Chapter Text
Yes, death is far less dire to contemplate
Than a forced marriage to an unloved mate.
-Richard Wilbur
xxXxx
Baron wasn't completely certain how he was standing in front of a priest in front of the royal court. Well, strictly speaking he did, but he could hardly believe that things had happened so fast.
Only yesterday, he had been summoned to the royal palace. When he had arrived last night, the king informed him that a bride had been chosen for him, and now this morning was the actual wedding.
He knew he couldn't disobey a command from his king, but he also couldn't help feeling just a shade apprehensive about how rushed this whole affair had been. Baron would have liked to at least meet his bride and feel out her personality first, but the king had insisted that it would be breaking tradition to see the bride so soon before the wedding.
Baron couldn't help but wonder if it was really because of his curse that he had apparently been the last one informed of his own marriage. Thanks to a witch that hadn't taken his father's rejection well, Baron hadn't looked like a human since his sixteenth birthday. He had withdrawn from court before he was driven out, but despite how much he studied, he still couldn't find a cure.
He frowned, thinking about how much he would have preferred to be in his own body on his wedding day. It had taken his servants a while to get used to his appearance, but at least that witch gave everyone plenty of warning so that they had time to get used to his eventual predicament.
Not that it stopped him from removing mirrors in all the rooms he frequented in his manor.
The tall cat man did his best to perform subtle breathing exercises since the entire court was watching, but he was still nervous. Why was the entire court in attendance if this wedding was so rushed? Why was the general mood somewhere between angry and jubilant?
Who was his bride? It seemed odd that the question was danced around not just by the king, but by his advisors. He peered out to the crowd, even though he knew if Lune was in attendance, he would be by his father's side, likely with his own fiancée. Baron doubted that he'd married her yet since Lune would have absolutely summoned him back for his own nuptials, but why wasn't he here now?
The king gave a signal with his scepter, looking angrily pleased as if he'd waited his whole life for this day.
The conductor tapped his wand before leading the orchestra into a suitable wedding march, and the large doors ponderously opened.
But once even a crack was made, Baron was surprised he didn't hear the ruckus earlier. Even the orchestra cut off at the caterwauling.
"I will not marry that monster!" a familiar blonde howled at the top of her lungs, angrily trying to break free from her father's iron grasp.
"Louise?!" Baron couldn't resist gasping, almost too distracted by the sight of her in a slightly torn but expensive wedding dress to realize that his old childhood playmate now considered him a monster. He wheeled around on the king furiously. "What is the meaning of this? She's betrothed to your son!"
"Not since she tried to kill him, she isn't," he growled, snapping his finger to make two guards suddenly approach Baron from behind and grip him by the arms.
"Please don't struggle," Phillip just managed to whisper regretfully to him. "We're under orders to use Shock if you do."
Baron's mind went blank, both at the revelation and warning. '…kill… Lune?!'
"No! No, no, no!" Louise was still shrieking like a common barmaid, desperately trying to escape her father's hold as he dragged her down the improvised aisle. "I am the daughter of a duke, and I will not lower myself to a mere baron, even if he wasn't cursed!"
His left eye twitched. "Mere?" he whispered between his sharpened teeth.
The soldiers still holding him tightened their grip a bit, but his own mind was decided. While he would not degrade himself by physically raising a fuss, he would simply not agree to the marriage. He stood a little taller as his eyes narrowed; determined to show the court how one should behave when faced with an undesirable match.
His unspoken question about why she wasn't using her considerable power to make her point was answered when he saw the polished metal bands covering both of her delicate wrists when her wild flailing made her long sleeves fly just up enough to display them. His blood ran cold at the sight of them, since they had a very intentional resemblance to shackles.
Fed up with how her father kept disobeying her wishes, Louise savagely bit his arm long enough to force him to let go of her. She first ran for the doors she had been dragged through, but enough soldiers and noblemen ran in front of it to cut her off.
