A Night to Forget (m)

[Draconian]

( @Rhi-Rhi !! =D )

The wedding had been lovely.

At least, Gardenia was sure it looked lovely. She felt like a princess, covered in jewels and yards of silk and fluffy fabrics and perhaps resembled a bell a little too much. The night had fallen and while the reception was still going on in the dining hall, the newly wed couple had been ushered away for their... Gardenia frowned, staring off at nothing while her maids helped her remove the dress. There was one upside to getting married she supposed, she'd never have to wear that dress again.

What an awful dress. Finally the skirt was off and she rubbed at a bruise on her hip from the weight of it, frowning at the idea of her new husband not having to walk around with who knows how many pounds of fabric hanging off of his ass. "Darling, it's your wedding night, do look more pleased about it? You'll frighten the young lad off before anything happens."

"Good."

Gardenia said bitterly before frowning at her personal maid who tsked at the bruises and went about getting her a wrap. She wouldn't need clothing, not for the activities she was supposed to be pursuing tonight. What a mess. Hyacinthe, the boy she'd been married to, had been left in her room and Gardenia just looked down at herself.

With her hair brushed out, the bell dress gone and the wrap she'd been given not leaving much to the imagination her maids ushered her into her bedroom through the side door and closed it gently. So she stood there. Stared down at the ground. What was she supposed to do? How did people do this? Well, she knew how but... Taking a deep breath she finally looked up and..

"Don't read that!" She rushed over to him and ripped the book from his hands, tossing it over her shoulder half way across the room simply because then he couldn't reach it without having to go past her. "Don't you know it's rude to touch other people's things?" Gardenia wanted to tack his name onto the end of that, say it all seethingly and like the word tasted bad, but still, even know, she wasn't sure if she'd say it wrong because she'd only said it maybe twice.

[Rhindeer]

Hyacinthe was a mess of nerves.

Left behind in the room while Gardenia was ushered off to be tended to behind closed doors, he paced the room, and paced some more. The wedding had, indeed, been lovely, and Gardenia had looked like something out of a fairytale--and he'd hated every miserable second of it. Still he'd smiled like he was supposed to, baring his teeth and hoping it didn't look like a snarl. He'd endured the well-wishes, and replied with "thank you" and not "screw you" like he'd wanted to!

And now he was...here.

He wished he could be back down with the festivities getting gloriously drunk. But instead, he and his happy bride had a duty to perform.

And it did, indeed, feel like a performance.

When the pacing didn't help calm and distract him, he started to snoop around the room, looking for a better distraction. And it wasn't really snooping, anyway! She was his wife now, and he was her husband, so what was hers was his and vice versa.

Besides, it wasn't like he had to dig to find the book. It was atop her nightstand, and the picture depicting a muscle-bound man and a willowy woman caught his curiosity. Picking it up, he sat down on the bed, flipped it open--

And blushed.

Oh.

Ohhhhhh wow.

Page 54 and the first line his eyes were drawn to was something about throbbing, velvet-sheathed steel thrusting into wet depths, and something about flowers...deflowering? W-what? His eyes widened, yet he couldn't look away--in fact, he had to flip back a page and start reading from there to get more context! And oh gods. Wow. This was totally a book about sex.

...This was very relevant to his situation. Face still hot, Hyacinthe flipped another page back to read from the beginning of the scene, and felt his eyes widen. Oh wow. This guy had crazy abs. Bulging, glistening muscles. And...a really big penis. Like really big. Ten bloody inches! Did penises that big even exist?! And he just went for it with the woman. Just ripped open her bodice, tore her skirts, threw her on the bed, and took her from behind while she screamed his name. Wow. That...this...

This was what Gardenia was into?

Was this what she expected?! It...it seemed so...

Violent!

He stared at the pages, his heart beating faster and palms growing sweaty. Oh gods. Oh Kia. This was what he had to do? Okay. He could do this. He could...be all...assertive. He could do this. He could totally--

The door opened and he jumped--and blushed harder when he saw Gardenia there, dressed in barely a thing while he was still dressed in his wedding clothes. Of course, he didn't have much time for surprise, because that was when she yanked the book from his hands and tossed it away. And called him rude?! What?!

