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Maria walked up the aisle of the castle church with Gustaf by her side. The sea of noble people in colorful clothes parted in front of them. She didn’t want to look at King Jonathan standing with his back to her at the altar. Instead, she looked at the walls. She had always imagined the buildings of the court being the most lavish that she had ever seen. Filled with splendor, glamor, and gold.
In reality the whole place hadn’t been maintained for a while. The rough stone walls were covered in water-stained wall hangings. The gold on the altar seemed to have been scraped off. It was clear that the royal family had no money, having been ruined by her brother only six months before.
Maria finally understood why Gustaf had spent so much money on the items in her dowry chest. He had a lot more money than King Jonathan – and he wanted the king to know. It was probably also the reason why he had had their mother’s wedding gown altered to fit Maria. It was made from heavy golden brocade on a black and deep purple background. It was the most lavish dress that she had ever worn, and she knew that it made her look beautiful.
Not that King Jonathan would mind, she imagined. She hadn’t seen him since they had met each other in the stables yesterday. She knew that Gustaf had seen him briefly and that he was displeased that the king hadn’t been there to welcome him, or that there hadn’t been a feast yesterday to celebrate their arrival.
Maria had been happy to rest in her room. She was still a little shocked that she had talked so familiarly with the king one moment and the next he had turned completely cold, when he realized who she was. This didn’t bode well for her wedding night.
Gustaf turned his head towards her with a quizzical look in his eyes. Maria looked back at him, and he looked down at his arm that she was holding. She realized that she had squeezed it tightly at the thought of her wedding night and quickly released her grip.
King Jonathan didn’t turn one bit when Maria reached the altar and stood beside him. Not even a glance. His resentment seemed to radiate from him like the heat of his body that she felt standing so close to him. He still smelled faintly of the stables and horses, she felt, although that could simply be her imagination.
When the archbishop asked if he wanted to marry her, he answered “I do” through clenched teeth, managing to make it sound even shorter than the two words actually were.
It was clear from his tone of voice that he would do anything to get out of the situation. A shiver ran down Maria’s spine. What lengths would a desperate man go to in order to get rid of a wife that had been forced upon him?
***
The grand hall had been decorated; candles were lit all over and music was playing. Even before Jonathan entered, he could smell the roasted pigs. Lord Helmholdt had to be so proud of all that they had done for him, Jonathan thought ironically.
He was leading his new bride by the hand up to the long table on a podium at the back of the hall. Her small hand was cold, like her insides had to be, Jonathan thought bitterly. He couldn’t imagine that the woman he had met in the stables was actually Lord Helmholdt’s sister. He must have gotten the completely wrong impression of her when they first met.
And then Lord Helmholdt had put her in that ridiculous golden dress. It was clear that he was only trying to flaunt his wealth, but the problem was that the dress fitted so perfectly that it enhanced all of the right places on his new bride’s body. Jonathan had had to turn away from her in church to not stare openly at the curve of her breasts. Neither God nor the archbishop could approve of his ogling a woman’s breasts when getting married, despite the fact that they were the breasts of his soon-to-be wife.
Jonathan tried to imagine how he had pictured Maria looking with a club foot and missing teeth. It calmed his nerves a little. He still believed that that was Lord Helmholdt’s real sister, not this woman walking next to him.
They were seated next to each other at the long table. Lord Helmholdt was sitting on Maria’s other side. Thank God Jonathan didn’t have to talk to him. Lord Helmholdt seemed to be enjoying himself already, speaking loudly to people that he knew at the tables below him.
Valdemar was seated on Jonathan’s other side. Jonathan was thankful that he was there.
“I’m not sure how long I can do this,” Jonathan whispered.
“You cannot leave. This is all about pleasing Lord Helmholdt, right?” Valdemar whispered back.
Jonathan nodded.
“You just have to suck it up then. Drink some more.” Valdemar said the last part out loud and poured more wine into Jonathan’s glass. Jonathan emptied it in a single swallow and glanced at Maria sitting next to him. He was already thinking of her as Maria and not Lady Maria anymore. What was wrong with him?
The lady in question didn’t seem to be eating. Jonathan poured himself more wine. He knew that both the food and wine had been checked by his cupbearer and Lord Helmholdt seemed to be eating it as well. It couldn’t be that it had been poisoned.
Damn, his new wife wasn’t eating, and his first thought was that she might know that the food had been poisoned. How was he supposed to get through this marriage? He was going to have to avoid her completely as soon as possible. Between his wanting her body and his anxiety over what schemes Lord Helmholdt had put her up to, he would be ready for the madhouse in no time, if he spent too much time in her company.
He should never have married her. Valdemar had said the same thing, but back then Jonathan had just wanted the truce signed. He wanted Gustaf’s recognition that he, Jonathan, was the rightful king. But now... being tied to a woman that despised him, who was even rooting for her brother to kill him... He should have put his foot down.
Jonathan thought briefly about the consummation ceremony later and quickly emptied another glass of wine. Something stirred low in his belly at the thought of her naked in a bed. He shook his head to rid his mind of the image, but it seemed stuck. In his imagination she was even smiling tantalizingly...
There was no way he was sleeping with her. He needed that annulment. Even if by some miracle it turned out that she in fact didn’t want him dead, he couldn’t remain married to her. Everyone knew that she was barren, and he needed a wife that could give him a son.
Jonathan emptied another glass and then got up. Suddenly the entire room was in motion. His leaving his seat was a sign that everyone else could and that dinner was over. Servants started to drag the heavy tables to the sides of the room to make room for dancing - even though many were still eating. Jonathan felt bad and was about to sit down again; then realized that he didn’t want to look confused in front of Lord Helmholdt.
After a moment Valdemar jumped up and led Anna onto the dance floor. Other couples followed. Anna’s honey-colored hair was hanging freely tonight, flowing after her as she danced. She smiled at Valdemar, a smile that lit up her entire heart-shaped face.
She was probably one of the most beautiful women that Jonathan knew. She could even have been his wife, had he wanted her to. Her father had wanted her to marry Jonathan, but he had refused since he knew that she and Valdemar were in love.
Jonathan wasn’t sorry that he had convinced Anna’s father to let her marry Valdemar instead, but now he couldn’t help thinking that it would be easier if he was married to her. She was one of the only women that he knew really well and was able to talk with properly. The bedding ceremony would have been unpleasant, though: Anna felt like a sister to him.
Jonathan walked over to a group of younger noblemen who were observing the dancing couples.
“Aren’t you going to dance with your new wife, Your Majesty?” one of them asked, grinning.
Jonathan looked at Maria, who was still sitting at the long table. She was watching the twirling couples. She was completely motionless except for her right foot that was tapping the beat of the music. She probably wasn’t even aware of it.
Jonathan shook his head at the question. He felt no desire to dance with her. Sure, his body wanted to be close to her, but his mind told him that it would be a very bad idea. Besides he knew that it would probably annoy Lord Helmholdt if he didn’t dance with Maria.