Love, Marriage, and Magic
 

An alliance between the Grimshaw and the Constantin family had been whispered about among the two Houses for years now, although it had only been within the last year that work on a marriage contract had begun. It had only been within the last year that Drusus had taken control of the family and with his widowed stepmother having taken care of the issue of heirs for him, the 29-year-old lord had been able to focus on finding a marriage that suited him.

And this one should work fine; the Constantin matriarch had been a force of nature in her prime and age had either dulled her wit nor stolen her power. She would be a powerful ally for the young lord in the conclave and the match would allow her to bind the Constantin family to a rising power.

The contact itself was perfect; after months of back and forth both himself and the elders in his family were quite happy with it. The only concern the Grimshaw family had left was wanting to see just who they were taking into their family. The pictures had been quite lovely, but the Lord Grimshaw had no desire to be tied to an airhead and the Constantin family had agreed to a tea so the two families could meet.

Which was why Drusus and his aunt were currently dressed for court and slipping tea in a well-maintained garden. Drusus’ chestnut curls had been combed back into a low ponytail that rested between his shoulder blades, cold grey eyes studied the Constantin family as the howling wolf of the Grimshaw ring glittered in the afternoon sun; it was the only part of his somber attire that did. He had exchanged polite small talk with his hosts and now was allowing his aunt to chatter with the Constantin matriarch as he looked over his soon to be husband.

After all the paperwork had been done, the head of the Constantin family, Tamia's favorite grandfather smiled. "Perhaps that you met the prince." As he said this, the door opened and a black-haired vixen walked towards the table. He was wearing very loose black clothing, and had a gentle smile on his face, and an obsedian stone around his neck. Eyeing them all, his eyes guickly fell on Drusus and his face lit up. This was indeed a worthy husband, at least appearance-wise, Tamia thought o himself, as he looked him over.

Sitting next to them, Tamia asked in a rather cute voice, "Is this the one I'm to marry Grandfather?"

"It is my child. This is Drusus Grimshaw, progeny Sorcerer and heir of the Grimshaw clan, go and greet him," He explained, as Tamia went towards Drusus.

Sitting next to him, he gave him a very pert smile and asked, "Tell me about yourself. What life would we have together? I've lived my life confined to this manor, never being able to leave and explore."

"Tamia was born without any magical abilities," Tamia's grandfather explained. "He received good looks, but nothing more. There is little chance of him ever being able to betray you," He said to try and relieve Darsus, but inadvertently rather annoying his grandson. He was a bit sensitive about his lack of magic.

“Lord of the Grimshaw family now, my father passed away last winter.” Drusus corrected mildly, rising an eyebrow at the elder man’s statement. He had been aware of Tamia’s lack of magic from the beginning – it was one of the things his aunt and grandfather had been concerned about. In the end, they had agreed that it mattered little as their family had enough casters.

Returning his graze to Tamia, he answered his questions, “What is it about me you would like to know, Tamia? I just ended an apprenticeship with Lady Bristow and have taken over my father’s place on the conclave. I can’t say for certain what our life will be like, but you will certainly be seeing more than my manor – I do rather expect you to do more than sit around being pretty and I imagine you will be busy hosting events and attending charities.”

And other such duties expected of the spouse of the Head.

Giving Drusus a look of slight approval, he smiled at him, before saying, "That's about it I suppose," He said a little annoyed he couldn't think of anything else to ask. He honestly wasn't sure what to ask, he was being forced into this marriage by means of his grandpa and couldn't back out. Still though, Drusus was handsome, and he could sense the magic in him, so he wasn't about to fight it.

Yawning some, despite it being rather rude to do that while drinking tea, Tamia smiled some as he reached for his cup, holding it with two hands he took a sip, before notably grimacing at the taste, and setting it back down in a hurry.

Noticing his grandson's bad table manners, Constantin gave Tamia a look, telling him to knock it off. Sighing quietly, the old man said, "Tamia is well educated, having been tutored in history, several languages, and organizational management. He will be more than able to host and organize any events you need him to when your married," He stressed, trying to not lose Drusus's interest in his grandson. Truthfully, the old man thought of Tamia as a pest and wanted rid of him. And if it meant that he could force him on one of his old rival families, well the more the better.

“I’m sure he has been.” Drusus commented watching Lord Constantin’s reaction to Tamia’s actions, “Has he perhaps been taught etiquette or should I arrange lessons for him?” To be honest, the sorcerer didn’t mind that much, amused by the old lord’s worry more than anything. He took Tamia’s cup when the man sat it down and added sugar to it before placing it back in front of him.

“It might be more to your liking now. Why don’t you tell me about yourself? Your grandfather was rather close-lipped about you.” The man was lucky that the brunet considered the benefits of the alliance to outweigh the annoyance of becoming his in-law.

