Chapter One - Dress Me

                                    

                                          
[The map is made by yours truly]


                          
It was hideous. 
                          
Pearls, emeralds and rubies were all very beautiful creations of the nature, and yet somehow when put together, they were hideous. 
                          
Ironically enough, your wedding dress was supposed to be the most beautiful dress you'd ever wear, but the way the seamstress had put together the beautiful white pearls and colorful red and green gemstones, the combination looked absolutely dreadful. If it had been up to her to design the dress, she would've cut out the rubies and stuck with the pearls and green stones. The green had a nice contrast to her velvet smooth red hair, whereas the rubies made it look... well, less red.
                          
She gazed at the horrendous corset she was trying out for fitting. The only positive thing she could say about it so far was that it had a beautiful heart-shape cut, although even that seemed a bit too deep for her taste. She turned and swirled to see if it looked better from any other angle. Unfortunately, it only showed how the back of the corset was bedazzled with more colorful gems, like sapphires and even a few diamonds. The thought alone that she had to wear this in front of people made her want to stay in her room forever. 
                          
"So how do you like it?" Her mother chimed. She stood next to her and observed her through the mirror with her hands folded over her heart. She had that adoring look in her eyes, the one she always had when her little daughter was experiencing those big life moments - such as trying out the corset for her wedding day.
                          
"It's... quite... something," Emaia hesitantly replied and tried her best to replicate a genuine smile.
                          
"Oh, I knew you'd love it!" Her mother sang and wiped away a falling tear. "You look stunning in that corset, my dear. I do think we need to pull the waist in another inch though, and maybe the bust needs to be taken in a nudge, too..."
                          
"Mom, I can barely breathe as it is," Emaia said and looked at how the bust had been sown together so tightly, it made her bosom pop and nearly fall out. They were squeezed together uncomfortably tight. "Any further and I won't be able to mouth the word yes in three days."
                          
"It's just one more inch," Her mother assured her and smiled lovingly, "I just want you to look perfect for your husband. I've been told he loves slim women."
                          
"Oh, wonderful." Emaia muttered sarcastically. Her future husband had apparently been quite the stallion in his pubescent days since he knew he preferred thinner women. Plural. "Well, maybe if we file down my ribcage or saw them off completely, I'll be slim enough for his liking."
                          
"Watch your mouth now, Emaia," Her mother said, warningly. "You know your father has spent a lot of time finding you a compatible husband. I will hear none of this no more."
                          
"You're right, I'm sorry," Emaia sighed and lifted her arms when the seamstress came to adjust the corset. There was no gain in trying to make a joke around her mother. 
                          
"That's better," Her mother smiled and sat down in a satin-covered chair and poured herself a glass of white wine. "Now when you meet him, you shall be polite and interested in his accomplishments. Remember how I taught you that men like to be praised by their achievements."
                          
"I remember, mom," She replied and grimaced when the seamstress tugged on the corset to tighten it. She was pretty sure she just cracked a rib. "Indulge him with compliments on his attainments, make sure to notice his smaller conquests, and reward him with a smile or tentative touch," She recited for the millionth time. "You taught me well."
                          
"So it would appear," Her mother sang and looked at her with adoration again.
                          
It was impossible to think that in just three short days, she would be married to a man she had never met before. At just 24 years old, she would be married and, within a few years, expected to carry his children who would become heirs to his and to her own home; Roche Fort. Her children and their children would continue the great Roche family tree, along with preserving her home and city.