short story; i wrote this for my creative writing class and now i'm being held at gunpoint to post it /j jk it's fine only two people are gonna read it irl so it's fine. it's an arranged marriage between two ocs from an apply fic because i'm obsessed and inspired. shout out to moonlvsts for letting me use her character for this ( sorry if she's ooc i really tried ) and to charliesluv for being the best ever frfr <3
— warnings; it's bad because i wrote most of it last weekend lmao. and because i was crunched on time so it could've been more of a slowburn but oh well.
❝ maybe you should set me free
maybe i don't really want you to ❞
Tying the Knot
"Lady Leyla Demir, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"
Do you see any love in either of our expressions? Leyla thought, looking into the eyes of her almost-wife for the first time. They were green, but they looked hazel. Maybe it was the lighting in this ostentatious chapel. Or maybe it was the pure contempt in her eyes, a clear sign that she didn't want to be here.
Leyla understood that. She didn't want to be in this position any more than Lilith did, but here they were, forced into a marriage by their families. Forced to deal with each other for better or worse, in sickness and in health.
"I do," vowed Leyla, the words setting her life in stone for however long she would live.
The priest nodded. "Princess Lilith Henley, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"
She looked into Leyla's eyes, finding little to no emotion in them. Of course she wasn't angry. She was moving up the ranks in nobility, from a duke's daughter to the wife of a princess. Next thing you know, some disasters occur and suddenly she's the queen of a kingdom ready to give up everything for her. Lilith doesn't doubt for a second that her future wife would do anything to take the throne. She's not the first to think that; she's just the first to make it this far.
"Yeah, sure," replied Lilith.
"Excuse me?" the priest asked, taken aback. In front of her, Leyla finally showed some emotion, though it was only through the faintest flash of anger in her eyes. Lilith didn't look away from her, but she could feel her mother's annoyance as if it were her own. Her consistent irritation of the world was inherited from her mother, after all.
Lilith rolled her eyes, but finally said, "I do, or whatever."
She tuned out whatever came next. Listen, just because this was her wedding doesn't mean that she had to listen to whatever this priest said. She only snapped back to reality because Leyla had taken her hand. Lilith immediately went to pull her hand out of Leyla's grip when she stopped her with an exasperated look, sliding a ring onto her finger.
Lilith admired it for a moment. It had a giant diamond in the center, with little ones dotted around the outside of the ring. It was beautiful. She was now married.
At that thought, she belatedly realized that her hand was still in Leyla's. Lilith yanked her hand from Leyla's grip, glancing sideways at the ringbearer, a child of one of the noble families whom Lilith didn't bother knowing off the top of her head. She didn't care.
Still, she plucked the ring from the plush pillow it was on, examining it for a second—a bland, gold band that she let out a small scoff at—before grabbing Leyla's hand and sliding it down her ring finger, letting go as soon as it was on.
"Well!" the priest said loudly. "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you married!"
Applause echoed throughout the chapel, yet Lilith wasn't happy in the slightest. Her life was sold to a girl she barely knew who she'd just got married to. Great.
After suffering through an overnight reception, Leyla and Lilith were whisked into a car and taken to their new estate. It was a big mansion, bigger than Leyla's father's estate. Flowers bloomed next to the pathway to the double doors and the castle where Lilith's parents resided towered in the distance.
As soon as they got out of the car and started heading towards the door, Leyla said, "We're getting a divorce."
"Uh huh," Lilith slurred.
"You're going to your parents, and you're going to get permission for us to divorce each other, and then we never have to see each other again."
"For sure, bro."
Leyla made it to the door, looking over her shoulder at Lilith and glaring at her dazed expression. "You're drunk."
"If I was drunk, I would've gotten us divorced already," Lilith leaned against the other door as Leyla unlocked the one in front of her.
Leyla rolled her eyes, finally unlocking the door. "Of course you would've," she responded, opening the door. "After you, princess."
"I'm serious!" Lilith entered the mansion, and glanced around for a moment, before sniffing in disgust at the interior. Leyla quite liked the interior design, though it probably seemed like nothing to a spoiled princess. "They want this marriage. They need this marriage. They're not going to let us divorce, I told you. Unless . . ." her gaze went cloudy as she stared at the castle, visible from outside the window nearby.
