The Betrothed
for National Novel Writing Month
Day 4
“You’re kidding me, right?”
Darrick and Roger sat at a table in a coffeehouse right off of campus. The rustic décor – wooden furniture, muted colors, and a central fireplace (currently empty) – gave the place a soothing quality Darrick was deeply appreciating, given how his world had just been so thoroughly upended. He had asked Roger to meet him there when he realized that, even though he desperately wanted to clue in his friend to everything that had happened, he had no idea how to even start the story; the time it took to drive to campus gave him needed time to clear his head and organize his thoughts. Very quickly, he concluded that, much as he needed to talk, he couldn’t tell his friend everything. As angry as he was with his mother, he had been given a trust, a secret belonging not to him, or even to her, but to an entire group; he couldn’t share it. Not a word about Atlantis would he say (realizing that his friend might very well believe he had gone completely around the bend had a role to play in his decision, he had to admit). However, that was making the rest of it all even more difficult to explain and for Roger to believe.
“Oh, no, I most certainly am not,” Darrick replied. “They’ve arranged a marriage for me, and they plan on it happening soon.” Darrick resisted the urge to look around and see if anyone else was following the conversation; with his anger was mixed a measurable amount of embarrassment at the situation, and he didn’t want any of his fellow students to overhear. He had even unconsciously leaned over the table towards Roger on the opposite side, to keep his voice as quiet as possible.
Roger looked as Darrick imagined he might have upon hearing the news. Utter confusion, mixed with a rising anger.
“And you won’t tell me why?”
“No, I really can’t.” Darrick shrugged an apology. Roger ran his hand through his hair and blew out his breath.
“Well then, forget ‘why’,” Roger said. “How can they do this? It can’t be legal. Don’t they arrest people for that sort of thing, y’know, like Arabs or Indians or other people who send their children off to be married against their wishes?”
“I think that’s when it’s children, nine- or ten-year-olds. Though I suppose they would apply the same thing to people forcing their older children into marriage, too.” Darrick took a sip of his coffee, wincing at the taste; it was stronger than he usually took it, but he felt he needed something strong to brace him for this conversation, and for whatever conversation he was going to have when he returned home. “Besides, am I supposed to report them? I’m not happy with my parents right now – Mom, mainly, but Dad hasn’t done all that well here either – but I don’t want to see them in jail. I don’t think they deserve that.”
Roger sat back and crossed his arms.
“Well, man, I’m not sure what I should say here. There’s obviously a lot going on here that you aren’t telling me, but I won’t pry. But are you sure you can’t talk them out of this?”
“They’ve been planning this ever since I was a baby.” Darrick’s mind still reeled at that thought. All his life there had been this secret life all around him of which he had never been aware. Now that he knew it, so many things – like his parents’ tumultuous relationship – made so much more sense that he wanted to kick himself for not having picked up on it before. But still, how could he have ever guessed his mother hailed from a land he had always believed to be mythical? “My mother’s practically built her life around it, I think. No, I don’t think she’ll be talked out of it.”
“What about bargaining, then? Maybe you can talk them into putting it off for a while, at least. You’ve still got two more years of school, for goodness sake. Don’t they want you to finish?” Darrick heard his own frustration matched in Roger’s voice.
“Yesterday, I would have said ‘yes’, but I think this is more important to her than that.” Darrick considered the idea for a moment. “Still, it can’t hurt to try. Delay isn’t as good as ending it all together, but two more years on my own might give me a chance to try to figure a way out of this.”
“Or at least give you some time to get to know the girl a bit first. Maybe if you hate each other, your parents will change their minds. Hell, if it’s like any of your other relationships, the two of you won’t be able to stand the sight of each other within six months.” Roger smirked, and Darrick grunted in protest.
“Mom seems pretty convinced that we’ll get on well.” And she’s taken steps – magical steps! – to insure that’s the case. The thought that his mind had been tampered with in that way still sent creepy chills up his spine and nausea shooting through his stomach. For a few seconds, he had to fight to keep his coffee down. He sent the thought to the back of his mind, to be dealt with later, on his own.
“Well, what do you know about her?”
Darrick laughed as he realized what little he had to say in that area. It was a tight laugh, with very little mirth involved, just a weary irony.
