Against Crina's wishes, her mother spent three hours fastening her into a tight corset and beautiful red dress, and making her up to look stunning. Crina fought back her tears as she sat before her mirror, gazing into her own heavily-outlined eyes with despair.
When her mother disappeared downstairs to make dinner, Crina walked over to the window once again. She couldn't remember ever feeling so empty. Since she was young, she had looked forward to marriage. When she had fallen for Ioan she had longed for it. Now, there was no Ioan, and only the great unknown that was Cristian Farkas.
Crina brushed her veil of shiny hair out of her eyes slowly, gazing down as a dark figure on a horse rode into the grounds. This had to be Cristian. It was hard to believe that the man down there, the man she couldn't make out, who seemed so distant and unfamiliar, would be the man she spent the rest of her life with.
She heard the distant noise of the door opening downstairs, and the low murmur of voices. Her heartrate quickened.
There was a knock at her bedroom door, and a small curly blonde head peeked around it. Elena's bright blue eyes twinkled at her elder sister. "Crina, Mama sent me up to tell you that Mister Farkas is here."
Crina swallowed, nervous. "Alright, I'm coming, Elena." She crossed over and took the tiny girl's soft white hand in her own long dark one and they made their way out into the hall. Her heart was thundering in her chest. They came to stand at the top of the staircase, and Crina froze.
Her mother and Elena's twin brother, Danut, were standing in the hallway below, talking with a tall, muscular man. He had creamy skin, golden brown hair clipped neatly back, pleasant green eyes and a nice smile. He was dressed smartly in black. Crina sighed. Whether she liked it or not, Cristian Farkas was very good-looking. Still, he was still horrible.
Mrs Arany smiled proudly. "Here she is. Cristian, this is my daughter, Crina."
Crina felt her fingers tighten around Elena's as he looked up at her, smiling still, revealing white teeth. "Miss Crina! I must say, it is a pleasure to finally see you. You are exceptionally beautiful."
Crina tried to tell herself his tone was oily, but she felt herself blush. Words did not form in her mouth and she settled for a grim smile.
"Well, don't just stand up there!" he chuckled. "I would like to properly meet you, if you don't mind."
Crina wanted to say she did mind, but she remembered herself just in time. Instead she released her little sister and walked as steadily as she could down the stairs, gripping the banister tightly, praying she wouldn't trip over her skirt and fall at Cristian's feet. Luckily, she reached the bottom lightly.
Cristian stepped forward and bowed politely, then raised Crina's hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to it. His lips were soft and warm. Crina shook her head slightly to rid it of this thought.
"You're very quiet, Miss Crina," he said softly, his green eyes soft and teasing. "Tell me, how old are you?"
Crina swallowed again and concentrated on speaking smoothly as Elena ran down to Danut. "I'm nineteen, Mister Farkas, and yourself?"
"Almost twenty-five," he replied, politely. He turned to Mrs Arany. "Would it be appropriate for myself and your lovely daughter to walk around the grounds before dinner, Mrs Arany?"
She positively glowed as she answered happily, "Of course, Mister Farkas."
Cristian beamed at her, then took Crina's arm without asking. They walked out of the doors and into the frosty grounds in silence, Crina finding that it was snowing slowly, beautifully. Against her will, she felt a smile tugging her lips. Cristian stopped suddenly a little way away from the house.
"It's nice to see a genuine smile on your face, Crina," he said softly. "I know this probably isn't what you want."
Crina's smile faded. "You're right, it isn't." She heard her voice, cold and cruel, and regretted it.
"Crina, Crina, please don't hate me for it. Please. I want you to grow to love me... I can tell I'll grow to love you." Cristian looked uncertain, anxious, and Crina felt a pang of pity for him. She took his hand shakily.
"I probably shouldn't tell you this," she said quietly. "My mother would hate me for it, because you may not want to marry me after it."
Cristian shook his head, gingerly reaching out to toy with a strand of her dark hair. "Nothing you could say could change my mind about that, Crina. I knew from the moment I saw you..."
"Well... Cristian, I will never love you. And it isn't because of you, or even because of me." She paused, watching him narrow his green eyes. "There was... there was somebody else, somebody I loved dearly, but he disappeared six months ago hunting werewolves in the woods." She choked and hung her head to hide her sad eyes.
"Ioan?" Cristian asked. "The teenager, the one with the black hair?"
Crina stiffled a sob. "Yes."
Cristian sighed awkwardly. "Crina..." He stopped hopelessly and gently raised her chin, gazing deeply into her eyes. "Crina, you will grow to love me. Ioan is dead."
"I will never love anyone but Ioan!" Crina found herself shouting, screaming the words.
"Crina..." Cristian reached out to take her shoulders, but she shook him off angrily.
She ran to the gate, hair whipping wildly about her dark face, which was contorted in fury. She paused there to scream, "I will never love you! I will never marry you! I hate you!"
And then she ran.
To be continued.
A/N: These first two chapters are only a basic introduction. The rest of the chapters will be longer and more detailed. Thank you for the reviews!