It was the time of night, the stars twinkled and moon shone brightly above. In a hill just above was a beautiful mansion surrounded by the most expensive cars and also expensively dressed guests, it was designed with topnotch decor. Lights from outdoor chandeliers, flowers and music made it look so grand.
Tonight was the wedding celebration of two of the most elite families in North America, it was a ceremony everyone wanted to see because it wasn't often one got to attend the wedding of such grandeur. There was paparazzi outside the building, news reporters from different magazines and hype channels, lights and cameras and soon enough, a lot of gossip.
In one of the rooms of the brimming mansion sat the bride to be, beautifully made up and dressed in a pale white satin and sequined dress that sparkled when she moved and equally sparkly kitten heels.
Jewel Clandestine was getting married in an hour and she wasn't sure how much she could take before she screamed her lungs out at the suffocation of all of this.
"Diamonds or the pink Sapphires?" She heard her mother ask and she turned her head slightly from her phone to glance momentarily at her.
"Sapphires," replied her aunt, "they'll highlight her lovely hair" the woman added as she ran her thin fingers through Jewel's dark locks.
"No, I think Diamonds are better" Jewel heard her older sister say as she placed her hand on Jewel's shoulder. "They'll bring our her eyes"
And then the women argued and argued on what piece of Jewelery will best be fitted for Jewel.
As they argued, Jewel sighed and wished for the uptenth time that she could just disappear from this scene of her life. She was being sold, yes that was the word. She was being sold into marriage because heavens knows she wasn't doing this willingly. She scrolled through her phone nonchalantly, replying to messages from friends congratulating her on her wedding which was to begin in an hour. It still baffled her as to why the wedding was at this hour, at night. But she couldn't care less.
She sighed again as she looked up at her reflection in the huge oval vanity mirror in front of her. She looked beautiful, no doubt. Her dark red hair which had been brushed to perfection, till it looked like waves of lava was pinned with tons of gems and made her head feel heavy, her green eyes sparkled underneath her full lashes and her makeup highlighted and tinted her face making her look nothing less to a goddess…but Jewel didn't care.
"What do you think, dear?" Her mother's voice came again and through the mirror, Jewel looked at her reflection. She looked a lot like Jewel, or Jewel resembled her mother except for the eyes.
"What?" Jewel asked, she had not been listening to whatever they might have been saying.
"I asked which of the necklaces you prefer, Diamond or the pink Sapphires?" Her mother said, turning her around and dangling the jewelries in her face.
Jewel's eyes moved from the sparkling jewelry to the three women. Her mother who stood there with a satisfied smile on her face as she held the necklaces, to her aunt who wore what Jewel could say was the ugliest dress she had ever seen, a dark yellow sparkling nonsense that clashed with her dirty blonde hair and pale features, and then her gaze finally rested on her sister who had an uncomfortable grin on her face.
"Was this how you felt, Dahlia?" Jewel asked her sister who looked a little shocked at the question.
"Felt, how?" She asked, although Jewel could already sense that she understood the question, she could tell by the way her pale blue eyes darted across the room very quickly as her fingers continuously pushed back a strand or two of platinum blonde hair.
"The day you were sold into your marriage"
Jewel heard the two older women gasp as they frowned at her.
"Jewel, don't say that" her mother cautioned, "nobody is being sold into marriage"
"Your mother's right," her aunt concured, "don't say such things, the man you're about to marry is a reputed good man"
"He come from a good family—"
"He comes from a rich family" Jewel interrupted.
Her mother rolled her eyes, "The Audreu's are a family every girl would love to get married into. And you're lucky that Brandon liked you and—"
Jewel rolled her eyes, "Oh, please guys atleast be honest with me," she said with a frown, "how much was my bride price? I heard it was a little over right million dollars"
Jewel saw the shock on the women faces as they couldn't fathom where Jewel might have heard about it. "What? You didn't think I'd find out?" She sneered, "do you know how odd this wedding is? Our families are not even friends"
"Please, Jewel" her mother sighed, "Let's….let's just see your dress"
Jewel didn't object, she stood up slowly already feeling like a decorated Christmas tree. She backed her mother and straightened her back, making her lovely dress even more visible.
"Lovely," commented her aunt, "could use a little more sequins though"
Jewel's ears perked up. No…no more sequins. She already feels like she's covered in glitter.
"Yes, it could" her mother agreed. "Dahlia get the sequins spray—"
"No!" Jewel said immediately as she retracted her wings, "they will be no more sequins"
"Come off it, Jewel" her aunt sneered. "Dahlia, the spray"
Dahlia stood there, torn between her aunt and her sister. "Umm…I think, Jewel's dress are okay"
"You know what? It doesn't matter" her mother said with a deep sigh.
"Ofcourse it doesn't, none of this does" Jewel retorted, "it also doesn't matter if I'm being sold or not, it shouldn't be the first time"
"Jewel!" Her aunt frowned but her mother stopped her.
"It's okay, Sylvia" she said and the woman sneered before walking out of the room.
Hilda looked at her daughter who stood there in a beautiful white dress, sparkling and a deep frown, "Jewel—"
"It's fine, mother. I think I've come in terms with this whole agreement of yours…of you and father" Jewel said, without looking up at her mother. She was too tired to argue, she had been doing that for the past month when she first heard of her being bethroted like they were living in the victorian era where all of these was normal.
"But how did you pull it off though?" Jewel asked and her mother gave her a quizzical look. "To get me bethroted to such a sophisticated family?"
Hilda sighed again, she just couldn't understand why Jewel was making this hard. Why couldn't she just understand why Jewel didn't want to accept this, everyone got married this way and she luckier than most that she was about to get married into the Audreu family, unlike her sister. She turned to look at her eldest daughter and saw how uncomfortable she looked.
"What do you think mother?" Jewel's voice came again and she sighed.
"What?"
"What do you think father did to get me bethroted—"
"I think," Hilda grabbed the diamond necklace, "the diamond works better" she walked towards the door. "Try smiling, Jewel. Please" she walked out.
Dahlia looked from the door to her younger sister, "I—"
"Don't" Jewel said, facing the mirror," Just don't"
Dahlia didn't say another word and just walked out of the room. When everyone was gone, Jewel let out a huge sigh as she collapsed tiredly on the chair, she looked around the room she was in and bit her lips. Soon she won't be sleeping here anymore, her nights won't be spent in this room she had spent most of her life in.
Standing up, she kicked off her shoes and went to the door to lock it. When she locked it, she went to stand at the window and leaned gratefully on it. Soon enough, she would be someone's wife, someone she knows next to nothing about, someone she had only met once in her life during a very awkward luncheon. Someone she feels like throwing off a god damn roof!
She couldn't understand how her parents could be so calm about this. She couldn't understand why either. Was it because of the money? Jewel knew that her parents secretly hated the Audreus. They saw them as competition and now she was being forced to marry into the family? Was this a kind of marriage merger or another plan that was obviously formulated by her father?.
Sighing, she continued to look out the window, scoffing at the drama that went on down there. She was still looking when she noticed something strange, on her far left next to the trees and meadows part of the premises, she noticed some movement, looking closely, she saw three figures emerged from the darkness as they proceeded to the building, when they reached it, they began climbing the side of the building.
"Oh, no.." Jewel gasped.