Irena Demos (ignoredqueen) wrote in pastarillius, @ 2008-07-12 07:29:00 |
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Lyonnis was doing his best to drive her mad, she decided, and it only took her one night in his home to decide this. She had arrived the night before, the Demos patriarch thinking it wise to have her under his roof as soon as the marriage contract was signed. He said it was about keeping her safe from the Merhites, they did not want to see Vorian married, especially to the daughter of a traitor. Her own father had murmured something about Lyonnis wanting his hands on her dowry as soon as possible to help with the war effort. Irena herself was unsure what to think, but since her dowry was so substantial: land, men, money, and a network of spies within many of the Merhite strongholds, it nearly bankrupted her father. She was more willing to believe him over her future father-in-law. Though after the first few hours here she was ready to return to her father. Lyonnis thought her exotic and decided he wanted her to play that up. Somewhere in his mind exotic must have meant desirable, she felt as if he were trying to destroy her modesty; he forbade her from wearing her headscarf or veil again, even had the things burned, saying she was beautiful and there was no reason to hide it. She felt naked without them, she had been wearing them in the presence of others since before she could remember, her father said it was immodest not to wear them and the only time he bade her remove them was when Lyonnis himself came to inspect her. He had her change when she arrived, and she nearly protested when she saw the gown, brilliantly colored and in the latest fashion, but with a neckline cut so low she feared those taller than her could see all the way down the inside of the gown. She was happy to take it off when the morning came, and that day she slept with the covers pulled so tight about her body, her long hair was all that was visible. If she thought the night before was bad the current night was like a nightmare. While he had liked her in the gown the night before, he said it did not suit her the way he imagined, so he sent her a new one, one that supposedly suited her better. The sari was lovely, she had never worn anything like it before, but with good reason, she was never allowed to bare so much skin. She felt thoroughly uneasy, and carried herself as such when one of Lyonnis' personal slaves came to collect her. His master was busy that night, but her father-in-law wished her to see the whole of her new home as she requested, there was none that knew the place better than that particular slave. She had thought she would have the chance to learn something about her intended husband from the slave, but he would speak of nothing but the things they passed in the halls. Out in the garden she was tempted to rip off some of the larger leaves from the trees and wrap herself up in them, to hide how naked she felt. That thought almost brought a grin to her lips, she knew she was being foolish. She had been taught to submit to the will of the man who possessed her, and until her marriage Lyonnis possessed her. If he wished her to dress a certain way she would, no matter how unhappy it made her. But she did see her time in the garden as the chance to escape eyes of others, and sent the slave on, telling him she wished to linger there. Once he was gone she moved to where she could not be seen from the doors, hoping she was the only one in the garden for a while. |