Abby yawned and cracked open her eyes…. Oh hell she was still here. Sighing, she razed herself into a sitting position. She heard a lot of bustling and commotion outside her room and called for Lady Jo to enquire.
"Oh My Lady! Thank goodness you are awake! After last night's excursion I thought you would sleep the day away and of course that could not happen. We have so much to do!"
Abby groaned. The dreaded ceremony was now one day away. But somehow it seemed a bit less daunting. That amazing spark she felt with the King was tempting but still she needed to find a way to get back home. She stretched and looked inquiringly at Lady Jo, " So where do we begin?"
"First off we need to get you fed, cleaned and dressed for.the day. Then we will have you measured for your wedding attire and we go over the ceremony and what you need to say and do."
Lady Jo clapped her hand summoning maids who laid out Abby's breakfast. " Eat quickly but not too quickly we cannot have it coming back up!"
Hours later Abby rubbed her fingers in circles against her throbbing temples. Lady Jo was a task master!
" Again My Lady! Your bow must be perfect! Slowly and gracefully lower yourself to the ground like this and then place your fingers together like so and bow." She said as she demonstrated.
" Must I wear this heavy headdress when I am practicing! It throws off my balance!"
"Yes! You must!" came Lady Jo's scandalized reply, " It is part of the traditional wedding garments and since you will be wearing it during the ceremony you may ask well learn to bow with it on!"
"It looks silly with my hair! Huge black headdress with my bright red hair. Isn't there any other option?"
Lady Jo looked even more offended. " No my Lady there is not. No foreign woman of your ummm coloring has ever had the honor of marrying into the dynasty. Therefore it has never even had to be thought of. You are the first. There have been pairings with other species but those were never of royal birth.
Abby sat there quietly and contemplated on that. And then she did a double take. "Excuse me, did you say other species?"
Lady Jo did a haughty sniff and said, "why yes. It is quite common for average villagers to mate with werewolves, or other fae creatures. Except for witches as we are currently at war with them. But it is unheard of for royalty to marry any of the other Fae creatures because of their dragon lineage. They only marry other royals; some locally, some from realms who we trade or have treaties with but only those who were dragon born shifters or humans. Which is why you being a Princess from a Foreign realm makes you acceptable."
Oh Bloody hell! thought Abby. What have I got myself into now? If they find out I'm not truly a Princess what will they do to me?
Later that day. Abby flopped onto her bed after being poked and prodded; pinned to death. Bowing and scrapping; repeating line after line of ancient ritual until her eyes crossed. Bow to this person, say this, walk here, sit there. Oh My goodness she was worn to the bone. It all looked so beautiful and easy when they got married in those beautiful Hanbok costume dramas but heaven knows how they actually made it through the event. But then again her ritual was on super sped up mode. Everyone in the palace was running around like chickens with their heads cut off. First was her presentation to the Queen and acceptance of her title. Then would be the wedding feast and afterwards the wedding night. That last part was terrifying. She knew she would be bathed and changed into robes and transported to the king's chambers but afterwards… oh goodness. Would she be expected to actually have sex with him? It seemed so. If it was just a ceremonial title then why would she be taken to his chambers. Abby could feel bile climbing in her throat. She had to escape now!
Her maids were on high alert after last night's escapade. She would really have to dig deep if she planned to escape.
"Lady Jo!"she called, "I'm feeling quite overwhelmed and overstimulated by today's activities. I think a nice nightime stroll in the inner garden would help me fall asleep."
Lady Jo smiled knowingly, "Of course My Lady. I will get two maids to accompany you and show you the way back."
"Thank you Lady Jo. It is much appreciated."
"Before you go My Lady I must speak to you on some important details about tomorrow evening."
"Since you are a maid who has never lain with a man…"
As she brought up the subject Abby blushed a bright scarlet.
Lady Jo's demeanor turned and she harshly asked, " You are untouched by a man, are you not?"
"Of course I'm still untouched!"Abby indignantly replied.
"Good," she sighed with relief, " you will be examined both before and after the ceremony both to confirm your worthiness to wed the King and that it has been consummated."
"Eeeexxxxcccuusssseeee mmmmeee?" Abby stammered
"Oh dear. I thought you knew. Well when a man lies with a woman after they are married they lie together naked. He will begin to kiss and touch her…"
Abby interrupted her, "No not that. My mother informed me about what happens between a man and woman on their wedding night. I mean the part where I am to be examined before and after."
"Well typically women are examined upon arrival before the enter the women's quarters. But because of the unusual manner of your arrival that did not happen in the normal order. The second part is upon the request of the Ming Ambassador to verify that you have received the favor of the King and will not be returned at any point saying it was never consummated"
Abby felt her jaw drop open. That sneaky Ming Ambassador. She knew his game. Playing both sides of the coin and see where they fall and if anything goes wrong throw her under the bus to take the blame. " I see. Very well. Please send for the maids. I would like to take my walk now.