AO3 Tags: Angst, Romance, Alternate Character Interpretation, Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, seriously this moves so slow it makes glaciers look fast
Please note this does take place in a canon-adjacent AU. It's about 75 years pre-Great War more or less with kingdoms still intact. Menagerie has been its own kingdom for centuries rather than being extant for only a few decades following the Great War. It's still Faunus majority, though. With that in mind, I'm calling it Chiole in this. I seriously doubt a Faunus-majority kingdom would call itself Menagerie. That's probably what people outside of it call it, but they won't refer to the kingdom as Menagerie themselves. Magic is also a known thing but it's not widely available to most people. There are a fair few changes to the lore, but for the most part, they're fairly inconsequential.
Also obligatory song lyrics:
Feels like I'm falling / Into a world / I can't control
Wake me up / Won't you wake me up? / Caught in a bad dream
Feels like I'm frozen / Nowhere to run, from here / Closing me in / Wearing me thin, with fear
Please don't do this, Your Majesty. It's incredibly cruel and goes against Chiole's ways. We allow our children to choose their own paths. I realise the way humans conduct business is sometimes different to Faunus, but this is cruel beyond words. Blake has a whole life ahead of her. This will greatly disrupt the course her life takes if you insist on this. I beg you to reconsider.
Yours truly,
Kali Belladonna
—
To Her Majesty Kali Belladonna,
Either you agree to my terms or your kingdom does not receive the supplies you requested. There will be no other way I will accept your offer. Either take the Xiao Long girl and the supplies you need or you don't and suffer the consequence.
King Ivan Allinori
—
Kali looked at Blake as she read the letter to her again. "Blake, I—" She had tried. She had really tried. She had tried to get Ivan to agree to not do this. Arranged marriages were so incredibly cruel. While there were no laws in Chiole against them, it was exceedingly rare for them to happen in their nation's history. Well, it had been commonplace centuries ago, but once the city-states had come under the Belladonna banner. They had slowly fallen out of the culture. Past Belladonna families had managed to avoid any sort of arrangements for their children.
Kali and Ghira were the first ones to fail.
But it wasn't really their faults. Ivan was known to be a man that always got his way. Marrying a Rose woman at a young age had really hardened his resolve and cunning as the immortal family had always been known to get their way. And to think their children had silver eyes too.
She saw Blake curl up and she sighed. She wrapped her arms around her daughter, running her hand over her ears. "I'm sorry, Blake; I tried everything in my power to make sure this didn't happen. I let you sit in on each letter. You know I tried." She couldn't apologise to her daughter enough. She had really tried. King Ivan was simply a force nobody could stand up to. He was too clever and forceful for anybody to beat him at his own game.
"I know, Mama; you really did try. But it's not fair! And you you'll set a precedent to the other kingdoms! What if Mantle wants to pressure us for saffron or other spices? You've sene what Mistral did to other kingdoms in the past! We don't have the manpower to protect ourselves from the likes of Mantle or Mistral!" Chiole had a lot of people but it wasn't like they had much of a standing military. They were spice traders mainly. And spices meant money for them, but it didn't mean they had a lot of fighters. "The humans will think they can push us around now! And what about Lilou?!"
Kali rubbed Blake's back with a sigh. Her points were entirely valid. This would potentially set a precedent for the human-led kingdoms to demand brides or grooms for contracts in the future. Lilou… Her younger daughter might suffer the same fate four, five, six years from now if the humans thought they could push the Belladonna family around. Thankfully, even the king and queen of Mantle were afraid of Kali at this point. Only King Ivan really stood up to her. That Rose bride of his was definitely something else.
"I know, honey. I know… This goes against everything we stand for… But we need supplies… This drought has hit us too hard… I don't like selling you off, but there really is no other choice." She hated this. She really did. Blake had Kalyna. They were quite close and, given a few more years, may very much have blossomed into more than close friendship. It would have been her choice to marry the other girl if she wanted to. But this had taken away any chance Blake had for being with Kalyna now…
It didn't take long at all for Blake to cling to Kali and start sobbing. She wrapped her aura around Blake but didn't do anything else. Forcing calm on her right now would be incredibly cruel and invalidating. Kali never wanted to invalidate her children's emotions. It was situations like that which led to Mantle's generally terrible nature. Collectivist societies had their pros but Mantle took it much too far.
