branding

"Under the terms of surrender, you are obligated to keep me alive," Alfonse warns. "Of course I will keep you alive, little prince," Veronica says. "After all, you wouldn't be much fun to me dead. Oh yes, you should know that I keep all of my playthings in fair condition—barring a little bit of—” She pauses here, pretending to think up an appropriate term. "Rough play." ——— Princess Veronica knows her father wanted her to unite the world of Zenith under the Emblian flag, but he never saw that pretty little prince from Askr. Conquering a kingdom is tedious work, though, and she's been awfully lonely lately... ——— Chapter 21: He shudders and pulls his arms around himself. He hadn’t known, back then, just what his imprisonment would entail. How could he have? He couldn’t even conceive of such brutality as to what has since been inflicted upon him. He had been naïve, innocent, and so foolishly, stupidly optimistic. That had been his mistake. He won’t make it again.

It's not like the Ministry could foresee why this might not be a good idea. Most sixth years didn't make the cut for the marriage law at the time, just a few. One of those included Hermione Granger. And a certain Bartemius just had his name cleared under rather mysterious circumstances. Please note that this fic is Incomplete and will remain that way henceforth. My reasoning has been detailed in the latest 'chapter.' If you would like to read a story I intend to complete with the same premise I suggest Procyon Mask, this fics' 'spiritual successor.'