"How is that rude?" he snapped, jolted out of his mortification. "We're married now! Our stuff belongs to each other now. And it was just laying out there for anyone to see! If you didn't want me looking, you should have put it away."

[Draconian]

Gardenia crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, looking over her shoulder to give the thrown book a brief glance... Before going over and picking it up, placing it back on a bookshelf against one of the walls. "Just because we're married doesn't mean my things are your things." A sneer and she took a breath and fluffed her hair, walking back over to him and looking at the bed.

She didn't get on it though.

Gardenia frowned deeply and looked between him and the bed, "How far did you get into it? The book, I mean."

[Rhindeer]

Hyacinthe followed her when she retrieved the book, eyes dipping down to her ass when she bent over before jerking back up as his face heated. If there was a plus side to this situation, it was that, at the very least, she was easy on the eyes. And oh gods. He'd be seeing that soon. He'd be seeing all of that. And he knew the thought was supposed to excite him, but the knot of anxiety in his belly only grew and tightened.

"Whatever," he said with a huffed sigh. "It wasn't very interesting anyway. Too much...liquids..." He cleared his throat.

"And...spanking. That's where I got." He shifted uncomfortably, trying to feign indifference. "I'm not sure why Raul was calling her a bad girl. She hadn't done anything wrong, far as I could tell."

[Draconian]

Oh gods.

Gardenia's hands went to her face and she covered it quickly, ducking her head down while he spoke about spanking. They were going to be naked together soon and he'd read that book and she quickly folded her arms in front of her and looked away.

"Th.. Y..." She cleared her throat and took a few steps closer, was she supposed to kiss him?

How did this work when it was an obligation. "Are you..." Gardenia cleared her throat again and looked away, "That was a ... romance novel. Just..." She turned bright red again, looking away and desperately trying to hide behind her hair, "It's not important." Wasn't he supposed to make the first move?

Mostly she just wanted to get this over with. She was tired and cranky and she wanted to sleep. Habitually she went to play with the pendant she usually wore around her neck and she looked shocked to find it wasn't there. Pushing past her new spouse she rushed to her bedside table and dug through the draws, visibly relaxing and putting the pendant on, the stone resting against her chest. Some little bit of selfishness, even though Hyacinthe wouldn't understand it.

Another puff of breath and she finally sat on the bed, "Are we... Do you... We... This is terribly awkward. They don't actually expect us to do this, do they?"

[Rhindeer]

Indeed, Hyacinthe didn't get the significance of the necklace, though he did note it was kind of pretty. Maybe it was some sort of security...pendant? Some people believed rocks and gems had different metaphysical effects, maybe it was supposed to like...help with conception or pain or something? It seemed to be pretty important to her that she wear it!

He tapped his fingers on his knee as she did her thing, his mind racing in the quiet that followed. Alright. Deep breaths, Hyacinthe! He could do this! He could totally do this! He was the man. He was...supposed to make the first move or something. But oh gods, what was the first move?! Maybe he should have flipped back a few more pages!

The slight shifting of the bed alerted him to her presence, and he looked over at her with wide eyes as she sat on the bed. Oh gods oh gods oh gods. It was show time. Do the thing, Hyacinthe! But instead he just stared at her with wide eyes.

And then she spoke what he was thinking, and he let out a breath. "Well, that's what I was told," he said with a shrug. "The marriage isn't legally official until it's consummated, so..." He drew another deep breath. "They'll check the sheets in the morning."

He swallowed hard. She was feeling awkward, he was feeling several shades of awkward--but he didn't want to admit his awkwardness! The man in that book hadn't acted awkward, and awkwardness was cute in girls but not so cute in men, he assumed. He licked his lips, his mouth dry, his pulse racing, and scooted a little closer. "Do you, uh...like the stuff Raul does?"

[Draconian]

Check the sheets in the morning?

