The woman who had helped them was named Mari. She had a husband who was a blacksmith and although Mari had mentioned a son, there was no sign that he lived with them currently.
The couple lived in a rustic cabin just outside the nearest village which Sunniva learned was called Wintercalling. A rather odd name considering it never snowed in the Southern Kingdom. However, Mari's husband, Jem, explained that the tiny village's residents modeled their homes after the Northern Kingdom's hut style houses rather than the Southern stilt houses.
"Why is that?" Ten pondered.
Jem poured him another shot of dark liquor. "Well, the village's founder was a Northern man himself. You might find yourself at home here," the burly red-haired man winked. He raised his glass and clinked it with Ten's own raised glass.
Sunniva eyed Ten apprehensively wondering if he really should be drinking right now while Mithra and Veroth were still out in the wilderness waiting for them.
As Ten raised the glass to his lips, he noticed Sunniva beside him, glaring. He raised his left eyebrow at her as if to egg her on. In one gulp, he drained his cup dry.
Jem scratched his head, "I wasn't going to ask…but how come you two ended up stuck in the rain?"
Sunniva swore she heard Mari's foot connect with Jem's shin under the table. Mari muttered from between her teeth, "Jem…"
"No, it's okay to ask," Ten answered quickly before Sunniva could say anything. Well, she wasn't sure what to say anyways, having no idea what other outrageous lies Ten could've told.
"You see," he continued, taking Sunniva's hands in his. "I am from the Northern Kingdom, that much you could tell. I came here wanting to visit and explore the Southern Kingdom when I happened to meet Sunniva…and I fell in love immediately."
Sunniva gasped. Perhaps, a little too loudly.
Ten hushed her. "Nothing to be embarrassed about, darling."
She did indeed feel her cheeks heat up, wishing she could pull her hands away but instead having to play along.
"Her parents did not approve when I for asked her hand in marriage—"
"No," Sunniva shook her head, "they did not."
"—so we decided to elope."
Ten clutched her hand a little tighter to signal for her to chime in. He clearly did not want them to think he had kidnapped her, so she put her acting abilities into overdrive.
Sunniva got watery-eyes and lamented, "It was a hard choice for me, but a love like this only comes once. And I know what I feel is real. I only hope…my parents can forgive me one day."
"Oh dear," Mari exclaimed, wiping a single tear from her cheek, "I understand, sweetheart, I do. You better treat her well, young man."
Ten nodded, "I will." He said those words as if it were a promise.
Once dinner was finished and dishes were done, Ten and Sunniva excused themselves. They had an early morning and didn't wish to further burden Mari and Jem.
Sunniva was now faced with the age-old dilemma: two people pretending to be married, one bed.
"I call the bed," she said when they returned back to their room. "You can take the floor."
"Are you fucking kidding me," Ten scoffed. He made a beeline for the bed and sat down. The thin mattress sunk down under the weight of the massive warrior. "I haven't slept a wink since last night," he complained.
Sunniva crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. He smiled, recognizing this as her signature move. While he had found it intimidating before, he now found her to be…extremely cute. Interesting, he took a mental note.
She glowered. Wasn't he supposed to be a gentleman and take to the floor? This wasn't going how it was supposed to.
"You've slept all day," Ten pointed out.
"Fine," Sunniva turned around, about to plop herself right in the middle of the room.
Before she could sit down, strong arms wrapped around her from behind and pulled her back. Sunniva felt herself melt into his rock-hard body as he held her tight.
She yelped as they both fell back into the bed. He rolled them so that she was facing the wall, and he had his back facing the edge. She squirmed and tried to wriggle out of his hold.
"Ten!"
"That's right," his voice tickled her ear sending a shiver down her spine. "Keep screaming my name just like that."
She quieted down. He laughed. She sighed and relaxed in his arms.
In a much lower voice, yet soothing voice he told her, "Let's just sleep like this tonight. We both need our rest for the journey ahead of us."
Sunniva knew Ten was right. Despite having rested all day, she was sure she could sleep for another whole twenty-four hours. She was sure he was also exhausted from taking care of her.
"Alright," she agreed. "Let me go."
Ten obediently followed her orders and rolled over once again so their backs faced each other's.
"Goodnight, Niva," he muttered sleepily and closed his eyes.
He fell asleep almost immediately, but she knew men like Ten were light sleepers. She carefully shifted to get comfortable but did her best not to disturb him.
&
If Sunniva had any qualms about pretending to Ten's wife the previous evening, it had all dissipated by morning.
She was a little too lovey dovey in front of Mari. She clung to Ten's arms like her life depended on it. Even he was starting to feel uncomfortable. It wasn't that he minded, necessarily, but he always liked to be on guard in case of an attack. That was hard to do with a human-sized weight around his arm.
"Here are your dry clothes, but you can keep the ones you're wearing."
Sunniva, her arm still hooked around Ten's right elbow, looked down on her at the clothes she was given two nights ago. "But aren't these you're son's?"
"He won't be needing them," Mari told her, but she seemed a little sad when she said those words.
"Oh, thank you," Sunniva bowed slightly.
Mari handed Ten a small knapsack. "Some treats for along the way," she explained. "You're still young and healthy so you'll need to eat a lot."
"Thank you," Ten replied.
Jem also held out a short dagger. He pulled it out of the sheath and then quickly put it back. It was simple, yet lethal. He handed it to Ten. "Something small to keep you both safe."
Ten thanked him as Jem patted him on the back.
They wished Mari and Jem farewell and meandered down a path that led them back into the woods.
Once they were well out of sight Ten told Sunniva, "They can't see us anymore, you can let go now."
Sunniva released him and skipped up ahead of him. She only turned back to grin at him, eyes twinkling, "After all those lies about us being star-crossed lovers, now you want to get divorced?"