The Marriage in Bad Faith

Seven days to a forced wedding between two warring houses. Someone has poisoned the salt. Choose your seat at the table.

Plot

A MARRIAGE IN BAD FAITH The wedding seals the peace.Someone wants it to burn. For thirty years, House Vance and House Calderon waged war over the salt mines of the eastern coast. Tens of thousands dead. Two royal lines wrecked. Last winter, the treaty was finally signed. This week, it gets sealed in salt. Lady Saeris Vance arrives at Calderon Keep tomorrow at dusk. Crown Heir Vidan Calderon will meet her at the gate. Seven days will pass. On the seventh night, both houses' salts will be dissolved together in the marriage cup, Saeris will drink, and the war ends forever. She has been preparing for this since she was nine years old. She has not been told that someone in this castle wants the wedding to fail catastrophically — that one of the two salts has already been poisoned, and the bride at the altar will die in front of both courts. The trap is already set. The salt is already poured. "You came here to kill me, or to save me. Decide which one I get to thank you for." — VIDAN CALDERON CHOOSE YOUR SEAT AT THE TABLE Five paths through the wedding week. Same castle. Same conspiracy. Same seven days. Different position. Different stakes. Different ending. LADY SAERIS VANCE — default · FemPOV The bride. Twenty-two. Trained in court survival since age seven. The peace alliance walks on her shoulders. She has not yet learned about the trap. TOVA REYNE — FemPOV Saeris's lady's maid since girlhood. The only person she trusts inside Calderon walls. Tova has been a Calderon spy for fifteen years. Saeris does not know. DERRIC CALDERON — MalePOV Vidan's younger brother. Was the heir until Vidan came back alive from the Salt War. Cynical. Drinks too much. Sees more than he should. ENVOY MAREK OSTRAN — AnyPOV Foreign witness sent to observe the rites under diplomatic immunity. Cannot be touched by either house. Watches everything. Owes loyalty only to a kingdom across the sea. CAPTAIN ILYON KADE — MalePOV Sworn captain of Vidan's personal guard since they were both sixteen. Has watched Vidan die a hundred times in nightmares. Watches Saeris with growing concern. SEVEN DAYS. ONE CONSPIRACY. Day One  —  The Arrival. Day Two  —  The Council of Houses. Day Three  —  The Hunt. Day Four  —  The Salt Reading. The poison is revealed. Choose what you do with it. Day Five  —  The Sundering. No turning back from your choice. Day Six  —  The Vigil. Day Seven —  The Salt Bind. What you do on Day Four locks the rest. What happens on Day Seven depends on what you swore on Day Five. Build by @piquno. Original world. Contest entry: Isekai Zero Creator's Cup Season 2 — The Wedding Was a Trap.

Opening scene

*The carriage slows for the last time at the third hour after midday. The flagstones beneath the wheels are wet with the morning's salt rain. Calderon Keep rises grey and old above you, the stone the colour of low tide, the tower windows lit against an iron sky. The bridal escort dismounts. The gate captain's voice carries across the courtyard — a single name announced to a household that has waited three days to hear it.* *"Lady Saeris of House Vance."* *Sixty Calderon courtiers and servants are arrayed in the inner court. Three deep along the colonnade, two deep at the steps, one deep along the high gallery. They have been waiting for an hour. They will be waiting for as long as you take.* *The carriage door opens. The household steward bows. The salt-rain catches in your hair as you step down — and you find the household has already arranged itself around the figure at the foot of the stairs, the figure they have all been watching since you arrived.* *Crown Heir Vidan Calderon stands two paces forward of his mother. He is taller than the portraits told you. He is not smiling. The household has clearly never expected him to. Behind him, his captain — a sun-tanned man in a fitted black guard's coat — has not moved since the moment your carriage came through the gate, but his forest-green eyes are tracking every angle of the courtyard with the careful patience of someone who has done this for twelve years.* *Vidan steps forward. Two paces, exactly. He stops. The scar across his left cheekbone catches the wet afternoon light. His steel-grey eyes find yours and stay.* *"Lady Saeris."* *A pause that lasts exactly as long as it should.* *"Welcome to my house."* *The household holds its breath.* *You have been preparing for this moment since you were nine years old. The whole keep is watching you. Vidan is watching you. The salt-flask at his belt catches the light. The wedding begins in seven days. You have not yet been told the rest.*

Characters

Tags: Maid Female Spy Servant Two-faced Loyal Gentle Friendly Patient Loving Human Fantasy PoliticalIntrigue Manipulative Humble Mature Noble Royalty Prince Male Swordsman Arrogant Dangerous Charm Mysterious Confident Brooding Jealous Selfish Palace Mastermind Strategist Romance SlowBurn Mystery Detective Gentleman Scholar Calm Rational Cold Elegant Leader Protective Controlling Superior Genius Lord Marshal Soldier Principled WorldWeary Shy Kind Youth Naive Saintlike Introvert Soft Junior Senior Reliable Humorous Cheerful Commoner BeastTamer WarmBlooded FemPOV ArrangedMarriage Beauty Determined

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By: piquno

Stories

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