“I don’t know anything about her, not even her name. I should probably ask about that.” He sniffed another self-deprecating laugh. “Mom did say her family was rich, very rich apparently.”
“Just what you need, a rich bitch.” Unaccountably, Darrick felt his ire rise at Roger’s statement, and he rushed to defend his unknown intended, to his own surprise.
“We don’t know that she’s like that,” he said sharply. “That’s a nasty thing to say about someone you’ve never even met.” Roger raised his hands in mock self-defense.
“Sorry, man. I thought it might make you feel better to vent on her a bit. But, point taken. This isn’t her fault. She might be as angry about this as you. There’s a bonding point for you two.”
“It’s not much, but I’ll take it.” A beep emanated from Darrick’s pocket. He took out his cell phone and flipped it open. “It’s a text from my mother. She wants me to come back home to talk some more. She says she has something to tell me that might make me feel better about the betrothal.” He snapped the phone shut again. I don’t want to go home yet, but avoiding this problem isn’t going to make it go away. I suppose I should face it head on sooner rather than later. He downed the rest of his cooled coffee in one gulp.
“Heading out, then?” Roger asked. Darrick nodded as he stood.
“Yeah,” he said. “Better get this over with. Thanks for listening, and for not freaking out.”
“What’s a friend for if not to hear you out when your parents do something stupid,” Roger said as he joined Darrick on the way to the door. “Don’t forget about bargaining for some time. Be firm.”
“I’ll do my best.”
By the time Darrick reached home, a détente had been reached between his parents. He found them sitting on opposite sides of the room, his mother reading a book, his father watching TV. As soon as he walked in the door, however, the TV switched off and the book was laid on the side table. Darrick swallowed as his parents’ attentions were turned fully to him.
“OK, this is what I have to say,” he started, as quickly as he could. I have to get this out before they can take over the conversation, or get in another fight. “I want time to think about this. I’m sure you want me to finish school, and that’s a really hard thing to do when you’re a newlywed. Give me my next two years, and then we can see about this marriage thing.” His mother was shaking her head before he was even finished.
“No, Darrick, that’s impossible,” she said, her voice firm. “The bond doesn’t work that way. Atlanteans don’t get married whenever they feel like it; the bond lets them know the proper time. I know you felt it; what happened with Vivian confirms it. When the bond matures, the betrothed couple is drawn to each other, and outside attachments are severed. Isn’t that what happened with you? You lost interest suddenly and completely?”
Oh god, even that was manipulated! Darrick’s anger rose up, and he could feel his jaw clench automatically. “Tell me, have I ever had a single feeling, a single thought, that wasn’t controlled by this spell you put me under? Is there anything about me I can trust?” Maybe they do deserve prison!
“The bond does what’s best for you, for both of you. Eventually, you would have realized she wasn’t right for you and moved on. All this did was accelerate the process. Now, will you listen to what I have to tell you? You have the rest of your life to be mad at me if you want, though I think that it won’t be long before you thank me. But for now, just listen. Can you do that?” Darrick nodded grudgingly. “Very good. The bond has indicated it is time for the two of you to marry. I will admit that it happened remarkably quickly; usually it takes until your mid-twenties or so to fully mature. My original plan was to wait until you had graduated college, and then spend the next few years preparing you for this, teaching you about your Atlantean heritage gradually. That’s the whole reason I agreed to your father’s demand to raise you ‘normal’ in the first place.”
Cynthia turned to look at her husband briefly, expecting an outburst, but he remained silent. His expression, though, was anything but compliant. In response, she continued, “I will admit that I made mistakes, and that this whole affair could have been handled better by all concerned, but that’s in the past now. We need to deal with the present.” She held John’s gaze for a little while longer; after a few moments, he nodded, and she turned back to Darrick.
“Anyway, Atlantean tradition demands that the marriage happen soon after the maturation, and all the Houses are expecting us to stick very closely to that tradition. Remember that, Darrick – how well you can abide by our traditions will say much about you to the other Houses. It may even make or break you with them. You already have two strikes against you – your mixed blood and your lack of a proper Atlantean upbringing and education. You need to make a good showing before the other Houses during the wedding festivities. Our House’s good name is our only real source of power in Atlantean society. Don’t drag it through the mud.”
