Chapter Text
The midday sun streaming through the windows slowly roused Max from her restless sleep. Unwilling to renter reality, she covered her eyes with her hand and groaned loudly in protest. Max knew that she didn’t want to be awake but in her sleepy state she couldn’t say exactly why. Her body felt heavy and stiff with exhaustion and her head was pounding. Finally, after admitting defeat, Max gingerly raised herself up in bed and took in her surroundings while rubbing dirt from her bleary eyes.
In confusion Max glanced around the room. ‘Where on earth am I?’
She was laying without a scrap of clothing on in a large four-poster bed with a golden curtain. Expensive furniture decorated the room and a rich vibrant tapestry hung on the wall. Memories resurfaced slowly, as if wading through treacle.
‘Gold melting in a furnace, sweat… and pain. Excruciating pain.’
Max clutched the sheets to her chest as the images from the previous evening filled her mind. The man who had become her husband had done things to her that she never could have imagined and explored places in her body that she had never even known existed. Feelings of violation, confusion, sadness and anger crashed through her. What had he done to her? Was this meant to have happened? And if it had, why had no one warned her?
The space next to her was empty and felt cold to the touch. She stared in bewilderment and amazement.
‘How could he sweep through like a raging storm, then disappear without a trace?’
The man was a complete mystery to her. He appeared to believe that she found even his mere existence abhorrent but in truth he frightened her. All she had ever known from a man was cruelty, anger, hatred and indifference. Why would he be any different? Riftan Calypse could chill a room with a glance, and whenever his gaze landed on her his expression was filled with displeasure.
His eyes seemed to see deep within her. It was as if he could see how useless she was. How her very existence was a source of shame for her family.
Max couldn’t think of anyone who was more her opposite, He was a giant, she was small. He was strong, she was weak. He was unfeeling, she was oversensitive. He was an outstanding knight, she was inadequate. He was beautiful, she was… well, she could be considered plain at the very best.
She knew that Riftan had initially refused to marry her and her father had done something to force his hand. How much more of an insult he must have felt at being wedded to her…
Before Max could get lost in her thoughts, her nanny Joanna bustled into the room.
“Good afternoon young lady. I trust you slept well?”
“G-Good afternoon N-Nanna…”
Max sat awkwardly as Joanna began stoking the fire and placing a kettle filled with water over the flames to heat up. Max had a million questions she wanted to ask but couldn’t even begin to work out where to start. Her nanny was not a patient woman and would become agitated if she asked too many questions. Max knew that the woman cared for her in her own way, but she was ultimately working for her father and her loyalty lay with him. If Max said the wrong thing it would be reported back to him and she would be punished.
“Your Father is very pleased. The priest validated the marriage this morning and the responsibility for the dragon campaign has been officially passed over to Lord Calypse.”
Max froze at the words she had never heard uttered to her before, words she had longed to hear for her 19 years.
“F-Father is… pleased w-with me?”
“His Grace had his doubts last night that you would be able to complete your duties after seeing the face you were pulling all day, but he is delighted that he no longer shoulders the burden for leading the forces into certain doom.”
Max sighed heavily. Why had she gotten her hopes up? Her Father was pleased that he had been able to send another into war in his place, not with her. He was never pleased with her.
Joanna poured hot water into a bowl and began to wipe her skin down with a towel. Max felt her face flushed crimson as she saw the small blooms of red that littered her fair skin. Her nanny sighed and began scrubbing her skin roughly until her flesh felt sore, muttering something about ‘that brute’ under her breath. At long last she gave up and threw the towel into the water, spraying the floor with water.
“It’s no use. I’ll be back shortly with another dress so you can at least keep a semblance of modesty. Your father would be furious if he saw this display.” After giving one last shake of her head Joanna turned on her heel and began to walk with haste towards the door clearly irritated with the extra work this caused her.
Max, desperate to appease her nanny, began cleaning the rest of her body. When she had finished drying her thighs, she stood shakily before bringing the damp cloth to the area between her legs. She winced in pain, her delicate flesh feeling tender and swollen. The area must be bruised. Max took her time, wiping herself thoroughly, keen to get rid of all traces of that man from her body. She was shocked to see blood streaked throughout the foreign thick white sticky substance as she moved to rinse the cloth out. Concern sat heavily in her.
‘What has he done to me?’
She had only finished her bleedings the past week so it was too early for it to be that. Had he caused her an injury through his rough treatment of her the previous evening?
As her thoughts began to spiral Joanna came back into the room with a long sleeve thick dress which was completely inappropriate for the warm weather.
