Chapter 8: Damn you Del'matal
"Do you want to stop and get a little rest?" Her voice was a bare whisper.
Her eyes turned and fell on her co-carriage occupant but that wasn't the correct description. She should use the correct description and maybe it wouldn't be unpalatable.
"Husband" Tia reminded herself. He was her husband, now. She would have to get used to it but not the silence! She can't deal with the silence anymore.
For the first time since the three hours they had been proclaimed husband and wife, she looked at him. His eyes were closed and he appeared nonchalant except for the way his right hand touched the hilt of his sword. It was unsettling.
"We are approaching an inn, do you want to stop and eat breakfast?" She asked again.
She figured he would open his eyes but he didn't.
It was kind of annoying actually. Tia was annoyed.
What kind of a husband keeps his eyes closed throughout the duration of a conversation or a freaking carriage ride! It was... annoying!
He stirred like he was proving he wasn't made of stone and possibly because her incessant questions were beginning to get on his nerves.
"Are you tired or hungry?" His gruff voice almost made Tia jump.
Thank gracious! So he can talk. She was beginning to worry she married a blind, deaf and dumb man.
"No" Tia answered.
It was a lie.
She was tired and needed a few minutes break from the heart wrenching silence in the carriage.
"Then No, We will journey to our destination. We should get over the consummation as soon as possible, Tia"
He answered still with his eyes closed, That was the last stroke for Tia and the fact that he had decided what to do like his, was the final decision.
Tia leaned over and opened the little window to talk to the coach.
"Stop the carriage, Manser!" She demanded in a high pitched voice.
"What are you doing?" Keenan asked as his eyes opened to stare threateningly at her.
Good news! He wasn't blind.
Bad news! He looks like he wanted to kill her.
"I changed my mind. I need a break... from you and your nasty attitude. You are behaving like a child, Keenan!" Even the mere mention of his name sends chills down her spine.
His blue eyes almost looked like flames as they stared at her.
He didn't have to lean over to open the little window.
"Do not stop by the inn, Manser. Stopping would cost us an hour. An hour I have to spend away from the King. We are going to Lamek and that's final" Keenan ordered the coach.
He leaned over towards her and Tia instinctively shrunk into herself.
"You can take all the rest you want away from me as soon as we get the business of making this marriage legal over with, so I can return to my rightful place at the king's side. Until then, try not to upset me or count so loudly or chatter incessantly like you have been doing for the past three hours. Can you do that...wife?" His eyes were shooting darts and she ran out of space to lean into.
With nothing else in mind to make him back off and take his suffocating presence with him, Tia decided to play out one of her story books, she leaned close and placed a kiss on his lips. It was fast and it accomplished what she set out to do.
Keenan backed off almost immediately. He hadn't expected the boldness from the little woman.
Tia wiped her mouth like she was taking away any part of him that she still had on her. She looked more relaxed as the carriage jolted and then stopped.
Tia leaned towards him to whisper something to him. Something she knew would sting.
"You should learn to be a little more appreciative, horse ass! I saved you from execution and I might be your wife, Sir Keenan Del'matal due to the unfortunate turn of events yesterday but I am Queen. My word is law. And my body needs a break from your suffocating silence. So, when I say we are taking a break...we are taking a break!"
Tia felt invigorated. Letting go was invigorating. She tried to open the carriage door but he grabbed her hands.
"You think you saved my life, your majesty?" His voice was a pure whisper. It made Tia's body tense up with a feeling she couldn't describe. "You didn't. You wrecked my life, Queen Tia. Death would have been honorable"
Tia didn't display what she was feeling. She simply directed her gaze to the place he held her hand. Deep down she knew Keenan would never hurt her, at least not physically or intentionally but she hated that he was frightening her.
"I don't like being touched without permission, Keenan" Her voice was soft and contained a hint of fear.
"I apologize, your majesty" Keenan took his hands away.
Tia looked away and opened the carriage door and stepped down. She looked around the strange environment.
Something was wrong. The inn looked deserted. She turned to look at her coach but Manser had an arrow impaled in his abdomen. Her knights that was supposed to be protecting her was gone too leaving behind the horses. It was an ambush. Someone was going to kill her.
Tia took a step back and back until her body hit the carriage door. Then she was surrounded almost immediately.
The soldiers all held shield she was well acquainted with. The shields of the house of Raven....damn you Del'matal! Tia murmured as it dawned on her that her new husband was going to kill her.