Author's note: This is the first of three planned chapters but I am happy to write more if there is interest.
Kassandra Kastello stood on the rocky cliff surface, looking out as the sun slipped beneath the horizon, slowly turning the sky grey with patches of inky black. At her side, her fists were clenched, the knuckles white against her skin, and she forced them against her thighs to keep them from shaking.
It was not a cold evening, yet she shivered.
Not less than two hours ago, she had been given away in marriage to the mighty warrior, Hektor. She was told that it would be a good match for her family, to ally themselves with the largest warband in the area. Any benefits that the marriage would grant her had been left unexplained.
She had sat in stunned silence after they had been bonded, sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to his at the end of the noisy, smoke-filled great hall. The was a large fire in the centre of the room and the combined force of the heat and the smoke had made her feel feverish. So, she had just sat there, eating nothing, drinking nothing, just waiting.
Her husband (the word still did not feel real) said nothing to her. She was not even sure if he knew her language. Eventually, there was a hush that came over the crowded hall. Everyone was looking at her and she knew what would be coming next.
Hektor rose from his seat, and she did likewise. Then he roughly grabbed her by the arm and practically dragged her out of the hallway. Kassandra's cheeks burned with embarrassment as the men and women started to chuckle and throw bawdy barbs her way about how she must perform her wifely duty.
They did not go far. Near the great hall were the clifftops overlooking the sea. She nervously looked around at the rocks and the dirt and shivered again. No bed, nothing to provide either privacy or comfort. This was where she would lose her maidenhead.
She felt, rather than heard, her husband, Hektor, approach. He was truly massive. Somehow, she had not truly realised it until that moment. The top of her head could barely reach the bottom of his chin and his mighty arms seemed almost thicker than her entire body. In just seconds, she would have to give herself, her body, to this behemoth, and the thought frightened her that she thought her heart might simply burst from beating so hard. Her mother had spared no detail in telling her what to expect, warning her that it would hurt and that, should she offer any complaint or do anything to risk the alliance, if her husband did not kill her, her parents and brothers
certainly
would.
Her fists clenched tighter, the nails tearing into her skin.
Casually, Hektor removed the shawl that had been covering her shoulders, tossing it to the side like it were rubbish. She held her breath, waiting. But not for long as he pulled away one of the metal fastenings from her dress, dropping it with a dull clang.