{"id":2658,"date":"2020-01-28T13:20:23","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T13:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/startersites.io\/blocksy\/blog\/?page_id=2658"},"modified":"2025-12-19T18:20:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T18:20:38","slug":"narrow-width","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sagaeuropa.com\/?page_id=2658","title":{"rendered":"Julia"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a>Rasna, Europa.<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The farm girl was chosen that summer, despite her <strong>furious<\/strong> protests. Barely seventeen when her parents promised her to a balding old knight \u2013 A decision she\u2019d make them regret, all too soon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Julia frowned angrily. Pressing her hands over her ears, she tried to block out the drunken laughter of wedding guests eating beside her brown leather tent in the woods. She stiffened.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMama, you\u2019re tying my dress too tight!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cStop fidgeting then!\u201d said her mother, a cheerful country woman, taking two steps back. \u201cThere! Done! You look beautiful!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The curvy white wedding dress, embroidered with red roses, fit Julia well, but looked dull compared to her jewelry \u2013 a large shiny gold necklace and matching bracelets &#8211; gifts from the rich, powerful knight who&#8217;d demanded to be her husband.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A woodland breeze ruffled the tent\u2019s thin walls. Mouthwatering aromas of sizzling grilled steaks and delicious pancakes began seeping in. Julia\u2019s worried frown deepened. <em>You\u2019re lucky<\/em>, Mama had said. <em>He has a mansion nearby, with servants to help you cook for him. <\/em>\u00a0But Julia felt as lucky as a fresh fish on a dinner plate.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t think I can do this, Mama. Who marries an old man?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2026A <em>wise<\/em> woman,\u201d Mama nodded sternly. \u201cLocal men aren\u2019t perfect &#8211; Your father stunk of goat-cheese when we first met\u2026\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c&#8230;<em>but<\/em> he still does.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy point, exactly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Julia smiled despite herself. Mama smiled back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLord Turnus is very rich; the woods <em>are beautiful<\/em> and <em>everyone\u2019s<\/em> happy. Darling, you won\u2019t do anything to spoil your own wedding party will you? Please don\u2019t \u2013 your father and your brothers will be very angry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mama\u2019s soft voice quivered with worry; her eyebrows raised.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a>\u00a0<\/a>\u201cYou\u2019re not planning mischief, are you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Julia rolled her eyes and shook her head.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGood<strong>,\u201d <\/strong>sighed her mother, quite relieved. \u201cI\u2019m done. Now go out there, sit by Lord Turnus and look pretty. Cheer up! &#8211; Don\u2019t be a cranky goose!\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With that, she shoved Julia quickly out of the tent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The grassy meadow was surrounded by towering mountain pines whose large green leaves swayed gently in the cool afternoon wind. A crowd of sixty or so wedding guests cheered as Julia moved between their tables then sat in her bridal chair. She feigned a smile.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her father \u2013 a successful local farmer \u2013 sat proud as a peacock, across a wooden table, laughing with his future in-laws, till he saw her grab a heavy wine flask. Suddenly, two large soldiers lifted her up in the air, and carried her off to a distant tent, kicking wildly, much to the hearty laughter and cheers of the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"width: 1290px;\" class=\"wp-video\"><video class=\"wp-video-shortcode\" id=\"video-2658-1\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" preload=\"metadata\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"video\/mp4\" src=\"https:\/\/sagaeuropa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Lord-Turnus.mp4?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/sagaeuropa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Lord-Turnus.mp4\">https:\/\/sagaeuropa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Lord-Turnus.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rasna, Europa. The farm girl was chosen that summer, despite her furious protests. Barely seventeen when her parents promised her to a balding old knight \u2013 A decision she\u2019d make them regret, all too soon. Julia frowned angrily. Pressing her hands over her ears, she tried to block out the drunken laughter of wedding guests [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2658","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":{"page_title_panel":"","has_hero_section":"default","d5bdd479f8ee92130a8a551342796d84":"","hero_section":"type-1","hero_alignment1":"left","hero_alignment2":"center","hero_height":"230px","page_title_bg_type":"color","custom_hero_background":{"attachment_id":null},"parallax":{"desktop":false,"tablet":false,"mobile":false},"9dbce9d8fb8d98ca76125bf037628cfd":"","single_meta_elements":{"author":false,"date":false,"categories":false,"comments":false,"updated":false,"tags":false},"has_meta_label":"yes","has_meta_avatar":"yes","date_format_source":"custom","single_meta_date_format":"M j, Y","25382f93dbb058e09fc2cb064ce34f76":"","page_excerpt_visibility":{"desktop":true,"tablet":true,"mobile":false},"pageTitleFont":{"family":"Default","variation":"Default","size":{"desktop":"32px","tablet":"30px","mobile":"25px"},"line-height":"1.3","letter-spacing":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULE","text-transform":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULE","text-decoration":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULE"},"pageTitleFontColor":{"default":{"color":"var(--theme-palette-color-4)"}},"pageMetaFont":{"family":"Default","variation":"n6","size":{"desktop":"12px","tablet":"12px","mobile":"12px"},"line-height":"1.3","letter-spacing":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULE","text-transform":"uppercase","text-decoration":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULE"},"pageMetaFontColor":{"default":{"color":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULEDEFAULT"},"hover":{"color":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULEDEFAULT"}},"pageExcerptFont":{"family":"Default","variation":"n5","size":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULE","line-height":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULE","letter-spacing":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULE","text-transform":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULE","text-decoration":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULE"},"pageExcerptColor":{"default":{"color":"CT_CSS_SKIP_RULEDEFAULT"}},"pageTitleOverlay":{"default":{"color":"rgba(41, 51, 60, 0.2)"}},"pageTitleBackground":{"default":{"color":"#EDEFF2"}},"0f6f7abea9f26b2103895727e4bc5a79":"","page_structure_type":"type-3","page_enable_vertical_spacing":"yes","styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sagaeuropa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sagaeuropa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sagaeuropa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sagaeuropa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sagaeuropa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2658"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sagaeuropa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4090,"href":"https:\/\/sagaeuropa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2658\/revisions\/4090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sagaeuropa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}