It was finally Alianna and Murtagh's wedding day. The servants were busy putting the finishing touches on the decorations and flowers in the chapel. The cooks were preparing all the food for the reception.
Alianna was up in her chambers. She slipped into her wedding dress, which had arrived just three days earlier. What a beautiful dress it was! It was made out of white satin. The top was short sleeved and off the shoulder. At the center of the dress was a satin corset with a panel in the back. The corset was laced with white ribbons. And the train of the dress was chapel length. Next, Alianna styled her hair (with Emma's help) into long waves and added a few small, white flowers as the finishing touch. Finally, Alianna put on her favorite necklace. It was a beautiful locket with a small sapphire stone in the middle. Alianna had no idea where she had gotten it from- she'd had it for as long as she could remember. She just assumed her father had given it to her when she was younger.
"Well, what do you think?" Alianna asked Emma as she turned around and faced her.
Emma had a huge smile on her face as she spoke, "You look beautiful! You know, helping you get ready reminds me of when I got married."
Alianna nodded, but didn't say much for fear of bringing back painful memories for Emma. Emma's husband, Selwin (a former blacksmith), had been killed almost five years ago while being forced to serve in Galbatorix's army.
Alianna decided to change the subject, "Do you really think I look beautiful?"
"Yes, of course," Emma said, "Why don't you take a look for yourself?"
Alianna slowly walked over to her mirror. She'd never really considered herself beautiful, even though many people thought she was. But as she looked in the mirror, Alianna was surprised. She liked how her dress looked on her. Suddenly, it hit Alianna that this wedding was really going to happen. She started to cry.
"What's wrong dear?" Emma asked her.
"I can't do this!" Alianna sobbed, "I can't go through with this Emma. Murtagh and I don't love each other. I don't want to be married to someone I don't love. There must be a way out of this."
"If there were," Emma said, "Believe me, I'd tell you. But I'm afraid there's nothing you can do. You just need to try and make the best of the situation. Here," She handed Alianna a handkerchief.
Alianna wiped the tears from her face and said, "Thanks. I guess we better get to the chapel.
"I can't come with you, Alianna." Emma said.
Alianna was shocked, "What?!?! What do you mean you can't come? Emma, this is my wedding. You have to be there!"
"Galbatorix has ordered that no servant be allowed into the ceremony." Emma told her.
"But I don't consider you a servant." Alianna replied, "You're my friend. The only one I have. I want you to be there. I don't care what Father says. Lets go."
Alianna and Emma walked out into the hallway where they were met by Argus and the rest of Alianna's guards.
Argus looked at Emma and said, "You aren't allowed…"
Alianna interrupted him, "I told Emma she could come."
Argus continued, "But your father said…"
"I'm aware of what my father said." Alianna told him, "But this is MY wedding. I want Emma to be there and she will be."
"I'm afraid I can't allow that." Argus said.
"Do you dare disobey my orders?" Alianna asked angrily, "Emma is coming to my wedding. And if you say another word against it, you'll be relieved of your duties permanently. Have I made myself clear?"
Argus nodded, "Yes, my lady."
"Good," Alianna said, "Now, lets get to the chapel." She then mumbled, "I want to get this over with as quickly as possible."
The guards led Alianna out to a horse drawn carriage that would take them to the chapel. During the short ride there, Emma kept trying to reassure Alianna that everything would be okay. But it didn't work. Alianna still felt very scared and nervous. When they arrived at the chapel, Emma quietly slipped into a seat in the back while Alianna went off to meet with her father, who wanted to talk to her.
Alianna found her father in one of the back rooms dressed in his best formalwear.
"You wished to see me?" Alianna asked.
"You're here, good." Galbatorix said.
"What other choice did I have?" Alianna replied.
Galbatorix ignored what Alianna said and continued, "I expect you to be on your best behavior today. You better not make a scene."
"I won't." Alianna said.
Alianna and Galbatorix made their way down the hall to the main entrance of the chapel. Not once did Galbatorix compliment Alianna on how nice she looked or say anything that a father would normally say to his daughter on her wedding day. When they finally arrived at the main entrance, the doors were slowly opened.
The chapel was decorated beautifully with dozens of red roses and white candles. Alianna looked up and saw Murtagh standing near the altar. He was wearing a dark blue tunic and a black vest with black pants. Suddenly, Alianna started panicking again and quickly looked all around.
