Chrysabelle forced herself to breath, fighting to keep her expression casual as she sipped from the delicate flute of champagne one of the servers wandering around the garden had handed her. There was no way she was going to show how terrified she was. She'd known, of course, that the day would come when a marriage would be arranged for her, but she hadn't expected it so soon. Nor had she expected it to be to a human. Her father had told her it was an honor to be part of the king's plan to have the fae intermarry with select humans to help combat the way the races were slowly shrinking and dying out, but it didn't feel like it was. Although she supposed it might be a blessing in disguise. A human untrained in magic might be less likely to notice her peculiarities and figure out her secret. It was still nerve-racking, though. She had gone her entire life trying to avoid any serious relationships to avoid giving away her secret. She didn't know what to expect or how to act when she met her betrothed.<br/><br/>She shivered slightly in the cool night air. While she had to admit, the gown her mother had chosen for her, with it's flowing green silk, simple yet elegant silhouette, and accents of silver, was stunning, she couldn't help but wish the dress wasn't sleeveless. She'd wanted to wear a shawl over it, but her mother had refused her request. She had insisted Chrysabelle should look as beautiful as possible for her future husband, and the shawl would obscure her figure. Personally, Chrysabelle thought her figure could do with a little more obscuring. She had nightgowns that left more to the imagination than this dress did, and she wasn't used to showing this much skin.<br/><br/>Suddendly her mother grabbed her arm to get her attention. "They're coming," she hissed. Chrysabelle instinctively turned in the direction her mother had indicated, but the crowd still obscured her betrothed from view. "Now remember," her mother quite unnecessarily whispered in her ear, "Act normal. The last thing we want is for his family to withdraw their offer of marriage. You would shame our entire family." As if she didn't know that. She breathed deeply, then schooled her features into a practiced emotionless expression as she waited to catch a glimpse of her future husband.