Chapter 30: Marriage Rites

Basil slammed the table in front of him, clearly enraged, and the anger was scorching within him. Queen Magret went in and sat in the master-designed chair, "Mother, I told you I'm deeply in love with her; how else do you want me to prove it to you?" he yelled angrily.

Queen Magret scoffed at herself, thinking about how her plans will exactly pan out as intended, "I've never seen you so interested in a lady as you are in her; and possibly your feelings for her will be proven correct. But, however, I'm doing this for your sake; don't try to challenge my authority," Queen Magret continued, slightly enraged, and Basil remained silent.

A minute later, Inara and Alexander approached, bowed slightly, and extended their greetings, "My son, I appreciate all your efforts all these years, for not letting the image of this Kingdom tarnish, and also, your wife, Inara, for her efforts being a delightful wife," Queen Magret said, smiling, "Thank you, Mother for the compliment," Inara spoke calmly, to which Queen Magret nodded affirmatively, "Inara, this question goes to you; you have been married for the past four months, when would I be given a grandson?" the question caused Inara to gulp down her saliva, she remained immobile and silent for a while.

"With time, we would, Mother, "Or is it because my son isn't ready to give me a grandson? Should I hold you or him responsible?" Queen Magret inquired, in a harsh and demanding tone. Inara's gaze shifted to Alexander, but he said nothing, "We would provide you with a grandchild soon, Mother. Please give us time to get to know each other, "Are you saying you haven't known him well enough before getting married?" Queen Magret inquired, abruptly cutting her short. Basil enjoyed her anxiousness; he wished she might be his for eternity, but nothing could be accomplished without sufficient patience.

"Pardon my manners; I would still want you to give us some more time; providing you with a grandchild is our outmost priority, which would surely become a reality," Inara murmured, as she picks her fingertips anxiously, "Alright, Inara, I'm hoping this will be faster. And my son…,"

—

"You haven't said a word since we arrived from the palace," Inara began, having noticed how quiet he had been since they returned to his place, "I have nothing to say, "Won't you at least let us talk about the problem? Your Mother appears to be furious at our incapacity to present her with a grandson, knowing her husband is in a situation of life and death," Inara mumbled, turning to face him, his gaze irritated.

"To clarify, she is not and will never be my Mother. Furthermore, our inability to provide her with a grandchild should not matter to me, "But we may still persuade her by creating a tangible lie, "Lie? Stop making it appear as if I'm into you enough to consider Fathering. Our marriage may be what I vowed to remain apart from until death, but that doesn't mean I want to be a Father," he yelled angrily, bewildering Inara, who shuffled backwards in fear.

"You said you loved me; are you retracting your words because I offended you? Or…, "Such a thing could not have happened, so don't compare my little caring for you to anything else, because it could never be what you imagine," he said, walking away from her, leaving Inara in tears.

"So he doesn't love me like he said? Who exactly am I to him? A tool to get what he wanted?" she whispered in between tears, while weeping on her buttocks.

—

Alexander stepped into Zephyr's room and, to his surprise, strangled him firmly on the neck, followed by, "Do you mean what you said earlier?"

"So you still don't believe you have a Mother? Don't be deceived; your real name is Lucius, despite what she told me. Furthermore, I am your half-brother…, "Enough, It cannot be; I have been Motherless since I was a child, and I still live by that belief, "That's because she couldn't never get to meet you, you're still her son," Zephyr replied, exchanging an eyeball to eyeball with him, "Lucius, don't you sometimes wonder why you couldn't see her face? I am your half-twin brother because you differ from me in unexpected ways,"

"Stop talking!" he bellowed, his eyes flashing red. Zephyr was unsurprised, instead chuckling softly, "Lucius, you're the Devil's son, you're rumored to have killed 300 warriors with your bare hands at the age of sixteen, don't you think you're more powerful?"

—

In a room, some women could be seen speaking, and their laughing echoed in the air, "Your Highness, or should I say 'my lady,' you're something else, we cannot let you drink?" Yivanne replied drunkenly, prompting Inara to roll her eyes, "Why? I just wanted to have some fun, and you're all drinking, so why am I special?"

"Young Master wouldn't be pleased if you drink liquor," Loxley complained, and Inara blinked her eyelashes repeatedly, as if trying to remember something, "He approved of me to come here, and this is worth celebrating; I'm rejoicing with my friends, isn't it?'

