Undying Revolt

A wedding is meant to be a joyous occasion. But as Shannara looked at herself in the heavily decorated metal-framed mirror, all she felt was a sense of unease. Her dress was not of her own choosing, though that didn’t matter in her mind. Given the rush of this endeavour, she was grateful not to be in her work uniform for the over flourished event.

The white dress hugged her full figure perfectly, it had long fitted sleeves and a delicately lace-decorated heart-shaped neckline. The bodice was entwined tightly at the back pulling her waist in more than she could have imagined. The overall design, though beautiful, didn’t seem to suit her personality. Not that anyone knew here so they wouldn’t be able to tell. Her hair was flamboyant, pulled back and pinned up with small pearls dotted through various sections. It was going to be a pain in the neck to undo later.

Touching her fingers to the curled strands of dark brown hair that fell in front of her face, she felt anything but herself. The light jingle of metal bangles around her wrist caught her attention as she moved, only confirming that this was nothing like what she would have chosen for the occasion. This was far too extravagant, she preferred simplicity over the expensive jewels she had been adorned with.

To be in love with a demon was the last thing on her wishlist, however this arrangement was the deal she had made. Could she learn to love him? Would it come naturally? Or would it remain a loveless marriage, the irony wasn’t lost on her thinking about her divorced parents that she no longer spoke too. Turning she reached for the envelope on the small table in the center of the room, inside a slip of paper that she had signed the night prior. A marriage contract between herself and the Demon King of this world. A deal with a devil. She still had her doubts about this union, but she’d come too far now to turn back.

Arion, her soon-to-be husband had made it abundantly clear. Once she crossed the threshold into his world they would need to be wed before she could live a life of freedom, whatever that may entail here in this world she didn’t know. From what she had gathered thus far, humans were highly sought after by demons in particular. However, all she had was his word on the matter. That of course was only for now, she did plan to do her own research when time allowed.

The contract, though she felt it unnecessary in a normal setting, did give her a sense of security and this was far from a normal arrangement. This was after all a union of high standing and not just a standard marriage, she was about to become a queen, and rules would need to be followed. Though the rules they agreed on weren’t what one may think, they had both sat down and worked on something that would benefit both parties equally. He had been reasonable in listening to her requests and changing wording here and there.

The Rules were outlined as follows:

1. Public appearances are mandatory for both parties, affectionate displays may be involved.

2. Sexual intercourse is never to be forced.

3. Sexual relations outside of the marriage is forbidden.

4. 1-year delay in attempting to produce offspring is allowed, it is not a deadline but an allowance.

5. Freedom of movement for the queen is granted only after marking has occurred.

6. The queen can not leave the kingdom’s border without an escort. (Prerequisite of rule 5 needing to be met)

7. Travelling between realms is to be forbidden by law without permission from the king.

8. A law is to be put into place regarding the lawful treatment of humans.

First and foremost in her mind and the main reason she was here, she was to bear a child for her husband. However, she had requested some time to settle into the kingdom and her new life before they began to try. She wanted to grow used to her new living arrangements before she was thrown into motherhood, something she had never seen herself doing. They had agreed on a 1-year limitation, though it could be shortened at her choosing. And if they were to be sexualy active before that, accidents happen.

She was requested to remain faithful to only the King during their marriage. In other words, she was not to have sexual relations with anyone even after she had produced a child. Given they were entering into a marriage together she had thought this a given. However, Arion had explained that most royals take multiple spouses in order to produce as many heirs as possible, or they did in the past. He had stated he would not be doing this and would solely be focusing on her and her well-being, or rather their children.

Her requests had resulted in the addition of rules 7 & 8, no more humans to be taken or pursued from her world until they knew if a child could be produced successfully from their union. Sadly she knew that he could only put provisions in place to stop others. With the lands being in turmoil and desperate for a way to produce more demons she felt she needed to do something, anything. She already knew someone or something was working in the shadows and entering the human realm against the King’s decree as it was.

Shannara’s mind floated back to the conversation they had had in her world. He had mentioned war and the fact that all the female demons had been killed. Something didn’t sit right about that... More than that, since there were no females to breed with the demons started trying to procreate with other species. This however resulted in many failures, demon blood seeming to be described as a parasitic virus, killing off the inferior genes and sadly the babies are often born disfigured, if even alive. Humans were then being discussed as candidates as the genetic makeup was somewhat similar, and she had been chosen as one of those very candidates and by the sounds of it, not just by Arion.

Someone had given a human an ancient tome that could rip beings from Arions world and summon them to hers. Luckily the now dead man hadn’t managed to do so correctly. Arion suspected that the location in her small town had not been by chance, they had intended to test her. Much of how his subordinate had also tested her for him, though that hadn’t turned out how it was supposed to. Then once they had been introduced she worked with Arion in her world to retrieve the ancient tome and stop the fool from causing more chaos, but not before the bodies piled up. The supernatural was far outside of the law, it was proving impossible to catch the man committing the murders so she made a deal with the devil and sealed her fate.

Once the marriage ceremony was over and she was declared his, she shivered at the thought of being owned by another, she would be able to move freely. And that was her chance to learn about this Kingdom, her new home.

A nagging thought occurred to her, he had to mark her, laying claim to her. She detested the thought. She didn’t have a say in the matter. She could refuse him of course but that would only delay her freedom. She needed to lay with him tonight at all costs.

The first day she had met him had felt like something out of a fairy tale, at first that was. Right up until the moment when the walls were dripping with blood, oh how quickly things turned to hell. It seemed like a distant memory now. Her investigation of the small town’s horrible murders and her best friend, still in the hospital forever scarred by the encounters they had endured. If she hadn’t asked Arion for his help to stop the murders rampage she would had lost Masie, he never left a victim alive.

She let out a stifling sigh, would she ever see any of her friends and co-workers again?... probably not. She knew all this going into this union, but it didn’t make it the least bit easier.

On top of that, she was becoming a queen. What did that entail exactly? Would she have duties besides laying beneath a demon to bear his children? That was even if she could... what if this wasn’t going to work? Would she be tossed aside as worthless trash and discarded...

Two short soft knocks sounded on the door cutting her thoughts short. She had been left alone in the room after the help had finished getting her ready. For an outsider, she had been treated quite amicably thus far.

“Yes?” She answered not entirely sure what she should do in this situation, was she meant to open and answer it?

A well-kept man wearing an exquisitely designed suit entered the room and bowed his head. “Greetings Madam. I am the king’s right-hand man, Elise. I have come to escort you to the ceremony.”

So, it was time. She nodded before taking a few short steps to close the distance. She noticed that under the man’s black hairline, she could see what appeared to be black-like veins protruding from his skin. They extended up to his small horns that were mounted on the top of his head. When he spoke she noticed a hint of fang-like teeth as well. She couldn’t help but wonder why Arion seemed to be the only one, at least that she’d seen so far, that could appear completely human... Or was it that he chose to?

This man was undoubtedly a demon, much like all the men she had seen around the estate. Though Arion had informed her that his kingdom didn’t house a lot of demons and the ones here at the moment were here solely for the wedding. After all, they were all as curious as Arion himself if she would be able to bear a demon-born child or not. Meaning any one of these men could also be the culprit behind the attacks on her home world. Enemies on all sides.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” She stated with a half smile.

Elise held out his arm for her and without hesitation, she linked hers with his. She was determined to just get the day over with. She hated being the centre of attention, and sadly there was no avoiding it today.