“N-Nanna, th-there’s bl-bl-blood…”
Joanna quickly glanced at the cloth before sighing. “Of course there’s blood. It shows that you were pure on your wedding night. How else do you think the priests validated your marriage?”
Seeing Max staring at her with a confused face, Joanna sighed and spoke slowly as if speaking to a young child. “The priest came into the bedroom and saw the virgin blood on the bed sheets.”
Max’s mind spun as she considered what she had just been told. “So… what h-happened was… normal?”
“Oh you daft child. It’s a right of passage between all married couples! But don’t you trouble yourself over it. You won’t have to see him again now. It’s only a matter of time before the telegram that you have been made a widow flies in. Your father is already looking for another match for you. His Grace will find someone more suitable for the position.” Joanna says the last part full of scorn, making her distaste for Riftan obvious.
Max stared ahead as she digested what her nanny had just told her. She had been used as a pawn in her fathers’ schemes to send a man to his death. This was to be her sole use to the proud Croix household.
⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝
Four days later…
Max was surprised at how little had changed. She was expecting something to be different but, in reality nothing had changed. Her body felt completely back to normal and the marks on her skin, which had been the only thing her husband had left with her were fading fast. She spent most of her day in the library letting the books whisk her to magical mystical lands far away.
‘Anywhere was better than being here…’
Max had decided to walk in the gardens this afternoon to clear her head. As a child she loved being outside sourcing pretty pebbles and feathers for her collection. She smiled softly to herself as she remembered how Joanna used to scold her for being unladylike and she never used to care. Oh, the hours that she used to play away with her fathers’ hound making flower crowns and playing make believe. How she longed for that innocence and wide-eyed wonder to return to her.
That was before her fatal flaw had revealed itself and she had proven to be incompetent and an imbecile. Before her skin was whipped for the slightest transgression. Before she lost her voice to screams and the edges of her vision faded as unconsciousness beckoned her. She often dreamed that someone would steal her away from this place, that they would rescue her… maybe even love her one day.
Max wondered what it would feel like to love and be loved in return. The books described it as a life altering experience, that nothing was ever the same after tasting true love. That the heavens shone and angels sung when you fell in love. Sighing, Max shook her head. She could never be worthy of being loved like that. She would have to settle for living vicariously through her books.
As she wandered through the gardens, she became aware of raised voices in the distance. Max quickly began to turn around and return the way she had come from. She hated conflict and anger in all its forms and avoided it as much as she possibly could. It was better this way, if she did something that inadvertently made her stand out she was sure to be punished.
Just as she was about to turn the corner, she heard her name being spoken by one of the voices.
“…Lady Calypse!”
Max stilled, her ears straining to hear the conversation. Due to the distance, it was difficult to understand what was being said in its entirety but she could make out the odd word.
“No… many times… off…”
“…Calypse… speak…”
Try as she might, Max could not get the gist of what was being said, but it was clear that she was the topic of conversation. She bit her lip as two opposing forces battled inside her. Max was desperate to know what was being said and she knew well that it would never reach her ears normally. No one ever bothered to tell her what was going on. On the other hand, if she was caught eavesdropping… Max didn’t want to think about it.
As Max stood there debating with herself the arguing grew more heated then, suddenly stopped. Max cursed herself, now she would never know what was going on. She guessed that she was now a coward among everything else. She really didn’t need one more reason to dislike herself but every time she turned around, sure enough there was something else flawed about her. How could someone as useless as her ever think-
“Lady Calypse…”
Max jumped out of her skin as a voice close by called to her. She had been so deep in thought that she had been completely unaware of anyone approaching. She turned to find a tall slender knight with black hair and golden eyes approaching her. He wore silver armour with a dragon embossed on the shoulder plate and a rich blue cape. He bowed to her and raised his hand to his chest.
“I apologise my lady, I did not mean to scare you. My name is Sir Gabel Lachzion and I am a member of the Remdragon Knights. I work under Lord Calypse’s command.”
Max stared in amazement. ‘What is a member of the Remdragon Knights doing here?’ After a few seconds she suddenly remembered her manners and greeted the knight.
“I-It’s a p-pleasure to meet y-you, S-Sir Lachzion. M-my name is M-Maximilian C-Calypse…”
“The pleasure is all mine my lady. I am glad I’ve run into you. I’ve come to you under the command of your husband Lord Calypse.”
Max froze for a second as she took his words in “R-Really? What is the l-lords command?”
“I’ve come to take you home, Lady Calypse.”