Loxley nodded and poured some liquor into a cup, which Inara immediately grabbed, much to their surprise; she downed it on a goal, "Pour me some more," Inara murmured, and Loxley grudgingly filled another cup of liquor, which she did the same as well. Yivanne was concerned; it is irrelevant for her to be so demanding, "Your Highness, is there anything on your mind? It's evident this is on like you; tell us what's wrong, "Everyone changes for a reason, but I'm perfectly fine," Inara murmured and filled her cup with liquor, preparing to devour it, when Loxley snatched it away from her fingertips.

"My lady, you should stop drinking; it's becoming too much," Loxley said. Inara shook her head negatively and her eyes welled up with tears, which they promptly saw, "We're all ladies, and I think we should be truthful with each other, can you tell us…, "For all these while, I thought our marriage was worthwhile, but it meant nothing to me; he does not value our marriage the way I do, especially me. But, while I am determined to make our marriage a success, it is dissolving in front of my eyes. When I remembered I meant nothing in his eyes, I was devastated," Inara dropped the bombshell, sobbing uncontrollably.

They were both quiet for a few minutes, "We are deeply sorry, but we know your union would be what you have always wished for sooner; it's just a matter of patience," they consoled, but Inara cried the hardest. They both stepped up and gave her a loving hug.

…

Inara dashed to a secluded place, and vomited everything in her stomach; despite their efforts to stop her, she had consumed far more liquor than intended. She started to go when she observed a figure in front of her. Her vision was fuzzy, but she recognized the individual.

"Is this what you planned to do?" Lucius scoffed, and Inara walked by him without saying anything. But at the same time, she lost her balance due to her weak and drunken state; an arm caught her off guard, "Can you walk?" Lucius inquired, and Inara shook her head and stared at him with a baby-like expression, "What if I carried you in my arms?"

"I don't want that either, because my back also hurts a lot," she said, grumbling, "Remember, I wasn't there when you get yourself intoxicated; you can barely walk and don't want me to carry you; how exactly do you want it?" Lucius asked, frustrated, "Piggyback; I can't walk and don't want to be in your arms. No one has ever given me a piggyback, and…, "That is quite impossible,"

"I know you would decline, I'll stay here till I find my Prince Charming; he would surely give me a piggyback," Inara grumbled angrily, and stood up, "You're becoming something else, even though you committed something terrible, but couldn't you just accept the available options?"

"Piggyback is all I want, since you cannot do it, let me wait for my Prince Charming, then," Inara muttered, Lucius looked at her with widened eyes– he despises his wife's drunken side– and slowly crouched down to the floor, "Climb on my back, if that's what you want," he murmured. Inara smiled and climbed on his back without hesitation, "Prince Charming?"

"Could you stop calling me that? When did you…, "Would love to start calling you 'Prince Charming' because I'd like to hear you response to me, Prince Charming," Inara murmured drunkenly, while Lucius just pranced; he appears to be exceedingly irritated.

—

After depositing the drunk Inara on the bed, Lucius attempted to rise up, but she grabbed his arm and pouted, "Don't leave just yet, I'm still finding it difficult to sleep," and before he could react, she rested her head on his shoulder, "Prince Charming, you know what? I'm really happy and sad at the same time. I became even more sad when you pushed me away; it is not expected of me to want something from you; atlas, your earlier support. Could you please quit pushing me away?" she mumbled with tears in her eyes.

Lucius had her sit up straight and peered at her intently, "You're drunk, and you know that, wifey?"

"No, I'm not, I only drank five cups of liquor," she responded calmly, "What occurred after you drank liquor? Do you remember what happened in that state?"

"No, why are you asking?" 

"Do you still believe we haven't performed our marriage rites completely, as you told them? How would you like it to be?" Lucius inquired eagerly, "Just wanted to taste a man's lips; whom I'm married to, being my first kiss, I wanted it to be memorable but it isn't," she declared, tears eventually streaming down her cheeks, "I'm not pushing you away on purpose, I just don't want you to fall in love with me; I'm not someone worth loving. Promise me that you will not remember this the next day, "What's the…," Lucius kissed her lips passionately; due to her inebriation, she did not respond, but her eyelids closed on their own as her lips welcomed his tongue, ravishing her delicious fragrance lips. Lucius kissed her deeply, his desire for her overpowering him; he caught a strand of her hair and buried his arm inside, kissing her breathlessly.