The Black Witch

"Do you swear before the twelve gods to hold faithful to this union?" Asked the priestess. The almost rhetorical question reverberated through the temple. For an instant I could see the disdain buried in her deep hazel eyes. "I swear to them and the three above them." The scripted response cut through my vocal cords and grated against my throat. The priestess softened her gaze as she turned to my soon to be bride. The repeated question now came out with an infliction that was only an emphasis a way from a joke. "Do you swear before the twelve gods to hold faithful to this union?"

"I swear to them and the three above them." My brides sultry voice responded in kind. With the final oaths spoken we turned to one another and took one step forward. With only a foot between us; her face was all I could see. Her fake smile was laughably gorgeous, but it felt like a artisanal dagger was plunged into my gut. We exchanged a soft kiss, or so it seemed to those in attendance. It was but a quick brush of the edge of our lips. Touching her pouty lips brought me no joy. In the instant back to my proper posture our eyes met. Those soft violet eyes made no attempt to hide her distaste, they spoke her hearts truth. While the rest of her face tried to hide it. I knew the truth. All I could think was "I know my lonesome place in this society. It was implicit from the moment I arrived but it was plain to see. I will find no happines in this country, it is now my over glorified cage. I will be display piece to the rest of this god forsaken world and a pariah for all who liv in this cage with me." With that thought and those eyes I was married.

My bride and I locked arms and faced the crowd. As we started our exit a small smattering of confused clapping tried to make itself known. Only to be drowned out by the silent, resentful atmosphere. The two hundered or so foot walk out of the sanctum was too long. The ninety some steps felt like I was tasked with counting individual grains of sand on a beach. All the while with that dangerous smile directly to my left. At the end of the ardous trek we were ushered into a spacious carraige. The violet exterior and golden highlights made it seem more coffin than vehicle. My new wife dropped the weapon she wore one her face faster than I could smell the leather on the furnishings. The previously shy disdain for this whole situation was now in plain view across her whole face. She took only a moment to glare through me before turing her attention to the world outside the window. "Ah yes, this is the relationship I know. Never mind that painful smile from before. Here in this moment is her true nature" The thought felt so caustic that I thought my head would melt.

"If you play your role well in public and leave me alone at home this will go well. It's bad enough that I have to be with you in any capacity; don't make my sister believe I can't handle this. Do you understand me Elliot?" her voice broke the silence and her tone scraped the inside of my head. "I understand, Lora." "DO NOt say my name." Her falling yell accompanied the tuning of her head. "I guess its not a safe distance to yell quiet yet, huh?" I thought staring intently at the back of the seat directly across from me. Thus our brief exhcange ended with my wife Lora looking away from me and my eyes blankly focusing on that which was directly in front of me. The rest of the carriage ride was peaceful, the type of peace that exists between two bodering nations with completely opposing cultures. One where the outcome of a war is not a greater boon than the costs that would occur. Our war was cold but her hate for me held a heat that could be felt planets away. I'm sure even the gods felt it, but they had no intention of helping. The trotting of the horses pulling us to what was nominally our "home". They kept ryhtm as the song of the wheels rolling across the cobblestone road played the ode to my pain. "I'm sure Lora loves this song as it covers the sound of my breathing." As my thoughts turned to the things I would have to do to ensure that I stay alive and find some respite in this hell filled with beauty, the sound of the manor gates triggered a forced smile for the brief outside time where our marriage could be observed. I faced my wife and her eyes met me. Those disgusted eyes planted symmetrically on her face. Those large clear, honest eyes. Just as she could not hide the emotions in her eyes I am sure I couldn't hide it in mine as well.

We walked arm in arm to the entrance, as she pressed herself against me and smiled: I came to a realization. "I wonder if they selected staff that can keep a secret. If not we'll have to pretend to love each other so much that things will be even more toxic then they already are." The realization was followed by a subtle entrance into the manor and my wife's face reverting back to honesty. "Ah they took care of everything, but didn't tell me a damn thing." We were greeted by two maids and two female gaurds. My wife pulled herself away and the maids took her personal affects. I removed my coat and loosend the collar on my fromal wedding attire. In the time it took me to do so my wife and the maids were gone. It was just myself and the guards in the entry way. They both left one hand just above the hilt of their sword. Ready to draw at any moment and stike me down. I left the entryway and they followed. At the base of the stairs a third gaurd stood watch. When we made eye contact she tightened her posture even more so and let out the most intimdating voice she could "I will show you to your room and the designated wash room and lavatory that are reserved for you." There was a hint of fear in everything about her. "Thank you very much, and you need not to worry. I won't hurt you or anyone else here." I assured her trying to keep my voice as soft as possible. My words fell on deaf ears though. Her fear was replaced with indignation. " You won't becuase we won't let you. Do not try to fool me so that you have more room to do as you please." Her response was an attack, a declaration of war. It was brutal and concise. She took my attempt at easing her fear as an admittance of my guilt. Guilt for an act that I had not commited, guilt for an I act that I would not commit, but to her I was surely the would be perpetrator. "Very well, if you would show me to my room and the trainig grounds I would appreciate it." My voice lost any hint of gratitude or care. I began to think that apathy was the best way to handle any one I interacted with in this place.

The two gaurds from the entryway and my accuser followed me every where. They stood out front of the door to my room while I changed. On the way to the training grounds they were at most ten paces behind me. When we arrived my personal jailers stationed themselves with one each short side of the rectangular rusty field and one in front of the door that led there. I started with a few laps of around the space where each time I passed a guard there was visible increase of tension. After the sweat built up on my brow and under my loose fitting training shirt I moved onto strength training. The whole 2 hours I spent training the gaurds did not move. They were not distracted by any number of maids passing by or staring intently at me from the window. I was watched with a mixture of terror and curiosity. Surely these women who had never seen a man or fled from terrible men must have been perplexed by why I was here and what I was training for. Not that I blamed them but I knew better than to try to clear up any misunderstandings or questions. I knew after that first session that the training field would be my saving grace. As we left an odd mixture of relief and dread washed over me, I was leaving my sanctum. I pivoted briefly to look back at that beautifully desolate polygon only to see a single black crow standing on a puddle of sweat I left. "You might be the only one to have no problem touching something that came from me my dear crow." My thought directed to a crow it would never reach.

"You're right, at this time I am." A honeyed voice with a hint of rasp sounded in my head. I took three steps before the realization hit me. Pure instinct stopped my foot mid step and I pivoted one hundred eighty degrees. There stood the same crow, with its deep black eyes locked onto mine. For a moment it felt as though the entire world stopped. "Nice to meet you Elliot. I am the Black Witch Kuriga, you may call me Kuri. Although I suppose I should call you prince elliot." Her voice envoloped my head and my thoughts only surfaced in the slight rasp.