Married For Magic

Dahlia stared at her reflection lifelessly. She smoothed the hair from her face and blinked back a single tear. "Come now, Mrs. Bailey. Your limo is outside and you wouldn't want to keep your groom waiting, would you?" Dahlia continued to stare vacantly into the mirror. The handmaiden who had spoken earlier sighed and curtsied. "Forgive my being out of line, my lady. But...you'll make it a lot easier for both yourself and us if you get this over with. My apologies, my lady." Dahlia nodded slowly, and the handmaiden held out a hand. Dahlia grabbed it and stood, steadying herself for a moment. Her dark brown hair settled around her face messily, and tumbled down her chest framing the sweetheart neckline of her ivory wedding gown. The handmaiden smiled at her. "If it helps, you look stunning, my lady." Dahlia glanced back in the mirror. She wished she were the ugliest girl in the world right now. She wanted to look the way she felt; dirty and betrayed. She fought back the urge to wipe her face clean, and stain her pure white dress with red wine. She allowed the handmaiden to slowly guide her out of the bridal suite and into the hallway. Either side was lined with handmaidens and security, some from Dahlia's family and some from the groom's. Dahlia suppressed the urge to gag. There was nothing romantic about today. How could there be, when she was forced to marry someone she had just met? Dahlia looked around at the various body guards, all of whom were staring directly at her. She wondered if the others before her had tried running away, or worse. "Why is security watching me like that?" The handmaiden's smile faltered for a moment but she quickly collected herself. "It's nothing to worry about, sweetheart, it's just, given Mr. Bailey's position...it's important to ensure your safety. I'm sure you could agree with that." Dahlia gave the maid a little nod and continued down the hallway and out into the foyer. Normally, a wedding this size would be held at a church or some other ridiculously fancy venue. However, since this was an extremely high profile wedding, the Bailey's had offered to host it here in their lavish mansion, with the reception being held at their private club. Dahlia looked up, taking in the nearly two-story chandelier. The maid smiled and gave her hand a squeeze before leaving Dahlia on her own. "Sweetie, come here. Let me get one last look at you! You look marvelous, you know, such a beautiful bride. I just can't believe you're officially married to Antonio Bailey. What a dream." Dahlia looked up to find her mother smiling at her from ear to ear, her father trailed mindlessly behind her. "Don't speak to me. You lost that right the moment you sold me into a marriage I never wanted." Dahlia's mother looked momentarily horrified before collecting her composure. Her father, however, was now scowling furiously. "I won't hear another word, Dahlia. We have given you everything you could ever want in this life. This wedding alone cost half of our fortune. You will continue our bloodline and be an honorable bride to the Bailey family. Do you understand me?" Dahlia choked back tears and shook her head. "Fine, but know this; you lost a daughter today. If you want me to be a Bailey so badly, that's what I'll be. I will never be your daughter again." Dahlia turned and lifted her skirt, moving as quickly as she could toward the front door. A few butlers and maids called after her, begging her to allow them to help. She ignored them all, and pushed through the heavy wooden doors. Outside it was much calmer, the guests were all still inside and only a few maids lingered near the limo waiting to help her in. Dahlia dashed down the stairs and past the maids, flinging open the limo door and slipping in. She took a deep breath and held her head in her hands for a moment. "Are you...are you okay, Dahlia?" Dahlia gasped and lifted her head to see her now husband peering at her from the other end of the limo. She stared at him incredulously. Today was the first day they had met, and their ceremony had been incredibly conservative. They weren't allowed to see each other beforehand, or be alone afterwards, and the ceremony did not include any acts of intimacy. Immediately afterwards, the two were ushered off by maids to attend to general family business and greetings. The longer Dahlia thought about it, the more she realized she had barely seen his face until now. She studied him closely, he was definitely handsome. He had dark brown hair, and deep emerald eyes, with a cleanly trimmed beard. He had loosened the neck of his tux and was leaning in the corner sipping from a champagne flute. Dahlia wiped a tear from her eye and glared up at him. "Don't you dare try to pretend to be sympathetic to me now. No honorable man would take a bride he knew didn't want him." Dahlia spat the words at him viciously, shaking her head in violent disapproval. Antonio seemed rather unfazed, simply raising an eyebrow. "Is that so? What gave you the impression that I wanted this marriage anymore than you did?" Dahlia scoffed. "Please, a man who's been married five times hardly strikes me as honorable or considerate of his bride's feelings." Antonio rolled his eyes and leaned backwards, allowing his head to flop over the seat. "I can assure you, you know nothing of me or my honor, Dahlia, or should I call you Mrs. Bailey now? Either way, I would advise you to mind your tongue about matters you know nothing of." It was Dahlia's turn to roll her eyes now. "Yes, of course, my lord. I wouldn't dare to disrespect you in your own limo now, would I?" Antonio audibly groaned. "You know I didn't mean it that way. I just meant to keep things polite. This is off to a great start isn't it? Well, at least you're not crying anymore." Dahlia gasped softly and wiped