Fae Nuptials: The Witch

Chrys: Chapter Four

Chrys

I couldn't stop thinking of what was happening. I was taken. I was given a pelvic exam and measured. No one would help me. As much as I asked, they all ignored me.

The woman came back again and showed me three pairs of white heels. Then she ran her hands through my hair and muttered to herself about whether she should put it up or leave it down.

Every single time, I tried to convince her that I needed to get home.

"My brothers need me," I told her quietly while she played with my hair. "They have absolutely no skills in the kitchen and my father won't let them either. It's beneath a Fae male to work in the kitchen. They will starve without me."

"They are fine."

"You've heard from them? Is my dad mad? Can I talk to him? Are my brothers okay?"

She gives me a small smile. "All is well. You're fine where you are. Do you prefer your hair up or down?"

I refused to talk to her after that. Instead, I just pressed my lips together and walked away from her. She left then and I was alone until a man, a different one from the morning, brought me dinner. I couldn't eat a bite.

I wanted to go home. I wanted to sleep in my bed and eat in my kitchen and hear the boys fighting over stupid, childish things. I wanted to see Olly's stupid smirk and just be there.

I thought of the reason why they would be prepping me and only came to one solution. I was chosen. I just never heard of a woman getting taken from her family when this happened. Anise wasn't. She was still with her parents and going to school. And would my partner want me if my rank points dropped because they were keeping me?

Daddy would have mentioned it, right? He would have told me of the offer. He wouldn't have been mean to me then. He would have been beaming from the money that was offered for my hand. Unless they didn't offer as much as he wanted?

It wouldn't surprise me. I was too thin. My breasts were too small and my hips were too wide. I had an average face. The only feature I liked about myself was my matching hair and eyes. They were the best part of me.

I also hadn't spoken to the men that much. They usually spoke to my father unless they were trying to get on my good side. Which was never. As I thought about it, not once did any of them engage me in any meaningful conversation. I didn't think it was unheard of but maybe I was just me. They didn't like me. I wasn't the most powerful. I'm sure that's what they were after. But I did have power.

I sat bored and angry in my room after she left and conjured up balls of fire in my hands and doused them with water. I made tiny tornados and grew flowers up from the carpet. I turned the TV on and then turned it back off after I couldn't find anything that held my attention for longer than a minute.

When night fell, I couldn't sleep. I couldn't force myself to think of what would come next if anything. From what I endured already, I knew something was going to happen, I just didn't know when and that was what was driving me insane.

When morning came, I had only a few hours of sleep before my bedroom door opened and a team of Fae women came in, led by the woman who came to me the day before.

"Up up up! We have a long day ahead of us!" She sang in a cheery voice. It instantly angered me as she flung my blankets off of me. I wanted to hit her. I wasn't a violent person, but the urge was strong. She wasn't being forced into doing the same sh*t as I was.

I glared at her and instead grabbed my blanket and laid back down. "No. I don't want to."

The room goes quiet as everyone stops moving around. I squeeze my eyes shut and hold on to my blankets hard.

I feel her breath on my cheek and feel her lean over me. "Darling, don't test me today. My job is to get you where we're going on time and that's what's going to happen. Yesterday it was cute, but today you will piss me off if you don't comply, okay?"

Gone was the sweet face and soft smile, replaced with a cold hard mask. Her eyes were lavender steel and her jaw was hard. She looked completely different than what she had before and it kind of scared me a little.

"What's happening today?"

She sits up, away from my face, and beams, transforming back into the sweet, kind woman she was before.

"You will find out in about four hours. Now get up. We have a lot to do."

Her minions fussed with my hair and nails for a couple of hours, adding length and French tips. My hair was pulled and combed and sprayed up into some intricate bun with silver wisps of hair curling around my face and neck.

An hour before we were due to go anywhere, the woman brought in a large garment bag and set it carefully on the bed. She unzipped it and my heart pounded as I stared at the beautiful wedding dress inside.

My eyes teared up and one of her assistants gasped and began dabbing at my made-up face. The woman stared at me with a small smile and raised her eyebrows. "You like?"