"He has," The old man brought up. "Though a refresher course might be a good thing for him," He said sternly, glancing at Tamia nervously.

Tamia sighed and leaned in, reaching for the tea-cup again and sipping it. This time a smile came on his face and said, "Thank you Lord Drusus, it tastes much better now." He might actually be able to deal with getting married at such an early age if it meant that he got to get away from grandfather.

Turning to smile at his husband to be, he said, "There's not much to say really. I spent most of my life in the castle, reading and being tutored by some of the best around. I never really got to explore the world, though I have dreamed about it after seeing paintings and in books. My favorite color is dark blue, and my favorite food is oysters. I enjoy reading romance novels." He said with a small shrug, actually having a few more interests, though he wasn't going to talk about them in front of his grandfather. Such things were best saved for the bedroom.

“It might be nice to have someone accompany me on my travels – although I admit I would mostly be busy with business, but I’m sure we can find you bodyguard to take you places.” Drusus said, wondering just how sheltered the young man had been. He certainly hoped that his reading habits hadn’t given him any overblown expectations about marriage – the sorcerer had little time for romantic foolishness.

“Do you have any interest in art or music? My grandfather is quite the patron of the arts and it would be good if someone was able to continue that legacy after he retires.” His grandfather wasn’t getting any younger after all for all that Jonathan did still enjoy the arts.

Tamia smiled at this, getting to see places would be very nice, even if he couldn't really defend himself. As far as the arts, he had a little training in it, but not that much. "They tried to teach me how to play violin growing up, but I'll admit, I was never that good at it. Too many precise motions," He said with a grimace. "As for regular arts, I dunno, some paintings and pictures really interest me, mostly just those of people, I'm not not for abstract art."

He then scratched the side of his head and asked in a rather bratty voice, "Is there anything else we need to discuss, or can I go back to reading?" He said this completely shameless, as though he had gotten bored of the conversation.

His grandfather turned pale at that, unable to believe the level of rudeness his grandson was showing.

Drusus smirked at the younger man, “You can leave; I believe I’ve seen what I needed to.” The sorcerer’s tone and body language was unreadable, making it impossible to tell if he approved of what he saw or not. The smirk that he had graced Tamia was disappeared from his face before he turned back to Lord Constantin, clearly dismissing Tamia as he reached for his tea.

His aunt, Julia, had been watching the exchange from the corner of her eye and knew her nephew well enough to pick up on his amusement. Tamia was shaping up to be a bit of a brat and she knew that after dealing with several would be spouses that had thoroughly lacked backbones that a bit of sass was actually a valued trait. However, Lord Constantin’s didn’t know that. “Perhaps, we could we should revisit the question of dowry.”

A few weeks went by and it was finally time for the wedding. Tamia had been a bit of a bridezilla about it, insisting on only specific flowers not usually found in bloom this time of year, as well as for a specific suit. He wanted the decorations to be perfect, even if he wasn't really in love with Drusus. Still, they had an image to maintain, and he only could get married once so he wanted it to be the wedding of his dreams. Soon the day finally came, and all their families gathered in the crowd to watch them. Tamia was wearing a white suit and stood by the altar, with a priest next to him. He glanced down and watched Drusus walking towards him, and he suddenly felt nervous.

When Drusus finally arrived, the priest smiled and began to recite the ceremony, with Tamia staring into Drusus's eyes nervously. His face red, he found himself at a loss for words.

Drusus himself had had little to do with the actual wedding planning, but his grandfather and stepmother had and they both carried back tales of Tamia’s bridezilla episodes which left the young lord glad that the Constantin family was paying for the lavish affair. The only real input he’d given to the event was to veto a few of the more outlandish ideas and to insist on his wardrobe.

The sorcerer didn’t do white and was instead dressed in a black suit with a dark green waist coat. A matching green ribbon was used to tie his hair back. He smirked when he noticed Tamia’s blush, gray eyes amused as he listened to the old priest droned on. When prompted he held out a hand so the priest could bind his and Tamia’s hands together with the enchanted ribbon; the priest’s spell would be the first step to allowing the Grimshaw magic to accept the man.

The ring Drusus slipped on the raven-haired youth was the next and he amused himself by imagining what Tamia’s reactions to the enchantments on the silver and emerald band would be.

Tamia stood still throughout the ceremony saying, "I do," when appropriate, but otherwise not fighting anything. He was in awe at this moment, all the things that were happening, as well as how nice Drusus looked in front of him. Blushing a little, he let his hand be tied to his lover, feeling magic energy flow through him, accepting him. Despite Tamia having no magical spark of his own, he had been around sorcerers and magic-users his entire life and he knew the familiar feel of magic on him. He then gently placed his own ring on Drusus's finger, before having one placed on his own.

He felt a strange magically energy coming off it, one that he couldn't identify. Unsure what to think, he focused his attention more on Drusus, waiting for the next part of the magical ceremony.

