(Milana)
Mother shook me awake when it was barely light outside. Lychorida and Kiro were already awake and had vacated the room of course, so Aaida got me dressed.
"Why am I up so early?" I groaned and mother sat in front of me.

"You're getting married today didn't you listen? The ceremony is happening at six o'clock tonight, you need to prepare."

The words stung my bones.

"What do I need to do?" I whispered.

"Speak properly for starters." Mother hissed. "You and your sister are going to have breakfast with the Queen and princesses. Then you're going to go and meet with the Blue Priestess, I'll be with you for that. She'll perform the first part of the ceremony."

I held my breath, I was going to find out what happened for a wedding.

"She'll bathe you in the fountain of the Gods, then you'll have to light a candle, place it on the altar. Then she'll say a prayer and we'll leave."

I pulled away from Aaida, who was doing my hair, for a moment. "That's all that happens? That's it?" Aaida tugged on a strand of my hair and I sat back.

Mother nodded. "That's the first bit. The second bit is sacred and stays within the confines of the chapel. I-" her voice faltered and fear gripped me, "I can't tell you what happens then."

"Why not?" I stared at her until she held my gaze. "You and Father aren't religious any more."

"Milana." She snapped and I thought I saw tears in her eyes, it might just have been a trick of the sun, which was now starting to rise. "There's a difference between not believing in a God and breaking his sacred commandments!"

"No there's not!" I stood up angrily.
Mother stood up too but she ignored me.

"Lychorida, come upstairs!" She yelled and was met with an irritated groan from downstairs. "Go down and wait." Mother said sternly and I glared at her for a moment before going out and slamming the door, shoving past Lycho on the stairs.
James caught me by the shoulders when I got to the bottom and brought me to sit down.

"You've got a lot happening today, so we just wanted to say a few words before all of the madness starts." James sat by the fireplace as he spoke. "Hadis?" James prompted.

Hadis nodded and passed me an old book. "That's my one of my favourite histories, it talks about the primaries. Thank you for not being the one to break my nose all those years ago," we all laughed at the memory, "and thanks for looking after us. We'll miss you a lot when you're here."

Asa passed me a small pot of white cream next. "It's a face cream and it has good general healing powers. I haven't got much more to add on to what Had said, but that we really will miss having you around the house and that we love you."

Then James. He passed me a little glass bottle with clear liquid. "That's poison." He said when I went to sniff it. "I don't want you to use it but it's there if you need it." I was semi horrified, but the way he looked at me and it calmed me a little. "You're stronger than you think, and your skills and innumerable and will serve you well. There is a man here, Harlev, the children's Geography tutor, he's a friend of father's, you can go to him if you're worried."

Father nodded and cut in. "He'll be the only way you can contact us without it being searched. I know it wasn't meant to happen like this, I'm so sorry it has, but there is no girl in the kingdom who is better at being a wife than you. You will survive here and at some point, sometime soon, we will rescue you, we'll come and get you and take you home. In the meantime you should take this." He pulled the smooth, dark, golden ring off of his own finger, the one I had liked most as a baby, and put it on my left thumb. I only noticed then they I had been crying and so went to sit with father in the armchair.
"You've got this, Milana." He murmured.