Kali hummed for a long time until Blake cried herself out. "It's not fair, Mama. It's not fair… I don't want to marry a human. Look at what they did to Elana! They kidnapped her and made her a slave for five years!" She felt Blake let out another sob and she nodded. It was entirely unfair. "What if she's like the humans from Mantle or Mistral? I'm not an animal; we have souls just like they do…"
"I know, honey; I know." There wasn't much more she could do. Blake would be forced to marry this girl she had never met before. She didn't want to do this to her daughter. But there was no other choice. The rains hadn't come as they normally did and it had hurt all of the spice finers in the kingdom. All of the serfs were starving. The effects of the drought would be felt for years afterward and their economy would suffer. Vale was their best hope for supplies… Mistral was closest geographically, but with their views on Faunus, it wouldn't go over well. She hadn't expected Ivan to pull this sort of stunt, though…
"At least he didn't request you come live there." That was about the only positive she could see. Blake ewas heiress to the throne. So much damage would've been wrought had he driven the point of Blake moving there. Lilou wasn't ready to take the throne in any capacity. She was good with advanced aura, but she wasn't the prodigy with it Blake was. Plus, her much softer personality would be far too easy to take advantage of… Hopefully, nothing would ever happen to Blake. She had come through her fair share of scrapes as a child…
Of course, that comment only made Blake sob again. Kali patted her back. This was such a nightmare. How would her new significant other feel? What was she like? Would she be a good match for Blake or would it end in disaster? This would go well or it'd blow up entirely. There was no real in between. If worse somehow came to worst, Blake did have the option of taking either an official mister or mistress… Chiole allowed for legitimate children to be born out of wedlock should something unforeseen happen like infertility or other misfortunes. It was less than ideal, but if she wanted Kalyna over this Yang girl in the end, she could do it. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but if she did…
She felt Blake's aura drop significantly and she patted her daughter's head. "Why don't you get some rest, honey?" Blake sniffled and nodded. "Though, I do have an idea, Blake."
"An idea?" She tilted her head to the side. Kali ran her thumb over her daughter's eyes, cutting down on the redness.
She nodded after that, though. "Write this Yang girl a letter to introduce yourself. I'll see that it gets sent with my letter to King Ivan. Unfortunately, from the sound of it, she'll be sent with the next correspondence. I know it isn't ideal but…" It would at least let Yang start to know Blake a little bit. Her daughter was a sweet girl and didn't deserve to have her choice taken away from her. But their hands were completely tied at this point. King Ivan had spoken and not given them any wiggle rom.
"Okay…" Blake sniffled again and hugged Kali. She returned the gesture and then Blake left. She sighed. How could this have happened to them? Kali had thought she'd known her future daughter-in-law. But no. All because of a selfish man, the entire family was thrown into disarray. She would hope for the best but humans could be incredibly cruel. All she could do was hope the High Mother smiled upon them and they weren't stuck with a terrible girl that looked down on them…
Three months later…
Yang looked down at the letter in her hands. It was ten pages long and from the girl she was set to marry. It was a fairly thorough self-introductory letter that really did give her an idea of what she was like. She sounded nice but…how was she supposed to know from a single letter? For all she knew, this girl was lying through her teeth. People lied about themselves all the time.
One thing did catch her attention though.
The last couple of paragraphs.
I am sorry about all of this, Yang. I never wanted an arranged marriage in my life. I knew they were a thing in other kingdoms. Here in Chiole, though, they are incredibly rare. Happiness is the top priority for our people. While nobles and serfs may not marry easily, it has been known to happen at times. We cherish and value our freedom.
We unfortunately do not have a choice when it comes to this marriage. I know my mother tried everything in her power to stop this. I've seen every letter. I saw in on each one as she and my father discussed what to write. I gave my own input on this. We did everything we could to prevent this from happening. We don't want this any more than you and your family probably do.
I'll do my best to see this works if you're willing to put in the effort too. If it doesn't, though, I will give you space to find somebody you love in Chiole if possible. We won't be able to annul the marriage or else the contract would be terminated. But I want you to be happy if at all possible. I know coming to a new kingdom where you know nobody will be difficult at absolute best.
