Of Fire And Brimstone

Chapter 2

"Come out, your father wants to speak with you at once about your arranged marriage to Eddy Vanguard! You will not stay in your room all day brooding about something that could possibly bring our family success young lady. Let the maids finish tying your corset. Remember, pinch your cheeks to make them a little rosey. Men like that.”

If only mother knew what kind of man he really was. Maybe if she saw his true self she’d convince father to let me stay. I have no desire to be sold off. Strelitzia had lived a relatively privileged life. She had never wanted for anything and was sheltered from the harshest of realities. It was a luxury many craved but few in their world could afford. All of her life she had spent her time in Mallowmoor. It was the only home she’d ever known. She desperately craved the outside world for the closest she ever came to it were through the stories people would whisper in hushed tones at her family’s parties and gatherings. The tales of sapphire oceans, mountains that scraped the heavens, and pirates who dared rebel against this world filled her mind and were held close to her heart. Her mother often scolded her for dreaming of realities that would never be hers to claim. She felt as though the world was a danger and was satisfied with all her father had to offer behind their walls. The two often squabbled over this but the argument was always laid to rest when her father reminded her that she was forbade to leave anyway.

Rogan was a businessman through and through. He never cut corners or wasted his time on matters he deemed unprofitable, his daughter’s dreams included. Strelitzia was sure that he saw her as just another asset, something to be wagered and sold only when he could find the highest bidder. Unfortunately, that time approached shortly after her seventeenth birthday when her parents announced that they had arranged for her to marry Eddy Vanguard, a middle aged man known for being extremely materialistic. She would be nothing more than a trophy wife, someone he could parade around on his arm like a prize. It disgusted her. Just the thought of being in the same space as the man was enough to make her ill.

As the only child ever born to Charlotte and Rogan Magiano, Strelitzia held the sole responsibility of continuing on the family line and securing their future wealth. As much as she saw the practicality in this marriage, she couldn’t agree to it. Shouldn’t they care more for her well-being and happiness over political standing and money? But if that were really the case she wouldn’t have been forbade to leave the grounds. Of course the exceptions being for events where father required all of them to be present, but it was not enough. Sure, their estate was much like a castle. Its grounds were expansive with many courtyards, small complexes, and gardens. A symbol of the paradise he built for them, at least that’s what he’d always told her when she was a child. High stone walls mounted with guards surrounded them. It felt more like a prison than a paradise.

The days were growing shorter to the time that Strelitzia was to be given to the grotesque creature known as Eddy Vanguard. This particular day had been a flurry of maids and prep for the coming wedding. She had already gotten fed up with the maids tugging and pulling trying to fit her into clothes. So she sent them out and locked the door behind her. Of course the moment she sat to rest, sitting down on her cushioned window sill did her mother come banging on the door. With an exaggerated huff loud enough for her mother to hear she promptly ignored her, “I’ll be willing to talk when SOMEONE decides they don’t want to marry off their only daughter to that living garbage you call a person!”

She picked up the book that she kept there, starting back up where she left off:

“You cannot lock her in a cage and whisper sweet lies, tell her that angels weren't meant to rise and fly, watch and condemn her to hell behind a rusty door latched tight so you can keep her beautiful soul as light. One day she will fly. One day she’d reach the clouds and touch the endless skies. Freedom cannot be given, it must be taken.” - Joh Rubfërz.