Marcello Christiano Venedici of Venezia knew this moment had been months in the making. When his parents had first summoned him to the great hall, an unusual occurrence of itself, he had not expected to receive the orders that he must marry and produce an heir for the family line.

A minor argument had ensued when he had been told his parents would choose the girl he married. Despite his protests, there was nothing he could say to sway their minds. They did not trust him to pick a worthy woman, nor to go through the whole of courtship without compelling her to do something irrational. They told him he did not know what he wanted, and that some street urchin that took his fancy would not be good enough. Marriage was an alliance of power and wealth.

Marcello had little faith in his parents' choosing. If power and wealth were of the utmost importance, how could he expect them to get along? He cared so little for both things. What he loved was beauty and artistry. He craved the dark and seductive side of things. A virgin of proper upbringing and class would surely bore him.

Yet now he stood in the grand cathedral at night wearing the finest tailored black and red suit and black furred cloak around his shoulders. It was the moment of truth, finally the time to lay eyes on his betrothed and hope that she was as he desired. His mother had assured him she was as elegant and as well mannered as she was beautiful. His father had said she would produce a fine heir or become a fine meal. In moments, he would finally have an answer to if she was to his liking or not, and it gave him butterflies despite not having a beating heart to race.

"Lords and Ladies, your excellency," the priest addressed the crowd, then nodded his head in reverence to the prince. "We have come here together to unite these two people in holy matrimony. They stand before us to pledge their love and fealty to one another for this life and the afterlife, that their souls may be bonded together as one."

The priest then nodded to the prince that he might remove her veil. "After removing the veil from your bride, please place the cloak around her shoulders to signify you taking her under your protection. You will shelter and love her, keep her safe from harm, and be the warmth she needs for the coldest nights. And by cloaking her, you pledge yourself to her and only her so long as you both shall live."

He slipped his hand under the edge of the cloth and carefully lifted it off her face, and a surprised smile spread across his own. Should he have been so surprised? His parents had done well. She was genuinely exquisite. In contrast, his sharp features differed from her softer ones. The Prince wore his dark hair messy and unkempt, and any attempt to fix it had failed. His smokey grey eyes were no match for the vibrance and life of her green. The pale flawless skin of his face only creasing to form the smile he could not shake as he stared down at her olive tone.

In one swift motion, he pulled off his magnificent cloak and swept it through the air before it fell onto her shoulders. Covering the light blue and gold by a sea of black, a physical manifestation of his now taking dominion over her. The size of it fully encompassed all of her smaller frame.

He lent in and whispered to her "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I will take care of you and keep you happy until one of us is sadly no more." It almost felt a little cruel to make such a comment. She had a hard and tasking road ahead. Even if she survived, the experience would change her forever.

She smiled back at him, heart fluttering up into her throat. He was breathtakingly handsome. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen a man who took her breath away before. Perhaps it was this situation that added to the splendor of his looks, but he truly looked godly... otherworldly, even.

As he put the cloak around her shoulders and spoke those sweet words, she almost believed him. Still, this was still an arranged marriage, and they knew nothing of one another. He could pledge anything to her, but the fact remained. She wanted to believe. How could she not wish for a fairytale ending?

"With the power vested in me by God and the crown, I pronounce you husband and wife. Prince, you may kiss your bride..." And kiss they did. As he pulled her in, she'd never felt such a rush in her life.

No man's lips had ever touched her own, but she felt sure even if they had, his would be the softest. They were like pillows or rose petals, moving against her own, gently parting her mouth. He did not dare to slip his tongue inside yet, but she felt the wetness of his saliva lubricate their lips, and it made her shiver.

She cherished the moment as the first of many firsts for the day. She could hear her heart racing in her ears and hoped it wasn't so loud that the whole cathedral could hear. As the kiss broke, she could breathe once more, and it stopped beating quite so loudly.

"It is my honor to present to you for the first time Prince and Princessa Marcello Christiano Venedici of Venezia..." the trumpet burst out once more, signifying that they might exit, now officially wed. As a fanfare rang out, they walked out hand in hand from the cathedral and were met by a servant to escort them to a private room for the two of them to have a few moments alone before their reception began.

The servant had set a glass of wine for each and a few morsels of food out on the table in front of the couch in the small room. It was apparently a sort of makeshift place for them, but it was nice, nonetheless. They could spend a few moments learning more than one another's names while the guests filed out of the cathedral and arrived back at the palace where the festivities would be underway shortly. As that could take them up to an hour for everyone to make their way there, the couple had a little time.

She sat down on the couch, hands folded neatly in her lap, and smiled at him. Nerves were apparent as she tried not to twist her dress between her fingers.

"Hello," she said, laughing a little at how strange it felt to say hello for the first time AFTER being wed. "I'm Natalia..."

Marcello looked over at the small bits of food before dismissing them and going for the wine instead. He carried a pair of filled glasses and sat beside her. Handing one to her, he took a moment to study her in more detail; perfect posture and body positioning. His heightened senses could hear her heart pounding furiously. Hopefully, the wine might relax her a little and keep it from rising to deafeningly loud.

He sat formally too, only breaking posture as he delicately pulled the cloak around her a bit more. Not that he could tell if it was cold or not, but he assumed she would find the act caring, regardless. It was easy for him to appear well mannered; he didn't feel any discomfort in sitting any position. In fact, his teacher had given him lessons on how to appear more human in his actions.

"Hello Natalia, I am Prince Marcello. However, I think we both knew that after that announcement." His voice was deep and husky, but not gruff. It had an intoxicating quality to it which threatened to lull her into never wishing him to stop talking.

