Chapter 34: Leaving the Castle Behind
~~~{──────────
Afternoon.
Wyfellon. Wyfn-Garde.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~}~~~
"You’re my wife, Salviana. That means something to me, even if it doesn’t to others. I won’t let anyone hurt you." he declared.
"But it’s more than that, isn’t it?" she pressed gently, tilting her head slightly to catch a glimpse of his expression. His jaw was tight, his eyes focused ahead, but there was a vulnerability in his voice that she hadn’t heard before when he spoke.
"I’ve always been alone, Salviana. None of my family has ever cared for me, except maybe Abigail, and even that’s questionable. I’m feared. Hated. But with you... I don’t know. I just—" He paused, his grip on the reins tightening. "I just find myself hoping, desiring to be accepted, something I haven’t cared about before," he whispered gently.
"I don’t want to lose you to the hate or fear of me."
Her heart ached at his confession, and she reached up, resting her hand on his arm in a silent show of comfort. "You won’t lose me to anything but yourself," she whispered, feeling the weight of his words settle between them.
For a long time, they rode in silence, the wind playfully teasing Salviana’s fiery red hair as it streamed behind her like a banner in the wind. She was lost in thought, reflecting on the strange complexity of Alaric. Beneath his cold, intimidating demeanor, there was a fragility hidden deep beneath the layers of mystery and power. And in that quiet realization, she understood that she wasn’t the only one afraid of losing something precious—he was, too.
The rhythmic sound of Soar’s hooves calmed her nerves as they rode slowly around Wyfellon. Each stride the horse took seemed to carry away the suffocating tension that had clung to her since her sudden marriage to the third prince. For once, she felt a strange sense of peace.