Arie faintly feels she's in over her head as she is led to the marital chamber. The corridor is eerily quiet considering the loud banquet hall she just left. Glowing petals from moon suckles trailed down the hall, lighting their way in romantic fashion. She sighs when she considers all the effort the duke put into her wedding. Her hands nervously clutch her dress as they arrive at the door. Wreathes of radiant entwined willow leaves hang in front of the door as a blessing to the new bride and groom.
She had little to no time to do any proper research on the local practices here. At best she tried to question her personal maids in private about what to expect. Assuming she's simply a shy bride they didn't hold anything back, gossiping about what a wedding night entails. She could do without the sex-ed since she already knows that part. It's not like she'd been a virgin in her past life. She was more worried about weird or archaic bedroom traditions.
Thankfully, though the game mirrors medieval times it's not to the point where the guests follow the newlyweds to their bed chambers and watch the consummation in action. This gives her hope, the game never showed signs on whether Ariellia and Rei consummated their wedding night or not, playing it safe by rated T standards. She sorely hopes Rei's distaste for her runs deeper than his sense of duty. Before the annulment of their marriage she'd rather they stay purely platonic.
Too tipsy to walk steady, she sways forward into the marriage chamber. If this were a true wedding based on love this is where she would wait like a good little bride for her groom to remove her tiara and veil. For a sham wedding like this, she knows better than to burden the hero with such nonsense. She personally rips the crystal tiara from her head, losing some pearls and pins in the process but her drunken mind could care less.
She collapses by the edge of the bed, blankly staring at the canopy above. What is she to do now? She transmigrated into this body just a month before its demise. What could she do to prevent her impending doom? There's still so much she doesn't understand. Games are easy; there's a brief synopsis, tutorial, and guided quests. She has none of that here. This feels as real as it gets, there's no magical system telling her what to do. She could possibly die here forever.
'I wish there was something I can relate to at least, maybe a status window…or a guide even' she grumbles.
[User's wish has been heard, status window now loading]
Wait…what! There's a status bar? Shocked, she sits up straight. She stares in anticipation as a green translucent window appears before her eyes. It looks similar to the one in the game. She stares at it in awe, her jittery hands shaking at her sides from excitement. What does this mean? She no longer has to guess about a lot of things. At least now she can gain a solid understanding of her own character.
[Name: Ariellia Silvy Garrod]
[Age: 17] [Gender: Female]
[Race: Half Dark Elf/???]
[Lvl:1] [HP:150]
[MP:50] [Attack:25]
[Magic Defense:60] [AP:0]
[Intelligence:45] [Defense:15]
[Luck:30] [Special traits: ???]
[Exp:0/150]
[Weapon: n/a]
[Armor x3: Freya's wedding dress, ivory heels, snow diamond gloves]
[Accessories x4: Selene's tear earrings, Ayna's locket, Herold's ring, Gedium's bracelet]
[Elemental Affinity: Darkness, Earth, ???]
Arie blinks, not believing the massive bits of information in front of her. Some of her stats make perfect sense while others leave her feeling confused. As a member of the elder race capable of magic it makes sense for her intelligence to have a high starting point. As a dark elf it's understandable that she has an affinity for the earth and darkness. However, it's unclear what her last affinity is. Ariellia died too soon in the game for any secrets to be revealed about her character. It's all the same things she'd expect to see on a character's status window from 'The King's Return.'
'So what if I try to log out?'
Perhaps this truly is a game and maybe she could escape this weird reality this way! Excited, she attempts to think of logging out. She concentrates so hard she almost goes cross-eyed, but much to her disappointment nothing happens. She tries several other commands used in the game mentally, but sadly nothing seems to work except for [Status].
'I still know too little about my circumstance' she frowns.
As much as she would love to get down to the bottom of this, she's too tired to try anything else. The day's revelations had been too much, overloading her brain. She finds her lids falling without her permission. As she falls asleep, her last thoughts are lingering worries of sleeping without washing off the light makeup on her face and ruining the clean bed sheets. This is how her husband finds her, passed out on the bed with a pout on her rosy lips. The scene could easily make any man rise to the occasion…but not Rei.
The chamber is dark, lit faintly by the mana lamps along the walls. Cloaked in a dark robe over his wedding garb, he blends in with the shadows. The dim lighting doesn't bother his vision. He can see Ariella's sleeping form as clear as day under the soft violet lights. Her chest softly rises and falls, her long silver hair spilling out of the braid patterns to rest on her unguarded neck. There, he sees what he came for. A locket in the shape of a rose is gently wrapped around her pretty little neck by a thin gold chain.
He sneers at her with contempt as he leans over her defenseless form. A pampered little miss could never understand the meaning and worth behind this priceless locket. It's this very locket she used to lure Ayna into her trap, forcing him to marry her. The thought of his friend's memento of her late parents being used in this way makes his blood boil. The sight of it on Ariellia's extravagant form makes his eyes flash in silent rage. Swiftly, he snatches the locket off her neck before storming out of the room.
The sole occupant of the room is still blissfully unaware. Their union remains unfulfilled and empty.