ADONIA | #Historical | RomePi™

Neuf ɬ 9 (BWWM)

THE CEREMONY

A grand affair awaited the couple once they finally emerged from their marital chamber.

Stepping into the reception where they had officially been joined one to another, the young royals were met with eyes scrutinizing their every move. 

Hushed tones carried bits of open gossip on the winds of each bustling conversation that was shared in the space reserved for the couple to be presented to the upper echelons of society. As the throng noted that gentle interactions between the newlyweds had replaced the previous day's awkward acceptance of their union, word circulated speculations that a successful intimacy must have occurred between the duke and princess over the course of one night based on the closeness between the two. 

As he ushered his bride into the room, Étienne's hand lingered on the curve of her hip opposite the one that lingered nearest his. The uncommon signs of possession set the onlookers' tongues ablaze as they remarked at the manner in which the Duke guided his young wife toward the throne to receive the King's words of blessing over them.

It was hard for anyone with eyes to miss the closeness shared between the newlyweds. Though the Argentén court knew nothing of Princess Adonia's prior social interactions, most of them had known Étienne the length of his life. He was never one to allow any one woman his full attention for any span of time. 

Not to mention that public displays of affection were often considered to be the ill-mannered behaviors of low-born individuals of their lands, however, Étienne ignored all customs where his new wife was concerned. Though the Duke moved much like he always had, members of the court witnessed how the couple refused to leave the close intimate proximity of one another.

His eyes returned to her face frequently as if he expected her to vanish right before him. The man who had a lengthy reputation for entanglements with different women of the court gave no one his attention except for Princess Adonia. 

The glow on the princess's face spoke volumes that she no longer moved about as the frightened dove with which the people had initially been acquainted. The innocent lady who had graced their court the day before had been transformed into the wife of one of the most desirable men in Argenté after one long night locked in the warmth of his presence and his presence alone.

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ÉTIENNE

He was grateful for his wife's attention to detail. As she fell in line with his every move, Étienne cupped her body in such a way that anyone with eyes could see the blush that spread across her skin. 

There was never a moment in his life that he desired to be close to any woman in more ways than when he was busy enjoying the treasures between their thighs. Étienne had previously held no questions in his mind or his heart concerning marriage or the life lived by those who were locked in the legal and spiritual union between man and woman. He lived his existence solely on a quest to please himself by any means necessary.

For the Duke de Valois to accept a bride--a foreigner at that--as his other half, he prepared himself to embark on a path few entered without constant struggles for power and some means of gain. 

Étienne had witnessed how his brothers lived with their wives. The cold and callous discontent displayed for all to see caused their wives great stress. Not only were his brothers ravenous wolves who engaged in multiple affairs to relieve the pressures of their positions at court, but they also fathered numerous children by engaging in one liaison after another. The same men presented themselves as pious respectful vessels although all of the court knew them to be lecherous in their many secretive ways.