AWAKENING HER DOOM

Chapter 1; MARRIED

Chapter 1; MARRIED

TEAL

"Get married to Madden Orlov and make yourself useful to the family"

Teal's eyes fluttered open, her father's emotionless voice echoing in her head.

The stool creaked silently as she stood, her heavy red robe feeling like shackles around her.

A part of her was happy, happy that she'ld be leaving this hellhole for good, but what was the feeling of unease gnawing at her.

Sighing, she ran her hand on the dress, loving the way it aligned her curves and shape, her dark hair falling to her butt in healthy waves. The unique jade jewelries on the dress shimmering under the bright rays of the morning sun filtering through the curtains.

According to the maids that dressed her, Madden had specially ordered the dress for her and that seemed to spark a little hope in her.

Just maybe this arranged marriage wasn't that bad at all, maybe Madden wasn't as bad as everyone thought.

It was known to everyone in Thornvale about the Demigod's past, about how his partner in his first life had betrayed him.

Whenever she heard people talking about it, it broke her in ways she couldn't explain, like she was there when it all happened.

"Teal"

The familiar voice sliced through the tensed air, pulling Teal out of her thought's. She turned, seeing Granny Ron standing by the doorway.

She's dressed in a perfectly tailored robe, her position as the palaces matriarch emitting in everywhere possible but most definitely not in those eyes that looked haunted as they met Teal's.

Teal walked to her without a word, a warm sign escaping her nostrils the second Granny Ron's warm hands wrapped around her. A year slipped out of Teal's eyes, hot, fast and silent, which she wiped away immediately. She knows the pain and guilt the poor old lady was carrying and right now, she can't add to it.

"How are you holding up, Mi Amor?" Granny Ron's voice broke through the silence. Soft yet rougher than usual-like she was holding herself back from breaking.

Teal forced a tight smile that barely reached her eyes. "I'm fine, Granny. It's a big day for me today, right? So am happy"

The lie tastes bitter than vinegar on her tounge, and Granny Ron knows, she sees through Teal's lies with the weather jaws tightened as she reached out to cup Teal's cheek, her touch took soft, like she was afraid to hold her.

"You don't have to do this, we can find another way. I can help you escape?..."

"No!" Teal cut her of, her voice firm and sharper than she intended.

"We both know there's no other way"

Came Teal's soft reply.

Granny Ron's face crumples, the weight of the truth pressing down on her. She's the only true family that cared about her since the day she was born. She was the one who held Teal through every pain, every punishment, every torment. And now she has promised to repay her favour through every means possible, even if it means getting married to hell.

Tears bream at the corners of Granny Ron's eyes, and for the first time ever, Teal watched her break. Granny Ron- the woman who never flinched when havoc struck, the woman who stood tall as the matriarch of the palace is crying.

Teal swallowed down the urge to scream, and question the heavens for putting her in this mess.

"Granny" she whispered, grabbing a tissue from the dresser and dabbing at the old lady's eyes.

"You were always dreaming about your wedding day when u were little" Granny Ron says, her voice wavering "The dress, the congregation and mostly the freedom was all you ever talked about"

"That was before I knew what the word is like" Teal mutters with a bitter Smile, the ache in her chest spreading.

Granny Ron shakes her head, pulling Teal closer "The world may be ugly, but your dreams are still yours. I had sworn to protect you from all of this. Not" her voice breaks "make you pay for my mistakes"

And like a broken barrel of pent up pain, tears spill out, hot and fast running down Teal's cheek in streaks "I'll be fine" she manages to say, her voice cracking with nostilaga, even though it was a lie. A lie she's been telling herself since the beginning of this nightmare.

Granny Ron's hand drops to her side, the look in her eyes shattering Teal into a million pieces.

Teal had always dreamt of her wedding to be a day filled with light, love and laughter. She had always imagined herself walking down the isle, dressed like a princess towards a man who looked at her as if she was his source of existence.

Instead, she would be promising herself to a stranger in a few minutes- a man she's marrying not for love, but as a collecteral, a replacement for whatever her parents owed the demigod.

Granny Ron stepped back, avoiding eye contact "I should probably get going" She say's her voice uncertain.

Teal nods her head gently, with a sniff. Granny Ron pulls her into one last hug "I'll see you at the Grand hall" She whispers.

Kissing her cheek, Teal watched helplessly as the door closed behind her. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, burying her face in her hands.

*

The heavy golden doors swung open widely. And after series of deep breaths, Teal stepped into the hall with her father, Damien, smiling like the most happiest father in the world.

They walked down the aisle together, each step fueling the panic that surged through her.

Faces blur in her vision- Her mother, who's grinning from ear to ear like she'd just won a lottery, her twin brother who has a satisfied smirk on his face, then her only family, Granny Ron whose seating silently on her respective seat, fist clenched tightly.

Teal kept her gaze forward, locked on the man standing at the alter.

Madden Orlov.

He exudes the aura and the stature of a Demigod's. His broad, muscular frame towering over the priest, wearing a long black royal robe, curly dark hair falling over her to his shoulder's. He's barefooted so Teal was opportuned to see a pretty small silver ring fixed on one of his big toe fingers and a black and gold meteorite bracelet on his right wrist.

Madden Orlov. The Bastard Demigod Of The Grand Palace.

His frosty blue eyes rolled to Teal, and Teal was fast to duck her head to the ground, suddenly finding intrest in her golden slippers.

On getting to the alter, they kowtowed to each other, the hall settling in silence. The vows came and go, Teal's voice sounding distant and hollow, while his were short and clipped.

"And now," the priest announces"I pronounce you husband and wife"

The room erupts in applause, Teal's hands trembling as she clasped them together, trying to steady her racing heart and the bitter fact that she now belonged under the mercy of the devil.

Outside the chapel, Madden's hand slipped from Teal's and without a word, he vanished leaving Teal standing helplessly amongst the crowd.

Tears burn at the corners of her eyes, but she forced them back, smiling through it all.

Now she was married!

Married to a man who couldn't even stay by her side after the ceremony.