Her long wealth of bouncy white hair was cascading out of a fancy updo that had likely looked nice before entering the throne room was now half-fallen, giving her a wild look as she desperately tried to find a way to escape.
A soldier and a count grabbed her, but they were having a hard time keeping hold since her magical expertise more or less forced her to hone her body to as much muscular perfection as her slender frame would allow.
"I won't have him! Someone else can have him, anyone else!" Louise screamed while trying to wiggle out of their hold and almost succeeding a few times. "I won't marry a monster, I won't-"
A soldier came up behind her and butted her head with the hilt of his sword. She immediately fell limp and silent between the two men holding her.
"Finally," the count sighed with relief, relinquishing his hold to the soldier after he sheathed his sword so that they could drag the unconscious woman to the altar to where her reluctant groom waited.
Baron didn't raise a fuss, but he did give a very cold look to the king. "And my crime, your majesty?" he asked tightly.
The king was settling back onto his throne now that Louise wasn't raising a fuss anymore. "I need someone reliable to keep her under control if I need her later. She's very powerful, but I can't afford for her to make alliances outside the kingdom. You're not that likely to get married anyway, and you stay out of court on your own, so it makes no difference."
"It will when I find a cure," Baron corrected shortly, since he refused to give up on that.
"But then you won't be a cat anymore, and Louise won't mind being your wife at all. Enough of this, on with the wedding!" the king announced like he wanted to skip right to the reception.
Much to Baron's disapproval, it wasn't the ceremony that actually asked whether or not the couple was willing to go through with it, although he should have suspected as much. He also had doubts about how legal the marriage was if the bride was unconscious through the process but knew that it ultimately didn't matter.
In the eyes of the kingdom, at least, this horrible woman was his wife now.
"All yours," one soldier asserted as he and his companion more or less deposited her in his arms, which were only released by the two holding him so that she didn't fall to the ground.
Baron's eyes were hard as he glared at his king, who either didn't notice or didn't care about the nearly open hostility.
"You two should be heading back to your baronetcy, then! Don't worry about her things; the Duke is already ensuring that her belongings are getting packed up for transport and should arrive a day or so after you get back," the king dismissed while making a 'shoo-ing' motion with his hands.
Baron could tell that the soldiers were ready and reluctantly able to physically remove them, so he forced himself to pick Louise up bridal style and start marching out of the room without looking anyone in the eye.
"Tell her when she wakes up that she's dead to me," the Duke told him curtly before turning on his heel and nursing his bleeding arm.
How dare the king?! How dare he use Baron's future like this?! Baron may not have been worried about romance at the moment thanks to his curse, but he'd at least allowed himself daydreams about finding someone warm and compassionate; both traits that the duke's daughter clearly lacked.
"Will one of you kindly explain the meaning of all this?!" he tried to politely demand of the soldiers escorting him to a borrowed royal coach since the cat man had arrived on horseback.
The younger one sighed while shrugging his shoulders. "You haven't been around to see it, but Louise became even more unbearable that she was going to be the queen. The prince didn't care much for her arrogance and fell in love with a maid instead. Louise went mad and tried to kill them when Lune broke their engagement for Yukina, which is the only reason the king is allowing Prince Lune to choose her over a duke's daughter."
"So now I'm her punishment," Baron concluded with distaste, wishing he could let go of his manners just enough to let the pale woman fall to the marbled floor and keep walking without her.
The older one attempted a comforting smile. "If it's any consolation, Prince Lune did try to talk his father into keeping her in a tower if death wasn't an option, but the king didn't want the possibility of her escaping and finding the right magician to break her bands."
Baron looked down at the plain thick bracelets peeking from underneath her sleeves, feeling angrier than ever. "So I'm not so much her lawful husband as her lawful jailor."
"I'm afraid so, my lord. There isn't a man or woman in the kingdom that envies your position right now."
"As if that were a problem before her," he growled, forcing himself to look up and at each of them. "Inform the prince for me that he had better live a long happy life with his chosen mate. Not only is it costing me the chance at finding one myself, this means that I will never be able to see him again. It simply wouldn't be sound for me to leave her in someone else's care for visits, and less so to bring her back here."
