arranged marriage au.

[dragonsung]

It was not Ysayle's decision, but nor did she protest -- she'd be a fool to think that there was a better gesture of solidarity. Oh, she knew that Ishgard would have difficulty swallowing the fact they were marrying off their golden boy to Lady Iceheart, the heretic. But if they proved that they could forgive her (and oh, she wanted that forgiveness, even if she knows she does not deserve it) or at least let her walk amongst them a free and accepted woman, then the dragons would have another sign of the changed minds of the Ishgardians.

And she will do everything in her power to see peace between the two.

Which is why she is here, sitting across from the Lord Commander at a table that is startlingly large for the two of them in a building that seems needlessly empty. The dinner must have been his idea, for Vidofnir would never have thought to suggest it and Ysayle simply agreed to a wedding, not... whatever this is. Courtship, mayhap? But that would imply feelings, and she is certain that duty is their motivator here, not desire.

He is at least passable company, however, if the nature of the situation makes them both overly stiff and formal.

Ysayle cannot help but make it moreso. "I do not mean to intrude overly into your personal life," she says, mid bites of her dinner in a silence that had become increasingly more uncomfortable the longer it went on. "If you have other attachments you wish to pursue even after we are wed, I shall harbor no ill-will towards you or they." Unlike many Ishgardians who pretend that they are above such things. Was not Haurchefant Greystone one of the bastards that Ishgard had so readily dismissed? And Hilda, too, to say nothing of Aymeric himself. Ysayle has no plans to delude herself that such things were rare or uncommon, nor that she could expect fealty in a relationship with no romance.

If he could find joy apart from her she finds no reason to deny it.

Comments

[mostheavenly]

It has been a... difficult decision, though perhaps not for any of the reasons that Ysayle thinks. It has taken some convincing that he is the best choice not out of concern for himself but out of concern for Ishgard. Everyone else seems to think he's a clear and forgone conclusion, but he is from but a minor noble house at best and is a dishonored bastard at worst and he would not insult the dragons, or Ysayle herself, with the suggestion that they might take someone lesser.

He is aware, however, that he is a prime candidate according to both sides for several other reasons, some valorous and some more political, and once it's become clear that no one is insulted by him being the selection, he's been perfectly willing to acquiesce to the... demand? gift? offer? Marriage wasn't something he had previously much considered but when he had, he had never imagined he would simply be able to choose whomever he wished, so this is hardly upsetting to him. People have been married for worse reasons than ending the Dragonsong War in Ishgard, he's hardly going to bemoan his fate.

(And, if he's honest with himself, he cannot marry the one person he might otherwise choose and there are also worse fates than marrying a lovely and sharp young woman, "heretic" or no.)

The dinner was a bit of a poor idea in retrospect, perhaps. He'd thought to try to make Ysayle a bit more comfortable with the arrangement, but the entire thing has ended... well, rather more cold than he would have liked and he's finding little interest in the food and the conversation more work than he'd bargained for. He's almost relieved when she addresses the behemoth in the room.

"Nor I to you or yours, of course," he answers, smoothly, "I would imagine such things would need a certain amount of secrecy simply to not put undue pressure on the contract, as it were. But there need be none between us, certainly." Cold and colder still. He considers, tries again, "After all you have done to ensure peace, you are overdue some of your own. I would not intrude on that."

It's not... the warmest he's ever been, but it's a personal consideration and he hopes that maybe that's enough.