"Unless?" repeated Leyla, raising her eyebrows.
"We show them that we're not good together," said Lilith. "We argue in public and we show them that this isn't an advantageous marriage."
"Big word."
"Shut up, Demir," snapped Lilith. "Are you in or not?"
Leyla frowned. "In?"
"You know what I mean."
"I don't," she drawled, "but I think that your plan is decent."
"Good enough for me," Lilith stood up, swaying for a moment before stabilizing herself. She turned and walked toward a door behind her. "Get out of my sight."
"Do you even know where you're going?" called Leyla.
"Of course I do," responded Lilith, opening the door and disappearing into the room it was hiding, slamming it behind her.
"Well then," Leyla muttered under her breath, glancing at a clock nearby and rubbing her eyes. It was two in the morning? She needed sleep immediately if she was going to have to deal with this princess for the next however much time they had to spend together before getting a divorce.
As the next two days unfolded, they both ignored each other for the entirety of the time, which Lilith was fine with. At least, until a messenger came to inform them that there was some ball her parents were hosting and they needed to go for their debut or something. It was all gibberish in Lilith's mind anyway.
"Demir?" she yelled, reclining on the sofa in the sitting room, drinking from a bottle of wine she'd had a servant find.
When Leyla didn't immediately show up, Lilith decided to be a menace and yell some more. "Demir? Come here! Hey, that rhymed. I'm basically a poet. Leyla? Lala? Oh, that's cute, I'm going to be using that from now on."
"Please don't." Leyla opened the door to wherever she stayed in this awful place, looking incredibly grumpy and unimpressed. "What do you want?"
"We have to go somewhere tonight," answered Lilith, taking another sip from her bottle. "Mother and Father dearest want us to come to the castle. Some ball or something."
"Tonight?" Leyla repeated. "Why didn't you tell me? I have to get ready, and pick out a dress, and—"
"Don't be such a stickler, we'll be fine," Lilith rolled her eyes at Leyla. "It's probably better that you don't dress up, anyway. Makes us look like the image of an unstable marriage and all."
"I think you serve that image well enough for us," countered Leyla. "You're already getting drunk before. . ." she glanced over at the clock, "three pm?"
Lilith scoffed. "Just because you're so prim and proper doesn't mean you have to insult me for drinking all of the time."
"Can you blame me?" Leyla asked. "Three days ago, you couldn't even walk straight, let alone think rationally! What kind of princess are you?"
"The disappointment kind, considering I'm here right now arguing with you."
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"You're a golddigger, simple as that," Lilith accused. "Because you think you'd be the perfect little princess, wouldn't you? Or, even better, your parents want you to be queen? They convinced my parents to make me marry you so you had a shot at ruling the kingdom?"
"Maybe I would be," Leyla huffed. "I'd be a better princess than you. The only things you do all day are drink and complain about your parents."
"Don't talk to me about my parents!" Lilith snapped, standing up from her position on the couch.
"Then don't bring up mine," Leyla said simply.
"You are the most annoying person ever."
"I presume you haven't looked in a mirror in a long time."
Lilith laughed in disbelief. "You, the narcissist, are saying that to me?"
"I'm not a narcissist," Leyla answered. "I just know hypocrisy when I see it." She walked back to the doorframe of her room, then turned around and leaned against it. "What time are we leaving?"
Lilith glared at her. "Figure it out yourself, since you're so smart."
"I will, thank you very much," Leyla smiled, but even from afar, Lilith could see the mirth glittering in her eyes and the insincerity of the smile. "If you keep this up, we can get divorced and I won't be a golddigger in line for the throne anymore."
Leyla went into her room and shut the door behind her, squeezing her eyes shut and letting out a long exhale. She needed to get out of this situation, because she couldn't survive another hour in Lilith's presence, let alone the rest of her life.
Time to convince these people that we need to stay as far away from each other as possible, she thought, opening her eyes and glimpsing at her determined look in the mirror before moving to get everything ready, calling for her servant.
When she eventually walked out of her room, ready to go, Lilith wasn't there. Out the window, the sun was hidden behind the imposing castle. Where was she? Leyla wanted to get this over with.
"You're ready on time," a voice said, a little surprised, a little quick.
