pairing : titus danforth x fem!reader
warnings : strong violence/gore, arranged marriage trope, reader pulls the hide & seek card, possibly ooc titus???
when your father first told you that you were going to get married, you were at a loss for words. being the youngest daughter, you were the last to wed and public image is very important to your family.
eventually, you decided to agree and when you found out you were going to marry titus danforth, you were confused. he was older than you and didn’t seem to be interested in marriage or starting a family.
you’d met a few times at dinner parties but never really spoke outside of them. you weren’t too trusting of his family, they looked like the type to hide secrets and his sister didn’t seem too keen on you marrying him.
on your wedding day, everybody was tense as if something was going to go wrong. you were getting ready for the ceremony and the nerves were finally hitting. you were going to be married in just under an hour. a wife.
your father walked you down the aisle and barely had any reaction. any other father would tear up whilst giving his daughter away but there was nothing.
your eyes met titus’s and he almost immediately looked away. he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.
the ceremony went by quickly and it was midnight and time for the dinner, family and close friends only. you quietly ate your food, occasionally looking down at the ring on your finger. titus still hadn’t looked at you properly.
chester danforth, titus’s father handed a pack of cards to you. you gave a confused look, staring at the pack. “what’s this?” you ask, letting out a nervous laugh.
“pick a card.” chester sternly answered. you looked over at titus, who avoided your gaze.
you knew better than to not listen to the man, he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“okay.” you muttered, not looking at the cards as you took one out. “hide and seek? what, are we going to play?” you sarcastically said but nobody laughed.
“dad?” you watched as your father nodded. you slowly got up from the chair and headed to the door.
you made your way down the hallway and into the danforth office, crouching down behind the chair. you didn’t want to play the game so why not hide somewhere obvious? you’d be found quicker and the game would be over.
the sound of footsteps caught your attention. a figure steps into the room, it was one of the maids. you stayed quiet as she dusted the shelves against the wall.
then there was a click and blood was everywhere. the maid had been shot. you flinched, your breathing quickened as you stared at the lifeless woman on the floor.
“i thought it was her.” you heard a familiar voice whisper. your brother. you almost sobbed, quickly covering your mouth as you slowly crawled to the door behind you.
tears spilled down your cheeks, you were now in the kitchen. “she’s here!” another voice called out. ursula stepped foot in the room and raised her shotgun, shooting at you.
you crouched down, attempting to avoid the bullets. you grabbed a kitchen knife from the counter and looked for a quick exit.
another gunshot went off and you felt a sharp pain in your leg. you ignored it and started to run and soon enough, you were outside.
as you ran through the grass, you took off your heels. your wedding dress was now covered in blood and your leg was burning.
you hid behind a tree, sitting down before ripping your veil and wrapping it around the wound. you let out a cry at the pain.
a shadow stood in front of you, you raised the kitchen knife. it was titus. “get away from me.” you try to yell but your voice was hoarse.
he raised his arms. he was unarmed. you lowered the knife and went to wipe your tears but stopped when you saw that your hands were drenched in your blood.
he got down to your level and took a look at the wound. “i tried to get them to pick someone else.” he told you, finally making eye contact.
your voice cracked. “my own family is trying to kill me.” his heart hurt for you.
“you just have to survive until sunrise.” he said as if it would reassure you. you shook your head, “i can’t.” titus firmly spoke. “yes, you can.”
“here are some supplies that should stop it from infecting and some bandages.” titus started to get up but you grabbed his arm.
“where are you going?” you panicked, “please don’t leave me.” he almost agreed to stay with you but he knew he couldn’t. “i have to. they need to think i’m helping them find you.”
you let out a sniffle, “where will i go? i can’t stay here.” titus held your hand. “get to the barn. there’s an underground tunnel, nobody knows about it but me.”
you look down, feeling defeated and weak. “hey, look at me.” titus grabbed your shoulders, shaking you slightly. “get to the barn. i will come and find you once it’s safe.”
the barn wasn’t too far from the tree, you tried to walk as fast as you could but the pain in your leg made it difficult.
as you stood inside, you were met with theresa, an old family friend. she was holding an axe, ready to swing.
your hand clenched around the knife. she ran at you, attempting to strike you with the axe but missed, giving you the opportunity to put the knife in her neck.
her eyes widened as she gurgled blood before collapsing to the ground. you stood still, staring at what you had just done.
“sorry.” you mumbled as you pulled the knife back, the sound making your skin crawl. you had a feeling that the knife was going to be needed later on.
you started looking around for any sign of a hidden opening. you moved the hay around and eventually found a hatch, you lifted it and lowered yourself down.
it was cold and terrifyingly quiet, you could hear your own heartbeat racing. to pass the time, you cleaned and bandaged up your leg using the supplies titus gave you.
he’d put some snacks in the bag which you were incredibly grateful for. alongside was a note, you opened it and started to read.
you probably have a lot of questions about why this is happening. it’s been a tradition for a long time, when someone new enters the family, they have to play. just know i tried to get them to change their mind about you, i hoped they’d pick someone else. i’m sorry it was you but i’m not sorry for marrying you.
