forum || Warriors' Union | private rp | stalkers get pretzels ||

Started December 08, 2020 by @PrettyLittlePyro

tune

Haven knew that fancy clothes were uncomfortable, but his wedding suit seemed to take the cake. With a white shirt, a white vest edged in gold, and a white jacket, he was sweltering under the layers. His shoes were black, but his pants were white.

Seriously, who thought this was a good idea? He wondered, picking at his collar. He didn't even have his sword. It was considered 'improper' to have a weapon in a wedding. His side felt bare without it, and he didn't want to be this defenseless.

He stood in one of the palace chambers, waiting to be called. He felt too humiliated in his glorified costume to see anyone he knew; in fact, when his youngest sibling, Lilliana, saw his outfit, she burst out laughing.

"What?" He had asked defensively.

"You look so uncomfortable," she had replied, giggling. "The clothes are fine, but you look like you want to run and hide." She had patted his shoulder mockingly. "You're getting married, not executed."

Maybe they're the same thing, he thought to himself now.

(More accurate representation of what I think her dress looks like)
Reesha had very little say in her wedding outfit, much to her annoyance. Marriage had many traditions around it, that she couldn't exactly throw out, her dress being one of them. It wasn't a horrid thing, that much she was relieved by, but it wasn't her favorite. The dress was pure white, the color of snow, with an off-the-shoulder neckline and a form-fitting bodice. The bottom of the gown was full –not too large to get in the way– but still full, and it just brushed the ground when Reesha stood on her tip-toes. Pairing with the white was many gold accents, decorating the bodice of the gown and continuing onto the rest of the dress. Even the accessories to her dress used the same color scheme and design, from her small heels, to her earrings, necklace, veil, and bouquet of flowers.

Still, even if she wished she could change her dress, she wasn't going to deny that it made her look good. From the light chatter of the girls that had got her ready, she wasn't the only one who thought the dress looked alright.

Another frustrating tradition was where she was supposed to actually get married. It had to be at the palace, but with her overall protest, she had been able to change the location from the ballroom, to the palace gardens, taking advantage of the wonderful weather.

She wasn't sure how long she had been instructed to stay out of the way, but she had done as asked, wondering why she was nervous. It was only a wedding, and it was to someone she hated, which meant she should have been far from nervous. As one of the server girls came to get her though, she felt her nerves increasing. Meeting her father at the doors to the gardens, she could just see glimpses of the setup outside, even spotting her future husband waiting for her.

Haven waited at the alter, clasping his hands behind him to stop from fidgeting with his collar. It was too tight, and gods, it was bright. And hot. And uncomfortable. Of course, he was the best looking there, and everyone else knew that. Or, at least, he liked to fancy that they thought that. He couldn't actually read minds unfortunately… his thoughts trailed off as he realized how truly tired he was if he was thinking thoughts like that.

He hadn't fallen asleep for a long time the night before, the memory of his soon-to-be bride's glare ingrained in his mind. When he did eventually sleep, he dreamed of knives and cruel smiles and blood splattered on the walls, of splinters of bone and pain, always pain. He had awoken in a sweat, body throbbing with phantom pain.

It's over, he told himself now. Never again.

"Announcing Crown Princess Reesha Eyer! All rise for the bride!"

He glanced over, the shadow of memory already gone from his clear blue eyes, replaced by an expectant smirk. When he saw her come down the aisle, arm in arm with the king, he blinked, the only sign of how much that dress affected her. She looked- fuck. She was gorgeous.

Reesha wished she could wipe Haven's smirk off his damn face, or smack it off with her bouquet. Arm in arm with her father as she walked down the aisle, a dazzling fake smile sat on her face, but as she looked towards the altar, all she could see was his stupid smirk. She was well aware of how his suit fit him perfectly, and gods did it make his blue eyes seem even brighter, but the look on his face simply pissed her off.

Before she could let herself get worked up over him, she pushed the thoughts out of her mind and focused on the remaining steps forward. There were faint tears in her father's eyes when they reached the end of the aisle and he let her go, retreating to his seat after whispering "Love you." She smiled in return and mouthed the words back before turning to face Haven.

With all eyes on the two of them, she couldn't show how much being around him frustrated her, but she was sure he knew. All she could hope was that the ceremony went quickly so she didn't have to stare at him any longer than she had to.