Leyla turned from where she was looking out the window, and her breath caught in her throat. Lilith was in a floor-length navy blue dress with gems that shined like the stars. She was . . . beautiful.
Where did those thoughts come from? Leyla immediately shook them off. You can't think like that, she scolded herself. "I had no help from you," she said instead of the thoughts swirling around in her head like a tornado leaving a disaster in its wake.
Lilith shrugged. "You figured it out in the end." She appraised Leyla's outfit as if she was a painting at an auction, a spark of something undetectable in her eyes. "Oh, my parents are going to love you. Which'll make this harder if you look presentable."
"Let me repeat what I said earlier." Leyla walked up to her, giving her a judgmental look. "I had no help from you."
Lilith's grin was sardonic, and it ignited something in Leyla's gut. Anger . . . and something else. "I'm a disaster enough for the both of us, but it takes two to tango, Demir." She held out her arm. "Shall we, wife?"
Wrinkling her nose at the title, Leyla reluctantly took her arm. "Don't call me that."
"What, my wife?" Lilith snorted in indignation. "Because that's what you are."
"It sounds degrading when you say it like that," Leyla commented as they made their way to the front doors, ignoring the servant rushing to open it because her attention was focused on Lilith.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I hurt your feelings," Lilith mocked as they walked to the car waiting for them. "Would you like me to call you something different? Perhaps . . . Princess Leyla? Ruler of the frauds?"
Leyla rolled her eyes. "You think you're the funniest person ever, huh?"
Lilith smirked. "Honey, I don't think—"
"I noticed," interrupted Leyla.
Lilith's jaw clenched. "What did you just say to me?"
"What do you think?"
They got to the car, and Leyla opened the door, letting go of Lilith's arm to get in the car. "Let's go."
Lilith didn't move. "You think we're going early?"
"Aren't we?"
"Not if we want to make a bad impression." When Leyla was quiet, a smirk grew on Lilith's face. Anger clouded every rational thought in Leyla's mind. "What, you didn't think I would be good at this? I know how to get my own parents to break us up, thank you very much."
Leyla stared at her, wondering if she should kill her or kiss her. Wait. What was she thinking? She hated Lilith, so much so that everything she's been taught about decorum flies out the window the moment they interact. Every emotion she's been told to hide while in public comes flying to the surface whenever she sees Lilith.
But by every emotion, she may mean every emotion. Even ones she doesn't dare to name.
"What?" Lilith said sharply, bringing Leyla out of her thoughts. She immediately pushed them away. She couldn't be feeling these emotions. Not when they were directed at Lilith.
"Nothing," Leyla said, trying to sound composed but she probably failed. "Just get in the car."
"I just told you we're not going early," Lilith rolled her eyes.
"Well, the car's already here," Leyla reminded her.
"I know that," Lilith said through gritted teeth.
"I assumed you didn't, considering you're not sitting in it."
Letting out a huff of anger, Lilith sat next to Leyla, slamming the door shut. "Let's go out to eat," she decided. "Take us to Nectar & Ambrosia."
The chauffeur nodded, and soon they were taking off toward the heart of the city.
"The restaurant?" asked Leyla.
"Where else?" countered Lilith.
"Nothing," Leyla said. "I'm just surprised you have good taste."
Lilith let out a snort. "Of course I have good taste."
"I'm trying to compliment you."
"Okay."
Leyla scoffed, looking out the window. "Why do I even bother?"
Lilith looked over at her, and she could feel her expression soften. Which was a weird feeling. The only person she ever let herself feel soft around was her father. This girl comes into her life for what, four days? And now Lilith's growing soft.
"Thanks," she said quietly. "For the compliment."
Leyla made eye contact with her, and Lilith could see her shock for only a moment before it disappeared, probably going beneath her guarded exterior. "You're welcome."
The car ride was silent until the car stopped in front of the restaurant. They got out of the car and walked into the restaurant, Lilith getting them a table because of her status and they were brought to a fancy table and immediately served wine.
"Leave the bottle there, thanks," Lilith told the waiter, who nodded and left.
Leyla stared at Lilith as she filled the glass all the way up.
"Why do you do that?" Leyla asked, and Lilith sent her a glare as she closed the bottle. "Drown yourself with alcohol?"
