His Princess || Draco Malfoy

Chapter 5

The next two weeks passed quickly. Despite my greatest efforts, I could not come up with a way to get out of the wedding. I was certain that if I tried anything, they'd just end up using the Imperius curse on me anyway. They wouldn't be above using an unforgivable curse on their daughter. 

Evidently, Draco couldn't either. I could tell by the way he was standing at the end of the aisle, jaw clenched. Despite his clear anger, he looked nice. As nice as weasels like him can look, I suppose. He wore a black three-piece suit with a white flower pinned to the lapel. I was glad that I got to see him before we got married. Maybe there was hope for escape yet.

Our parents were smart enough not to leave us alone. I could only imagine what Draco had done to try to get out of this. Regardless, my mother and Narcissa Malfoy sat together in the room with us. They spoke in hushed tones. Nothing I could hear. Nothing I cared to hear. 

Draco and I stood in relative silence, accepting the reality of our situation. I stood in the beautiful black dress I had tried on weeks prior, my long brown hair tied up in a bun with the front pieces loose, baby's breath intwined into the intentionally messy bun. The veil was a carefully crafted black lace. In any other circumstance, I would have appreciated the beauty of it more. In one hand, I loosely held a bouquet of white flowers. 

My eyes were planted on a window to my right. Every fiber of my being screamed at me to run, to jump out the window and run far away from this place. A glance at Draco told me he was thinking the same thing. A glance at our mothers reminded me it was a bad idea.

The venue was a haunting sort of beautiful. The interior was (you guessed it) black, lit candles floating throughout. I had seen the grand hall I was to be married in when we had arrived. It was decorated to the nines, the long aisle ending with an arch where I was to stand with Draco. I hadn't expected it to be as big as it was. I wasn't sure who was going to be there, but it was certainly more people that I knew. Not that the guest list was determined by who I would have wanted there.

I surprised myself with the amount of sympathy I felt for Draco. Neither of us wanted this, he had made that clear enough. We were both trapped, but there seemed to be a silent understanding that at the very least, we were trapped together.

Neither of us came up with a last minute escape plan. Our fathers came back into the room to fetch Draco after a few minutes. He gave me a sorrowful look as he left with them. No words were needed between us. I understood.

Not long after, my mother took me out of the room to join Draco. We walked to the grand set of doors that hid the aisle from view. I looked at my mother, hoping to see any form of sympathy in her eyes. She was my last chance. Nothing. 

"Please don't make me do this, Mother," I croaked, the tears forming in my eyes. "Please." 

She didn't even look at me.

"This is for your own good, Y/N. For the family."

The doors swung open as the wedding march began. I watched as the guests stood up and turned to look at me. The aisle was infinitely longer than it had been earlier. Sweat pooled in my hands. My tear-filled eyes remained on the ground as I trudged down the aisle. My mother walked with me, her hand gripping tightly onto my arm. After an eternity, the music ended and I found myself standing face to face with Draco. I didn't look at him. I couldn't. A single tear streamed down my face. I felt a hand wipe it away. I glanced up, seeing the hand belonged to Draco. Our eyes met, and suddenly the world around me melted away and the only thing that mattered was the hand on my cheek. 

He withdrew his hand rather suddenly. He broke the eye contact and looked at the priest.

I didn't pay much attention to what the priest said. My mind was on the horrible future that awaited me, a future rapidly approaching. 

".....and do you, Y/N Nightingale, take Draco Malfoy to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

The tears immediately collected in my eyes once again. I saw my parents sitting together in the first row. They looked at me expectantly. I looked into the crowd of people behind them. I hardly recognized any of them. I hoped any one of them would jump up and stop this madness, but alas, I've never been that lucky. Finally, my gaze landed on Draco. He didn't look back at me. He had a faraway look about him, a silent resignation behind his icy blue orbs. 

"Miss Nightingale?" The whispered voice of the priest brought me back to reality.

"I do." I whispered.