“So, in other words,” Darrick said bitterly, “you want me to spend my wedding trying to impress what sounds like a bigoted, arrogant group of power-crazy relatives just so we can have a good social standing?”
“Just like at every other wedding,” she replied with a smirk, catching Darrick off-guard. He wasn’t used to humor from his mother. “Don’t worry; I won’t let you shame us. We leave for the wedding in a week. From now until then, I am going to drill you in all the knowledge you should have spent the last twenty years learning. Customs, history, propriety, language – all of it. Of course, I won’t be able to make up for all the lost time, but hopefully I can teach you enough to keep you from making too many faux pas.”
“The next week?!” Daniel exclaimed in a panic. “I’ve got finals! I can’t spend all my time learning Atlantean crap when I’ve got real classes to prepare for!”
“Yes, you can. And you won’t have to spend all your time. Just consider your finals to be increased by one. And this one, you really can’t afford to fail.”
Darrick stalked over to the couch and plopped down, his head already aching as he put his head in his hands. I should have known she wasn’t going to budge on anything. She never does. Is there any way I can get out of this without sending my parents to prison or running away from home? The last thought caught him up short, but he dismissed it as quickly as he considered it. They’re paying for all my college bills. If I leave, I doubt they’ll continue paying for school, and then what will I do? He heard a sigh next to him, and found his mother sitting at his side.
“Don’t worry, it won’t be as bad as all that,” she said, in as comforting of a tone as Darrick thought she could manage. “I’m a good teacher, and there will be many people there who will be willing to help you. And, of course, I’ll be close by to catch any slip-ups before they get too out of hand. You’re intelligent. You’ll do fine.”
“I don’t want to do fine,” Darrick said. “I don’t want any of this. I just want my life to go back to the way it was yesterday, back when I thought I had a choice about the person I was going to be with the rest of my life.” He felt like crying, but he hadn’t cried since he was ten – not in front of other people, at any rate.
“Cynthia . . .” he heard his father say, his tone sounding very similar to how it had when he had caught Darrick in the middle of trouble when he was younger. Cynthia turned to look at him.
“I was getting to it,” she said in irritation. “Darrick, your father and I have come to a decision. The start of an Atlantean wedding is the Presentation, when the bride and groom are formally introduced to each other. In ancient times, this was often the first time they had met; nowadays, all the remaining Houses know each other very well, and the Presentation is merely a formality. Except in your case, of course. After the Presentation, the couple is given some time to get to know one another; usually, two or three weeks, almost never more than a month. Once the families believe that they have spent sufficient time together, the actual wedding takes place. Your presentation to Abigail is in one week; if, at that time, you still tell me you don’t want to marry her, than we will call the whole thing off, and you can go back to your normal life. Does that satisfy you?”
Darrick was stunned. I can’t believe she’s giving me this loophole. Surely she knows that I’ll say no as soon as I meet this girl. He realized the kink in his plan.
“And what about this bond?” he asked. “You know, the one that keeps me from being happy with anyone else?”
“I’ll talk to the priest about removing it. I don’t know if it’s possible – I’ve never heard of it being done before – but I give you my word that I will try. And if it can’t be removed . . . well, then you’re in the same position you would be if we broke the betrothal right now. Do we have a deal?”
Darrick thought for a moment. I can’t see any other way out, not without hurting a lot of people and screwing up my own life even worse than it already is.
“It’s not perfect, but it’ll do,” he said. “I’ll give you your Presentation.” Darrick could almost hear the clang of a metal door as it swung shut on his life, but he told himself he was just imagining things. Then he realized something his mother had said. “So, her name’s Abigail?” Darrick felt a little skip in his chest at the name, a shortening of breath. It’s nothing, he told himself. It’s gonna mean something, learning the name of the girl you’re engaged to. It’s just fantasy, romanticism run amok. Nothing to be concerned about. But a part of him worried that he might be already lost.
“Yes, it is.” His mother smiled, the first genuine smile Darrick had seen on her in a long time. “Abigail Martin. She’s a wonderful girl, Darrick. Smart, talented, very sweet. Her parents have kept me apprised of her ever since the two of you were betrothed. The two of you are very well suited for each other, as I’m sure you will discover yourself if you give her a chance.”