Gardenia slowly turned away, her face unreadable. Well, it was readable, but the expression was odd. Slowly she chewed on her lower lip. She'd never thought of that. She was supposed to be all pure and virginal for her husband and she was decidedly neither of those things. Slowly she licked her lips and pushed the wrap off of one shoulder.

Which was quickly pulled back up when she asked if she liked the stuff Raul does. "Honestly, I ... I hadn't gotten far into that book." Something dark woke up inside Gardenia. He was so nervous. She turned so that the wrap would fall off her shoulder, the swell of her chest visible. "What did Raul do?" Another shift and it fell off her shoulder completely, exposing one breast that she didn't rush to cover. "Besides the spanking."

Maybe if she made him nervous enough he wouldn't be able to do anything and they should just figure out a way to not do it at all. Gardenia wouldn't bleed, so she'd have to figure out something for that too. Tell him the truth? Another look at him through hooded eyes before she decided that no, she wouldn't tell him the truth.

Maybe someday.

[Rhindeer]

Oh my gods she was taking off her clothes.

Hyacinthe's eyes dropped down to her breast, and his face went a deeper shade of red. It was...a nice breast. Very nice. Gardenia was a beautiful woman, and her skin looked so soft and warm, her shoulders smooth and graceful--and he would be lying if he claimed he didn't want to see more of her. He did. But he was also sort of frozen there in terror. Terror because he didn't know this girl, just as she didn't know him--didn't know her beyond an awkwardly miserable meeting at their engagement where he had to act thrilled (unsuccessfully) that he was marrying a stranger. And also terror because he didn't know what the fuck to do.

Doing...that...with a total stranger was just...

And he'd heard it could hurt the girl! And that there was bleeding involved! Which sounded terrible! He might be a grumpy ass, he might be unhappy about this and not at all shy about showing his unhappiness, but that didn't mean he wanted to hurt her! How did men do this?! Were most men just okay with that?!

He swallowed audibly as she spoke, eyes jerking back up to her face. "Uh...erm..." By this point in the few pages he'd read, Raul had had a turgid erection. All ten inches. Hyacinthe, however, had nothing. Shit. Oh fuck. Maybe it would happen. Just had to give it time.

"He, uh. There was...uh...something about velvet-sheathed steel?" And then he barked a laugh despite himself. "I hope I don't disappoint. Mine isn't...steely." Breathe! Breathe! With another gulp, he started to unbutton his shirt, fingers fumbling.

[Draconian]

Gardenia took a careful breath, closing her eyes before she tried to smile and pushed the shoulder of her robe back up.  Nervously she looked around, like they were being listened to. Which they probably were, knowing her maids. Eagerly waiting for their lady to... Go with the flow. A shuddering breath and she slowly rose off the bed, her bare feet quiet against the stone floor as she moved to stand in front of Hyacinthe.

With him sitting they were practically eye height. It was odd.

Her hands moved over his, going to the buttons to help him remove the shirt.

Gardenia's voice grew quiet and she leaned in, pressing her cheek to his. "We can... We can lie." She leaned back, looking at his eyes, imploring him to go along with it. "I... It..." Gardenia swallowed and looked away briefly, fingers still on his buttons, "We can pretend we did... That. Keep our parents happy and... " Maybe do it someday. Maybe. When they started getting pressured to make babies. Couldn't fake make babies. "I don't know you. I don't want to have sex with you."

[Rhindeer]

"Ohthankgods!" Hyacinthe got out in a breathy rush, having gone stock still when she got so close and started to remove his shirt. It fell open to expose the upper half of his chest, and he stared at Gardenia with a look of sheer relief in his eyes. He hadn't wanted to be the one to bring it up first--he had to be the man here, after all, stiff upper lip and all that--because he wasn't sure how one could fake this, and didn't know how traditional she was...but the instant she suggested it, he was all over that.

He grabbed her hands, stopping her from undoing anymore buttons. "That's fine by me, honestly! I, uh. Don't really want to have sex with you, either. You're pretty and all, but...this is just bloody weird." And he didn't love her, or know her. He let out another relieved breath. "I don't know how people do this. Maybe close their eyes and think of Serendipity."