"You look like you want to strangle something," Haven said quietly, smiling in a way that probably made most of the audience think he was speaking warmly to her. "I would smooth your face, Reesha love, or someone might think that their future monarch isn't as stable as they originally thought." His expression was warm and innocent, except for the devilish gleam in his eyes.

He didn't want to look her directly in the face. It seemed like she was glowing, almost like that bride glow, although he knew that that wasn't it. She hated him. It was probably the dress. He wasn't afraid to admit that she was gorgeous. She was, it was just stating the truth - however, he would never say it to her face. It felt as if doing so would destroy his pride.

"Oh but I do want to strangle something." Her words were sweet and calm, and she forced a naïve, start struck smile on her face, "I would love to strangle you, though sadly I can't." She flicked her gaze over him for a brief moment and whispered out a final sentence, though it was a blatant lie, "You look horrible."

Even if the suit made him look good, or more than good, she was never going to admit it. Doing so would just give him a bigger head than he already had, and she would never hear the end of it.

She went silent as the ceremony started, keeping the loving, star struck smile on her face. She had to look happy. Even if she wanted to kill him. At least she could know the feelings were most likely mutual. That made planning his imaginary death much easier.

"I mean, you could," Haven said sweetly, taking her hand and giving it a light kiss, which under any other circumstances would result in a beating. "However, I don't think the wedding guests would appreciate it. It's bad luck to strangle your spouse on your wedding day, you know. Even if he is the most handsome man on the planet, like I am."

The ceremony started. With his training as a soldier, it wasn't hard to not move, to not shift on his feet and look like he'd rather be anywhere else. He just looked into Reesha's eyes and smiled, which ended up starting a staring contest, a test of wills.

Naturally.

Just having Haven grab her hand was enough to make her loose most control over her anger and it took all of her remaining self control to not smack him. She wanted to respond, but as she worked up what to say, the ceremony started and she had to stay silent. Reesha knew she should listen, but she didn't locking eyes with Haven as she tried to mentally show just how much she hated him.

It wasn't just him that she hated. It was everything about him. His cocky attitude, his stupid charm and his disgusting ability to seem like a good guy even if he was far from it.

And as the officiant spoke, she realized she was going to have to deal with him much more often now. She kept a soft smile on her face, going through the motions that were required of her. It seemed to drag on the longer she was forced to stand there, but ever so slowly, things were creeping onward. Towards the moment she would have to kiss the horrid excuse of a human in front of her and say the vows that would chain them together.

"… You may now kiss the bride," came the master of ceremony's voice, which filtered through Haven's ears and took him a moment to actually process. And then the panic set in. Yes, he tried to get Reesha as his wife, but he hadn't thought… beyond that. And now he had to kiss his former best friend and soon-to-be wife, despite the fact that she might melt his face as soon as they were out of public view?

He was a general, feared throughout the land, known for his courage and his spur-of-the-moment moves. However, in this scenario, he had no idea what he was going to do.

And then, suddenly, an idea struck, as bad ideas often do. With a slice of shadow, he slit the band holding his hair up, letting his hair fall down over his face. He bent Reesha slightly at the waist, so that their faces were hidden, and smirked at her face, inches from his own. "I don't really want to kiss you, either," he muttered, smirking. "You're welcome, darling."

(lmao honestly I don't blame Haven's panic….Reesha would gladly melt his face off if he kissed her)

Reesha tried to hide her faint look of annoyance and panic when she realized she was going to have to kiss Haven. It still showed for a moment though, before she masked it with false calm. She wanted to do anything but kiss him. Preferably smack him, or give him some nice third-degree burns.

But there was no way to get out of the situation. She couldn't leave, couldn't ask to skip the kiss, couldn't do anything but panic as Haven stepped closer. She felt his hand on her back, bending her backward just slightly, as she watched his face grow closer to hers. Just as she was sure he was going to kiss her, he stopped, her eyes meeting his in an instant. It was only then that she noticed his hair had escaped being tied back and was hiding their faces from the guests.

Relief coursed through her for a split second before she scowled at him, hissing as quietly as she could, "Don't call me darling." She didn't want to kiss him, but she hated that he had a solution to the problem so quickly. He was expecting her gratitude too, and she refused to let him know that she was thankful.

As she stood back up, she could hear the cheers of joy from the guests, and she knew the joy in their tone wasn't fake. Reesha didn't want to dull down their happiness and so she flashed a large smile, forcing herself to slip her arm around Haven's waist, hearing the hollers of happiness when they didn't step away from eachother.

