Chapter Text
It wasn’t an ending Feferi could have ever predicted, but it was at least an ending nonetheless.
Almost thirty years of fighting, ending with a tentative alliance between Signless, the leader of the lowblooded rebellion, and her mother, Her Imperial Condescension. Ten candidates from each side, chosen carefully and with intensive discussion on both sides, joined in a union of marriage in order to promote peace. Feferi had never really imagined getting married before now; honestly, she’d assumed that at some point, she would be married off to Eridan or some other prince in order to strengthen their armed forces, and this was at least a better arrangement for a marriage than that. Still, she’d thought she’d at least know who she’d be joined with for the remainder of her lifespan, more than just a name that she could not place for the life of her, but she couldn’t afford the semantics as the Princess — she would have to make the best of this situation and hope her partner would be willing to do the same.
For now, Feferi stood at the center of the room where the unions would be taking place, her mother standing just behind her off to her left. The room itself wasn’t very large, more rectangular in shape than any of the other rooms they had. It was decorated in Alternian colors and with Alternian designs, with a golden basin right in the center of the room where Feferi was meant to be joined by her soon to be spouse. To Feferi’s left, against the wall, was the Condescension’s throne; on either side of it were twenty seats total, ten and ten on each side of it. They were empty, currently, because the Condesce was required to be at Feferi’s side for her marriage, and none of the others had gotten married yet — once each ceremony was completed, they would be seated at their respective sides of the Condescension. The seats to her right denoted who would stay in Alternia, and the seats to her left showcased who would be sent to the Veil for the next six months. The ceremony itself wasn’t too elaborate for what it was, but Feferi was pleased with it in spite of the way she was currently dressed up. She felt weighted down in more ways than one; the gold decorations in her hair, around her neck and arms and waist, felt heavier than they ever had before. Her usual blue and green skirt had been traded out for a dress made of a thicker material, black and fuchsia lined, and her symbol was stitched into almost every inch of fabric. She held her trident in one hand, her head held high and unwavering until the door opened across from her; Feferi couldn’t stop herself fast enough, jolting her head up quickly in order to see who was walking up to her
Her mother made a disapproving sound at the sight of her, and Feferi couldn’t help but agree with the implications she made with that one noise; even as she tried to offer the girl walking towards her an encouraging smile, Feferi looked her over and found it hard to keep the expression on her face. She’d been dressed up all morning, her mother waking her earlier than usual so that she could be as prepared as possible for this event. Her hair was tugging at her scalp a little from how tightly it had been pulled and pinned and twisted back, and the bodice of her dress was as tight and form-fitting as possible. Feferi was the Princess, after all, and this…this marriage would be the start of a festivity that would last just over a week, culminating in a tentative peace after nearly thirty years of war. It was important that Feferi look her best for it, even if she felt lightheaded from the lack of food for the day, and couldn’t really breathe properly with how tightly her dress was bound around her chest.
It was clearly not a sentiment felt by the other girl; her hair was curly and unruly, free to fly around wherever it wanted, her skirt was dirty and torn at the bottom hem, and though her face was impassive as she made her way down the aisle, Feferi could see the tracks of tears that had made their way down her face. Signless had his arm around her shoulders as they walked together, almost as if he was keeping her from bolting the second she could by adding some of his weight on her. Feferi turned her head to the side to look at the wall, pursing her lips and taking a deep breath.
It was fine, she forced herself to think. Not all humans or trolls had the amenities that she’d grown up with, or the resources she’d had. She was the Princess, after all, and the people that were joining them in this marriage were lowbloods. This girl, this…Aradia, Feferi thought but wasn’t entirely sure, had dark rust colored eyes, marking her as low on the spectrum as possible; though Feferi had grown up with rustblooded servants who would never dare look as unkempt as this one did, Aradia had clearly grown up alongside Signless and his band of rebels — a band of rebels who did not seem to put much stock in making appearances to the public. It was…fine. It was fine, it would absolutely be fine.