"I have guards posted at every exit." Galbatorix told her, "Don't even think about running away."
Alianna took a deep breath and slowly made her way down the aisle. It took all the strength that she had in her not to start crying. When she reached the altar, Alianna saw that Murtagh looked just as unhappy as she did. She sighed and took her place next to him.
The ceremony went by fairly quickly. Alianna and Murtagh said their vows and soon they were bounded together for life. Their kiss at the end of the ceremony was something Alianna had been dreading. But to Alianna's surprise, Murtagh was a pretty good kisser. A strange feeling suddenly came over Alianna. She tried to ignore it as she and Murtagh made their way down the aisle, out of the chapel, and into the carriage.
"So," Murtagh said as they rode back to the castle.
"So" Alianna said.
Murtagh looked over her, "You look… interesting…"
Alianna replied, "Thank you. So do you."
Alianna and Murtagh didn't say much else to each other until they arrived at the castle. From there, Alianna's guards escorted them down to the large banquet hall where the reception was to take place.
"Well…" Murtagh said.
"Well what?" Alianna asked.
"What do we do now?"
"We go in there." Alianna told him, "We smile and we pretend like we're happy."
"I'm not sure if I can do that." Murtagh said.
"I don't like this anymore than you do." Alianna replied as she hooked her arm into Murtagh's, "Lets get this over with."
The doors to the banquet hall were opened and two hundred people stood and cheered as Alianna and Murtagh made their way to their table. As they sat down, Alianna looked around and saw that here father wasn't there.
"Excuse me," Alianna said to Argus as he walked by, "Have you seen my father?"
"He had other business to attend to, my lady." Argus replied.
Alianna just nodded as Argus walked away.
"That doesn't surprise me." Murtagh said, "He just wanted to stay long enough to make sure we actually went through with it." He looked at Alianna, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Alianna told him, sounding very annoyed.
"I was just asking. Calm down!"
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Alianna said, "Just because you're my husband now doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do!"
Murtagh shook his head, "Here we go again. You are such a-"
They were interrupted by a man who approached them. Alianna recognized him as one of her father's sorcerers. His name was Gavriel.
"Congratulations," Gavriel said.
"Thank you," Alianna replied.
Gavriel turned to Murtagh, "You two make a wonderful couple. I'm sure it won't be long before we see some children of yours running around here."
Alianna nearly choked on the wine she was drinking when Gavriel said that. Both Murtagh and Gavriel looked at her.
"Sorry," she said, "I must've drank to fast."
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The reception went on long into the night. There was tons of food, wine, and music. After Alianna and Murtagh had said goodbye to the last of their guests, they went up to their new bed chambers. Alianna went back behind her screen to change into her night clothes. She slipped into a long, light blue silk nightgown. When Alianna came back out, she looked up and froze. Murtagh was standing there shirtless. He had his back turned to her, so she was able to see his horrible scar. The scar stretched from his right shoulder all the way down to his left hip. Alianna's eyes filled with tears. She knew the story behind how Murtagh got that scar. When Murtagh was just three years old, Morzan threw his sword, Zar'roc, at him, causing Murtagh's back to be split open. Murtagh probably would've died had it not been for a healer nearby. The whole thing made Alianna sad whenever she thought about it. She couldn't imagine how anyone could do that to their own child.
"What are you looking at?" Murtagh asked as he turned around.
"Nothing," Alianna said.
"Yeah, right." Murtagh replied, "I don't know what the big deal is. You've seen my scar before."
"I know." Alianna said, "Look, you're not exactly my favorite person in the world. I just feel sorry for you about what happened."
"I don't need anyone to feel sorry for me!" Murtagh snapped.
"Fine," Alianna sighed, "I won't then."
Alianna pulled down the covers and got into bed. When Murtagh tried to get into bed as well, Alianna pushed him away.
"What are you doing?" Alianna asked.
"I'm tired and I want to go to sleep." Murtagh replied.
"Not in this bed you won't!" Alianna told him.
"Where am I suppose to sleep then?" Murtagh asked.
Alianna grabbed a pillow and a blanket and threw them on the floor, "Here!"
Murtagh looked at her strangely, "Are you kidding me?"
Alianna sat up, "Do I look like I'm kidding?"
Murtagh just shook his head and layed down on the floor. Alianna leaned over and blew out the candle on the nightstand. She sighed and then pulled the covers over her and went to sleep.