Prologue
I was en route to a wedding I had no interest in attending: my own.
I stared out my room's portal at the twin moons of Einomere, feeling rather sorry for myself. In that moment, I had no idea my life was about to change dramatically. If I'd thought getting married when I didn't want to was already a dramatic event, soon I would realize the error of my ways.
As I stood there, pondering possible means of escape, there was no way I could have predicted the events that would unfold in the coming months. There was nothing in that moment to reveal what the fates had already set in motion.
Chapter 1
My name is Sookie Stackhouse. I was born on a planet in the southern galaxies of Louisiana. My mother and father were both descended from the immigrants that had first settled the planet. They were very proud of their heritage, and placed a lot of importance on their traditional cultural values. Unlike most of the people on my home planet, my parents came from a society that placed a lot of emphasis on the separation of the gender roles. Men worked, while women produced babies and ran the home. That's how they truly believed things should be.
My father, Corbett, owned a construction business, while my mother, Michelle, had stayed at home to raise me. Same as her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother had with their children. Apparently, women on neither side of my family line worked outside the home, unless it was for some charitable cause. This was seen as validation of their husband's financial success. Of course, none of them had been terribly wealthy, but my father had built a steady reputation and we were doing quite well. They expected the same for me.
In his ambition to succeed, my father had brokered a deal that would ensure both his financial gain and secure me a husband who could support me. Enter William Compton, and his son Bill. The Compton's owned an ever-expanding chain of leisure resorts. Compton Sr. and my father decided it was a match made in heaven. Bill and I would marry, ensuring their resorts would be built by our company. My father's firm would do quality work using quality materials because one day his grandchildren would stand to profit from them. It was all very romantic, I assure you.
At school, I'd been exposed to very different ideas about women and gender. It had shocked my parents when I expressed an interest in continuing my studies. Not only had I earned the credits required to attend any academy or institute I'd wanted, but I'd graduated with top marks in my year. No other women in the Stackhouse Clan before me had pursued post-public education. When they'd found out I'd sent out the applications, both my parents had been furious. Mother had told me they were lucky I'd already been betrothed, because no man would want to marry a woman smarter than he was, as if I was somehow bringing shame on the family for being clever.
Of course, when speaking publicly, I could hear the pride in my father's voice when he told his colleagues that his daughter was a top student and had been accepted at the most prestigious institutions. He might not have been blessed with a son, but I'd given him the chance to brag as if he did. My mother liked to add that if there was going to be a woman smart enough to beat the boys, it would have to be a Stackhouse. Her hypocrisy sickened me. I'd heard her telling my fiance's mother that it meant I could guarantee bright and successful children. Ugh.
~0~
Bill and I were betrothed when I was sixteen, and he was twenty-three. Initially our parents hoped we would marry when I was eighteen, but when the
Kuran wars broke out the wedding was postponed until Bill could complete his military service.
It worked out well for me, because my parents finally relented and allowed me to go to school while Bill was in service. After much discussion, I was permitted to enroll at a small female-only institution, run by the Sisters of the Holy Divinity. My mother did not think it was entirely appropriate to go off to a fleet academy and behave like a boy. I disagreed vehemently, but knew to bite my tongue and take what I could get. They were slightly swayed by the idea that it was an all-female program, run by nuns. They thought that wouldn't be too offensive to my fiance's family, who were apparently as old-fashioned as they were.
At least the Sisters of the Holy Divinity Institute were doing cutting edge work in my area of interest, and were developing fascinating theories. My parents got what they wanted, and I got what I wanted. Everyone was happy with the arrangement, until now. With the war over, a wedding date had been set. After completing my second year, I was obliged to withdraw.
So, here I was at twenty, on my way to marry a man I hardly knew. Bill and I had met a few times over the years, and we sent regular communications during the war, but it always felt forced. Of course, I knew we were only revealing the best possible versions of our selves. I suppose the best way to describe it was to say it felt like he was a distant relation; someone you're obliged to speak to on holidays, someone you're expected to care about simply because you're related, not because you really care about each other. I imagine he felt similar. What twenty-three year old wants to be told he has to marry some teenage girl he's barely met just because his family has decided it would be good for business? I know that it wasn't the norm on his planet as it was on others.
During our brief encounters, he always seemed friendly enough, and he wasn't unattractive. I would even go as far as saying he was handsome. It was when we tried to discuss our interests, however, I lamented we had little in common. I was pretty certain he's not someone I would spend long periods of time with by choice. He was very serious and fastidious, where I was more curious and capricious. He often referred to my sense of humour as a "lack of maturity."
I felt it was more a case of him being boring. Still, it could have been worse. In the end, I accepted that it didn't really matter what we each thought of the other; our parents had arranged the nuptials and we had little say in the matter.
If I had to go through with it, I was committed to making it work as best I could. I could only hope he felt the same. I would find out soon enough.
~0~
In some small way, I'd convinced myself that going to an all female institution would make being engaged a little easier. This way, there was little chance I'd meet a guy and fall in love and have to deal with the inevitable fallout that would come with not being able to pursue that relationship. At the same time, it was frustrating. Betrothed or no, I was a typical hormonal teenaged girl with an active fantasy life.
Now that I was heading to my nuptials, with nothing else to distract me, I realized I was feeling a little sad that I hadn't had the chance to attend wild parties like some of my friends, though overall the educational experience has been enjoyable.
Amelia, my best friend, assured me this girl's getaway would be a chance to make up for some lost time. We would flirt, dance, drink, and pretend we were two single girls on a vacation. No one would have to know about my marriage. I hadn't shared with her the extent of my anxiety, and I was reluctant to do so soon before the event itself. There was nothing that could be done now. Instead, I played off my less than enthusiastic attitude as a result of having to finish my schooling before earning my diploma. As a scholar herself, she was more than sympathetic, though she assured me that there would be a way to continue my studies at some point. I didn't share her optimism.
~0~
So here we were, travelling aboard the MSS Sparklehorse. It was huge and luxurious, one of the fanciest recreational fleet cruisers in the multiverse. We were hours into a seven day journey from my home planet of Bon Temps, in the Louisiana System to New Orleans, in the Kadon galaxy, where the wedding was to occur.
What was supposed to be a 'Girl's Getaway,' spending our days by the pool gossiping about my impending wedding night, our nights dancing tipsily in the clubs, taking advantage of the pampering services of the cruiser's spas and salons, all-you-can-eat buffets and drooling over the hot men on board, had quickly lost its appeal once it finally clicked this was a last ditch attempt to enjoy my life as a single girl.
~0~
A/N: I know this type of story has been done before, to death. I have my own little take on it of course, but please let me know if it's worth continuing?