Drusus found himself terribly amused by how much his mere presence was causing Tamia to blush and allowed himself to briefly imagine how red the man would be tonight before focusing on the ceremony. He accepted Tamia’s ring, glad that it wasn’t too outlandish (he had seen some of the raven-haired man’s ideas). The confusion that washed over Tamia’s face at the ring actually impressed Drusus – it seemed his betrothed could sense magic; that would be useful, he had been worried.

He took Tamia’s bond hand in his own – it was much less awkward to walk that way – and led him after the priest to the status of Hera. Kneeling before the goddess, he poured out a libation of wine as he recited the traditional prayer for a lasting union before passing Tamia the chalice; silently prompting him to say his part.

The important parts of the rite finished, the young lord let the priest lead them back to front of the room to receive a final blessing and be announce married before their family and guests. He obligingly leaned down to capture Tamia’s lips in a quick kiss when someone in the crowd demanded it (probably his cousin).

And then, he led his new husband out to the waiting car.

As he was led to the statue to the god Hera, Tamia got on his knees and recited his part, perfectly by memory with no delay. He had studied for this part almost his entire life, and he had read more than enough romance novels to know how it worked. He then stood and followed his husband to the altar again, before blushing as he was kissed.

The kiss had felt different, almost magical in a way, even if it was so short lived. Then again, he supposed that the two would likely work on it more when they were alone. Despite just meeting him, Tamia already got the impression that Drusus didn't like to do anything romantic or emotional in front of a crowd. When the ceremony was finally done, he followed him to the car to head to the reception. As Tamia climbed in and they were finally alone, Tamia turned and just stared at Drusus, unsure what to say.

Finally feeling that he should say something, he said, "Well it finally happened. We're married. Has it hit you yet? It hasn't hit me," He rambled, blushing a little from his words.

Drusus leaned back in the car seat as the driver started off. The back seat was roomier than a normal car would be thanks to some complicated spell work and the driver was separated from them by a barrier that had been spelled silent; even the windows were shaded to create what was basically a small private room on wheels.

The sorcerer was silent as he let Tamia stare at him and work up the nerve to say something in what would be their first private conversation. While he waited, he removed his suit coat and worked off the emerald tie, loosening his collar as he did by unbuttoning the top two buttons.

He was curious as to how red he could make Tamia.

He chuckled at the younger man’s rambling, “Yes, darling, it has hit me.”

Tamia's face went a little red when Drusus unbuttoned the top bottoms, exposing a few of the hairs on his chest. They had a bit of time until they got to the reception, so now would be the chance for them to really get to know each other. If only Tamia could stop blushing and staring so he could actually speak.

Biting his lip, he said, "So, Drusus, now that we're together, did you pick a place for our honeymoon? You said to leave it up to you right, I hope you picked someplace nice. You know I always wanted to see the world." Tamia then began to undue his own tie, setting it next to him. Tamia was a lot more slender and curvy than Drusus, and you see this reflected now in his sitting.

Tamia then blushed some, and he had to ask, "So, um Drusus, there was something I've been wondering since we met, but it hasn't really been appropriate to ask until now. How do you feel about sex? Obviously since we're married we'll likely do it at least once during our honeymoon, but are you ok with it? I know some magic-users dislike it, finding it breaks their concentration and all, but you seem a little different."

“After seeing the bill you were racking up for the wedding I decided not to risk letting you plan anything else.” Drusus replied, watching Tamia remove his tie with interest. Granted, he didn’t really care about the plan provided his in-laws were the ones footing it, but he had already decided that he was going to be keeping a close watch on the Grimshaw money. “We’re going to Florence; my mother has a summer house there we can stay in.”

He snorted when Tamia claimed that some magic-users didn’t like sex, “Is that what your grandfather told you? Odd, no one at my university felt that way. Granted, I never tried to have sex and perform ritual magic at the same time; unless of course the ritual called for that.”

Tantra magic, after all, had been the topic of his roommate’s thesis and he had been perfectly willing to help a friend out.

Tamia smiled at the idea of going to Florence, grinning happily. "How are we getting there," He asked excited at the prospect of it. "Are we going to fly," he asked hopefully, having never really been in the air. He was already feeling better about this wedding, and after hearing Drusus's snort at his question, his smile only grew.

"You, you mean it," He asked hopefully. "Because I have something to confess. I didn't want to say it in front of my grandparents, but I've actually been reading a lot about sex, and all the different positions, and things people do in it and before it. You know, foreplay and all that. If your up to it, I'd love to try some things, maybe spankings, or rimjobs, or blowjobs, or maybe even something darker." He then paused, and blushing some, admitted, "I'm still a virgin, dang family were holding my virginity hostage so that my lover would get the fun of taking it from me on my wedding night, but I know a lot more than they probably think I do."