She laughed slightly at his quip about his name, but she said nothing else. Instead, he continued. "This is not an easy position to be in for either of us. We did not choose each other, but you are truly beautiful; and I hope to learn more about you in the hope that we can grow to be in love." He gave her his best smile, pouring as much meaning and significance as he could into the words. Of course, at this stage it was still largely an act. To grow close to her now was what was necessary, but he needed her to believe it.

He held his glass aloft and toasted "to our marriage", clinking their glasses together he drank a reasonable amount hoping she would mirror him. However, it seemed her education dictated that she only take small sips (to his mild irritation). The temptation to compel her was rising, but they had warned him against it. It would become a slippery slope if he started now, doing it more and more until he had forced her to become a shadow of her former self, raising questions with those that knew her.

Nonetheless, he stared deep into her eyes, ready to make the connection if need be. "This is excellent wine, is it your family's? Did you grow up amongst the vineyards?" It was his simple way of trying to bond with her, laying the foundation down to comfort her thoughts, ensuring he would understand more of her by the end of the evening.

After their toast, she brought the wine to her lips in much the same way. She had a greater tolerance than most and could drink a fair amount without feeling intoxicated. Perhaps that had come from being raised around it, from drinking it from a very young age.

"Yes, this is from our vineyards, and yes, I grew up there. Well, I grew up bouncing between Venice and Tuscany, even though my family is originally from Sicily. We have two large vineyards: Tuscany and Sicily, I'm more familiar with the former."

She took a long sip of wine before continuing. "I spent most of the last four years at Her Lady Alexandria's finishing school in Bologna. My two best friends were married off before me...one in Nice, the other in Corsica. And now I'm married to you..." She took an uncomfortable sip of the wine, realizing she perhaps volunteered more information than he wished for. She was still nervous, despite the ceremony being over.

It was only the beginning of their night. There was an entire reception of tirelessly greeting individuals she had never met and would most likely never meet again. Pleasantries, dancing, eating, drinking, and... the bedding ceremony. It was quite an irksome custom, still held by many of those in power. Of course, she couldn't be sure they would be required to perform it, but most ruling families did so to 'ensure' that the marriage was indeed consummated.

The maidens in attendance would whisk away her and ready her for the giving of her maidenhead. While a group of men would carry her new husband, and have much the same done. They would be stripped down and placed in their marriage bed whereupon the crowd would be banished (often lurking just outside the door) where the minstrels would continue to play sweet music to ensure if a child were to be conceived, it would be under pleasant circumstances and be blessed as a healthy babe. And of course, the next morning they would check the sheets to make sure they had spilled her virgin blood upon them. It was a tradition that all well-bred women learned of and often were privy to before their own wedding night. It was not a comfortable situation, but it was certainly one that was tradition. She doubted she would be so fortunate as to escape the embarrassing pageant.

In preparation for such, she would need much more wine than was in the small glass before her. She wanted to down it all, but her breeding and training held her back.

Looking up at him through hooded eyes, she meekly asked. "So... besides being a handsome prince, what should I know about you?"

She had a certain shyness that intrigued him so much. Little things in the way she wanted to talk about herself, wanted to take larger gulps of wine, but simply couldn't make herself do it. He could see she was hiding part of her true self, like he was. Perhaps they had more in common than first, he had assumed. Still, he needed to let her know she could come out of this cage; it was how he would gain her trust and ultimately win her heart.

He laughed in return at her own compliment. "Thats very kind of you to say Lady Roma- Lady Natalia. Still a little fresh obviously." He chuckled to himself at the mixup. "Well, I grew up here in Venice, but my parents were very strict about who I they allowed me to see and be friends with. They forced me to focus on studies and training." His eyes seemed to glaze over as he reminisced, clearly not the happiest time of his life. "But once I became a man, it was time for me to make my presence known in the world. Since then, it has been royal hobbies and special duties." It was vague enough to be sufficient without letting her know too much.

"Lady Alexandria certainly did some fine work on you ladies," he continued, wanting her to know he'd listened to her words. "And your friends are always welcome to come here and visit you if you would like. Whatever can help ease you into royal life. It might seem glamorous, but it's not an easy mantle to take up. I'm lucky that I enjoy drinking, dancing and socialising, otherwise it would be a very tiresome life indeed." He knew the next few hours would be all the official pleasantries and celebrations. More of the performance that he'd have to keep up to everyone before finally having her all to himself. Then, hopefully, he could ease her into who and what he truly was.

Now that he'd finished his wine and set it down, he shuffled a little closer to her on the couch. "This may seem a little unusual, Natalia. I know it's not customary, but I am the Prince of Venice; and anything I say to happen will happen. Is there any way I can make you more at ease tonight? This is the start of our marriage together, and I'd hate for it to be tainted by anything that might make you unhappy." He knew he was pushing, testing her, hoping to break the well-made barriers she had up. If she was honest and spoke up, he would know that he was on the path to winning her over. Otherwise, he would have to keep trying through the night.

He could still see some doubt flicker across her face, and knew he had to make a move. He could hear her heart pounding once again and see the flush in her cheeks. In the brief pause of silence, he leaned forward, closing the distance between their lips, and kissed her once again. Enjoying the sweet sensation of her perfectly warm lips on his.

She was considering speaking up, laying her grievance with the traditional bedding ceremony on the table before him, when he closed the distance between them. Her heart sang.

She had, of course, been trained for this moment to keep her composure. Even though she and her schoolmates in clandestine midnight meetings had read sultry words of men taking women into their beds and doing unspeakable things, she'd never been kissed. Their kiss at the alter and this one were the first moments that her lips had touched another's, and it was glorious. It was like getting to have your favorite dessert while dancing a waltz without spilling a drop. An impossibly amazing feeling, and she couldn't wait to do that again and again.