who Hector & Nyx. what Cage of marriage is setting in with a vengeance. when Night of 28 March. where Her home. rating tbd.
Vulnerable. Conflicted. Confused.
Never in her life had Nyx been this shaken by anything. When she stood before the mirror in Oberon’s studio staring at her reflection, something hit her, and it was enough to shake her to the very core. A word surfaced in her mind, one she had never spoken or dared to even imagine. One that was forbidden. Yet there it was, as she imagined herself at the alter on her wedding day, staring at her future husband, who no doubt would look absolutely perfect in the suit of Black and purple she’d picked out with Oberon’s help.
Love.
Even imagining the word now made her sick. What was wrong with her? Never in her life had she felt such a thing for anyone. Not even her twin who was part of her. They’d shared nearly everything together and she didn’t feel compelled to say such a disgraceful thing. And what of her mother? The woman who told her that a woman’s place was to keep her thoughts, her affection, emotions from everyone around her. A woman isn’t what she feels, she’s what she conveys. Emotions were weakness, brittle, vulnerable. Nyx was not vulnerable!
Unable to stand the sight, Nyx returned home but felt ill at ease even there. Eventually she’d written in her journal seeking advice from those she knew she could trust. The only people she truly trusted with such information. The downside was however that Hector had apparently seen what she’d started to write to him and that became its own mess.
If there was a state she was in that she absolutely did not want him to see, it was one where she was vulnerable and confused. Aside from the obvious ease of manipulation, she didn’t need him to view her as weak. Nyx was not weak. Oberon was right, she told herself that even after reading what he’d written. A ring, even as beautiful and unique as it was, did not cage her, did not dominate or control her. It was a piece of jewelry and nothing more.
No, the cage was marriage. It was permanence that she could not escape even if she wanted to. It was being expected to live up to society’s standards of marriage to a pure blood man. A man that not only out ranked her before their marriage but had expectations on him for how to behave once they became married. If they were unmarried, even with all the problems that came when they separated, she could in fact leave him if she wanted to. But divorce was not an option.
Frankly, she did not desire it to be if they truly did marry. If Hector ever wanted to leave her once she married him - well, Nyx feared it would have to be in a box as they lay him to rest forever. She was not going to be humiliated by him leaving her for some passing fancy in a dress.
Speaking with Oberon had calmed her. It did its job well enough that Nyx now stood staring down at her fireplace in the formal parlor of her home, rather than pacing around the room. “Is this really what you want, Hector?” Nyx spoke upon hearing movement behind her. She didn’t look up at first, but she didn’t have to. Only one person was expected tonight. “Forever together until one of us kills the other?”