Setting
Shockingly enough she soon found out that the marriage wasn't even the worst part. There was to apparently be no sanctuary for her [or anyone else], upon arriving back in her quarters she found it half empty. The other twist to the marriage was the apparent moving of their rooms in an attempt to solidify the marriages quicker - they were forcing each child out of their comfort zone in an attempt for make the couples...friendlier. Fry snarled at the thought, how dare they take the one place she was going to feel comfortable in away. After all she had already planned from the second she left the meeting to hide in her room as often as possible, the shadows at her feet started to swirl around as servants came to move more furniture. The second they crossed the threshold into her room they were gone screaming as shadowy holes opened up below them, causing them to fall. For a few hours the move was halted but Fry had other duties to take care of and was forced to allow it all to continue.
Bright eyes stared out the unfamiliar window, watching as the branches were pushed around in the light wind of the day. The month had passed quickly, giving her almost no time to prepare the arrival of the flood of fiances. Some of the children were to marry high ranking officials and noblemen while others were to marry actual [though she used the term loosely] royalty. The idea was still absurd to her. There was a panic mess currently through out the castle as her father announced last minute that he wanted to honor their guests with a ball, the man was slowly becoming hard to read. This was the first time she had ever seen this side of him honestly she was fairly sure that it was the same for everyone. Scrunching her nose a little bit she tried to figure out what was setting him down this path, he actually seemed happy to be forcing his children into this arrangement, she was fairly sure she had seen him smile - actually genuinely smile a month ago when he told them his plans. Of course the man had showed emotion through out the years but this seemed different, she wasn't sure what was making him act this way. Maybe this was all part of some sick game but it was going to give her a headache if she actually tried to figure it out. Gently rubbing the side of her head slowly the assassin moved away from the window and towards her vanity, thankful that the idiots hadn't damaged the old wood in the move. She might have shadowed it over herself but honestly she was still scared to damage it, smiling as she ran fingers over the obvious years - probably decades of wear thinking of her mother once more. It seemed most of what she owned were pass downs from the woman, it wasn't as if her brothers needed any of it. The only thing it did was make her want for her mother even worse.
Thankfully getting herself ready was a short process. Fryda was never one to draw attention to herself, make up was rarely anything she bothered with. The only thing she did was pull her long black hair into a high pony tail that still reached her waist at it's longest length and add some eyeliner to draw more attention to her already unique eyes. Donned in her usual lace finally the youngest of her family emerged from her room to the unfamiliar hallway, while it looked like all the others in the castle she was still having a hard time adjusting the change. She knew everything about the hallways she normally walked in, every corner had been touched with her shadows - every little crack was known, everything. Here she knew nothing, she was still learning and while she had hoped she know all of it by now it seemed it was impossible as a shadow slowly moved touching every stone, she was still finding new areas. It made her feel uneasy. This continued until she reached the doors to the ballroom, it was easy to hear the bustling of people behind it and a small sigh escaped her lips.
Pushing the large door open, she looked around at the other siblings in with the walls. Those there were among the few that were to be married to the nobles of the varying lands around them, only a select few were to marry the royalty. Those were the ones she'd much rather speak to, biting the inside of her lip she looked around the room once more, grabbing a glass of a tray as a servant quickly walked by. This was the main thing she enjoyed from these parties, the champagne and wine supply always seemed to be infinite. For now she would stand off to the side, those she wanted to would find her and she honestly hoped they didn't take too long. Taking a sip from her glass she quickly finished it before grabbing another, snarling at the servant to send them scampering away, laughing a little as she watched him.
When Otho, along with a few of her other high ranking siblings, were called forward by their father she at first assumed they were going to war again. But this was a situation of the completely opposite.
Marriage
The word dripped over her tongue like stale wine. Otho hadn't thought about marriage since she was 19 years of age. To be honest it wasn't that different of an issue. It was going to be an arranged marriage then and it would be as well now. The only difference being this time she would have to follow through with it. However she felt nothing. As usual Otho just saw this as another business arrangement. Her and her selected partner would be bonded together and then produce an heir and nothing more.
