"Hey, can I have your knife please?"
"Why?"
"So I can cut this knot."
Hylla sighed. "Reyna, we've been over this. Jason has to untie it. That's the whole point."
"But it's too tight!" I complained.
Hylla rolled her eyes. "Reyna, you're acting like a five year old."
"Well, wouldn't you be?" I asked. "If you were being forced to marry a man you didn't love?"
It was my wedding day, and Hylla was helping me get ready. I was happy to see her, and her presence would probably be the only thing stopping me from stabbing somebody tonight.
"Maybe," She said. "But that'll never happen."
"I wish I was you," I mumbled. I'd gladly give up my ability to bear children if it meant I didn't have to marry Jason.
Ω⚔️Ω
"Do you, Jason Grace, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest asked.
"I do," Jason replied emotionlessly.
"And do you, Reyna Ramìrez-Arellano, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The priest asked me.
No. "I do."
"I now present you as husband and wife," The priest said. "You may kiss the bride."
Jason leaned over and lightly touched his lips to mine, and I felt nothing. I may have well been kissing a wall. I had a feeling that Jason felt the same way.
Then he untied the knot, symbolising the way our marriage would untie me from my family and make me part of his.
After the ceremony, the feast began. Almost every lord in Rome was here, and the Great Hall was packed.
I had been hoping that Jason would delay our marriage, seeing as his father had died. But I had no such luck.
It was my fault that the king died. I had known that there was a second assassin, yet I hadn't told anyone, to protect myself. And now we had a boy coming into his crown much too early.
Jason wasn't king yet, but he would be in a few days.
Which means you'll be queen, I thought. But honestly, I didn't think I was ready for the crown ether.
I was sitting next to Jason, with him on my left and his cousin on my right. Something about Octavian Sun was unnerving, and I found myself wishing that he would move.
Eventually, the feast ended. Which meant that it was time. I took a deep breath and followed Jason to his room.
I had been dreading this for awhile, and I had a feeling that Jason had been too.
"So," He said.
To say it was awkward would be an understatement. I mean, how would you feel if you were obligated to sleep with someone you didn't even know?
There was a long silence as we just looked at each other, wondering what we should do.
"Are you a virgin?" Jason asked eventually.
"Yes," I replied. "Are you?"
Jason shook his head. "No."
I took a deep breath and started to undo my complex hairdo. Once I finished that, I took another deep breath, and started to undress. Jason did the same.
Then I laid down on the bed, with Jason on top of me.
"Be quick," I told him. I wanted this over with as soon as possible.
Thankfully, he was.