We will do our best to help you adapt, though. My parents have already set up a translator and language/culture tutor for you. I know this is entirely unfair for you because it is for me too. But we'll do what we can to make it as easy on you as possible.
I hope we can get on well.
So much about this was unusual. Blake would actively let her cheat if it didn't work out? How crazy was that? Granted, such arrangements weren't uncommon in the nobility. She heard plenty of court gossip about misters, mistresses, and the like. It was basically an open secret a good chunk of the nobility cheated. She knew plenty of bastard children since they were seen the same as her…
Her shoulders sagged a bit as she started reading the letter for probably the fifth time since receiving it that morning.
She jumped when a black and red portal opened up. She placed a hand on her chest and let out a breath. "Geezer, Raven, scare me half to death, why don't you?" She wished there was a way for Raven to give her warning when she was coming. She wasn't an advanced aura user like the woman. It wasn't like she could reach into her soul to get that warning.
"Sorry, Yang. I've felt how heavy your aura was all morning… I needed to check on you." She slipped onto the bed beside Yang and blink. "What's that?"
Yang sighed and looked down at it. "A letter from the girl I'm supposed to marry. The letter makes her seem nice but…" She gripped the paper tightly. It could easily be some ploy to reel her in for all she knew. Nobles always tried to make themselves seem better than they actually were. It was all part of politics. She'd seen plenty of puffed-up noble boys her age try to come after her for a 'conquest.' She was conventionally attractive, so of course she attracted attention.
But none of them were serious. She was seen as a bastard and nobody actually wanted to marry her. Which, frankly, she was more than fine with. She'd seen too many women die in childbirth even with some of the best mages around. Even magic could be limited in what it did…
Raven placed one of her hands on Yang's. "Would you mid if I read it?"
Yang hesitated then handed it to her. IT was mostly just general things like what Blake did with her time and such. It was simply a cordial introduction letter that wasn't too threatening or personal. It wasn't like she was giving Raven a one-way mirror into Blake's life.
Raven was quiet while reading and for a short time after that. "It sounds pretty sincere to me, Yang. I know nobles play games I don't understand, but it sounds like she's being honest." Yang wished she could take it at face value, but after being burned by noble boys so many times, all she could think about were the potential games Blake might be playing…
"You're right; you don't know the games nobles play. It's hard to let my guard down after being burned so many times." It was only an observation and she could see Raven didn't seem too hurt by it. But she sighed a moment later, still looking at the woman. "I know it's a sensitive topic but I need to know… Why did you leave Dad? He told me you were unhappy, but he couldn't really elaborate beyond that." It seemed like her parents had never really had a good conversation about Raven's leaving. All she knew was that they had tried for about five years until Taiyang told her to leave. Yang hadn't quite been old enough to remember Raven before she'd left—she'd only been two and a half at the time and too young to make memories.
Raven rubbed the side of her neck and sighed. "Honestly, it took me a while to figure it out after I left. I'm usually pretty good with my emotions, but in this case, I wasn't. It was because I was treated like a prisoner. I was rarely left alone for five years. I'm someone that needs change in my schedule, mobility to move, and the ability to travel." She shook her head. "I was kept under lock and key in his family's manor. Even for bathing, I had attendants. I almost never got a moment alone."
That…had to be tough. Yang was pretty much allowed to do as she pleased now that she was sixteen. "Why were you watched so closely?" It didn't make sense to her really. Granted, from what few memories she had of Mistral, it was extremely different from Vale. But trying to rely on the hazy memories of a three-year old to five-year-old wasn't exactly a great strategy.
"I'm a Branwen. I was a flight risk, so they kept me under lock and key. Thankfully, nobody knew about my Semblance. At least not until I told your father." Raven sighed again. "I never used it until I left, though. I knew I'd never return if I even went for a visit." That did make sense. If she really was so unhappy, why go back? Still… This did make her antsy. What if the Belladonna family did the same to her? She was a human intruding in the land of Faunus. And from what Blake said, arranged marriages were incredibly rare. What if this was an embarrassment to the Belladonna family? They might not want their grandchildren to be half human or human passing. What would that mean for her?