(That would be an interesting sight lol)

"Was that that bad?" Haven asked out of the corner of his mouth, smiling to the crowd with his usual blinding smile that caused both men and women to become weak at the knees. "I'm sure we'll have to stage things like that a lot now, Reesha darling, so you should prepare more." With the arm around her waist, he could feel just how tense she was, and knew that he would regret it later.

But hey, why not have a little more joy in the moment?

After the cheering of the nobles had gone on for a minute or so, they were allowed to walk back down the aisle to the gardens, where the main reception was happening. As soon as they passed from beyond the view of the nobles, Haven removed his hand, shaking it and wiping it on his pants as if he had touched something disgusting. His smirk was still in place, but it was much harder, sharper.

Reesha gritted her teeth behind her smile, not speaking in return to him. It was bad enough having to walk with him down the aisle without letting go or burning him, speaking would only make her more frustrated.

As soon as they were out of view of others, Reesha practically yanked herself away from him, glaring at him and speaking with force and a tone of finality, "I'm laying down rules now, before you piss me off further. First, you will not call me any pet names outside of the public eye. You won't kiss me, or touch me unless absolutely necessary, and lastly, you will treat me with the respect everyone else does. Understand?"

She looked positively frustrated with Haven, and she was. Not for any specific reason, but she didn't need a reason after the whirlwind of things he had screwed up in since he came to the capital. Starting with her marriage.

"I can't promise the first one," Haven said, stretching and ignoring her furious look. "It's really fun to watch you fume." He gave her a cocky smile, adding, "Darling," after. He couldn't help it; it was entertaining to see her angry. He knew he would regret it later, but he couldn't find it in his body to care.

As the nobles started to meander into the garden, where refreshments and tables and music were all set up, the white haired man glanced over. He spotted the alcohol table, grinned, and bowed to his wife. "I'll see you later, Reesha love. I think some of your little friends want to congratulate you." He motioned to a group of girls standing off to the side. Just to add fuel to the fire, he took her hand, making eye contact as he gave it a light kiss, before strolling off to the refreshments table.

There. Let her deal with that.

"You're an ass, you know that?" She gave him a murderous look with the new name, frustrated beyond hell with him. And they had just gotten married. Reesha hid her look as nobles started to filter into the garden, though she didn't stop thinking about the best way to murder him. He was her husband, but if she could think up a good enough plan he would simply be her former husband. Or her late husband. It all depended on her anger.

Glancing over at the girls he mentioned, she shot them a false excited smile, if only to prevent murdering Haven at their wedding reception. She wiped her hand off on her dress after he let it go, making sure he saw the motion before she spun on her heel.

None of the girls he had mentioned were close to her, but she knew them, and since they didn't know of her and Haven's past, they were all ecstatic over the marriage. Pretending she was excited and happy was both painful and easy. She got her happiness from them, seeing their expressions, but she still was well aware of how much she was far from happy.

She was going to have to frequent the alcohol table to survive the reception.

Haven walked over to the alcohol table, which had been set up as per his request. If there was no wine, there was no way he could remain sane. He grabbed a glass of wine and smirked at Reesha's actions, expression widening as he watched her stiff greeting to the other women there. He was very glad he wasn't a noblewoman.

A group of noblemen walked over to him. He recognized them vaguely, having seen them around. He was pretty sure some of them had offered their daughters or sisters as his wife, which he had turned down, of course. Before he knew the Princess was available, he had had no plans of marrying.

"Lord Carroway," one of the men said stiffly, bowing. "Congratulations on your marriage."

Haven smirked, recognizing the man as the father of Peregryn Bateline, one of the Princess's suitors. "Thank you." He purposefully didn't use the man's title, to make him angry. "I don't think you said my name right. I think it would be something like, I don't know, Regent? Or Prince? I don't really know the etiquette for this. And would I still be a Carroway, or would I have to take on the Eyer name? So many questions."

Baron Bateline was growing increasingly angry as the general spoke, although he tried to hide it. "I… apologize. I am unfamiliar with royal etiquette."

"You should probably learn that, then," Haven said, waving his hand dismissively. "Nice talking to you." It was a clear dismissal, and the other man had no choice but to walk away. Haven took a large gulp of wine and sighed heavily. This is why I stayed away, he thought with a bitter smile.

