A Shade Darker ✔️

{Chapter Six}

The Wedding

June 5th, 2017

Mike

Our whole colony spreads out as far as I can see in the courtyard and back through the trees. Every pair of eyes on me is beginning to make me sick and more nervous by the second. In the hallways surrounding the courtyard I can hear doors closing and Ashley's voice struggling against a guard.

The door slams open and she's pushed out forcibly by the guard behind her. She looks frightened as all the eyes go to her now. She's looking around frantically until her eyes land on me. I managed deep breaths as the guard pushed her around like some animal.

My only thought was that she must have been resisting back in the hallways. Otherwise she would have been able to walk out here like a normal bride would. But her actions cause her the pain she deserves and the chains around her wrists as well.

I wonder if Liz has explained to Ashley the ritual of our marriage, but I can't dwell on it too much longer before Ashley is pushed up onto the platform with me.

She sends a glare back to the guard, her face red with anger and her eyes filled with a look that could kill.

The guard unlocks the chains around her wrists and she rubs them before I take her hands in mine.

She stares at me with her big brown eyes, so innocent and scared looking. I wonder why she had struggled in the hallways when she could be so well behaved before. When she controlled herself the way I did when I managed not to suck the blood from her neck.

The guard stands close by us, only a few feet away to ensure that she would not try to escape or cause harm. I almost prayed that she wouldn't disobey, for I've seen punishments many times before. The only thing keeping her alive would be her name as the Queen. I wondered how many scars on her back it would take for her to learn not to fight our ways.

Ashley is already resisting my grip on her hands, already pulling away. I stare at her deeply and pull them back towards me, increasing my grip until it hurt her. She winced and looked away from me.

Alex, my brother, is the one to make the marriage official as he takes his place next to us.

"We are gathered here tonight to witness a change. Diversity within our colony. Tonight, we witness the marriage of our new King and Queen. Bound together by love and blood. For our colony they shall thrive..." The first part is over. Ashley looks more frightened as the seconds pass.

I look at her now, able to admire her beauty. Liz has done Ashely's black hair up into a lose bun on the top of her head. Curls frame her face and makeup on her eyes defines the color of them. Her white dress, similar to the one she wore in the courtyard is all but modest. A thin slip under the sheer lace gown doesn't leave much, if anything to the imagination. Her breasts hang against her chest without a bra, the outline of them defined by the thin fabric covering them. Goosebumps complete the rest of all her visible skin, including her neck and collarbones. She isn't wearing shoes and the top of her head meets my chin. The wind blows and her nipples harden under her gown.

Her eyes are red and bloodshot. She had been fighting tears and sniffing them back for the past five minutes.

Ashley

I feel violated as he looks at me like I'm his next meal. And really, now I see the irony in it all. I could very well be his next meal if I was to disobey him. But I wanted nothing more than to run away, to find someway to escape and feel safe again.

Now I must marry him, and as I'm told, I must agree to consummate my marriage with him tonight. I will have to appear naked with only a sheet covering me, as I was told by Liz. But really, I supposed it couldn't be that bad compared to what I was wearing now. I didn't feel beautiful like Liz had called me. I felt like a hooker, like some cheap whore. I wondered if all the women were dressed like this when the time for marriage came. We were just tools to be used for the pleasure of our male companions.