"I don't drown myself with alcohol!" Lilith protested.
Leyla raised an eyebrow at her.
Lilith sighed, taking a sip from her glass. "I never wanted this," she admitted. "Not just the marriage, but the responsibility of being a princess. The weight of the crown, of a whole kingdom looking to me for advice and help. Nothing's real. Everyone uses me to gain social status, money, whatever. My mother yells at me to be better every time I do anything, and I can't. So I drown it out the only way I can."
Leyla stared at her as if weighing what to say. "I'm sorry," she finally said.
"You're not taking any pity on me," Lilith snapped.
"I'm not," Leyla promised. "I understand a little bit. You're right, my parents want power. They want more than their dukedom. I wasn't supposed to be the one in this position. I had an older brother. And then he . . ." Lilith watched her fingers tighten around her wine glass. "He died, and now I have to marry you. Back then, I wanted this for my family. But now I don't think I want this."
For some reason, some part of Lilith's chest hurt at that admission. "Then let's break this marriage," she declared.
"Right." Leyla looked up, and they made eye contact that lasted for longer than it should've before the waiter put some plates in front of them, interrupting the moment. They didn't say anything, just picked up their forks and started eating. Once they finished, they went back to the car and went to the castle.
"We don't have a plan, correct?" Leyla asked.
"You're right," Lilith agreed.
Leyla sighed. "Wonderful."
They got to the castle, and Lilith led the way, leaving Leyla no time to react.
"The faster we get there, the faster we can get out," said Lilith.
"Can you walk slower?" asked Leyla.
"No."
Leyla huffed. "I don't like you."
"Good," Lilith responded, "because you're going to have to show that for the entire night."
"Clearly not, since you want to leave so badly," Leyla rolled her eyes, which she figured she'd be doing a lot of this evening.
Lilith suddenly stopped and turned around. "You ready?"
"Of course I am," Leyla said.
"Just act like you hate me."
"Do you think that's hard?" Leyla asked, but the more she thought about it, the more she believed she didn't know the answer to that question.
Lilith let out a snort before the door opened behind her, and she took Leyla's wrist and dragged her inside the ballroom before she could react.
"Let me go!" she hissed, acutely aware of the eyes following them and the whispers that were starting to fill the ballroom.
"You're fine, you baby," Lilith waved her off. "Come on, we've gotta meet my parents."
"Can you not do that like a normal human being?"
"You're forgetting I'm not one," Lilith gave her a mocking grin. "I'm a princess."
"Still a regular human being."
"Not to anyone else in this room."
"Everyone in this room thinks that you're a spoiled, impertinent—"
Lilith cleared her throat, and Leyla realized that Lilith's parents were in front of her, looking between the two of them dubiously.
"Father. Mother." Lilith greeted, and one of her greetings was a lot nicer than the other. "And you know the girl you made me marry."
"I have a name, you know," Leyla sent her a glare, before composing herself and dropping into a curtsy. "Your Majesties."
"Lady Leyla," Queen Charlotte Henley nodded at Leyla. "It is . . . wonderful to meet you."
"That's not how I'd put it," commented Lilith.
"You met me at the altar, that's a true love story," Leyla drawled, and she felt a spark of pride when she saw Lilith turn to her with a glint of mischief in her eyes.
"What do you know about true love?" Lilith stepped closer to her. "We just argue twenty-four-seven! The servants are scared of you because you're always yelling and screaming at me!"
Leyla let out a laugh of disbelief. "Are you not the one who starts all of our arguments, drama queen? You're the one to blame for our predicament!"
"Oh, like you're so innocent," Lilith sneered. "And I'm not dramatic, it's just how I am."
"Girls," King George Henley put a hand on each of their shoulders to separate them, interrupting their argument. "Why don't you two go your separate ways for a while, huh? Enjoy the festivities. Calm down."
Lilith looked up at him before relenting, "Fine." She turned on her heel and stormed off, making her way out of the ballroom.
A few moments later, she heard the door open and glanced over to see Leyla following her.
"That was convincing," she said.
"I know," Lilith smirked. "Admittedly, you're not the worst."
"You're not so bad either," Leyla admitted. "Do you think they'll let us divorce?"
Lilith chuckled, though something about it seemed hollow. "After that show? They'd be crazy not to."