Both soldiers nodded sadly while the younger one spoke.
"I believe that was one of the reasons the prince fought desperately against the king's plan. Perhaps when he becomes king, he can absolve the marriage?"
Baron blinked at this small bit of hope. "Be sure to mention that to him," he begged once they had left the castle, and he had to carefully step into the carriage in a way that he wouldn't trip on the many yards of her silk skirts.
He laid her out over one seat as comfortably as he could before taking the opposite seat, feeling like the carriage door was to a cell as it slammed shut, and the driver began taking them home.
Left with nothing else to do, the cat man folded his arms and let the full venom of his glare center on the unconscious noblewoman. Although it hardly felt like the time to be practical, his mind was already assembling lists of what needed to be done as soon as they arrived.
Separate chambers were going to be a must, perhaps in the opposite wing so that everyone that worked for him would be able to vouch that the marriage had never been consummated when Lune's time as king arrived. He'd need to find ways to keep her occupied, but he couldn't trust her with the responsibilities that the head housekeeper was doing for him until he gained a wife. Informing everyone of how and why he had returned home with such a bride was going to be embarrassing, and he was going to have to word it carefully to not injure his pride any more than Louise had already done.
What could he offer to occupy her that she wouldn't destroy in a heartbeat? Good books were expensive, and he had no intention of letting her destroy even one of his leather-bound friends. It had been four years since he turned sixteen; what was it she used to enjoy doing other than practicing her magic and ordering others around?
The cat man couldn't help a shudder run down his back, realizing that he had very few memories of her being genuinely happy if things weren't completely going according to her own designs.
'You are the last thing I need,' he inwardly seethed at his sleeping bride. 'I think the only thing we'll ever agree on again is that it should have been someone else, anyone else that is bound to me.'
Her breathing suddenly came sharper, as if she could hear his only agreement, and she started moaning while moving around.
'Here we go,' Baron sighed inwardly, forcing himself to hold back at least some of the venom in his eyes as he patiently waited for her to finish waking up.
Her blue eyes fluttered open and closed like butterfly wings before her slim hands came up to start rubbing at her face. "Ow," she groaned, switching one hand to the back of her head after a while.
Baron cocked his head in amusement but didn't say anything yet.
Her makeup must have been light, he decided as she slowly pushed herself to a sitting position and kept rubbing at her eyes and head. Normally such hand movements would have left black streaks around her eyes, but he could smell the familiar scent of lipstick and perfume on her.
"Are you calm now?" he asked tiredly, making the young woman leave off rubbing her eyes and snap to him.
She yelped and tried to jump back, but when inside a coach, there wasn't really anywhere to jump to. "What the heck? A giant cat?!"
"Yes, a giant cat," he agreed while trying not to roll his eyes. "Sorry to inform you, but the wedding proceeded while you were taking your little nap."
"Wedding, what-" she tried to ask, but then looked down. Her mouth fell agape at the white gown that as far as Baron was concerned, she didn't actually deserve. But then her large blue eyes, attempting an innocence that was almost genuine focused on the white locks that had fallen down from her updo. She tugged on it a few times, as if surprised that it was connected to her head.
"Now that you are awake, however, I believe that now is an excellent time to set some rules," he informed her with a glare to ensure she knew he was serious.
"Oh boy," she moaned in a panic as her right hand started desperately pinching her left arm that wasn't covered by the band. "Come on, wake up! Wake up!"
"You are awake, Louise," he informed her firmly, but her tantrum was clearly building up again, though more panicked than angry this time.
"No, no, no, this is some mistake!" she tried to say while reaching for the carriage door handle.
Baron swiftly stopped her, since he knew the king would hold him accountable for anything she did at this point. "Stop that, Louise; you've done enough," he informed her coldly while holding her by the wrist.
"You don't under-" she tried again, but he had no patience left.
