~Emperor Sargon POV~
"How long do I have to wait?" I asked the royal priest in front of me.
"T-Twenty.....more minutes, your highness" his face was already pale with fear and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. I was tired of waiting at the altar. It was a tradition in Akkad that a groom had to wait for his bride at the altar for two hours before she arrived.
This was one of the stupid traditions that I wanted to abolish when I came to power. But my mother refused, saying that this was ongoing before I was born, and she would kill herself if anyone dared to. My mother was dear to me. She was the only parent I had left. Losing her would break my heart.
Not my heart! They say I was heartless, she was part of my life.
After some time, I asked the priest again "How long have I been sitting at the altar?"
"Your majesty, it's been two hours and thirty minutes. I don't know why your bride isn't here" His hands trembled as he spoke.
"Why will they keep me waiting for this long?" I screamed at them with rage as I stood up from my seat.
I took a step backward to get down from the altar before the royal priest stopped me. "Your Majesty, if you leave the altar before your bride comes, you will have to wait for another two hours before getting married".
I was sure my enemies were at work and this was the only way they could punish me. "Send words to the women's quarters, tell them I am waiting at the altar in frustration". I bawled at the servants. Many of them were afraid and confused, they all went different ways. My anger was a bad one. I was aware of that.
My chest kept rising and falling heavily, my eyes were already dark with rage. This was the first sign that showed I was going to destroy anything near - Rage.
I looked towards the entrance hall. I saw my mother, coming in with my soon-to-be bride. We haven't met, but this attitude: keeping me at the altar irritates me a lot.
She was dressed in a beautiful red gown with a veil covering her face: the second tradition I hated! She was going to be my wife. After all, there was no need to hide her face under a cloth.
I read their mother's expression, I knew she was going to apologize on behalf of the women. She was soft and kind-hearted, many took advantage of that.
"Please don't be angry Sargon, I was the one who delayed them" she apologized, with, hands folded in front of her.
"Mother..."
"The princess arrived at the palace a few hours ago. I wanted her to rest before coming to the wedding". She cut me off.
I looked at her with weakness, she was my world. I have no choice, but to pardon the rest. "Please bring her to the altar. I want to finish this once and for all", I told my mother".
"Okay dear", she helped the princess to the altar and made her sit close to me.
The priest started the incarnation. The marriage rite was done, and we took our vows accordingly. The last rite to perform was my favorite. A ram was brought to the altar. The priest prayed and gave thanks to the gods, asking them to bless our marriage with happiness and children. A thing I knew would never happen.
Then, Ram's blood was given to us, the newly Weds, to drink. I took the cup from the priest and drank from it. My bride was next. I stretched out my hands and offered her the drink, but she refused. She didn't reach out for it.
"You should drink from this cup. I don't have time to waste anymore", I scoffed.
"Sargon..." my mother chimed in.
"Please be nice to her, my son".
Those words angered me more. What was wrong with her drinking from the cup? it was a tradition, and she had to follow it. "Mother, please you should sweet talk to your daughter-in-law. You know I am not good when it comes to pampering. Tell her to drink the cup because I am losing it", I said.
My mother knew my anger and how I was trying my best to control it. I have put on my best behavior today, everyone present would testify to that.
"Please, Sargon, don't get mad at her" my mother pleaded on her behalf. She took the cup from me and moved closer to the princess. "My dear Ariadne, you don't have to drink anything, just take a sip and all will be done".
The girl hesitated for a moment. I wondered what was going through her mind. If only she could see my face, she would have obeyed.
"If she doesn't want to get married then it's easy... let her go ahead and say it" I snarled.
"Please drink a little my child", mother pleaded again.
"Okay mother" came in a quiet tone, it looked like she was crying under the veil. So could she talk?
She drank from it and gave the cup back to the priest.
"The marriage rite is concluded, your highness, you are now husband and wife," he smiled.
That was all. Immediately I came down from the altar, I didn't even care to see my bride, so I headed for my room.
"Sargon dear, we are yet to finish this" my mother stopped me.
"I am so tired, I need to rest".
"I know that, but you are yet to see your bride's face and that could bring bad luck to us. At least take a look at her before you go".
These traditions made me feel awful. The face of the bride was going to remain the same, whether I saw her now or not!
Behind me was my bride. I took a few steps backward, and I turned to her and asked "can you show your face to save me from this bad luck?
She didn't move at all. Who was this girl? This question kept on bothering her. She was adamant.
"Lift off the veil, Sargon," mother instructed. I looked at the faces present, my eyes narrowed at them. I was going to disappoint all their craving ears. "Mother, you should lift the veil yourself, after all, you are the one who wants me to see her face".
My statement shocked everyone. On a normal day, the groom will be eager to see his bride's face, not the in-laws. I wasn't normal but different from everything.
I could hear murmurings. My mother wasn't happy, but she had no choice at all.
"Okay, I will do it" she moved closer to the bride and lifted the veil. She was a beautiful girl, but…
"What do you think? Isn't she the most beautiful girl in this hall?" Mother interrupted my thoughts.
"Yes mother, I must say, she is beautiful though she looks thin and pale. It seemed like her parents barely fed her over there. My advice is that she should be taken good care of". After saying that, I walked out of the hall.
I knew many wouldn't be pleased with my compliments, but who cares!? I was a very plain-minded person. I say what I see as it is. I did not hide nor pretend for a second.
Celebrations were supposed to take place in the Hall, but I ignored this event. I went to my room instead. I knew mother was going to follow me. She wasn't pleased with my behavior all night. She liked this girl already. I wondered how her mother became so attached to the princess. Before she came to the Akkad, rumors had reached me that the daughter of king Gaius was stubborn and lacked manners. That's why she was locked in the castle all her life.
I changed into a light robe. I was exhausted from the day's activities: training the soldiers, visiting the temple, and then the so-called- wedding.
Someone knocked on my door. I knew it was my mother.
"Come in," I said.
She entered the room together with my prime minister, Apollo.
"Mother, have you come to congratulate me?" I asked.
She was silent. I continued "Today, I have one thousand wives in my harem. This is one of my greatest achievements".
"Why did you leave the hall like that, Sargon?"
"I did nothing wrong mother, do not give me a lecture on how to behave, please".
"It's your wedding reception, you ought to be in the hall not in your room".
"Mother, you know I won't go out there, no matter how hard you try, so I advise you to ask for something else".
"Spend the night with your new bride, I beg of you".
I turned to see the faces staring at me, their hopes were so high, I thought of something I would do to bring them down.
"I see that you like her, mother". She nodded in agreement.
"Then I advise you to go stay with her tonight. Console her, she must be crying in her room", I said.
"Your highness, I think you should listen to your mother please", Apollo spoke for the first time since he entered the room.
"I want to be alone, Goodnight". I turned to the wall. Mother left disappointed. This morning, she was so excited about this wedding. One may think this was my first time getting married.
Quickly, I went to my library in the corner of the room. I picked a diary from one of the shelves. It belongs to my great-grandfather. All the journals and diaries of my ancestors were arranged according to their years. The reason for this was to find the solution to my problems.
I needed to find out what transpired between my forefather and the witch. Why did she unleash such a curse on me instead!