Kayden gasped in surprise. She quickly gathered herself in a curtsy but Bellamy reached out his hand.
"Uh no you… You don't have to do that," he stammered awkwardly. Kayden slowly rose back up to face him.
"Well," Jaha exhaled. "I'll leave you to… acquaint yourselves." Kayden didn't realize what was happening until Jaha turned to leave. She swiveled to look back at him. She didn't want to be alone with Bellamy, she wasn't ready. When Jaha disappeared into the crowd, she swallowed her nerves and turned to face her future husband.
She almost opened her mouth to speak but thought better of it. The two stood in uncomfortable silence until Bellamy broke it.
"Do you wanna get out of here?"
Kayden was surprised by the lack of formality of the question. Up until now, everything had been carefully planned, diplomatically executed. She decided the best course of action was complacency. She remained silent but nodded and offered a warm smile (at least she hoped it was warm).
Bellamy grunted his approval and awkwardly held out his arm. Kayden took it and the two walked off into the depths of the camp, away from the music and the celebration.
Bellamy didn't say anything as he led Kayden towards the Hollow. It was the only place he could think of inside the perimeter that would allow them some time to talk alone before the ceremony. He looked at Kayden out of the corner of his eye. She was staring off quietly into the distance.
Damn, he thought nervously. He hadn't counted on her being that pretty. When he'd approached her and Jaha, he had made a silent promise to keep himself in check. No emotions, no nerves, just politics and politeness. But everything he had planned to say or do had vanished from his mind the second she'd turned her head.
She was beautiful, plain and simple. There was no other way to describe her. But it wasn't just that. There was something in her eyes. Something behind the beauty and the etiquette. Something intelligent and confident and - Dark, he thought. There's something dark in her.
He'd put it out of his mind since then as they walked in silence. But he couldn't help but wonder who she really was under all that makeup.
When they finally stopped walking, Kayden looked around and noticed that they were in a small clearing of trees. They was a pit in the middle of the space, which she assumed was for a fire, and logs placed around it. Bellamy let go of her arm and she took it upon herself to sit on one of the slabs of wood, being careful to gently flatten her white gown beneath her. When she was satisfied that no part of the dress was touching the ground, she looked up at Bellamy expectantly. He'd moved to a spot opposite her, leaning on the trunk of one of the few trees that dotted the clearing.
Kayden thought they were going to linger in awkward silence for yet the third time since they'd met when Bellamy spoke.
"Look, there's no easy way to say this but… I'll be a good husband." He swallowed nervously, looking to her for a response of any kind. She didn't answer, so he continued.
"We're both doing this for our people. And I know this is especially hard for you but… I'll do right by you. You'll be my wife, and... and I'll respect that." He nodded at the last word.
Kayden thought for a moment. She liked him, she decided. He wasn't trying to act like this was the worst or best thing that could ever happen. He wasn't exaggerating or lying or embellishing anything. He was like her - taking it at face value, calling it what it was. I guess it could be worse, she thought. And he was sort of handsome. He was a rugged young man but he had a boyish charm about him that softened his features a bit.
She still didn't know how to respond to what he'd said, though. And she had so many questions. She opted for a subject change and expressed what had been bothering her since she got here.
"Why would you choose this?" she asked innocently, free of judgment.
Bellamy seemed surprised by the sudden inquiry. It was the first time she'd spoken to him directly. He hesitated, stopping to think about it, and then looked at her suspiciously.
"Who said I chose this?"
Kayden looked down at her hands and blushed in embarrassment. She'd thought she'd heard someone say something about him volunteering. Perhaps she'd been mistaken.
"I'm sorry," she stammered. "I thought…"
"No. Wait…" he said. "You're right I wasn't… chosen like you were."
At this, she looked up at him curiously. "Then why?" she asked, genuinely intrigued.
"Because… I mean… you did this for your people right? Even though you were chosen, you did it because you had to." He paused looking to her for approval. She nodded understandingly. He continued. "So no, I wasn't chosen. But for me, it wasn't a choice. My people come first."
Kayden was about to say something in return when a loud horn blew in the distance. She looked up at the sky. The sun was setting.
It was time for their wedding.