Taming the Supernatural

~ TWO ~

The sun rose and shined through the thin drapes of the bedroom curtains. She rubbed her eyes, not being able to decipher wether or not yesterday was a dream. Did her father really find her a random lad to be her husband? Was she really being forced into a marriage she did not want? We're all girls forced into marriages they did not want? Did the boys face the same dilemma that she was facing right now? The young maiden let out a groan, her head was spinning from all this uncertainty. She got up and followed her usually morning routine; however, she did not pay much attention to her surroundings. She walked around dazed from the events of the day before. Her body was on autopilot.

She went downstairs to the kitchen to help her mother and grandmother prepare breakfast like she usually did; however, she did not greet them like she usually did. She silently did her part, not even her brothers made jokes. The kitchen was filled with a pregnant silence. Her father was at home, as it was the weekend. Even though the kitchen was full of people, she had never felt more alone than she did in that moment.

"Good morning, Sweet Pea," her father greeted, but his daughter did not respond. She only sat the table and stayed in her spot as her mother and grandmother brought breakfast. Everyone else around her made small talk with one another. No matter how many times they attempted to speak to her, she refused to respond. Her nightmare was real. There we not getting away from it, she did not have a way out. Her mother had sided with her father's decision, her grandmother had made no effort to try and talk her son out of his decision. However, she did not expect her brothers to do anything other than mock her. At least one thing was what she expected it to be. They quickly finished their breakfast and left to go do whatever it is they do with their friends every day.

The young maiden helped clean up the kitchen wordlessly. When she finished, she went back upstairs to her room. Right before she got a chance to lock herself in, her father stopped her door with a step of his foot. "Sweet Pea, you cannot remain silent forever. This will happen wether you like it or not. Why not be open to it? You knew your whole life that you will betrothed to someone of my choosing one day."

"But that is just it, Papa, I hoped that you would tell me who you had in mind and I would tell you who I had in mind and you could get the lad that I wanted," she sighed. "What if I loved another boy, would you change your mind? Would you allow me to marry him instead?"

"Well, it depends on his status, Sweet Pea. I have to take into account how much money, property, and animals he has. Could he sustain you, give you a proper home and make sure that you and your children would be able to live comfortable lives," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. To his daughter, it sounded like he was talking to a business partner, like she was just another contract.

"But what if the boy I loved was poor? What if he did not have any money, but we would both be able to work so that we could have a cozy home. We would have children whenever we deemed it right."

"No, that would be unfit. He would smear our family image. Our reputation would be ruined by that low class boy. You deserve a rich man who will make sure that his family is taken care of. You would forget about that poor delinquent and grow to love 3the husband that I have chosen for you."

"But Papa, what if I never love him? What if I remain miserable forever because I cannot stop thinking about my one true love? Do you want me to be miserable forever, Papa?" she exclaimed, her end goal being to end this arrangement.

"If you are so in love with someone who would only tarnish you, then I would make sure that you would never see him again. You are a child who does not know what is best for you-"

"And yet you deem me old enough to be a wife," she retorted.

Her father was stunned. Never in his life has she talked back to him like that. Sure she had a few smart remarks here and there, but she always waited for him to finish what he had to say and then calmly told him what she thought. He could not believe that his daughter spoke to him in the tone that she just did. "Sweet Pea, I do not appreciate your tone. I understand that you do not like me decision, but you will marry the lad I have chosen. He is coming over tonight for dinner with his father and mother. I suggest you behave. I know what is best for my children, you will do as I say."