He sat up a little straighter, some of the tension draining out of him, his heart slowing down. "How do we fake this, though? You're supposed to bleed." He grimaced at the thought. "Doesn't sound fun."

[Draconian]

A big sigh of relief.

Good. No awkward getting naked-ing. In that case, "Hang on," Gardenia walked over to her dresser and dug around her clothes, pulling out a small knife. In case of the worst. She walked back to the bed and held it out, her voice still quiet. "I can cut myself. on my leg." She nodded towards the bed but then looked at his shirt after a moment. Then at the closed door.

"They'll expect noises."

What did sex on a bed sound like? Gardenia frowned, looking at her book shelf and deciding that she couldn't get sound effects from a book. Pushy, she shoved Hyacinthe off her bed and pulled back all the covers, going to kneel in the middle of the - she knew they did it on purpose - completely white sheets.

The middle was good right? That's where that happened on beds.

"The sooner we get this over with the sooner I can go to sleep." She eyed him, the bed, and then the floor. "I suppose you can sleep on my bed. Just tonight. Today was long and you had to suffer through it as much as I did, though you weren't wearing a terribly heavy dress." That made him look like a gods be damned bell.

[Rhindeer]

"You're going to cut yourself?" Hyacinthe repeated, staring at the knife. Sweet Kia! That...didn't seem much better than the actual bleeding. Except for the part where they didn't have to actually have sex.

He rose from the bed when she shoved him off it, and ran his fingers through his hair as he watched her work. Noises?

Sigh.

"You know, we'd have to share the bed tonight anyway if we're to fool anyone," he said, frowning and crossing his arms over his chest. "If the servants come in the morning and see we're not together, we won't be convincing anyone."

He climbed back onto the bed again, kneeling just across from Gardenia. "Anyway, if we're to make noises, your book mentioned a lot of moaning and screaming and headboard banging. So," he said, fixing Gardenia with a look. "Make a good show of it, yeah? People will talk tomorrow, and I'd rather not be embarrassed by a lackluster performance."

And with that said, he began to bounce on his knees on the bed, until it emitted light creaking sounds.

[Draconian]

Gardenia crossed her arms over her chest, careful of the knife while she watched him climb onto the bed after her. Wrinkling her nose in distaste at the idea of having to share the bed. Sure there was enough room for two people, it was a big bed, but it was the company. The lackluster company that she was going to have to look at for the rest of her life now, simply because their parents had sold them off.

The lackluster company she would have children with someday.

It was odd to look at someone and know that one day she'd have a product of their... Makings.

The look she got had her put a hand to her chest and look offended, instead she just stuck her tongue out at him and bounced along with him. Didn't make any noise though, Hyacinthe just got a look in return before she reached to the headboard and gave it one good whack into the wall. "Oh! Hyacinthe! Be gentle!" She yelled towards the door before shuffling off from the bouncing area and sighing, hiking up the robe slightly to place the blade against the inside of her thigh.

Just a few drops was all they needed, right? Right.

Then the bed bounced and the cut went deep and she quickly leaned over to put the knife in the beside table on the other side. "Uuuuhm..." Blood slowly dripped down her leg and she looked at her new husband wide eyed, she wasn't going to die or anything, but... "Uhmmm..." She gave her leg a shake and a few drops of blood scattered the sheets in a wide arch. Whoops. Apparently they were just all over the bed tonight, how virile, how young! "So. Uh... There we go, you tore me a new one. Congratulations, Husband." She hissed, her voice having gone quiet.

The blood didn't stop though and it just sort of made the spot beside her knee moist and, well, red.

[Rhindeer]

Alright, if anything good was to come from this night, it was that bouncing on a bed was kind of fun. Hyacinthe hadn't done something like this since he was nine. And he supposed this was probably what sex sounded like. The appropriate bed-creaking, that is. He wasn't sure how convincing Gardenia's yell was, and that earned her a blush and a scowly look. Kia! He wanted to sound like a decent lover, not like he was tearing her apart! But whatever, he'd take it, he guessed.

