of the acts of purification I let go that is not one."
She rose as she watched him head for the opening of the tent. She did not wish him to go but knew he had things to attend. "I shall, but only if you see your own body cleansed with mine." His hands turned to fists in his frustration. She had always been bull headed, but that was a part of her that had summoned his admiration for her. "Must you always be this difficult? Can you never once simply do as you are told?" Her body slithered onto his. "No, I can not, I am not a slave to be ordered, even by he to whom I would die for." He took her by the shoulders giving her a few faint shakes as his words came to form. " Our marriage will be spat upon by my gods, you know of this. I stand here forsaking all I was ever taught, to ensure we both understand and come to feel the wealth of true love. The least we can do in our sin is see at least one of their laws put into effect. Let them grant us one blessing so that our bond is not trampled into the dust. By wearing my blood, you denounce your former lineage and accept mine. If I were to bare yours, I would be turning my back entirely on my faith, what little I yet hold." Kisses of seduction trailed up his neck. "Then let us create a throne of worship all our own, or see ourselves remain as we stand now."
Draconvieh shook his head, stunned, but receptive of her answer. He moved to grasp Aloziegn, Tonisa's most favored dagger. Its dragon carved hilt nearly bending to the strength of his grip. Her wrist came to fall a weak victim to his free palm. The blade pierced her from the crease of her arm to her wrist in one fluid motion. He pulled her roughly towards her shrine of worship and collected the blood into a chalice. "One day my love having your way each and every time will cost you substantially." He spoke not another word and released her, setting the dagger down and taking his leave with the chalice. "And one day soon, you will come to choke on those very words. And as always I will be there to assure air travels into your lungs once again."
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