She was going to be married to Feferi now; Feferi would teach her how to appear in public, how to look her absolute best. It was almost exciting, if Feferi let herself think about it — it would be like giving someone a makeover, or dressing up with Roxy. Feferi could teach Aradia all she knew regarding the general public and how to interact with other highbloods, and Aradia…well, Aradia could probably teach Feferi something too, though Feferi had no idea what Aradia could possibly be able to teach her. Maybe whatever it was that she did that made her look so dirty and unkempt like this.
“This is how you present your people?” The Condesce snapped, and Signless’s eyes flickered up to her from where he was standing with Aradia now. The sight of his eyes — bright, blood, mutant red against the yellow — always made something in Feferi’s chest twist, or at least they had the only two times she’d met him before. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she couldn’t fathom why he would be so brazen when he was so fragile; Feferi was well aware that there was a spot for every color in her mother’s world, every color except the mutant one in front of them, and yet Signless still had the audacity — “Filthy lowbloods with no sense of public pride?”
“This is all happening very suddenly.” Signless cut across, his voice tense and unhappy. Feferi swallowed uneasily, eyes bouncing from her mother to Signless to Aradia, who seemed intent on not looking up from the floor now. She tried to catch her eyes, but Aradia seemed to hunker down even more, and Feferi stopped trying to duck down before her mother caught her; she could already hear how upset she was at the way Aradia was dressed, she didn’t need her mother turning her attentions to her in the midst of that. “We’ve only finalized discussions two days ago. My people, they weren’t prepared for this sort of agreement.”
“I don’t want to hear your excuses.” The Condesce threw her hair over her shoulder, glowering at him. She wasn’t as dressed up as Feferi was, but she could see where her mother had put the effort in to look nice; her golden jewelry gleamed brightly, and she wore her own dress rather than her usual outfit. Her crown shone brightly amongst the waves of her dark hair, and Feferi could see little beads and shells woven into the loose strands. “I can’t believe you would dare to allow your chosen lowblood to marry my daughter looking like a homeless little gremlin — ”
“Would it be better to postpone the wedding?” Signless asked loudly, and her mother fell silent with a glower so dark, Feferi instinctively shied away from it. Her hand was tight on her own trident, gripping it so tightly that the skin of her knuckles was almost silver, and Feferi felt chills running down her spine. Signless really had nerves of steel, she thought to herself; Feferi was fighting the urge to step away from her mother, holding her hands together in front of her on her trident to hide the sudden trembling of her fingers, but Signless didn’t even look abashed at his own outburst. He stared up at the Queen evenly, brow lifting the longer it took for her to reply. When he spoke again, his tone was mocking and stern, an odd combination Feferi had never heard before. “If Her Majesty prefers — ”
“Just.” Her mother gritted out through her teeth, “Get. On. With. It.”
Feferi cleared her throat as quietly as she possibly could, shifting her trident to her shoulders and holding her hands out to Aradia. Aradia didn’t move for a long moment, not until Signless nudged her gently with his elbow. Her arms lifted slowly, as did her head, but she never lifted it higher than she needed to; her gaze never met Feferi’s, and she placed her hands so gently into Feferi’s, Feferi almost thought she’d imagined the touch. Feferi ran her thumbs over the back of her knuckles, intending to comfort her a little bit about their situation, and Aradia flinched back so violently that Feferi turned a bright fuchsia color. She placed her hands back into Feferi’s without prompting, still barely touching her more than she needed to, and Feferi closed her eyes to bow her head.
Another voice spoke up, not her mother and not Signless; one of the indigobloods, though Feferi couldn’t remember the troll’s name for the life of her, who had been chosen to unite them together.
“Well well,” she said brightly, louder than Feferi expected, “if this ain’t the most fortuitous event I’ve ever been to…ah, apologies though, my Queen.” She cleared her throat, looking away awkwardly at the unimpressed, almost deadly glare the Condesce sent her. When she spoke again, her voice was much more formal, her words practiced and even. “In accordance with the new peace treaty signed by Her Imperial Condescension and Signless of the Rebellion, I preside over this event to help strengthen this decision of peace with a union of marriage.” Silence fell after her statement, and Feferi swallowed; her throat felt dry all of a sudden, her hands clammy, and she took a deep breath.
