Re: After dinner
She'd watched in shock as Belvina had been marched out of the tent, unable to speak, unable to move or eat or do anything but stare at the spot where Belvina had disappeared. Every bit of fear she'd felt had multiplied in that moment, as her mind ran rampant with what was happening to Belvina at that very moment.
"Dad?" she'd finally whispered, her voice asking him to do something. He'd only covered her hand and shook his head and asked if she liked the food. Even now, after dinner, she was walking in a daze - even more than before - cold with fear of what was waiting for her when this reception was over. Never had she longed for a wedding to go on forever, but the fear of what would come after was too strong to ignore.
I hope you like leather Lilith had told her, and now that sentence rang in her head together with 'I don't want to do this' and images of Belvina being led out of the tent. She fled her husband as soon as she could, and retreated to the edges of the room, trying to make herself as invisible as her dress would allow. When she spotted Cassandra, she hurried over, schooling her face though there were no more schooling her eyes. How could there be.
She put up the privacy spell even as she reached for Cassandra's hands, gripping them tightly like any happy bride, though Cassandra would feel them shaking. "I can't do this," she said flat out, keeping the fake smile on her face even though it almost hurt. "They just took her, and I- I can't do this. Gods, Cassandra, what am I going to do?"