Strange Bedfellows

Shara was aware that something was going on. She didn't know what, but there was a subtle shift in Kalus's body language that she couldn't place. He seemed reluctant and angry, but it wasn't directed at her. Or at least, it didn't seem to be.

Kalus stood. "Come, I need to introduce you to my men."

Shara followed him out of the tent. Outside, half a dozen men were playing some sort of game involving dice. When Kalus appeared, they immediately stood and saluted him.

"At ease." Kalus said returning the salute. He beckoned her forward, placing her in front of him before putting both his hands on her shoulders. "This is Katia. The king graciously decided I should marry and had the ceremony performed less than a hour ago." His tone somehow left no doubt in anyone's mind that he had been forced into the situation.

"Katia is my wife." Kalus continued. "As such, I will treat any kindness toward her as kindness toward me, and respond accordingly. Any malice that befalls her..." He let that hang in the air for just a moment for effect. "...I will also treat as malice toward me, and respond accordingly. Spread the word among the men."

Shara stood there and somehow felt like she had just been claimed. She knew that wasn't his intent, but it felt like Kalus had just announced that she was his property. In the back of her mind, she knew he was doing this for her protection but she still bristled at it.

The men all seemed to break out in huge smiles. A few congratulated him on his marriage some looked at her appreciatively, and still others just sat there with their mouths open, like they couldn't believe their ears.

One of the men laughed, then looked at her with a mock-serious expression. "You seem like too nice a girl to be stuck with a face like that." He jerked his thumb toward Kalus and everyone laughed. Even Kalus cracked a smile.

"At least she doesn't have to put up with your ugly mug." Another one said to the man, and the rest of the men laughed again.

Shara relaxed slightly.

Unlike the other men around the camp who leered and made her uncomfortable, these men seemed nicer; more refined. Well, not 'refined', perhaps just less brutish and threatening. Several had looked her up and down, but she didn't get a creepy vibe from them.

She gave them a small curtsey.

"Oh Kalus, you've got a real lady there." Another man said appreciatively.

"I do indeed." Kalus replied as he looked at her. There was something sincere and genuine in his tone that aggravated her; it was a lot harder to hate him when he was being nice to her.

He gave her a strange look, then spoke. "Bearing in mind that we have no sidesaddles here, would you care for a bit of riding? Perhaps it will take your mind off of the present situation."

She nodded.

Kalus looked at the men. "Would anyone be willing to volunteer--" he began, but several of the men cut him off to volunteer their horses for her to ride.

Kalus stopped by his tent for a minute to grab some saddle bags and then led her a short way to a makeshift pen for the horses. He whistled and a large war horse trotted up instantly. He was a magnificent creature, very large, and clearly high energy. Kalus slipped a saddle on him then entered the pen and led out another horse.

This horse was much smaller and not so high-strung, but he was also still clearly a true war horse. He whinnied and half-reared when he was led up to her. He seemed determined to make trouble for Kalus, and that endeared the horse to her somewhat.

"Augustus is strong, but not as wild as he looks." Kalus said as he fastened a saddle onto the horse and put the halter with the bit into his mouth. "He will not throw you, but he may not be as pleasant to ride as the steeds you are likely accustomed to.

Shara nodded, then walked over to the front of the horse and looked him in the eye.

"Hello Augustus." She said.

The horse gave her an appraising look and nickered. Somehow, she got the feeling that he didn't want to be here anymore than she did. The horse looked back at her and some sort of understanding seemed to pass between them.

They would get along just fine.

"Could I remove the bit and ride bareback?" She asked.

Kalus stared at her as if he didn't understand the words coming out of her mouth. "That wouldn't be wise; he's a warhorse and difficult to control under the best of circumstances."

"You said he wouldn't throw me, so I should be fine."

"Aye, but there's a difference between being thrown and having control of your horse. If Augustus were to take off, the king would most likely use it as an excuse to do you great harm. I can't allow that."

"Why?"

"You are my wife." He said simply.

She nodded and mounted Augustus.

"You will follow my lead." He said, stating it simply as a fact. "Don't attempt to run or I might not be able to protect you from the king."

She bristled internally, but still nodded.

* * *

Kalus rode his horse away from the city they'd just sacked in the direction of a nearby forest. It was a beautiful morning. The sun had risen above the treetops and the sky was cloudless blue. He glanced behind him at his new bride and thought her beauty compared favorably with the stunning sunrise. How he wished he could have a simple ride planned instead of what they must do while away from camp.

He led her into the forest and down to a small clearing by a creek he had found while scouting several days ago. The clearing was covered in wildflowers and seemed untouched by human hands. He hoped the setting would help the girl relax in preparation for what must be done.

"We'll stop here for a while." He said, then dismounted and used a long rope to tie his horse to a tree, close enough to the water that the majestic animal could drink if he wished.

Katia nodded and likewise dismounted and tied her horse to another tree. He held out his hand, and she looked at it for several seconds before looking at him.

"I would prefer not to hold your hand." She said, then probably to ensure she was being respectful added. "Sir."

"Very well." He nodded. "Also, you may use my name if you wish."

"I would prefer not to." She replied.

He looked at her, thinking that her refusal to use his name seemed more like an attempt to keep some emotional distance between them than anything else.

"As you wish." He sighed.

She walked out among the flowers, picking a few and sniffing them. She paid him almost no attention. He was sure it was intentional, but he didn't have the heart to force his company on her. Not with what lay ahead that morning before they returned to camp.