"Right." Leyla breathed out, and just then Lilith registered how close they were standing, the same distance they'd stood just a few minutes ago before Lilith's father had separated them. This time, though, Lilith saw how blue Leyla's eyes were. Like the diamonds on Lilith's wedding ring.
Right then and there, she realized that maybe she didn't want to divorce Leyla. Maybe . . . maybe they could stay married. And, maybe, Lilith's in love with Leyla. Wow. That was a wild thought. But she can't see a life without her in it, even though Leyla's been in Lilith's life for not even a week.
Leyla cleared her throat. "Let's go back in there, alright?"
"Yeah," Lilith said, ignoring the part of her that wanted to stay here and stop this plan that they'd made up and just accept the fact that they were going to be stuck with each other. That didn't seem so bad. But she went back to the ballroom with Leyla anyway, preparing for another argument.
And when the night was almost over and most people had left, Lilith went to say goodbye to her parents . . . and to ask the question that she's been working toward for the past week.
"Father, Mother," Lilith said, "can I ask a favor?"
"Of course, darling," her father said.
Lilith swallowed nervously. "I want a divorce," she said. "We don't work together at all, and it's so tiring to be with her. We're always arguing and it's just . . ."
She didn't know what else to say. A few days ago, she could list a hundred things horrible about Leyla. Now? Lilith couldn't say anything bad about her. Lilith's words were so half-hearted it was almost disbelieving.
"No." Her mother answered.
"No?" Lilith repeated.
"You know that you need this marriage," her mother said pointedly, her words like darts being thrown into Lilith. "We need this marriage. You can't back out now."
"But—"
"Good night, Lilith," her mother dismissed her. With a scoff, Lilith turned on her heel and walked away, though she was conflicted. Was this good or bad?
She met up with Leyla and they started walking out of the castle.
"They're not letting us get divorced," Lilith told her.
"Oh," said Leyla. "That's not ideal."
"So what do we do now?" asked Lilith.
"Let's worry about it tomorrow," Leyla said.
"Yeah . . ." Lilith agreed. She had a lot to think about.
When she woke up the next morning to a servant shaking her awake, she was still as confused as ever about her emotions.
"Your Highness," her servant whispered, "a messenger has come with news."
"What?" snapped Lilith, rubbing her eyes.
"You and Lady Leyla are allowed to divorce."
Lilith flinched, banging her head against her headboard, but she was too surprised to feel the pain. "What?"
Her servant offered her a letter, and she snatched it and skimmed the contents. Then she jumped out of bed and barged out the door to see Leyla sitting on the couch, flipping through a book.
"Read this," Lilith ordered, dropping the letter in front of her.
Leyla frowned but picked it up and read through it, her eyes lingering on Lilith's father's signature at the bottom. "They're allowing us to divorce?"
"My father always spoils me," explained Lilith.
"So we're doing this?" asked Leyla.
"I . . ." Lilith thought for a moment. Did she want this? Then she shook her head and pushed herself off of the couch, walking to the doors. "I need to get out of here."
"Lilith—" Leyla called, but she was already gone.
The next time Leyla saw Lilith, it was late at night and she'd come home, drunk out of her mind.
"Lilith," Leyla sighed. "What are you doing to yourself?"
She started to drag Lilith to her side of the mansion when she heard a quiet, "I love you."
Leyla froze. "What?"
"I can't divorce you," Lilith slurred. "I can't imagine life without you. I hate you, but I don't at the same time. I love you, Lala."
Leyla stared at her, at her clouded-over green eyes that demonstrated her intoxication, but alcohol was, in a way, a truth serum.
"I love you too, you idiot," Leyla confessed, herding her to her bed. "Come on. We'll talk about it when you're sober."
The next morning, they returned to the chapel to truly marry each other, even if they had gotten married a week before.
"Do you, Lala Demir, take me, the most fabulous person ever, to be your wife?" Lilith smirked, but there was no malice in this smirk.
"Stop calling me that!" Leyla rolled her eyes, but she was smiling a real smile. "I do. And do you, Lilith Henley, take me to be your wife?"
"I do," Lilith leaned in and kissed her, sealing their vows to be together for the rest of their lives.
❝ maybe i just wanna be
be the person that you just can't lose ❞