We’ll see, Darrick thought.
for National Novel Writing Month
Day 4
“You’re kidding me, right?”
Darrick and Roger sat at a table in a coffeehouse right off of campus. The rustic décor – wooden furniture, muted colors, and a central fireplace (currently empty) – gave the place a soothing quality Darrick was deeply appreciating, given how his world had just been so thoroughly upended. He had asked Roger to meet him there when he realized that, even though he desperately wanted to clue in his friend to everything that had happened, he had no idea how to even start the story; the time it took to drive to campus gave him needed time to clear his head and organize his thoughts. Very quickly, he concluded that, much as he needed to talk, he couldn’t tell his friend everything. As angry as he was with his mother, he had been given a trust, a secret belonging not to him, or even to her, but to an entire group; he couldn’t share it. Not a word about Atlantis would he say (realizing that his friend might very well believe he had gone completely around the bend had a role to play in his decision, he had to admit). However, that was making the rest of it all even more difficult to explain and for Roger to believe.
“Oh, no, I most certainly am not,” Darrick replied. “They’ve arranged a marriage for me, and they plan on it happening soon.” Darrick resisted the urge to look around and see if anyone else was following the conversation; with his anger was mixed a measurable amount of embarrassment at the situation, and he didn’t want any of his fellow students to overhear. He had even unconsciously leaned over the table towards Roger on the opposite side, to keep his voice as quiet as possible.
Roger looked as Darrick imagined he might have upon hearing the news. Utter confusion, mixed with a rising anger.
“And you won’t tell me why?”
“No, I really can’t.” Darrick shrugged an apology. Roger ran his hand through his hair and blew out his breath.
“Well then, forget ‘why’,” Roger said. “How can they do this? It can’t be legal. Don’t they arrest people for that sort of thing, y’know, like Arabs or Indians or other people who send their children off to be married against their wishes?”
“I think that’s when it’s children, nine- or ten-year-olds. Though I suppose they would apply the same thing to people forcing their older children into marriage, too.” Darrick took a sip of his coffee, wincing at the taste; it was stronger than he usually took it, but he felt he needed something strong to brace him for this conversation, and for whatever conversation he was going to have when he returned home. “Besides, am I supposed to report them? I’m not happy with my parents right now – Mom, mainly, but Dad hasn’t done all that well here either – but I don’t want to see them in jail. I don’t think they deserve that.”
Roger sat back and crossed his arms.
“Well, man, I’m not sure what I should say here. There’s obviously a lot going on here that you aren’t telling me, but I won’t pry. But are you sure you can’t talk them out of this?”
“They’ve been planning this ever since I was a baby.” Darrick’s mind still reeled at that thought. All his life there had been this secret life all around him of which he had never been aware. Now that he knew it, so many things – like his parents’ tumultuous relationship – made so much more sense that he wanted to kick himself for not having picked up on it before. But still, how could he have ever guessed his mother hailed from a land he had always believed to be mythical? “My mother’s practically built her life around it, I think. No, I don’t think she’ll be talked out of it.”
“What about bargaining, then? Maybe you can talk them into putting it off for a while, at least. You’ve still got two more years of school, for goodness sake. Don’t they want you to finish?” Darrick heard his own frustration matched in Roger’s voice.
“Yesterday, I would have said ‘yes’, but I think this is more important to her than that.” Darrick considered the idea for a moment. “Still, it can’t hurt to try. Delay isn’t as good as ending it all together, but two more years on my own might give me a chance to try to figure a way out of this.”
“Or at least give you some time to get to know the girl a bit first. Maybe if you hate each other, your parents will change their minds. Hell, if it’s like any of your other relationships, the two of you won’t be able to stand the sight of each other within six months.” Roger smirked, and Darrick grunted in protest.
“Mom seems pretty convinced that we’ll get on well.” And she’s taken steps – magical steps! – to insure that’s the case. The thought that his mind had been tampered with in that way still sent creepy chills up his spine and nausea shooting through his stomach. For a few seconds, he had to fight to keep his coffee down. He sent the thought to the back of his mind, to be dealt with later, on his own.
“Well, what do you know about her?”
Darrick laughed as he realized what little he had to say in that area. It was a tight laugh, with very little mirth involved, just a weary irony.