the remaining tear stains from her face. She sat silent for a moment. "Did you mean what you said? About not wanting to marry me either?" Dahlia sat in perfect stillness, her gaze fixed on the floor of the limo as she awaited his response. Antonio sighed. "Of course I did. Who wants a wife who doesn't want them?" Dahlia swallowed a rush of nausea, taking a deep breath. "Then I'm sorry. I didn't know." Antonio shrugged. "How could you have known? If they'd let us meet before hand..." Antonio trailed off, staring out the window. Dahlia cleared her throat, suddenly eager to change the subject. "So what now? We're heading to the reception, right? And after that...?" Antonio nodded. "Seems like it. We'll be attending the reception at our club in the country and then I suppose we'll be expected to honeymoon at the country estate." Dahlia nodded slowly. Antonio carried on. "The reception should go by without problems, we'll eat, accept gifts and toasts, then I'll tell everyone your feel ill from the limo ride and we should be able to return to our estate without an issue." Dahlia frowned. "Why shouldn't we stay for the whole reception?" Antonio raised another quizzical eyebrow. "Well, unless you intend to dance with the entire extended family, I would suggest we turn in early." Dahlia smiled softly. "Fine then." Antonio glanced around as the limo slowly began to pull out of the driveway. "It's about an hour's drive to the countryside. Perhaps we should use this time to get to know each other a bit." Dahlia sighed and stared out the window. "I'm afraid there isn't much to know about me. Your family, mine as well, made sure of that." Antonio's gaze fell to the floor. "I'm sorry." Dahlia chuckled. "Don't be. Being a family in waiting is a privilege, I suppose. I may not know what my favorite color is, or favorite author, but I was afforded comfort beyond imagination. My family, at least, is well off." Antonio sat silently for a moment. "Is it truly so terrible to be a family in waiting? I hear more pain in your voice than appreciation." Dahlia shook her head lightly. "It doesn't change much, actually. Being born into a family in waiting only means one day I might be considered to be a royal wife. My family, they were the ones who made sure my every waking moment was consumed by that goal. I can't possibly blame your family for that." Antonio let out a deep puff of air. "Somehow, I still feel responsible." Dahlia slid closer to him on the bench and peered at Antonio's sullen expression. "I didn't believe you at first...but I do now. If you were forced into this marriage just as much as I was, then you have nothing to apologize for. I'm sorry if I misjudged you earlier." To Dahlia's surprise, Antonio threw his head back and laughed heartily. "I appreciate that Dahlia. It's been a long while since anyone looked at me as the victim of anything other than nepotism." Dahlia now found herself laughing as well. The two carried on laughing, enjoying the brief moment of joy, until a light bump in the road launched Dahlia across Antonio's lap. Dahlia's faced immediately turned several shades of bright red as she peered up at Antonio from his lap. Antonio stifled a laugh, but was unable to stifle the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Mrs. Bailey, please, we haven't even made it to the honeymoon suite!" Antonio snickered to himself as he helped Dahlia back into her seat. "You know, this is actually why they invented seatbelts." Antonio turned to Dahlia still chuckling, only to find Dahlia sitting eerily still with a single tear sliding down her cheek. "Dahlia, what's the matter? Hey, are you okay? Were you hurt?" Antonio quickly slid down the bench, placing a firm but comforting arm around her shoulders. Still, Dahlia continued to sit in silence. Antonio, beginning to grow worried, grasped Dahlia's face between his hands and turned it towards him. "I hate you.." Dahlia mumbled the words softly between sobs. Antonio felt something overcome him as he lost himself in her glossy eyes. . "You're beautiful." Antonio stared at her intensely, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I...I ripped my dress." Dahlia choked the words out between more sobs. Antonio shushed her and pressed her forehead to his chest. "It's okay, it's okay. It's just a dress. If you feel uncomfortable, I'll have the maids grab you something to change into as soon as we arrive. Okay?" Dahlia shook her head vigorously, more tears streaming down her face. "No, no, my family had this dress specially ordered and if they find out..." Dahlia began to sob even harder this time. Antonio pulled her away from his chest and stared her squarely in the eyes. "I don't know what your family has done to you to make you react this way...but I need to make something clear." Dahlia wiped her eyes and peered up at Antonio, nodding for him to go on. "You do not belong to them anymore. Do you hear me? You belong to me now, and I promise to protect you in every way physically possible." Dahlia gasped, staring up at Antonio with glossy eyes. Antonio carried on without hesitation. "You are my wife now, and I am a duke. If anyone so much as breathes disrespectfully in your vicinity, they will be dealt with accordingly." With that, Antonio pressed Dahlia's head to his chest again and sat quietly rubbing her hair as they made their way toward the reception. Dahlia sighed contentedly. She thought to herself, maybe she had misjudged the duke entirely. How could a cruel or unfeeling man say such kind words? Though he had been kind and warm to her, she could tell he had meant to make good on his threat earlier. She closed her eyes and tried to push down the rising questions about her new husband. For now, she would simply enjoy the warmth of his strong arms and the comfort of his steady heartbeat.