An Arranged Marriage. (Closed to Nen and SeverusX)

[Artificial Sugar]

Atropa Trist took a seat on the maroon velvet loveseat in her family's living room.


She'd be meeting her future husband in a few minutes, and she was nervous, even though she'd never admit it out loud.


Her mother smiled at her as she set down the tray of tea, which held six teacups, the last of their fine china.


Today, Atropa, her parents, and her future husband, as well as his parents, would be meeting.


She'd met him before, of course, in town and such, but she really didn't know him well.


Even so, this marriage was essential to her family and their well being.


"Should I bring some snacks?" Her mother asked, looking worried.


Atropa put a gentle hand on her mother's arm, a soft smile on her lips.


"No, I'm sure just tea will be fine." She said quietly, watching the steam rise from the pot.


Her father entered, dressed in his best suit. Atropa herself had dressed in a lovely royal blue gown today, made of silk, along with a pair of dark blue slippers to go with.


Her sleeves were trimmed in black lace, and the cut of the dress showed a hint of her breasts, but not too much to be indecent.


Her dark hair was put up with a braid around her crown, a popular style recently.


Atropa's younger sister would not be joining them today. She was angry with Atropa, despite her not having any say in who she was marrying.


The boy she was to marry was someone her sister had been fancying for years, unknown to Atropa until today.


A loud knock on the door startled Atropa, who sat up straight and brushed her skirt off, despite not having anything on it.


"I'll get that." Her mother said, putting a smile on for show.


Atropa took a deep breath, and pasted her own smile on.

-------




Edward had been working the garden for a while already, but he wasn't even close to done yet.


He had been instructed to plant a whole new row of roses for the Trist family, since their old ones had been infested with bugs, and had to be ripped up.


He'd chosen a few different colors, deciding that he would liven things up around their house.


Things had been tense lately, though he wasn't sure why.


He knew that the eldest daughter, Atropa, would be married soon. He himself didn't know when, or if, he would be married.


He fancied the younger sister, who he'd been friends with for years, but she seemed to have no interest in him that way.


It was just as well, though. He had to take care of his mother and younger sister, anyway.


They depended on him now, with father gone. He was the sole money maker for them.


Even now, they could barely afford bread and soup.


Edward didn't want to get married and leave them behind. He would have to find a woman who would accept them, as well.


Deciding to take a break, Edward took a seat on a bench in their garden, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe his hands on.

​

 

[Nen]

Dahlia was pouting. She had been for nearly a week now, ever since the news of her sister's betrothal came to light. Henry King. Of all the wealthy bachelors available, why did it have to be him?! The young Trist girl had been harboring feelings for the brooding fellow for years now, always going out of her way to spot him in a crowd if she knew he was present.


…And now he would be sitting in her very own parlor with her family, and she wasn't even allowed to join them!


Exhaling an angry little sigh through her nose that she would have undoubtedly been chastised for if her mother were present, Dahlia took in the sight of her room, her eyes lingering on the bare walls where pictures had once hung – paintings that, as their livelihood became more dire, had been sold in an effort to afford food. A surge of angry humiliation washed over the young girl, and without a second thought, she stormed down the hallway and out the back door towards the gardens, knowing that the moment she heard Henry's voice through the walls she would fall into utter despair.


Instead, she tried to take her mind off of the terrible unfairness that was her life, inhaling a deep, cleansing breath of fresh air. Without thought, her wandering lead her to Edward Hawthorne, her family's gardener and a man she'd practically grown up with. He was busy with his hands deep in the earth, obviously hard at work. She knew she probably shouldn’t pester him, but boredom would drive her mad soon, especially if her thoughts kept going back to the fact that her elder sister would soon be wed to the man she loved.


"Edward," her voice came out high and whiny, like a petulant child clamoring for attention, but Dahlia was beyond caring. Besides, she could always be herself around Edward – after all, they had been friends forever.
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–––––––


Henry stood at the front door of his bride-to-be's home, his shoulders a tense line of tightly locked muscles. His mother had been in a deliriously happy mood all day, humming cheerfully to herself throughout breakfast and sneaking him tiny smiles like she was terribly proud of him for some reason. Henry honestly didn’t understand – he knew his mother was looking forward to him finally settling down with a "respectable young woman," as she'd said a thousand times before, but her enthusiasm seemed a bit…over the top. Mr. King, on the other hand, was just as stoic as ever, his salt-and-pepper hair combed neatly to the side as it always was, and his face a mask of pleasant disinterest.


"Darling, if you don't knock now we'll be more than fashionably late," Mrs. King tutted with an affectionate smile, and Henry felt the tips of his ears burn as he quickly rapped his knuckles against the heavy wooden frame.


It wasn't that he was terribly nervous per se, it's just that…he barely knew Atropa Trist. Of course, he was well-aware of her family's fine standing in their community, and they'd undoubtedly been politely introduced on more than one occasion, but this whole sitting-down-for-tea-and-meeting-the-family affair made him feel boxed in, suffocated. At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to be out in the fields with his horses, or perhaps taking a ride down the trail through the woods just outside their home. Instead, however, he did his best to look amicable (his younger siblings had teased on more than one occasion that his resting face made him look "terribly dour"), even twisting his lips into a semblance of a smile as the door opened and who could only be Mrs. Trist welcomed them inside.



​

 

[Artificial Sugar]

Atropa clenched her hands together nervously, putting on a large smile when the King family entered.


There he was, her future husband, Henry.


"I've made some tea for us." Her mother said, gesturing to the tea kettle in the center of the tray on the coffee table.


She waved a hand towards the two couches and the few chairs they had left.


"Please, take a seat anywhere."


Atropa's father, George, greeted Mr. King humbly, shaking his hand and smiling.


They muttered quietly to each other, standing together, not sitting yet.


Atropa caught herself frowning and turned her attention to Henry, putting on her smile again.


"Hello, Henry. I hope your day has been well." Her voice was high and cheery, utterly unlike her.


Atropa silently cursed Dahlia, wishing she was the one being married off.

============

Edward turned, a large grin on his face when he heard Dahlia's voice.


It appeared she'd been ushered out of the meeting, and she was now pouting.


Grinning at her, Edward laughed.


"You're acting like a spoiled child." He told her, laughter in his voice and sparkling eyes.


He'd always been known around town for his humor, something he wasn't sure if he should be proud about or not.


"You know, more than likely, the two will end up unhappy, and Henry will begin an affair with you."


Edward said to Dahlia, bumping her with his shoulder.


He'd liked her for years, despite being almost five years older, but he didn't want to stand in the way of her happiness.


If she could truly be happy with Henry, then he would tell her to go for it.



​