Fae Nuptials: The Witch

Chrys: Chapter One

Chrys

Since I was a young girl, I always dreamed of being different. It didn't matter what, I just wanted a different life. I thought of impossible dreams like being a pop star or an astronaut and even a Michelin star chef.

Did I have any of the qualifications for those jobs? No. Would I ever get the qualifications? Never. The screaming crowds, the stars, and the gourmet-level food were never going to be a thing for me. It was just a fantasy.

Something nice to think about when I have a bad day.

"CHRYSANTHEMUM!"

I flinch, flour poofing into the air as I drop the bowl of pancake mix onto the floor. I stare wide-eyed at the mess I made and quickly scramble to pick it up, scooping as much as I can back into the bowl before running to the pantry to get the broom and dustpan.

I sweep it up grab the bowl of dirty pancake mix and grimace. I look at my almost-finished spread of food on the table and grit my teeth.

"Almost finished!" I call back as I pick out a piece of fluff and shrug my shoulders. A little dirt won't hurt them. And if it did...well...

"What's taking so long? I'm hungry!" I turn as Elm waddles in wearing a pretentious suit jacket over a button-up white shirt and khaki slacks, looking like a prettied-up stuffed sausage. His shoes are shiny and he looks immaculate. Because I laundered his clothes. The bratty seven-year-old peeks at the pancake mix and at the rest of the food I've made this morning and huffs out a sigh.

"Hurry up, Oak and I have to present our project first, so Daddy needs to get us there quickly."

I roll my eyes and nod. "Okay. It'll be out soon. Go sit. I'll start taking the food out to the table."

He nods once, a move my father did constantly, and walks away. I stick my tongue out at him and flip him off behind his back.

I hear a snicker and my cheeks flame as my older brother, Oleander, or Olly for short, walks in and shakes his head at me. He snags a few pieces of bacon and leans against the counter, watching me with our matching silver eyes.

"Does Daddy know you even know that you know the bad finger? He might have a heart attack."

Good. I think to myself, but eye Olly as he continues to pig out on the food I haven't set out yet.

"Are you going to tell?"

He smirks and shrugs. "Depends...Are you going to be a whiny little b*tch about Anise?"

I press my lips together and say nothing. Anise is my best friend who was chosen by my brother to marry. She was ecstatic about the match because my brother was one of the most powerful of the males from last year's boards. He didn't choose a bride last year and I was sure it was because he wanted to f*ck with me and marry Anise.

Fae always chose the most powerful of their year to marry so that their offspring would be born with their combined magic and be even more powerful. I felt like it was a stupid tradition to hold seeing as any Fae could climb the ranks if they applied themselves at school. I was eighth on the ranking boards, and fourth for the girls.

I had a good list of prospects that I've been dating the last few months but none had caught my eye. Fae men were pompous and thought their sh*t didn't stink because they whipped their power around as if it meant something.

Not to me. I always just wanted a fairytale cute meet. I wanted to fall in love and have a dream wedding with a man who looked at me as if I hung the moon. I wanted the passion and fire and all of the stuff I was allowed to watch in romance movies.

It was stupid and naive of me but I couldn't help but want it anyway. "I won't. Can you leave so I can finish breakfast?"

He looks at the expensive watch on his wrist and raises his eyebrows. "Breakfast is running late."

He tells me as if I wasn't already aware. Daddy's yelling was a clear sign that I was running late.

"If you'd like to help instead of staring, that would be great."

He snickers and shakes his head, grabbing another piece of bacon and taking an exaggerated bite of it. "That's a woman's job, Chrys. Do I look like a woman to you?"

I glare at his handsome face and shake my head, irritated. I hurry up, finish the last pancakes, and begin running everything into the dining room where we all took our meals. Daddy was already sitting at the head of the table, the newspaper hiding his face. The twins were sitting on either side of him and Olly took a seat next to Elm.

My mom used to sit next to Daddy on his right side. I would always sit next to her, but when she committed s*icide when the twins turned four, I was pushed to the end of the table, away from the rest of my family.

After I bring the last dish in and go to sit down, my father finally looks up from his paper and shakes his head at me.

"No. You're not dressed. Why aren't you dressed? You look preposterous in that apron. What are you thinking?"

I swallow hard and nod. "I'm sorry. Time ran away from me. I'll go get dressed now."

He juts his chin and I turn around and roll my eyes. Any outward sign of rebellion would be a quick smack to the face and I had a date after school. I didn't want to have to cover my face in makeup again.

