In a rather dimly lit room, several well-dressed men were seated around an expensive-looking table. At the head of the table an exquisite chair was placed, making the man sitting on it stand out from the rest.

In the room, an intense discussion was taking place.

“We can’t let the Duke marry the daughter of Duke Tyl. It would tie them even closer together.”

“But he has already expressed publicly that he intends to marry in the near future.”

“If he marries the girl from Tyl, do you want to hand him the military power over personally? Together they would have more soldiers under their command than the royal court has!”

The man sitting at the head of the table raised his hand and all the men fell silent. A shallow smile appeared on his face.

“Since he wants to marry so badly, why don’t I grant him a wife? Wouldn’t that be an honor he can’t reject?”

“Ha! Great idea, Your Majesty! But who will be the unlucky bride?”

One man close to the King opened his mouth.

“I have a good-for-nothing son that will do.” The man had black hair and a stern-looking face, but the gray streaks in his hair indicated his progressing age.

The King turned his eyes towards the speaker and said “Sub-male?”

The other man nodded.

“How funny.”

Laughter erupted in the room.

“That’s right he doesn’t deserve a real woman. Good, then it’s decided.” The King started laughing out loud and hitting his leg out of delight. “This is going to be fun!”

. . .

In a festively decorated side room of a church was standing a man surrounded by a handful of servants, dressing him in a beautiful wedding gown. He was standing on a small bench, which made it easier for the servants to arrange his clothing.

It should have been a joyous ambiance but there was no happiness in the air. The man in the center had a serene expression on his face, neither happy nor sad.

After one of the servants finished putting his long hair up in a complex hairstyle, he clapped his hands and seemingly satisfied with his work he said, “Finished!”

The other servants, happy to be done started chatting with each other, disregarding the man who was still standing on the bench.

“Wonderful. We are finished. It took far too long!”

“True, my legs already hurt from standing around so much.”

Seeing the man still standing at the same spot, one servant snapped at him. 

“Will you get down or not? And don’t fall! I don’t want to redo the whole thing.”

With a small nod, indicating he understood, the young man slowly got down from the stool in the center which had lifted him high.

At this moment the door opened, and without having previously knocked, a person entered the room.

“Master.”, the servants shouted respectfully, now having a completely different attitude.

Ain turned his head to look at this scene. The weak would bully those weaker than them and then turn their faces to flatter those above them.

How nice it was, that from today on he wouldn’t need to face them again.

Thinking of the future his serene mood turned solemn.

Who knows if the future will be any different…

An emotionless voice brought Ain’s attention back to the present.

“Finished?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Good.” The sound of steps and the rustling of clothes could be heard. The man had turned to the door again.

Suddenly a hand grabbed Ain’s arm hard.

“You fool don’t you see that the Duke is waiting for you?”, with this the servant dragged Ain next to the duke and put his hand on the crook of the duke's arm.

The strong grip on his arm had hurt, but Ain let no sound escape his lips.

Without commenting, the Duke started to walk towards the central hall of the church where the wedding ceremony would take place.

Ain had visible problems keeping up with the pace of the man, but he neither said a word for him to slow down nor did he dare to let go.

Only when they reached the huge door that separated them from the main hall did the other man slow down.

Even after seeing the masses of people in the main hall, who were all here for his wedding with Duke Pavo, Ain still found it hard to believe this whole situation was real. It wasn’t the sudden announcement that he would marry that had shocked Ain since he had always known, that someday he would be married off. 

The strange thing was the identity of his marriage partner. Duke Eltanin Pavo, was one of the most influential men in the kingdom. Desired by many but till now no one was able to get him. 

Duke Pavo was so famous that even he had heard of him.

So how in the world was Ain getting married to the diamond bachelor of the Kingdom?

Although Ain was also from a ducal family, he knew his status in his family.

He had two older sisters, both unmarried, one born from the main wife and one from a mistress. Then there was also his older sub-male brother who was doted upon by his mother, the main wife. 

And then there was him, an unfavored sub-male child born from a mistress. With these circumstances Ain had always thought, no, known that he would get the most unfavorable match possible. 

So the only possible explanation as to why his father would rather marry him off to Duke Pavo than his sisters or even his sub-male brother was that the duke was not a good match.

But this also arouse another question. Why had the Duke Pavo even agreed to marry him, a sub-male? 

Even though women were rare these days a man of his status should have no problems finding a willing woman to be his bride.

Although sub-males also had the ability to carry children albeit with a lower fertility rate than a woman, their other appearance resembled a man. Most men, especially those with high status, didn’t want to lay next to a man, even if their frame was more slender, weaker, and didn’t than a real man.

 And to make matters worse sub-males had a slightly lower fertility rate than women. So generally their status was rather low in society.

These thoughts had plagued him since he had learned of the wedding, so maybe Ain thought, maybe today he would get the answer.

After hearing the heavy doors to the main hall opening, the two began walking again.

Although Ain knew it couldn’t be a good thing, especially since his father, who normally despised him and didn’t even want him at the dinner table, was escorting him personally down the aisle.

This whole act was so fake that even Ain couldn’t completely remain calm. While he mechanically followed the lead of his father, Ain tried his best to refrain from showing a frown.

Letting his imagination run wild he started to guess what could be the reason for this marriage.

Maybe Duke Pavo had a disability or perhaps was he impotent? Or could it be that he had hidden preferences? Like beating his lovers, maybe even worse. Or was he ugly? 

Maybe he was terminally ill and would die in a few months but before that he wanted to marry, so his father generously gave him Ain to marry.

But no matter the reason Ain had to get married today. There wasn’t really any other choice for him and he knew that.

In the worst-case scenario, he would only switch from one prison to another, just with different prison guards. So no matter the reason for this marriage he would accept it and maybe, only maybe he could hope for a nice life after marriage. Even if there was no love maybe there could be respect.

Just as this thought appeared in his mind, Ain warned himself to not expect anything. Those with high expectations fell deep.

After a while, the two stopped walking. This sudden stop made Ain come back to reality. They had arrived at the altar and next to him was his future husband.

Nervousness, he didn’t know was there, made his heart beat faster, and sensing the presence of Duke Pavo next to him, didn’t help with his nervousness the slightest.

Suddenly he heard his father whisper to his future husband. 

“You better take good care of my son and make sure nothing happens to him. Otherwise… He.”, he let out a provoking laugh.

Although these words seemed rather normal coming from a loving father, who was about to give away his beloved child into marriage, it became strange when his father said those words, as he couldn’t care less about him.

But with the help of these words, Ain was able to put two and two together.

His father didn’t like his future husband. Looking closer at his father he could even say he despised Duke Pavo. But that wasn’t all. When he warned him not to harm him in any way, he could even see something like anticipation, like he couldn’t wait to see it happen.

So that was the reason Ain would marry the Duke and not any of his siblings. 

Ain was unneeded. He was the dumb, black sheep who couldn’t even learn to read. If something happened to him it didn’t matter, but it would give his father a reason to find fault with Duke Pavo.

A chess piece in a political play.

After figuring out the truth, Ain became calm. As expected, nothing good happened when his father paid him attention.

But despite all, he felt relieved, since at least he wasn’t just going to marry Duke Pavo because no other father dared to give their child to him for marriage.

 

Little Theater:

Ain: Maybe he is a pervert.

*Eltanin smiling with a tear flowing down his cheek* : Love, please don’t slander me.

 

If you find any errors or have suggestions just comment them! Constructive criticism is always welcomed.

Otherwise welcome to my first ever novel, hopefully you have fun following my writing journey and the journey of the protagonists.