“I don’t know anything about her, not even her name. I should probably ask about that.” He sniffed another self-deprecating laugh. “Mom did say her family was rich, very rich apparently.”
“Just what you need, a rich bitch.” Unaccountably, Darrick felt his ire rise at Roger’s statement, and he rushed to defend his unknown intended, to his own surprise.
“We don’t know that she’s like that,” he said sharply. “That’s a nasty thing to say about someone you’ve never even met.” Roger raised his hands in mock self-defense.
“Sorry, man. I thought it might make you feel better to vent on her a bit. But, point taken. This isn’t her fault. She might be as angry about this as you. There’s a bonding point for you two.”
“It’s not much, but I’ll take it.” A beep emanated from Darrick’s pocket. He took out his cell phone and flipped it open. “It’s a text from my mother. She wants me to come back home to talk some more. She says she has something to tell me that might make me feel better about the betrothal.” He snapped the phone shut again. I don’t want to go home yet, but avoiding this problem isn’t going to make it go away. I suppose I should face it head on sooner rather than later. He downed the rest of his cooled coffee in one gulp.
“Heading out, then?” Roger asked. Darrick nodded as he stood.
“Yeah,” he said. “Better get this over with. Thanks for listening, and for not freaking out.”
“What’s a friend for if not to hear you out when your parents do something stupid,” Roger said as he joined Darrick on the way to the door. “Don’t forget about bargaining for some time. Be firm.”
“I’ll do my best.”
* * * * *
By the time Darrick reached home, a détente had been reached between his parents. He found them sitting on opposite sides of the room, his mother reading a book, his father watching TV. As soon as he walked in the door, however, the TV switched off and the book was laid on the side table. Darrick swallowed as his parents’ attentions were turned fully to him.
“OK, this is what I have to say,” he started, as quickly as he could. I have to get this out before they can take over the conversation, or get in another fight. “I want time to think about this. I’m sure you want me to finish school, and that’s a really hard thing to do when you’re a newlywed. Give me my next two years, and then we can see about this marriage thing.” His mother was shaking her head before he was even finished.
“No, Darrick, that’s impossible,” she said, her voice firm. “The bond doesn’t work that way. Atlanteans don’t get married whenever they feel like it; the bond lets them know the proper time. I know you felt it; what happened with Vivian confirms it. When the bond matures, the betrothed couple is drawn to each other, and outside attachments are severed. Isn’t that what happened with you? You lost interest suddenly and completely?”
Oh god, even that was manipulated! Darrick’s anger rose up, and he could feel his jaw clench automatically. “Tell me, have I ever had a single feeling, a single thought, that wasn’t controlled by this spell you put me under? Is there anything about me I can trust?” Maybe they do deserve prison!
“The bond does what’s best for you, for both of you. Eventually, you would have realized she wasn’t right for you and moved on. All this did was accelerate the process. Now, will you listen to what I have to tell you? You have the rest of your life to be mad at me if you want, though I think that it won’t be long before you thank me. But for now, just listen. Can you do that?” Darrick nodded grudgingly. “Very good. The bond has indicated it is time for the two of you to marry. I will admit that it happened remarkably quickly; usually it takes until your mid-twenties or so to fully mature. My original plan was to wait until you had graduated college, and then spend the next few years preparing you for this, teaching you about your Atlantean heritage gradually. That’s the whole reason I agreed to your father’s demand to raise you ‘normal’ in the first place.”
Cynthia turned to look at her husband briefly, expecting an outburst, but he remained silent. His expression, though, was anything but compliant. In response, she continued, “I will admit that I made mistakes, and that this whole affair could have been handled better by all concerned, but that’s in the past now. We need to deal with the present.” She held John’s gaze for a little while longer; after a few moments, he nodded, and she turned back to Darrick.
“Anyway, Atlantean tradition demands that the marriage happen soon after the maturation, and all the Houses are expecting us to stick very closely to that tradition. Remember that, Darrick – how well you can abide by our traditions will say much about you to the other Houses. It may even make or break you with them. You already have two strikes against you – your mixed blood and your lack of a proper Atlantean upbringing and education. You need to make a good showing before the other Houses during the wedding festivities. Our House’s good name is our only real source of power in Atlantean society. Don’t drag it through the mud.”
