Forced to Marry

Married..

I wince as the sponge passes all over my body, all the bruises and pain from the hunger has made my body weak and even as I munch slowly on some bread, I find myself getting weaker.
I fight the tears itching to escape my eyes as my aunt bathes me in silence.

When I'm finally clean and my hair is once again long and shiny she helps me out of the bath tub and into a wedding dress. It is beautiful and if it were under any other circumstance I'm sure I would have loved it more but at this point I don't, it's laced top has a heart shaped line and over the shoulder straps made of lace. It's large and very extra but the gunman at the door doesn't give me space to argue.

After zipping my dress she starts on my hair and make up, why she would do this after putting on my dress I'm not sure. But once again I put up no argument as I take a seat and she pins my hair up in a luxurious messy bun. She puts simple lip gloss on my lips and covers my bruises with foundation. The finish touch is a large crown that she fits on the top of my head, it's attached to a long veil and I feel
it giving me a psychical migraine.

"There, all done..you look beautiful" she says before adding, "maybe if you'd smile more you would look ravishing" she says and I scowl feeling myself snap as I turn to her,
"How dare you? How dare you? Sit here and do whatever he wants from you!" She stands taken aback by my rude and loud anger.

"I did what I had to to survive, to survive your father to survive this world..I did what I had to and so will you" She says and now I'm shocked. Her attitude is something I've never seen from her.

"Your young now, pretty and about to be queen to an underground empire. But soon you will find that it isn't all it's cracked up to be and that you will have to do things you never thought you could just to survive. Take my advice Catalina, fall in place give him sons and then tie your neck in a noose" my heart skips a beat at her words as I swallow them hard and she turns on her heel exiting the room. That was brutal, would I have to be that cold hearted? would I become that cold hearted? I wipe away a tear as it trickles down my cheek. My life was over today, I had lost..everything I had wanted, school and medicine, it's all over. Because I would be married to him and he would have everything, and with power comes more greed.

I pick up my small picture of my mother that sits on my dresser and look at her beautiful smiling face. She always looked so happy in this photo but suddenly today she looks sad as if in pain with me. My heart aches as a lump in my throat grows.

I feel the tears fall down my cheeks as a heavy sob stains my face, I wish she was here with me. Why did she leave me? How could she have married this monster?

A knock on the door rattles me in my bones as I wipe at my tears and turn to the door.
"We are ready for you" its my aunt and I move towards the door stepping out of it and into the light of the hallway. We were in Romano's old castle looking house that would soon be Damon's. Damon. When he comes to my mind I feel my stomach turn. I follow my aunt down the stairs slowly as she helps me with my large gown and I feel my cheeks redder than ever as the tears trickle slowly down my cheeks. When I make it to the end of the small isle I see Damon at the end, he's handcuffed? and has a gun pointed at him and a small bruise on his jaw. But none the less he looks amazing, as usual and the person marrying us  at the end looks confused scared and like he was bribed with a lot of money for this.

There's no music or anything special. Just him, his mom and dad, my aunt and my dad and a bunch of unnecessary guards. His mom looks at me with pity and that hurts me more than a look of hate would have. My heart is pounding out of my chest and I can barely breathe as I'm prodded in the back by my aunt. I look back at her in anger and if looks could kill!

"Continue the ceremony or they will shoot" Romano says beckoning to the gun pointed at Damon's back. His dark blue eyes find mine but they hold no pleading and no pity in fact they are stone cold as if to say  "one more threat and I'll murder everyone in this room" I move forward because of this look, I don't want him to do anything irrational. Something that would get him killed, so I walk and I keep walking until I'm facing him.
"Brave girl" is his fathers reaction and I scowl trying my best not to lash out and do something rash too.
"Today we bare witness-"

"Oh just get to the marriage part!" My father yells out interrupting the orderly ceremony.
"Right of course, do you Damon Azzaro take Catalina Catizone to be your lawfully wedded wife?" I look to Damon who doesn't look back and rolls his eyes when he's once again prodded in the back my a gun.
"I do" I look down at the floor my heart in my ears as the next words come slow and hit me hard,
"And do you Catalina catizone take Damon azzaro to be your lawfully wedded husband"

I feel his piercing blue eyes on me and I feel my whole body burning up.
"Catalina" I hear my father coax behind me.
"Say it woman!" Romano yells and I jump a bit as his tone.
"I do" I say and the rings are placed forcefully on our fingers.
"So till death do you part" Romano says cruelly and I shiver at those words. We are married! It's done. I feel an anger inside of me that's boiling up and that is consuming me.
"Ha ha! Good good this is good. This is all perfect! See this wasn't so bad" his father exclaims clapping his son on the back but Damon doesn't look amused.
"And you daughter in law well done!" He says coming over to me but when he  approaches me I step back.
"Don't you dare put your filthy hands on me!" I exclaim and he looks angry and taken aback.

"Make no mistake father in law, that today you have made the worst mistake of your life because I will own everything and you will own nothing. You've lawfully signed your kingdom away to me and as your new queen I will make sure that your life will be mine. But not now, no not even soon, in fact I'll wait until you've settled, retired even and are comfortable and happy. I'll wait till you have everything you ever wanted and then I'll take it all away, slowly by slowly as I watch you become crippled and sad, that's my promise to you" I spit out these words with a hatred I've never felt before. The look of fear in his eyes is the best thing that has happened to me in a while and as I strut out of this pathetic house and make my way to the car outside I feel no need to look back. I take no time to listen to their curses and their threats. I laugh at them all and take my seat in the car awaiting my husband.

He does come. He is more silent than he has ever been and I also am. WhAt is there to say? This relationship is crooked, corrupt and full of mixed feelings. I can feel the frustrations in the air and I can barely breathe with it all around.

But I'll have to learn to endure it because as of today... we are married