"That is just simply how the world works." she thought to herself as her father went through the specifics of everything to come in just a months time. She herself began making a few plans of her own, preparing herself to the new shift in her lifestyle that she was going to have to par take in. Then something strange happened. Otho felt a pang of dread deep rooted and un-moving from her stomach as a single thought suddenly chilled her bones.
She would be becoming a mother.
Otho had never thought of this before because it had never been a pressing topic. But now she realized she had no desire what so ever to produce a child. Not even from a business point of view. She growled softly to herself as the thought persisted. With her experiences with her own mother, motherhood left a sour taste in her mouth. Her cheeks flushed and she gritted her teeth as she saw more and more similarities between herself and that wretched woman.
Otho had no love in her and she highly doubted she could love even her own child. Like she's said before, it's all business. The child would be trained from birth to one day take over her position. Her own child's life would not be any different than her own and this angered her immensely. She figured this was why she didn't want children. That small shred of kindness in her wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone but at the same time Otho could not change who she was and had become. So what better way to avoid that situation than by never having a child in the first place?
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When Otho eventually made it back to her quarters her anger grew as she found everything to be scattered and out of place. All of her stuff was being removed and things were not as she liked it. All her eyes saw was chaos. The servants bustling around her kept their heads low and trained on the floor as they went about their instructed duties, fearing the wrath near boiling under her skin.
"If you know what's good for you leave at once. I will do this myself." She ordered in a strong and biting voice. With shaking hands they all set down their projects and bee lined silently out the door which she violently slammed shut behind them. She growled and sighed, rubbing the stress from her face as she moved over to her bed. she set herself down on the side of the giant cushion and looked around her. Progress was being made to move her from this spot. She could tell that now. She also knew why her father had failed to mention this little bit of the arrangement. He most likely knew most if not all of them would be highly opposed to this if given the chance to refuse.
However if she were to keep her sanity then everything would have to be in prefect order. Something which a handful of scrambling servants could not achieve. Scanning the room she precisely planned out where everything would go in her minds eye.
She striped herself of heels and her outfit of the day for something more work manageable she set to work. It was a perfect distraction for other things plaguing her mind and within no time she had completely forgotten what had her so worked up in the first place.
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When Otho heard news of the ball, the servants almost dropped their silver trays in shock as the edges of her lips twitched, suggesting a smile. Nothing could bother her on this day for she was going to the one thing in this world that made her feel happiness.
Otho danced herself across the shinning floor of her new room, blocking out everything else around her. She didn't care if an arrow was flying straight at her heart. She was going to enjoy this day dream. Lost in her own world she didn't come back down to earth until she felt a faint tapping on her shoulder. She turned to see a young servant girl meek and shaking before her.
"Miss, i was sent to tell you that it is time to get ready for the ball this evening." She said, stuttering horribly. Otho dismissed the girl as a soft hum filled her head and body. She slipped into her favorite, corseted red dress and sat down at her grand vanity. She gently ran a finger along her fine and soft features. Looking a the woman she had become, Otho realized what probably drew her father to her mother in the first place. For it was most defiantly not her love. No it had to be her beauty. Thinking back to her childhood she remembered it being the only thing she admired about her mother, and she had most certainly inherited her good looks.
Otho did her hair in it's usual fashion, long and flowing with two curled braids at the sides of her head fading into it before dusting on a bit of blush. She pushed back her chair and reached under her vanity selecting a pair of heels to match her outfit and put them on before almost gliding out the door. All in one seemingly swift and elegant move.
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When Otho stepped into the ball room her heart thundered in her chest and the music filled her head. She felt at home. She felt...
Happy.
Though by looking at her you wouldn't know it. Her express was as calm and stoic as it always was. She moved gracefully through the room, her heels clicking rhythmically with the music, till she spotted her younger sister standing off the way by herself. Otho made her way towards her, the glass of plum cherry wine swirling in her palm drawing her in like a moth to a flame.
"Good evening," she said softly, standing next to her sibling, her calculating eyes scanning her up and down as she gently grabbed a glass of wine from a passing servant. She took a sip, letting the nectar dance slowly over her tongue before swallowing.
"Excuse me, but i have forgotten your name. Though i didn't care for it before, I think in the circumstances it is important and polite that I do. So may i ask of you to tell me?" She asked, her unused hand tucked behind her back
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