I had no words. I always wanted the experience of picking a dress of my own and doing all of the bridal things that Anise was doing. I wanted to try on dresses with my friends (Just Anise) and sip on champagne as we laughed. I wanted the bridal party and the gifts and people fawning over the ring that my fiancé gave me when he chose me.

And now...just like everything else, this was taken from me. It was beautiful, I couldn't lie, but I wished I had picked it myself. I wish they had allowed me to do the things I had always wanted to do.

I just nod, swallowing the hard lump in my throat, and step closer. She takes it out and the emotions inside of me go haywire. I am getting married.

I don't even know if my family will be there. Did they invite Anise and my brothers? Was Daddy walking me down the aisle and giving me away? And who in the hell chose me?

Those thoughts swam in my head like toxic little jellyfish as I slipped into the silky dress. It was not modest. As soon as it was pulled up all the way, my cheeks flamed. My breasts were pushed up in the cups I was given, just enough to cover my breasts and emphasized more in the dress. The skirt was long but the back left little to the imagination, stopping right above the crack of my ass, showing off my entire spine.

I loved it and I hated it at the same time. Daddy would kill me if he ever saw me in this. He would call me names and embarrass me in front of everyone. It was too revealing. But I felt beautiful for once in my life. My skin glowed and I looked like someone else entirely. I lifted my chin and swallowed the thick lump lodged in my throat.

The woman smiled at me through the mirror. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you."

There was no more chatting after that. We put on the shoes I picked out and she kept looking at her watch and instructing her people to touch up my makeup and move stray hairs away from my face.

I stared at myself the entire time, wondering what I was in for. Obviously I was getting married. But what I didn't know was driving me insane. Which Fae male would I end up with? Was he a good man? Would he care for me, love me the way I have always dreamed of?

The team of Fae the woman brought with her filed out and my palms began to sweat. I didn't know the time. I knew we were here all morning and my lunch was brought to me what felt like a few hours ago.

I was scared. I felt my breaths come out a little quicker as the woman took my hand and began leading me to the door. I didn't mean to, but I yanked my hand from her grip. She turned to me, her small smile fading and her eyebrows jumping up her forehead.

"We need to get going. It's time."

"Wait. I..." I swallow hard and feel my stomach twists with anxiety. I look around the room and see all of the clothes I had been wearing these last couple of days in a heap in the corner of the room. "Am I coming back?"

She presses her lips together and shake her head. "No."

I nod and nod my chin at the clothes. "What about those?"

"Where you're going, you won't need those. You will be provided for."

I nod again and feel my eyes burned. "What's your name?"

She quirks an eyebrow. "I didn't tell you when we met?"

I shake my head and her smile returns. It's warm but I know it's false.

"Laurel." She says and takes my hand again. I nod and bite my lip.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Why?"

I frown and press my lips together, wondering if I should just bite my tongue or tell her the truth.

"I guess because I want to be able to think of all of the people that could have helped me but didn't if this goes badly. To curse your name if my husband turns out to be worse than what I've witnessed before. Or praise you if not."

Laurel's smile falls and she yanks my arm. She says nothing else as she leads me into the hallway, flanked by a few beefy male Fae bodyguards.

We make it downstairs and to a hallway. There are giant doors and she leads me to one of them. Music starts to play on the other side and I feel like I'm going to vomit.

When the doors open, she steps out of sight and I'm left alone, standing on the opposite end of a long white aisle.

There are pews on either side of the aisle and people I don't know sitting along them, wearing fancy clothes. I search the many, pale faces, looking for my family. But there are none. I don't see Olly or my father or Oak and Elm. I don't see Anise or even anyone from school.

Everyone stares at me and I feel faint. It isn't until I look to the very front that my breath catches.

My eyes skim over the tall, blonde male standing where my soon to be husband should be standing. He's not Fae. His eyes, as far as I am from him, are cobalt blue and his skin a perfect golden tan.

My heart sped up in my chest and I felt a smile rise on my lips. He wasn't Fae. My husband wasn't going to be a Fae man.

I probably should have questioned why I was marrying outside of our species, but being the stupid, naive girl I was, it never occurred to me that it wasn't right. All I thought was that I was finally going to be free.