I rush up the stairs, my stomach grumbling as I quickly hop in the shower and get ready for school. I dry out my long, silver hair and put on minimal makeup since Daddy doesn't like it when I have no makeup on.

Then I throw on a pale yellow dress and matching wedges. When I finally get back down to breakfast, I have to hold back my reaction when I see nearly all of the breakfast I made is gone, save for a piece of toast.

Oak smiles at me as he plucks the toast from the platter and takes a giant bite before tossing it on his empty plate.

I smile, feeling murderous inside, as I settle myself down in my seat and wait for Daddy to dismiss us.

"You're driving the twins to school. And don't forget to pick up the dry cleaning after work."

I nod and bite my lip. "Yes, Daddy. Can I have a few extra dollars for food?"

His eyes look down at my plate and then at the empty platters as if he wasn't here when they all finished the food without me.

"You should have eaten breakfast."

I bite my tongue and nod. "I'm sorry."

"You will also be taking the twins to their friend's house after school. I will meet you at Luigi's for your date tonight. Don't be late, Chrysanthemum. I will not tolerate the embarrassment."

I nod and he stands up. Olly grins as they all stand up after him. I wait until he's walked out of the dining room before I pluck the toast off of Oak's plate and eat the rest before I follow them out.

The rest of my day is dreary. I sit in class as my teacher, Mr. Atticus drones on about water elemental magic that can be used for first aid and stare at the only boy I have ever had any interest in. He was tall, with black hair, a chiseled jaw, and a smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts. His eyes were a dark, royal purple and he was just as tall as I was, give or take an inch. And well, I was tall for a woman. I was a cool six feet tall and was called every name in the book for it.

I watched as he turned in his seat and talked to Tulip Mayweather. He chose her as one of his top ten. I didn't even make his list. Sometimes I felt like I was invisible.

No one paid me much attention and when they did, it never seemed positive. My family treated me like the help and the only person who ever cared for me killed herself when I was fourteen. Anise cared for me too, but since my brother chose her, and he was able to pay for her hand in marriage, we have been distant.

She was busy planning her wedding in between classes and more dates with my brother and our fathers.

I wished I could plan my wedding. I knew in my heart of hearts that I wasn't going to be chosen this year. The boys I was paired with all gawked at me on the first date and then made polite conversations with my father and I for the rest of the date.

Daddy knew this. He was unhappy about it. He wasn't going to get paid for me this year and I had an inkling that we were running low on funds. Our pantry was growing thinner and the budget for my personal supplies was almost non-existent this past month.

The money situation coincided with Olly getting engaged, so I figured Anise cost my father and Olly a pretty penny. Even though it affected me a little, I was kind of proud that Anise was worth enough to make my Daddy worry wether I would get chosen or not.

"Miss Weirwood!"

I flinch as I look up at Mr. Atticus, blushing furiously as all eyes turned to me.

"Yes?"

"Are you finished staring at Rhys to tell us the first thing you would do for a laceration using your water elemental?"

I swallow hard as people begin to snicker. I glance at Rhys and see his face a pretty shade of pink as well as he turns in his seat and looks forward.

I give my answer, a wrong one since I wasn't paying attention and then glare down at my journal where I have all of my wedding plans written. Just because I don't get to choose the male, doesn't mean I'm not going to make it the best it can be. I doodle on the edge of the page until it's time to leave.

I hear people talking crap about me as i walk out of class and try not to think about it. I hurry out to my beat up old bug and close my eyes, feeling exhausted with my day.

The rest of my day goes well, I guess. My date was disappointing, though. He openly admitted to my father that he had some prospects for his top five women and I wasn't in the running. They talked about me as if wasn't there and when we got home, Daddy slapped me the hardest he had ever hit me.

His backhand sent me into the railing of the staircase and I feel just shy of cracking my head open against the corner of the bottom step.

"You're useless. Same as your mother. The only good thing she did was give me all of my sons. Go to your room and get out of my eyesight. I don't want to hear a peep out of you."

Suffice it to say, I didn't come out of my bedroom for the rest of the night. But that was okay. I stared at the blood at the corner of my mouth and the warm, red spot across the left side of my face. I was okay. It was what I had to tell myself every night before bed. Because if I didn't reassure myself, then I would fall into the darkness that tried to swallow me whenever things would go wrong. And as bad as things were sometimes, I couldn't help but hope for better.