(For future reference incase you need it for the character's conversation, in formal situations, Haven would be known as Prince Consort, or Prince Eyer. But in more casual situation, or if someone would be trying to be rude, they could refer to him as Lord Eyer or Prince Carroway (denoting a lower status than being both an Eyer and a Prince). I think it makes sense for it to be tradition to keep the royal name with royal marriages. (Plus Reesha would have a conniption fit if she had to take Haven's last name lol))

"Congratulations Princess Eyer!" One of the girls squealed, "I'm so happy for you! How do you feel?"

Reesha had enough focus to look happy as well, and she nodded in reply, a shining smile on her face, "Thank you! I'm feeling nervous if I'm honest…this is a big change but it's exciting all the same."

"Oh I bet! On the good side though, Lord Carroway isn't very well known around here, so you won't have to worry about any drama about him." The girl smiled, then shot a playful wink at Reesha, "Plus, if it's not too out of line to say so…he's pretty hot too."

The girl was clearly younger than her, if she had to guess she would say she was the same age as Ollie. That much she could tell just from how she spoke. Most of the older noblewomen were more formal, less questioning and usually had a different motive than genuine excitement. This girl had none of those things. Speaking of her brother, Reesha wondered where he had run off to. Ollie had been at the service, that much she knew, but as she took glances around the room, she couldn't spot him.

Brief annoyance passed through her eyes as she thought of that, but she hid it quickly as another girl spoke to her. Ollie wasn't a fan of groups, but leaving during her wedding reception? That was annoying even for her. Especially since she was usually the one that covered for him when he ran off. Annoying as it was, finding her brother would be a good way to get out of conversation at least. It would also serve as a good excuse to grab something to drink -even if there was no way she would find her brother anywhere near the alcohol.

She laughed at the girl's words, barely hiding a snort of disbelief. Haven being hot? That was about as unbelievable as a worm learning to speak. Reesha didn't punish the girl for her words, and she replied easily, admitting as much as she could without gagging, "He's not too bad to look at…that's for sure."

(Coolio, thanks! That's good to know. And she definitely would… can you imagine the chaos if she had to take his name?)

Through the crowd, the white-haired man spotted Reesha, who looked immensely uncomfortable, although the ladies probably didn't realize this, and shook his head with a smirk. One of the girls was squealing like a fangirl, which made his smirk grow. He knew how much his new wife hated loud noises, and any pain he could watch her in would make it all the better.

He turned his gaze from the princess to the person walking up behind him. "What do you want?" He asked, with more than a little annoyance in his voice.

Graeson Carroway, his oldest brother and the very definition of a smug asshole, just smiled. "Is that any way to talk to your older brother?"

"Last I checked, I had a higher status than you did, both noble and Carroway-training. I can talk to you however I want. Why are you here?" His gaze fell on the girl behind Grae, a girl no older than nineteen, as opposed to the 29 of Graeson. She was pretty, with dark hair and skin, clearly foreign, clearly a slave. His teeth ground together. "You're still dragging her around? Last I checked, having a second wife wasn't legal, and you had a fiance."

Graeson sneered and held up a glass of champagne he had nabbed from a passing waiter. "Every noble has affairs, brother dear. Why can't I?"

This man- Haven rubbed his forehead and turned away. "If Mom found out, you'd be dead."

"So don't tell her." He smiled disarmingly, but Haven wanted to gag.

(Oh she would be livid, and it would become everyone's issue without a doubt)

Reesha chatted for a few more moments with the girls before politely excusing herself, mentioning finding her brother before any of them could offer to keep her company.

It was only the beginning of the reception, and she already had a headache.

For a moment, she let herself look annoyed, then carefully covered it with a look of placid happiness, avoiding other conversation with the same excuse she had told the girls. No one questioned her looking for Olliver, like usual, and it allowed her to get to the alcohol table without any added conversation.

She spotted her new husband hanging around the table long before she made her way over there, but after carefully weighing the options, she decided dealing with Haven was worth the buzz that enough alcohol could give her. She made her way to the table quietly and smoothly, flashing dazzling smiles to anyone with who she met eyes with. Picking up a flute of champagne, she was surprised to note that Haven hadn't acknowledged her presence yet. Not that she cared. She stopped next to the table for a moment, sipping at the drink while deciding if grabbing another would make her look too eager to get drunk.