Marian is pulled out of her thoughts when she sees Bran approach her from the corner of her eye. He saunters towards she with a smirk on his face. It is unusual for him to come to her sitting room. Though, they have not been married for long and he has already broken many rules of civility. What is keeping him from dismissing another one?
The woman straightens her back, hoping to project the confidence that she now so dearly lacks. Her body is on edge, as she never knows what the insane bastard will do next.
He stops right in front of her with a creepy smile on his face. She says nothing as he lifts a hand up and strokes a finger down her face.
"What do you want now, Bran?" She asks, her voice tired and hoarse. "I have not finished taking my potions yet."
That man beats her, but she has only value to him alive. Therefore, he provides her with as many poultices as she needs to endure, even if just barely, his treatment of her.
Bran laughs as he cages her in with his hands on either side of her face, making her feel even smaller. His face tilts down towards hers.
"What now, you ask? Must I have a reason to visit my wife at her inner sanctum? The woman I love the most in the whole of Thedas?" The auburn-haired man asks, almost in mockery of her pain. "Is that not allowed anymore, my dear?"
Marian shivers and he notices that, eyes darkening in a weird sense of lustful desire. She knows, and she knows he gets off on scaring her, making her feel small and weak. In reminding her how she is tied to him now, forever and ever.
The engagement ring he put on her finger sealed her fate for the rest of her short and miserable life.
"Please…" The formerly proud woman choked. "Please, Lord Husband, just leave me alone. Just for tonight if anything else. If you try to do what you must right now, it might leave me with permanent marks, and it does not bode well to us."
Begging him does nothing to help, as he just grins at his wife. He leans down and presses a kiss to her neck, smiling against it as she shivers and flinches away in disgust. Her hands come up against his chest, but he bites down on the curve of her shoulder, making her cry out.
Bran stops and she pushes him away, slapping him across the face. Her chest heaves in anger as he looks at her with coldness.
"Be still, wife. I will not do anything with you tonight, but there is always tomorrow evening. I hope you do not forget the hand that feeds you then." He grins and walks away, leaving her resting against the back of her chair, trying to keep her tears and anger in check.
As her nerves go still and the cold dread fills her heart once again, Marian feels helpless. There is no escape, there is no escape. The sense of a public image may stay Bran's hand for now, but he must know that no-one cares.
When she wed, her now-husband demanded her to use a magic-restraining ring at all times. It was painful to have such an important part of her be constantly repressed in such a brutal way, but the curse on it would not let her take it off.
Her father and Bethany were against this condition upon settling the betrothal contract, they thought it was barbaric. Carver, on the other hand, insisted that it was the only way, and if she had not cheated her former intended there would be no need of such amendable position. Leandra, with a heavy heart, concluded it was best to have her daughter married, even at unfavourable terms, if only for her to have a settled position in life. Yes, her daughter could provide for herself now, and there was some semblance of peace in the family now, but she feared what the future holds, and the best way to hedge against it was a good match.
Marian is nothing but a dutiful daughter, and so she went through with it. For the good of Leandra, if nothing else. Then, the ring slid into her finger, and it was worse than their most uncharitable thoughts.
Even her former fiancé knew of what was going on. Sebastian once saw the true character of Bran in some reception or another for delegates from Starkhaven, he saw how her features looked as the weak glamour charms she is still able to cast fall down on themselves.
As Lady Cavin gazes into the mirror, hoping to correct the blemishes before returning to the festivities, the princeling takes that moment to finally come out from where he was hiding, approaching his former fiancée cautiously. He stands behind her, from where she could see from the reflection on the mirror, watching as she tries her best to calm down.
"Why have you not told me that he was doing this to you? Why would you try to hide it from me? Why did you never tell me? Why?" He shouts at her with a misplaced anger as he punches the wall next to her head, causing her to flinch in fear once again.
Marian does not want to answer such a question. She does not want to be told there is hope, only to conclude she is hopeless once again. She shakes her head as tears stream down her face, leaving streaks on her red cheeks.
"Even if I told you, Your Highness, would you have believed me?" She asks bitterly.
"Of course!" He exclaimed.
She crosses her arms and shakes her head as he nods furiously, but she knows the truth.
Sebastian was so convinced there was something else happening between his fiancée and Bran that he would have refused to indulge any other possibility. It showed in the way he so ruthlessly pushed her away the day their engagement was broken off.
"Believe what you want, Lady Hawke, but you should at least have told someone else of your confidence." The redheaded man defended himself from an accusation that was not levelled. "Your mother would certainly be beyond herself in anger over this situation.
He watched her as her face turned into a sad watery smile. "They know, they all know, but those who care have no power to help me."
"This is nonsense!" He shouted once more with tears in his blue eyes, but all it did is make her sob harder. "Is this about you needing to be married? I find it distasteful, but this is no way for a woman to live. If you want to leave this man, then I offer you my hand in marriage once again, no strings attached."
Marian held up her hand displaying her hand. "I cannot. Not anymore, Sebastian, not anymore. The marriage contracts my parents settled will not allow it."
"Contracts are regularly broken, Marian. We had one, too, and I found little difficulty in ridding myself from it when it became redundant." He insisted.
Sighing, she tried to talk without sobbing. "This is not as easy. The day this ring was put on my finger, it was the day my fate was sealed. I can never leave him. If I do, I shall die, Sebastian. This jewel Bran gave me as a symbol of our commitment is cursed, which was not of our knowledge at the time. It tampers with my magic and, if removed, will take it away entirely. Without this power, my body collapses on itself and I die. Simple as that."
Sebastian could not believe the words that spilled from her mouth. He looks at her with his mouth wide open. "There has to be a way! There has to be one. I cannot allow this to happen."
The Marchen noblewoman scoffed. "It is not your decision to allow or not. I begged you not to leave me, in fears of being in this very same situation, but you refused to listen. You gave weight to what venomous tongues had to say about me instead of my word, Sebastian, and now you come to tell me about your morals and duties?
"I told you, I told you countless times that it was not true and yet you decided to ignore me and leave me to the wolves. Spare me of your preaching, as I have enough to be concerned about."
With that, Marian turned and left for the party, and so was the last time they have ever encountered each other.
Now, alone and afraid, she cannot help herself thinking about how it would have been if their engagement was not called off. This denied dream was the only thing that made her smile these days, as fantastical and pathetic it was, and she was not willing to lose it.
It was desperately hopeless, but it brought a smile to her face.