Raven squeezed Yang's hand. "I don't think you need to worry too much about that, Yang. I did hear courtly gossip while in Mistral. The Belladonnas are known for being gracious and kind, though Queen Kali isn't someone you want to cross. I never them while I was in court, but if even Mistral speaks of Faunus favorably, they must be doing something right."
"I guess that's true…" She had spent most of her life in Vale, but she had learned about other countries. Mistral and Mantle practiced Faunus slavery. That was absolutely horrifying to her, but her father still couldn't see what was wrong with it. His family had owned a large number of slaves. Yang vaguely recalled most of the servants being Faunus, but that meant they were slaves… She had Faunus friends and her father still looked down on them. Despite them being of noble birth.
"Not every arranged marriage is terrible. It was mostly my mental needs that led to me leaving. Look at your mother and father. They're so deeply in love it's incredible. Maybe that will happen with you and Blake. Try to remain positive." Raven squeezed Yang's had and smiled at her. She wished she could be so positive. She'd seen far too many marriages in Vale where the people hated each other and could barely be in the same room together. The kids grew up in a hellish environment of their parents not loving each other and not loving their children in return. Yang and Ruby had lucked out in that regard. Things had definitely been a little rough in the beginning between Taiyang and Summer, but they'd smoothed out after a few years especially once Ruby had been born. Thankfully, they were still going strong eleven years after meeting.
"I'll see what Mom says about the letter." If she agreed with Raven, then maybe there was hope. Summer always seemed to have extraordinary insight into people, regardless of the medium.
"All right. Well, if you want to talk to me while you're there, you know how to get ahold of me. I wish I could bring you back here on occasioni but…" Yang nodded. Her Semblance limitations wouldn't allow it. Plus, like Raven, she may never return to Chiole if given the chance to leave. At least she had the solace of being able to talk to Raven.
Yang bit her lip before sighing. "Do you think you could carry letters between everybody?" Raven deserved better than being relegated to errand girl, but it might be the only way she could correspond with Summer and Taiyang. Well, at least on any sort of consistent basis. It took way too long for ships to get between Vale and would be at least more comparable to message birds…
Raven nodded and kissed her head. "I wouldn't mind, honey. I may not always be able to do things immediately since I am busy with the tribe, but I'll do what I can."
Yang wrapped her arms around Raven. "Thanks. I really appreciate it." It was better than nothing. She wouldn't completely lose touch with her parents and be relegated to a couple letters a year. It might not be instant but a few days to a few weeks was better than three to six months. This really was so unfair.
Raven yawned and patted Yang's head. "Anyway, I'll talk to you later. I'll see you again in the future, okay?"
Yang nodded. "All right." She had to be exhausted especially since it was active season. Raven didn't need to do sentry duty as edai, but she did anyway. It was probably approaching that time for her.
Raven disappeared through a portal, leaving Yang alone again. All it did was reinforce the nagging anxiety and mounting panic with all of this. She didn't want an arranged marriage. Really, she didn't want a marriage at all. She would've been perfectly happy living as clergy to Verana. Honestly, that had been her chosen life path. She would have gone to live in a chapel down in the city and worked as a member of the choir. She was a bastard; a genetic and social dead end for any noble family that wanted to maintain their standing. Ruby was the one people would be after… Yang had literally no place in Vale.
That was probably why King Ivan was shunting her off to Chiole.
She was expendable.
She folded the letter up and put it in her pocket, finding her way to her mother's study. Thankfully, it didn't take but a few knocks for Summer to answer. "Come on in, Yang." After the door was closed, she spoke again." What's troubling you, sweetheart?" Yang shoved the letter into Summer's hands, tears brimming in her eyes.
They sat at Summer's desk while she read the letter. Summer was quite for a while, leafing through the sheets pensively. She took one of Yang's hands and Yang felt warmth and love wrap around her. "The letter sounds fairly sincere, Yang. I know nobles—especially royals—play a lot of games an dI believe you have every right to be upset.
"But in this case, I really detect no deception. I'm trying to read between the lines, but I see nothing she's lying about. There's some awkward phrasing but that's probably because Valian isn't her first language." Summer squeezed her hand. "I know it's hard, but I'd give her the benefit of the doubt. Most people don't want an arranged marriage—heavens know I didn't—but it's possible to make it work What happens will largely be up to you and your mindset—are you going to fight it and try to sabotage it will you hope for the best and try to make it work? Blake says she wants to make it work, so will you meet her halfway or will you oppose her?"