Inwardly he cursed the king for putting him in this position. He was fairly sure that Katia would have made a wonderful wife if he had been able to court and marry her properly. Alas, to save her life he would soon have to do something which would likely irreparably damage their relationship.

King Tyso surely knew how to inflict misery.

* * *

Shara tried to ignore Kalus's presence, which was the only blight on this incredibly beautiful field. He surely didn't know this, but she had often come to this exact field because it was a short ride from the castle. She preferred the wildflowers to the cultivated ones in the castle gardens, though the latter were beautiful too.

She spent an hour in peace gathering a small bouquet of wildflowers that brought some joy to her heart.

"Katia." Kalus called after an hour of leaving her in peace. Hanging her head, she returned to him holding her bouquet behind her back. She didn't want to share it with him.

He had spread a faded red blanket on the ground and patted an area near him, but not so near that she would have to touch him if she didn't want to. She sat down as far away from him as possible, still trying to keep the bouquet out of sight.

"You needn't hide them you know." He said. "From what I could tell, it's a beautiful bouquet."

"Thank you." She said almost automatically. Her parents and teachers had drilled good manners into her so deeply that apparently she couldn't stop herself even when confronted with her mortal enemy... who was also her husband.

Kalus sighed.

He seemed to be working up the courage to do or say something, something which was clearly taking a toll on him. "Do you know why I brought you out here?"

Warning bells started going off in her mind. "No, why?"

"I assume you caught the king's threat?"

She nodded.

"He will make good on it. If you aren't 'heavy with child' by the year's end, he may well try to take you from me."

"Try?" She asked.

"I would not let him because you are my wife. I would likely either die or be imprisoned for fighting my king. He is vindictive enough to have his men do unspeakable things to you in front of my eyes before he kills you."

She shuddered.

"Indeed." He said somberly. "This I cannot allow. I don't think my king realizes that my duty is to my wife before him. Before it was my highest duty to obey Illuminar and then my king, but a man's duty to protect his wife overshadows his duty to obey his king."

Shara didn't know what to make of that. He seemed genuine, but she couldn't believe he would fight the king for her especially when he knew he couldn't win. Although, he had protected her from him once already when he had tried to slap her.

"That doesn't make any sense." She said.

He seemed surprised. "Would you rather I put the king first?"

"No, I meant why would you fight the king when you know you would lose?"

"You are my wife." He said as if that explained everything. "But I wish to avoid being put in that position because it will certainly lead to you being brutally raped and tortured before being murdered. Therefore, you must be 'heavy with child' before the year's end; just seven months away."

The full impact of his words hit her just then.

She looked at the blanket, noting for the first time the faded red color which would conceal...

She jumped up. "You... you want to... to..."

He sighed heavily. "It's either that or know for certain that the woman I swore to protect will die by the king's hand."

"But we don't have to, not now." She pleaded.

"There's no guarantee you will be large enough to divert his ire if we wait."

Shara put her arms over her womb protectively. She couldn't allow this man -- this enemy soldier who'd sacked her city -- to put his child inside of her. She shuddered at the thought, which disturbed her even more than the idea of how it would get inside of her.

She shuddered again.

"Katia, I wish it wasn't so." He said. "I wish we'd met under different circumstances. I wish that I would've been able to court you properly and ask your father for your hand in marriage. I wish that you would've been looking forward to this instead of dreading it as your countenance and stance suggest."

She stood there stunned because he sounded sincere.

Regardless, there was no way she could surrender her virtue to him like that. To spread her legs for an enemy soldier would mean betraying her father and her kingdom. It would be tantamount to treason It would mean forever tying herself to a mortal enemy of her father, family, and country. It didn't matter if he was sincere. It didn't matter if he was a good man, after what he'd done to her family and kingdom, the idea of doing... that with him made her skin crawl.

"I won't." She said quietly. "I fought you before and I'll fight you again."

He nodded. "You did and were right to do so because we weren't yet wed. Now that we are, would you refuse your husband?"

She narrowed her eyes. "You may be my husband, but only because I was forced."

"Was I less forced?"

She blinked. "What?"

"Was I less forced to marry you than you were forced to marry me?"

"No." She admitted as her anger deflated slightly. "But you can't possibly expect me to let you take my virtue."

"I would prefer you offered it, but we have little choice in the matter."

She scoffed and opened her mouth to retort, but he held up his hand.

"Watch your tone Katia." He said, suddenly serious. "Speak your mind, but speak it respectfully."

She took a deep breath and managed to keep most of the vitriol out of her tone. "I would never disgrace myself by letting you do..." She shuddered. "...that to me."

His voice softened. "Here are your options. You can either give me your virtue today or have it forcibly taken from you some months down the road. And it will be forcible."

"I..." She hesitated; neither option sounded appealing.

"Let me be clear." He continued. "King Tyso will have many men -- likely dozens of them -- use you abominably, brutally, and in whatever way..." He glanced toward her butt. "...or hole they wish. They will not be gentle."

She shuddered.

She'd heard stories about what could happen when men went 'back there' and weren't gentle or careful. She'd heard that things could tear and that the resulting infection was a horrible way to die. A talented mage could use magic to heal the damage of course, but an infection could be far more deadly and wasn't so easily dealt with.

He went on. "You will be treated like a piece of meat, passed from man to man until the king tires of seeing my pain from your ruination. It could last hours and you won't survive it. Even if you did, he would have you executed afterward. You can endure that and die, or we can start attempting to make a child here and now."

Shara's eyes went wide.

Her brain locked up slightly as his words hit her. She hadn't thought about what it would mean if...

She shuddered.