January 15, 1157
Medea's perfect sister could not have possibly married any better than she had. Oswald was the Crown Prince of Dovia. He was a man of high station and good breeding, and one day, he would be a king. Athalia would then be a queen.But Medea was the older sister. Why had Athalia married before her, and made such a match that she herself had been unable to surpass? Love, Oswald and Athalia claimed. They were in love, and therefore, he had married her instead of Medea.
Rubbish. Love was nothing, if it existed at all. By birthright, Oswald should have been Medea's, and not Athalia's. Athalia should have been the one stuck with humble Octavius, eighth son of a mere lord.
Of course, this 'love' thing had not stopped Athalia from doing her duty; she had resolved to bear him a son. Unfortunately for her, their first child had been a daughter, which meant she would have to produce a second--but as luck would have it, that next baby was a son, named Farilon for the king. With his birth, Athalia would never have to go through the dreadful task of sleeping with her husband again, and could avoid the toils of birthing another screaming brat.
Of course, Athalia had never been particularly sensible, Medea remembered as she observed her sister's swollen stomach. Needless to say, Medea didn't approve; what sort of example was she setting for her young daughter? Was Athalia actually trying to tell young Surenica that it was perfectly fine to enjoy sex with one's husband? This was not the way to raise a girl; she would have to make sure that Jedaline never got that impression.
Shaking her head, Medea decided instead to focus on her brother--the bridegroom. There was a distinct, faraway look in his eyes, as if his mind was not fully present; it must not have been, for him to take no notice of their sister's scandalous condition. Regardless, he was being terribly rude."Oh, for God's sake, Cambrin!" she snapped. "Can't you see that you have company here?"
Cambrin shifted uncomfortably. "Sorry, Medea. I was just... thinking," he finished lamely.
"About your bride?" giggled Athalia--typical of her, really, to assume that everyone else had this 'love' that she claimed was so wonderful and invaluable.
He sighed. "It's not like that, Thallie. Lileina's barely thirteen; what if she doesn't want me?"
"How could she not?" Medea dismissed the notion; Cambrin had always been rather dim. "She is only a baron's daughter, and you are an earl."
"But I can't make her love me!" he insisted. "I can love her--I will love her--but what if she doesn't feel the same way? I don't want her to be miserable for the rest of her days; perhaps I should call it off."
Five-year-old Surenica stared up at her mother. "Mama, if Uncle Cambrin calls off the wedding, do we still get cake?"Disgusting girl; Athalia should have told her long ago that cake was not for children! It gave them far too much energy, therefore draining the adults of theirs... no, any person with any sense of decency at all would separate children from cake at all costs.
"Well, that would be up to Uncle Cambrin, dear..." sighed Athalia, exchanging a quick glance with her husband.
"Athalia! Cambrin will not call off this wedding!" Medea shouted at her. "Matches are not made for love! Love is for peasants and servants--it means nothing to people of our station!""Medea..." muttered Cambrin softly, but one sharp glare sufficed to silence him.
"Medea, all Cambrin is doing is considering the comfort of the young lady," argued Athalia in her usual passive aggressive manner. "That is certainly not an unreasonable thing for a man to do for his betrothed--in fact, I think Cambrin is being very kind and sensitive to even consider it."
Medea groaned in exasperation. "Athalia, don't be an idiot! This marriage is not for the sake of Lileina's comfort! It is for the sake of solidifying the ties between Sarona and Hoprine. If Cambrin does not marry Lileina today, then whatever will Haldred think? Calling it off would not only be very stupid, but downright suicidal!"
Athalia rolled her eyes. "Medea, are you even listening to yourself? I hope you realize how ridiculous you sound."Meanwhile, behind her, Oswald met Cambrin's gaze. "What did I marry into?" he demanded. Cambrin replied with a mere shrug.
"Well, perhaps what I will do is speak to Lileina before the ceremony. If she would rather not marry me, then I will give her the chance to tell me that in such a way that would not disgrace the both of us in front of our families."Medea sniffed. "You can't do that! You know it's horrible luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding!"
Her idiot sister shook her head. "Medea, it sounds like this time, it could be very good luck indeed."
NEXT CHAPTER:
11 comments:
Medea's irrationality and narrow-mindedness scare me sometimes. I swear when I'm writing her point of view, I can just feel my brain cells slowly offing themselves one by one :(
Awww...I like Cambrin! He's thinking about his bride and not just about himself. How did Medea end up the way she is while the rest of her family is soooo...the opposite. I don't know how they can stand to be in the same room with her as she spits out such venom. I think I'd have to get up and leave! But I guess they've become so used to it that they can just tune her out huh?!
And Medea really has some whacked out ideas of what's good and proper doesn't she?!
Cambrin is a really sweet guy. Very different from Medea.
I don't think about most of the parents too much since they're almost all dead and have been since before the story, but I imagine that Medea's mother was very much like her. If I remember correctly, she died giving birth to Cambrin, and Athalia would have only been two at the time, so Medea is probably the only one who remembers her at all. Athalia and Cambrin probably take after their father more.
Some of Medea's ideas are just downright absurd. I think if there's any Naroni character at risk of going mad, it's her. Her friendship with Geneva is probably the only thing keeping her sane right now--it would be interesting to see what happens if that friendship somehow came to an end.
I adore Cambrin and Medea absolutly frightens me. And that idea is positively wicked. I would adore to watch her slow decline into madness and what her family would do. Would she be sent away, I wonder? Or just put up with? Or something more evil or dastardly?
Hmm... that's a good question. I could see Octavius putting up with her in her madness if they didn't have children, but now that the twins are involved, he would have to do something to protect them from her. Exactly what, though, would depend on just how mad she goes, or what sort of mad.
If I did make Medea go mad, I would have to really push myself to think of an original path for her insanity to take. It's one of those things that's a good idea, but it seems like everything's been done before in regards to madness. Hmmm...
"Cake is not for children." *snickers*
Medea is totally off her rocker. It's not just that she's unpleasant and stuck-up. She grade-A loony. No question about her going mad- She IS mad.
God, 13! Barely 13! That's nuts! And how old is Cambrin? I'm not sure that I can force myself to like a man who would marry a 13 year old. That's still an age where if he waited a year or two, it would make a HUGE difference.
Gah! Sorry about the late comment, Van. I had a whack-ass day. Whack. Ass.
But at least I got to end it with some new Naroni. :)
Medea is definitely not my most well-adjusted character, no doubt about it.
Fortunately, Cambrin is only 19 himself. He's kind of a wishy-washy guy when it comes to these sorts of situations, though, so Lileina's father pretty much organized the whole thing and a bunch of other nobles thought it was a good idea, so he agreed.
No worries, I'm having something of a midlife crisis myself, so it's all good.
LOL 18 = midlife???
Heheheh... with my kind of luck, I'll be very surprised if I make it to thirty-six without being crushed by a falling piano or something like that.
Medea = giant bitchsicle. Jeezy chreezy. WHAT is her PROBLEM?
Cambrin is a sweetie, though. *Snuggles* And I like Athalia, too.
A lot of Medea's problems have to do with her jealousy of Athalia. Even without that, however, I do think her siblings would still be nicer people than she is.
Post a Comment