#tkosas

(Amarande Pov)

The decorations for the wedding were hastily thrown together. The flowers and ribbons hardly tacked up in their places. The last-minute tendencies were clear. Everyone knew it. The guards, the nobels, the guests.

Despite the suspicions, no one objected against the ceremony occurring. The music was too peaceful for what was happening. No one was there to walk her down the aisle, so she pushed open the large double doors.

The guests in the pews all turned to face her. Renard glowered at her from across the room. He wanted her to cower, to obey. She wouldn't do that.

She tilted her head up high. Amarande wouldn't let them see her back down. She put more power into her step. The only noise in the large room was the wedding march and the thumping of her heavy boots.

The music slowed to a stop as she approached the alter. Renard's smile was slimy, not quite reaching his eyes. The ceremony continued as any royal wedding might. A star-born priest walked them through exchanging vows and rings.

Then came the kiss. As if the stars wanted to make her suffer, she caught Luca's eyes across the room. He was positioned in the back, clinging onto two of the pirates, the girl and the tall boy, like he couldn't hold himself upright if he tried. In his eyes shone pain, emotional and... physical.

She hesitated, but Luca nodded and Renard leaned in close to whisper, "Remember. You determine the stableboy's life. Choose wisely." He played it off with a smile. Just two young royals in love, but his words were more venomous than a hera asp's bite. It made Amarande's stomach turn.

She leaned into the kiss, forcing herself to bring her shaky hands up to Renard's face. If she could pretend herself through this, she could live the rest of her days as a symbol and only show up to look pretty. It wasn't a glamorous life, but it was better than any alternative.

All her plans and expectations about this marriage were questioned, however, as Renard's hand trailed towards her rear. A sharp squeeze caused the breath in her lungs to constrict. If it weren't for the crowd of people observing them, she would have shoved him away right then. His smirk at her horrified features when they pulled away was gleeful. He knew she couldn't do anything. She locked her jaw, unable to trust anything she may say.

The crowns of Pyrenee were placed upon both their heads. The crowd stood and clapped. Like seals. They were all following the motions expected of them. Only Renard—her husband—had any sort of power.

They were hustled into a dining hall for the reception. The only good thing about being a silent wife was that she was not expected to give a speech gushing over her new husband. Renard, however, made speech after speech over their 'love' and how powerful their kingdoms would be.

Amarande obediently clapped along and plastered smiles on her face. She had zoned out hours ago, it wasn't difficult. She had retreated deep into herself. She knew she'd have to get used to it. Why not practice now?

Deep into the night, she received an unexpected visitor, refilling her water glass. It was the pirate girl, Ula, to use her name, and Osana. Her fight kicked back up.

"What do you want," Amarande spat. They had been kinder, almost admiring, to her during their time traveling to the Bellringe, but considering her current position, she wasn't keen on trusting them.

"To help you, Princess," Ula responded. With all the trouble Amarande had gone through to be here, she ought to have been referred to as her technical title, queen. But this felt false, fake. She would do with the one label that still felt like hers. "We are in charge of Luca. At least currently. You'll be asked who you want your Lady's Maids to be. Say you want them to be us. I don’t mean to be dire, but we're the only ones here with your interests at heart."

Amarande wanted to argue. Wanted to send them away and curse their bloodlines for helping her get here, but she wasn't in a position to bargain. "Fine."

Ula and Osana nodded. "If all goes well, we'll see you soon," Ula told her.

They slunked back to the shadows, then sinking into the crowd. Before being swallowed back up by the other guests, Amarande caught eyes on her Luca. She moved to bolt to him, but her common sense kicked her back. He didn't didn't notice her, and going to him would risk them both too much.

As the reception wrapped up, the maids ushered Amarande out before she had the chance to potentially cause trouble. They changed her into silky purple nightwear and brushed through her hair. They deposited her into the Queen's Chambers, the lock clicking behind them as they left.

She sighed, bed creaking as she leaned onto the bed. This was her life now, she supposed. How foolish of her to assume she could haunt the palace in the night, prowling around in her own thoughts. Maybe as time passed, she would gain enough trust to traverse the castle on her own.

Amarande decided to wash up to keep her mind from spiraling. She plucked the nefarious aubergine rope off a hook and slipped it on over her clothes. She scrubbed her face by the sink, hoping to wash away all of the awful events of the day. So she didn't hear as her door clicked open

She padded back to her main room only to halt when she saw Renard leaning against her bedpost. They would have lots to talk about, so him showing up wasn't the shock. It was him bear chested that was concerning.

"What are you doing here?" She dared to challenge.

