Silence Reigns

Chapter 9

Harps and bells began to sound from the courtyard she had grown to love over the years. Singing and dancing had begun somewhere far away, but all Erielle could do was stare lifelessly at her reflection in the mirror.

She would have lowered her defenses to call herself beautiful. The pearly white wedding gown she wore accentuated a graceful figure, even giving boost to her sparse bosom. The lace in place of the sleeves was delicate on her skin, the neckline sloping just below her collarbones. Her hair and billowed in plumes of loose curls about her face and over her shoulders; it was soft and gently brushed her skin.

But she could not do it for her life. She couldn't think of it—not now, not when she was about to live her nightmare in the daytime, in life. The last thing she wanted was to be beautiful for Edom of Landoness. She would rather die. But she had had no say in the matter, as Lady Helen had ordered the painting of her face, the curling of her hair, the arranging of her dress.

"My lady, are you ready?" asked the handmaid that had been assigned to her. She hadn't been granted the luxury of bringing Lydia with her.

"No," Erielle said, and rose from the seat to go to her fate.

The early light in the courtyard set the cherry blossoms in a faint pink glow that would have been beautiful, but now all Erielle felt was pain when she saw them. Her home was no longer hers. Nor was her life.

Citizens of Nond had gathered in the courtyard, and there were more than Erielle thought could possibly have heard about the wedding. She saw Edom standing at the end of the aisle, dressed in his finest. His smile when he saw her chilled her to the bone.

There was no flower girl, no ring bearer. Ransom's absence reminded her of what was at hand, and that she was becoming slave to the family who had threatened to kill hers. The priest behind Edom waited to seal her fate, and she looked over it all with an empty feeling of dread inside her.

As she walked down the aisle, her feet hung dead on her legs, and it took all her strength just to put one foot in front of the other. The music was distant in her ears as she began to tremble.

Then she was standing in front of Edom; the grip of his hands on hers sent repulsed tremors through her. She kept her gaze down at their clasped hands, unwilling to meet his deceitful eyes.

"Hello, wife," his smooth voice crooned close to her face. "How tense, but beautiful, you look."

How she hated him, feared him! She kept her tight-lipped silence.

The priest began to speak, and with each vow, another death toll rang in her heart. As she pledged herself to him, she also pledged her death, and a cold numbness took over her body.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Erielle shut her lips as tightly as she could while Edom's mouth covered them. Her body seemed to be falling apart as her soul was ripped from it—as Edom took the last bit of her dignity from her. At last, his lips released her.

Then her life ended as she became his wife.

The guests crowed in joy as Edom clenched her hand and pulled her down the aisle. The crowd moved to the drinks and dancing, singing and merriment, and Erielle felt her sanity slipping away.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Landoness announced, a glass of wine upraised his hand, "a toast to the happy couple."

Numerous glasses raised in the air in response.

"Today we witnessed the joining together of two conflicting sides. Rejoice in this victory. Drink, and be merry! The conflict in this kingdom has ceased, and with this marriage, peace will abound!"