He continued to bounce while Gardenia moved aside to take care of grimmer business, and when it was done, uhhhh...

Oh wow.

That was...a lot of blood. Blood went arcing across the sheets, and Hyacinthe instantly went still and pale as he stared at the red welling up and dripping down her leg. "Oh, shit!" he gasped. "Dear Kia, is it supposed to bleed that much?!"

He spoke a little louder than he'd meant, but he supposed if anything, it'd just further convince anyone listening in. "Uh, uh...stay right there! Let me get, uh, a towel or something!" And he scrambled off the bed at that, rushing to the wash basin and grabbing a wet rag. He tossed it to Gardenia, grabbed a second just in case, and hopped back onto the bed.

[Draconian]

The grin on her face from the blushy scowly look shouldn't have been so bright, not while she was so very unhappy with the situation and naked under a robe in front of an almost stranger. Almost because they had met before, after all. Once. Briefly. It hadn't been a very nice meeting.

"Well, I guess I put it in pretty deep," Gardenia said in a normal speaking voice, looking down at her leg and frowning. Maybe the knife had been sharper than she gave it credit for. Now she knew for sure to keep it in her bedside table for just incase. The cloth, having not been expecting it to be tossed at her, landed on her head and she gave Hyacinthe a dark glare before she whipped it off and pressed it to her thigh. After hiking up the robe far too high than was appropriate. Well, for any night other than her wedding night.

The cloth pressed to her leg and she tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Well, I've had enough sex tonight." She bounced on the bed a bit more roughly after she'd stopped the bleeding, rapped the headboard against the wall a few times (extra loudly) before giving a long drawn out moan followed by a squeak. Then she grinned at him and flopped onto the clean side of the bed.

"Good night, Husband."

[Rhindeer]

Hyacinthe's eyes immediately dropped down to her exposed thigh when she yanked up her robe, yanked it up so high her almost saw her...womanhood. And he would have been lying if he tried to pretend he didn't want to look, or that he hadn't been wondering what she looked like naked, because he'd certainly never gotten anywhere near that far with Falith! She hadn't even let him touch her breasts, because she was saving herself for marriage.

And now he was married to someone he couldn't touch, anyway. Granted, he didn't really want to, because it was awkward as hell and she hated him, and he was bitter as hell about the situation and wanted to hate her, even though they both had no control over anything. It wasn't really her fault except for existing.

And being rude and nasty and glaring at him a lot.

Rude brat.

Of course, he was soon not so distracted by her thigh because she gave him something else to be distracted by--like that moan. Sweet Kia! His eyes went wide and his face flushed anew, his mind going filthy, filthy places indeed, and it distracted him just long enough to realize...

She'd totally planted herself on the clean side.

His face fell. The rest of the bed was a bloody mess! With literal blood! Her blood! Eyebrows rising with horror, he snapped a look at her. "Wait. I can't sleep in that!"

[Draconian]

A smug look was on her face and she pulled the blankets up to her neck, mostly ignoring Hyacinthe. Then with the blankets up so high, Gardenia did a little shuffle and tossed the robe halfway across the room. "Sure you can," she said snuggling in giving Hyacithe possibly the coldest look she'd ever given anyone.

"Close your eyes and think of Serendipity." Another smile and she rolled away from him and grinned widely at the wall.

[Rhindeer]

...Oh wow, she was naked under there now.

It momentarily distracted him from his offense--but her words brought him right back to the moment.

"What? No! I will not! That's your blood!" he said with a deep scowl. "I'm not going to get your blood all over me! That's...that's gross!"

[Draconian]

Slowly her eyebrows went up and she held the blanket to her chest while Gardenia just stared at him. "Well, short of wrestling me for it... Spot's mine! My bed, my rules. Now get naked and go to sleep, I'm tired."

[Rhindeer]

Hyacinthe's eyes narrowed to little slits. "Wrestle you for it, huh?"