"Is it not our wedding night?" He teased.

"Just because we're married on paper, doesn't mean I agreed to this."

Renard approached her. Amarande backed up until she was flush against the wall. She pulled her knife out of her waistband as a last resort. She held it out at his throat.

He paused, glancing at the knife, then laughed. "You don't want to do that."

She allowed him to disarm her from her knife. What was she thinking? She would have gotten Luca killed if she followed through with that knife bit.

"Why are you doing this?" Her voice shook.

"A kingdom needs heirs, does it not?" He trailed down her body, eventually settling about her waist.

Her stomach soured. Amarande couldn't will her way out of this anymore. He was going to rape her. She was powerless against it if she wanted Luca to live. She breathed out a shaky breath. The only thing she could control now was her reaction. She wouldn't let him see her cry.

—————————————————————

After Renard left, Amarande laid on her plush bed, staring up at the canopy. She covered herself with her discarded robe, too mentally exhausted to dress herself back. In fact, she wanted to burn that nightgown. Seeing it there in the corner, taunting her, made her physically ill. It did nothing to protect her from the horrors Renard inflicted her. A knock on the door had her scrambling to decent herself, however.

"Go away!" She shouted. She hoped that since the person on the other side was polite enough to knock, they'd be polite enough to leave her alone.

"It's me, Princess," the person, Ula, called.

She weighed her options, deciding she'd risk it. "Come in."

Ula poked her head in, surveying Amarande's current state. "Sorry, I didn't realize you were indecent."

"No, you're fine." She wrapped the robe tighter around herself.

The bed groaned as Ula sat beside Amarande. "I was able to do some talking to the maids and Renard. They're allowing Osana and I to be your Lady's Maids." Amarande nodded. Ula must've been able to tell her heart wasn't in it. "Are you alright?"

Amarande opened her mouth to speak, but the only thing that came out was a squeak. Stars, her eyes started watering. The numbness that followed Renard taking advantage of her flushed away now.

Ula's brow furrowed. "Princess? Amarande?" She reached out a hand to place on her shoulder, but Amarande backed away.

"Don't touch me!" The words tumbled from her mouth before she could stop herself.

Recognition finally dawned on Ula's face. She took in all the details of the room. "Ohhh... Amarande."

Amarande furiously wiped at her eyes. "Please don't tell Luca. I don't want him to worry."

"I won't," she promised. "Do you want me to leave you be?"

Amarande shook her head, tears falling freely now. "Please don't. I'm scared he'll come back."

(Luca Pov)

His head swam even even though he sat in a plush dinner chair. The wedding was hard to watch. When he met Amarande's eyes during the ceremony, his heart shattered in two. Those vibrant sea green eyes had turned dull. Living turned to surviving.

He wished he could do something, but as it stood, he was helpless. He was too broken and battered to fight back. Taillefer would only knock him back down. Ula had gone to talk to Amarande about escaping the castle. As long as it may take, it was a plan

Laying low during the reception was his only option, not that he was strong enough to get up on his own. The burning in his chest kept him down. Urtzi brought him food, encouraging Luca to eat. He couldn't make himself.

His heart hurt. His body hurt. His mind hurt. A constant throbbing against his very being prevented coherent thoughts from establishing themselves.

He waited obediently for Taillefer to collect him. All adrenaline had left his bones. Luca couldn't even remember getting back down to his dungeon. He couldn't forget, however, the tightness of the bonds on his wrists and ankles.

"Please," Luca's voice was on its last leg. "I can't do this anymore."

Taillefer rolled his eyes. "Calm down. I'm not going to kill you. I'm not even going to use the fire swamp on you right now."

Luca couldn't even make himself respond. Couldn't watch as Taillefer approached him with a knife. Couldn't even cry out as that knife made contact with the meat on his shoulder.

It stung like hell. The gash wasn't deep, but it covered plenty of ground. He wouldn't put it past Taillefer to have coated the blade with an acid to make it more painful. The viscous blood beaded and spilled down his arm in trickles.

Taillefer took a damp cloth and wiped the excess blood. "If you hold still, this will be over quicker."

Luca's eyes tracked the needle in Taillefer's hand. "Why are you stitching me up?"

Taillefer sighed. "Like I said, I'm not killing you. I need to practice my stitches so that way I can ensure your survival in the future. A living specimen is much more difficult to work on than a dead one."

Luca's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. "What are you going to do to me?"

His smile was sinister. "Don't you worry your pretty face about it. It's nothing you won't recover from. I just need a live subject for a few of my experiments."