"Silence!" he roared at her, guiltily pleased that it scared her into being still and quiet for now. "Sit."
She did so, looking very afraid of him.
Baron had never enjoyed it when people looked at him with fear, but this would be the one time he was fine with taking advantage of it. He released her wrist now that she was at least sitting down and ready to listen. "It doesn't matter that neither of us wanted this marriage, Louise. What does matter is why the king forced this on us, and the fact that I am now responsible for you. So, we are going to go over a few rules that you are going to obey when we reach my manor. Understand?"
She opened her mouth to try to say something again, but a firmer glare made her shut it and give a tiny nod.
'I didn't think she would be this easy to control. I better watch my back in case this is a Gazelle Gambit.' "First off, you will treat all of my people with kindness and respect. Failure to do so will not be taken lightly."
She blinked in confusion, as if the notion had never occurred to her before. "O…kay?" she responded slowly.
"Don't use that word, you're of high breeding," he reminded her crossly before continuing. "We will be in separate wings of the manor, since I have hopes that the crown prince will annul the marriage once he ascends the throne."
Much to his surprise, she brightened up at that. "Really? That would be nice of him."
Baron stared at her, since the last thing he'd have expected was for her to react positively to having her former fiancé mentioned in her presence. "… The last thing. Due to your deplorable behavior, you will have an escort of at least two soldiers every time you leave your chambers. While I personally wouldn't care if you escaped, anything you do afterwards the king would hold me accountable for, and despite what he thinks, I have enough to worry about without running and fetching you back. But you're not going to make me do that, are you?" he asked a bit more firmly with another glare.
She shrunk back from his gaze before lowering her eyes to her lap, though she still seemed to be confused. "N-no."
A smile crossed his furry lips as he leaned back in his seat. "Excellent. I've been informed your things will arrive a day after us, and hopefully some of it at least will help keep you occupied. I don't have time to continually make you mind, so if there is anything else you require, be sure to inform the maid I will assign you, or the head housekeeper if I am not checking up on you. But for the record, ruining even one of my books is a mistake you don't want to make, even once."
"What, no!" Louise protested in horror. "That's below the belt!"
"What?" he asked warningly, in case she was making an off-color joke. He also wasn't sure if he cared for the new way she was forming her accent, as if she were mocking him.
She blinked, as if not understanding why he was mad at the statement. "Books are off-limits for everything but reading, learning and enjoyment. You don't have to worry about that out of me, I love reading."
"Somehow I'm less than convinced," he muttered loud enough for her to hear. "Behave yourself, and we'll see about access to my library in a week or so."
She frowned at him before leaning against the side of the carriage. She wrapped both of her arms in front of her and became startled when the bands clanged at the contact. "These are odd," she muttered to herself, as if she were just noticing them.
"You may as well get used to those. You'll likely be wearing them for the rest of your life," Baron informed her, since he was hoping to high heaven that there would never be an emergency grave enough to grant Louise access to her powers again.
"What are they for?" she asked, actually sounding like she didn't know.
"Please don't play dumb, Louise. It doesn't suit you," he informed her a bit harshly. "You know what you did, and why both of us have to be punished for your actions. Now do me the small favor of being silent, because in all honesty, you're the last person I have any interest in speaking to at the moment."
She gave him an offended, bewildered look, but another sharp glare made her flinch back and turn her attention to watching the road from the carriage window.
At least she wasn't screaming again, Baron could be grateful for that as she rubbed her throat painfully. She had seemed to accept his rules as well, which didn't seem like her at all. His thumb tapped against his arm as he tried to look at anything else but his reluctant bride.
But unfortunately for him, nothing, not even the passing scenery was as interesting as her. Her blue eyes were troubled and distant as they stared into the horizon, and he could just see her lower lip being secretly chewed on as she thought and thought about her situation, or anything else that was on her mind.
He didn't particularly like how she seemed to press herself against the side of the carriage, as if she wanted as much distance as possible between her and him. 'This is what I wanted, after all.'