That had been her cue.
“I vow myself,” she started, “to you, Aradia, in order to secure protection for my people and yours. I will take you into my care, and place myself willingly into yours in order to ensure our marriage is successful.” Feferi felt her hands tremble, just a little, and she sort of wanted to tighten her grip on Aradia’s hands — their current connection felt fragile and easily broken, and it felt like an omen of their marriage to come that Feferi didn’t really want to acknowledge. The way Aradia had flinched away from her was still fresh in her mind, though, and Feferi didn’t want to find out what would happen if she broke their connection now. She kept her grip light. “With time, we can forge a path of peace and freedom together.”
There was silence, but Feferi couldn’t think of anything else she was supposed to say. Temptation grew too much for her; she opened one eye to look at Aradia, who was still staring somewhere around where her lips were. She didn’t look impressed, and Feferi felt her uneasy stomach flip around. Signless nudged her again, a little harsher this time, and Feferi saw the first flicker of emotion on Aradia’s face — a little frown, a flash of annoyance, as she opened her mouth.
“Yea, I,” she licked her lips, glanced to her right at Signless; he lifted a brow at her, almost warningly, and she let out a short breath through her opened mouth. “I vow myself to you, Feferi, in order to secure protection for my people.” There was a long pause before Aradia continued, her voice monotonous and even despite the way she looked like she’d been crying up until she entered the room. Her voice stressed certain words of her promise to Feferi, making her intentions sound different despite the fact that she was repeating the same words Feferi said. “And yours. I will…take you into my care, and place myself…willingly…into yours in order to ensure our…marriage…is successful.” Another flash of emotion, this one gone too quick for Feferi to read properly, and Aradia closed her eyes tightly. In spite of her words, she was still barely touching Feferi, and she gave off an air of wanting to be anywhere in the world but where she was now. Her face twisted a little, and she seemed to force herself to push out the last sentence through gritted teeth. “With time, we can forge a path of peace and freedom together.”
A ribbon brushed against the back of one of Feferi’s hands, wrapping around her wrist and over Aradia’s, and she felt the way Aradia jolted in surprise. Her hands separated from Feferi’s for only the briefest of moments before the ribbon was tied, firmly and securely, connecting the two girls together. Feferi glanced down, looking at the fuchsia colored ribbon connecting her right hand to Aradia’s left. Aradia also stared down at their hands, and Feferi looked back at her; she didn’t look exactly unhappy with the connecting piece between them, but she didn’t exactly look pleased either. It was a neutral look, one that Feferi only barely recognized, and then the indigoblood started talking again. Feferi barely heard her, still trying her hardest to try and get Aradia’s attention without moving too much, but Aradia seemed so unwilling to even glance at her that it was difficult.
“And may this union do as it must,” she finished, “and usher in a new peace between Alternia and the people of the Veil.” Feferi looked back at the indigoblood, the white face paint making her smile look more menacing than she’d likely meant it to be, and smiled back at her.
Her arm twisted a little, and Feferi followed the motion to straighten it out; her mother had started striding towards her throne, Aradia turning to Signless. He placed his hand gently on her head, leading her around Feferi so that they could both head to their designated seats — to the immediate right of Her Imperial Condescension, part of the group staying in Alternia these first six months of their marriage. Their hands were still bound together, Aradia’s left to Feferi’s right, and would remain so for the rest of the night. As they took their seats, Feferi made one last attempt to catch Aradia’s eye; she smiled, small and inviting, and was ignored as Aradia stared straight ahead at the wall. Feferi straightened her back a little, holding her head up as the smile dropped from her face.
“Let the rest of them in.” Her mother said, and the indigoblood bowed first to her, then to Feferi and Aradia, before turning on her heel. Feferi could barely hear the way she announced the ceremony complete, and prepared herself to meet her people.