Taillefer moved to stitch up the gash. Luca stiffled his reaction. It wasn't the most painful thing he'd gone through. By far. But it still wasn't pleasant. By the tugging on his shoulder, he could tell these stitches weren't done cleanly. The jaggedness would scar. Knowing how precise Taillefer was, this was certainly on purpose. He wanted it to be as painful as possible, physically and emotionally.

He studied his handywork, squinting at the line of stitches. He turned to his desk, that looping script scribbling down his notes.

Taillefer is holding hemlock like the boss he is (also he has blood on him lol)

LET AMA BE VULNERABLE!!!!! Just bc she’s a smart capable strong woman doesn’t mean she can’t like. Breakdown in her man’s arms. Let them both cry together. I love Henning for playing into Ama’s strengths but I immediately realised that if ama cries or anything, it’s going to be seen as weakness. Unacceptable to me.

Ama’s hair is so so so fun to draw

Luca has earrings I don’t accept criticism

He also has scars on his arms from working tyyy

Ama and her beloved knife

(Ula Pov)

The Gatzal swayed in the inky sea, stars reflecting off the ever changing waves. Ula sat with her knees pulled to her chest to shield herself from the chilly night air. Urtzi had settled himself beside her on the deck. Their hands lightly brushed each other, but it was enough to anchor them to this position for the past hour or so.

Ula appreciated the nights like these. It was peaceful. She enjoyed being here with Urtzi and just watching the heavens above them. Although leaving their friends for such long stents of time was difficult on all of them, both her and Urtzi agreed they belonged on the sea. Maybe someday they'd join their friends in the Ardenian-Torrence territory for good, but for now, this is where they were needed, traveling the continent in search of adventure and purpose.

Urtzi tucked her hand into his large one. As clumsy as the big guy was, he was a lot more  gentle than he let on. He landed his lips upon her knuckles. She flushed at the show of affection.

He usually saved these tender moments for when they were alone, seeming embarrassed by the intimate gestures in public. Throughout their time on the ship together, he'd begun to shave off the harshness he'd acquired from Dunixi's influence. Learning that quiet moment was okay. He had come a long way since their days of pirating. They both had.

Urtzi sucked in a long breath. Still staring up to the stars, he said, "We should get married."

Ula froze, ice in her veins. It wasn't that she wasn't a fan of the commitment that came with a marriage. Her mind was settled on her decision long before she had come to that conclusion by her own devices. The question mostly caught her off guard. They'd discussed it a few times, and—she thought—they had come to an agreement that they didn't want any kingdom or government dealing in such a personal part of their lives.

She paused, choosing her words carefully so as not to come off in the wrong manner. "What happened to it 'just being a piece of paper'."

Urtzi shrugged. "Exactly. It's just a document. It's not like the stars hadn't already decided the outcome. Some priest saying a few words doesn't magically knit together the fate into the heavens. Who's to say we can't be married?"

A tentative smile etched onto Ula's face. "So what? Just go ahead and self proclaim, 'We're married!'? Is that what you are suggesting?"

"Yes."

"No symbol? No ceremony? No rings?"

"Yes. I mean... if that's something you'd like, it could be arranged, of course. But, yeah, that was the idea."

Her lips stretched into a wide grin. "I like that idea of yours. I knew you had some good ideas in that noggin of yours!"

He laughed, but it fizzled out into something more... shy. Quite the rare emotion to make an appearance on his face. "Well, I don't have rings, but I have something else."

Urtzi stood, holding out his hand for Ula to take. She accepted the offering, his strong arm pulling her to her feet. She followed him downstairs into the storage hold of the Gatzal. He pulled out a small wooden box, placing it atop one of  larger crates.

He pulled out two necklaces. They were identical, braided cord with a single terracotta bead each. On the redish dusty color was an intricate painting of a ship. Their ship. The Gatzal.

Ula felt a gasp escape her lips. She stretched out her fingers, gently encasing the delicate necklace in her cupped hand. "It's beautiful," she whispered. "Where could you have possibly aquired these?"

Color rushed to Urtzi's ears. "I had them commissioned while we were docked at our last stop."

Tears sprung in her eyes. "I love it."

"Here." He took the necklace back from her. "I'll put it on for you."

Ula turned around. Urtzi swept her braids away from her back to allow room to tie the knot. He carefully secured the cord in place, dropping a kiss down on her shoulder as he finished.

She then did the same for him. Having him lean down so she could take the necklace and knot it into place.

As he straightened back to his full height, Ula couldn't help pulling him immediately back down for a kiss. One, on lips oh so soft, as she had become accustomed to.

Ula couldn't help a giggle. "So husband and wife, huh? I think I could get used to that."