Yang sighed. "That wasn't what I wanted to hear." But Summer never said what people wanted to hear. She was one of the few people willing to stand up to King Ivan. She could be on severely thin ice with him and this whole issue had put her on even thinner ice. Summer hadn't let Yang go without a major fight. Despite not being related, Summer really was her mother…
Summer petted her head. "I know but it's reality. You can set yourself up for success or failure right now. Of course, things might still fail even if you go in with a positive mindset, but at least you'll have given it your best if you choose that." Yang sighed. She really didn't want any of this. She wanted to be clergy. She'd been in lessons for that since she'd been ten and she had finally learned Valian… But six years of hard work were now thrown away. She had no choice but to go to Chiole. If she refused those people would suffer terribly…
"I just… I had my life planned out and now I can't do that." King Ivan knew it. She wouldn't be sworn to celibacy like other orders, but she had used it as protection. It was such a good way to get out of the attempts noble boys made to bed her. Now she didn't have that protection…
"Try to be kind to her when you meet her. There's no reason to hate somebody over something they don't want either, right?" Summer's thumb ran over the back of Yang's hand. The pure, unconditional love continued to wrap around Yang.
Her emotions buckled and she started sobbing. It wasn't fair. How could this happen to her? She was supposed to have a quiet life as clergy, not marry some random princess from a kingdom she knew nothing about. Maybe she would've met some nice priest and settled down with him. Or maybe a priestess. She didn't know or care. Or maybe nobody at all. She would've been happy that way because it would've been her choice. This wasn't her choice… The one bit of freedom she'd had was now gone… The route she'd dedicated herself to was dead.
She let Summer pull her in close and she started humming as she always did to try to bring comfort. Unfortunately, the melodies did little to soothe Yang this time. She felt so betrayed. It wasn't Summer's fault, of course. How could the king do this to their family? Just because he was a king didn't give him the right to sell her off to some foreign kingdom. But he was king and what he said was law in the end. Yang was some foreign bastard that had no real place in Vale in the end.
Yang eventually cried herself out and Summer kissed her head. "I'll see if I can get an audience with the king before you leave. I'll see if I can come with you."
Yang pulled back and looked at her mother. "You're already on thin ice with him… Do you really want to risk exile? What about Ruby? Do you want to leave her motherless because of a bad decision he made?" Summer could be reckless and impossible to control, but this felt incredibly irresponsible. Ruby was only twelve… She wouldn't fare well without Summer to protect her. Plus, Taiyang still held onto a lot of Mistrali values that conflicted with Valian ones. There was no way Ruby could grow up in court without her mother to guide her. "Look… I'll… It'll be hard but I'll adapt in time. Don't leave Ruby for me. I'm old enough I can handle this on my own."
Summer frowned and she felt doubt sparking in her aura. "Are you sure? I won't go down without a fight."
Yang sighed. "Trust me to do this on my own. You raised me well." Honestly, she wanted her to come. It would make things a lot easier if she had an advocate for herself. But she knew Summer was on incredibly thin ice with King Ivan. The only reason she was kept around at this point because of her silver eyes. She was one of the best knights Vale had ever seen. But if she left, it might be the last time she saw Vale. She couldn't risk Summer being exiled.
"All right…" Summer looked at her skeptically and kissed her head again. "If you do need anything, let me know. And, oh, right…" She got into a box and withdrew several pages. "Here's the last revision of the marriage contract, the one you'll be sent with." Yang's throat knotted but she took it and nodded.
It was almost as long as Blake's letter. She would have more than enough time to familiarise herself with it. She left in a few days' time and would have three months at sea before she arrived in Chiole. Verana, she was not looking forward to this. She didn't want to leave home…
"I'll talk to you later." With that, Yang withdrew from Summer's office and went back to her room. She flopped on her bed and looked at the ceiling. So much to do and consider. What would she do with Summer's words? If she couldn't detect any lies, then Blake was probably being honest… But did she really want to oppose somebody that hated this as much as she did…?
She rolled over and closed her eyes. She had three months to decide. It would decide the course of her life forever…