“So, in other words,” Darrick said bitterly, “you want me to spend my wedding trying to impress what sounds like a bigoted, arrogant group of power-crazy relatives just so we can have a good social standing?”
“Just like at every other wedding,” she replied with a smirk, catching Darrick off-guard. He wasn’t used to humor from his mother. “Don’t worry; I won’t let you shame us. We leave for the wedding in a week. From now until then, I am going to drill you in all the knowledge you should have spent the last twenty years learning. Customs, history, propriety, language – all of it. Of course, I won’t be able to make up for all the lost time, but hopefully I can teach you enough to keep you from making too many faux pas.”
“The next week?!” Daniel exclaimed in a panic. “I’ve got finals! I can’t spend all my time learning Atlantean crap when I’ve got real classes to prepare for!”
“Yes, you can. And you won’t have to spend all your time. Just consider your finals to be increased by one. And this one, you really can’t afford to fail.”
Darrick stalked over to the couch and plopped down, his head already aching as he put his head in his hands. I should have known she wasn’t going to budge on anything. She never does. Is there any way I can get out of this without sending my parents to prison or running away from home? The last thought caught him up short, but he dismissed it as quickly as he considered it. They’re paying for all my college bills. If I leave, I doubt they’ll continue paying for school, and then what will I do? He heard a sigh next to him, and found his mother sitting at his side.
“Don’t worry, it won’t be as bad as all that,” she said, in as comforting of a tone as Darrick thought she could manage. “I’m a good teacher, and there will be many people there who will be willing to help you. And, of course, I’ll be close by to catch any slip-ups before they get too out of hand. You’re intelligent. You’ll do fine.”
“I don’t want to do fine,” Darrick said. “I don’t want any of this. I just want my life to go back to the way it was yesterday, back when I thought I had a choice about the person I was going to be with the rest of my life.” He felt like crying, but he hadn’t cried since he was ten – not in front of other people, at any rate.
“Cynthia . . .” he heard his father say, his tone sounding very similar to how it had when he had caught Darrick in the middle of trouble when he was younger. Cynthia turned to look at him.
“I was getting to it,” she said in irritation. “Darrick, your father and I have come to a decision. The start of an Atlantean wedding is the Presentation, when the bride and groom are formally introduced to each other. In ancient times, this was often the first time they had met; nowadays, all the remaining Houses know each other very well, and the Presentation is merely a formality. Except in your case, of course. After the Presentation, the couple is given some time to get to know one another; usually, two or three weeks, almost never more than a month. Once the families believe that they have spent sufficient time together, the actual wedding takes place. Your presentation to Abigail is in one week; if, at that time, you still tell me you don’t want to marry her, than we will call the whole thing off, and you can go back to your normal life. Does that satisfy you?”
Darrick was stunned. I can’t believe she’s giving me this loophole. Surely she knows that I’ll say no as soon as I meet this girl. He realized the kink in his plan.
“And what about this bond?” he asked. “You know, the one that keeps me from being happy with anyone else?”
“I’ll talk to the priest about removing it. I don’t know if it’s possible – I’ve never heard of it being done before – but I give you my word that I will try. And if it can’t be removed . . . well, then you’re in the same position you would be if we broke the betrothal right now. Do we have a deal?”
Darrick thought for a moment. I can’t see any other way out, not without hurting a lot of people and screwing up my own life even worse than it already is.
“It’s not perfect, but it’ll do,” he said. “I’ll give you your Presentation.” Darrick could almost hear the clang of a metal door as it swung shut on his life, but he told himself he was just imagining things. Then he realized something his mother had said. “So, her name’s Abigail?” Darrick felt a little skip in his chest at the name, a shortening of breath. It’s nothing, he told himself. It’s gonna mean something, learning the name of the girl you’re engaged to. It’s just fantasy, romanticism run amok. Nothing to be concerned about. But a part of him worried that he might be already lost.
“Yes, it is.” His mother smiled, the first genuine smile Darrick had seen on her in a long time. “Abigail Martin. She’s a wonderful girl, Darrick. Smart, talented, very sweet. Her parents have kept me apprised of her ever since the two of you were betrothed. The two of you are very well suited for each other, as I’m sure you will discover yourself if you give her a chance.”
We’ll see, Darrick thought.
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