-We signed the marriage contract just in time-he said- A new Coesen Lord will be proclaimed today and all the documents left unfinished by your father will be voided when that happens. Our marriage will also help to cover your trail for a while and by the time the Coesen clan discovers that you survived, we will have arrived into our manor in Detch-
Rin recognized the name, Detch was the capital city of the Meric Empire. A great city by this civilization standard which housed close to half a million people. It was a bridge city between continents and the milenarian jewel of the the empire because it had never fallen to any army or catastrophe.
-We will leave this country tomorrow-he kept explaining- My time of exile here has been completed and there is no point in delaying the fight for the succession anymore-
-Do you want to become the Emperor?-she asked without further preamble. He gazed at her and understood she may never really become like most people he knew, always talking in circles and with words within words. Maybe her transparency was what made her special to him.
-No-he answered honestly- If I were, I would fight it out everyday just to avoid been hoisted women all over from so many powerful families-
-Why dont you like women?-
-Are you interrogating me?
-You saw mine-she claimed calmly-it is only fair that I know about yours-
She meant their past. He understood the inuendo in her words despite knowing that was not her intention when she used those words. Still, he couldnt help but think that she had certainly seen his, and touched it all over the whole night to his satisfaction.
-When I was 12 years old, my father´s most beloved concubine-he said that part with a tone of hatred- managed to set a trap for me, she slipped me a dose of poison meant to make me feel uncontrolable desire-
-A drug like they used on you yesterday?-she asked visibly disgusted-to a 12 year old kid?
-Yes-he answered carefully, clearly seeing she was disgusted with the action and not with him- she set it up so one of her own nieces could take advantage of me-
-How old was the niece?-she asked-
-She had reached marriage age, 16 years old- Adult enough to know better. Rin knew women were considered adults by 14 years old and any girl over 18 and unmarried qualified as a spinster. She was 20 already, a veritable granny- Did she molest you?
-Yes-he admitted- she would have raped me if not because Mother Empress´s people came in time to avoid that and proved with the help of the imperial doctors that I was not consenting of the affair- it was clear he thought of the whole ordeal as a bad nightmare - My mother managed to get the niece punished and killed for the insult but the connection between my father´s concubine and the poison could not be proven. Afterwards, she begged and cried until my father was convinced I wanted to implicate that old hag and her family and get them out of my way towards the throne and he became distrusting of me to the point that he decided to send me on exile for 10 years to this backwards country under the excuse of tempering my character as a future leader.
Rin heard all that and understood many things. It was not much of a hatred of women and rather a case of a cat scalded once... Intimacy for him was tied to such a traumatic episode.
-I do not hate women-he addmitted-I can be in close company of my mother and enjoy her touch and loving gestures towards me. I simply can´t stand fake ones, the ones that are always trying to look weak and pitiful, crying for nothing just to get what they want-
-What about me?-she asked softly- I am sorry if what I did yesterday made you feel bad, I did not know about your past and did not mean to hurt you..
-You are special and I do not feel any of the disgust I usually do when a woman is close to me-he said after a bit- You did tend to me but did not pass the limits to touch me or take advantage of me and I am alive, grateful for that. If it had been any other woman, I would have been raped and maybe even saddled with an unwanted heir for the sake of a highborn lady´s wish to become a Princess- he served some more tea after saying that- I proposed marriage to you because I really do not feel any disgust when I am near you and now I know you are a trustworthy treasure that I luckily found-
Prince Lyn smiled faintly when he thought just the kind of power he had obtained by marrying her. Not only did he become powerful himself but also binded a legendary might to himself in a close relationship. Rin did perceive that smile as calculating but let it slip by.
-If you are not planning to become Emperor, what do you want to do with your life?-she asked instead. His smile became downright predatory.
-That is a good question-he acknowledged- Maybe the best path for me has already been set and all I have to do is to return, pass the throne to a suitable brother that will not mess things up badly. Maybe I am to become the power in the shadows, protecting said brother with financial and military power while being free to live however I see fit. How would you like that, Princess Rin?
Rin liked that plan a lot more than becoming an empress, trapped in a palace filled with people trying to backstab you all the time. Many people sought to obtain power over others but what she wanted was freedom and comfort, peace and security.
-I just dont want to fight to survive anymore-she said- I am tired of killing and fighting, sick of interrogations and missions-she seemed to look into a far away dark place.
-How many of those monsters did you kill?-he did not rush her. She would understand slowly that with her powers, she needed to train and become stronger but it was better if she came to that conclusion on her own and not because he pressured her.
-Over 80 million-she answered after a while and the number made him go cold-10 billion people became infected in the first year and we were so few that soldiers like me had to become killing machines or we would have never been able to take back the lands. I was the first kid to be born in Mariner Town and was 13 years old when the Outbreak happened-she also sipped warm tea-my parents died that first year of malnutrition and I guess also from sadness so I was left in the tender care of the military division. We had to go back to that hell after just one year and retake key places if we wanted to survive but with less than 10 thousand humans left, it became a fight of a few hundred soldiers and sentinels crazy enough to battle it out with those many monsters. And we did, I still remember how we freed the Svalbard Ark in the middle of a blizzard in winter and how it felt like our hope was back.
-What manner of treasure was there that it was so important?-He had seen snipets of that world, but it would always be better to hear the tales from someone who lived the experience.
-Seeds-she answered- Beautiful, small and plentiful seeds to plant all kinds of crops for our people who could travel to the stars and understand particles but not feed ourselves when we lost Mother Earth. It took us over 20 years to kill enough monsters and liberate islands that could be easily defendable, fertile and near important resources that we could use to support the populations of the three planets.
-You never married then?-she shook her head no- Were you still considered young?-she assented
-My people call a woman mature when we are over 45, it is extremely rude to do so before. An old woman is one over 60 and I was just over 30 so I will not allow anyone to call this me of barely 20 an old hag, make that known to your guards-she left that part clear and offered some information in exchange- The nanos will slowly settle into your body and you will also be able to live to be an old man because they will fight out illnesses to keep you healthy for decades, you will also know many things about my world. They work as a library if you will them to be so the same way this soul gem left for me contains knowledge of this world and the memories of Rin Coesen that I can access.
-A library?-
-Yes-it was easier than trying to explain what surfing the net to find information was like.
-A soul gem is not a library, it is a magickal artifact-he explained, that was something he had been taught as a kid
-Mine never was-she said-yours is not just that anymore. This body was born without one and considering I obtained my soulgem from the hands of people already dead, we would be silly to consider it just the same as everyone elses.
-Is that why you have no control over your power?-he kept drilling
-I have no control of magick because Rin Coesen did not receive training for a magick she did not have. I only know what little she knew and I guess I will have to learn some in order to not kill myself with my own power...
She yawned. All the happenings of the day before and today had tired her. She had not slept much at all because of him last night and the bath, food and warmth made her feel woozy.
-Go to sleep-he ordered-I will return in the evening for dinner and to rest.
She was so tired that she closed her eyes and ignored that last part. Prince Lyn, however, looked forward to his second night sharing a bed with her.