"I'm glad his infatuation with you is fading. Soon my husband will be my won again." Savvy said as she exited the cart as she had been awake the whole time.
Akira looked Savvy up and down, her eyes still shimmering with unshed tears. She just nodded and sat on the floor feeling helpless.
Savvy chuckled and went to supervise those packing.
"Make yourself useful." Thaggar said as he walked by Akira,"We've already wasted enough time dallying."
"What is wrong with you Thaggar! Can't you see...."
"Stay out of this mother before I send you to your husband." Thaggar retorted leaving Sarika and all those who heard him in shock.
"What did you say?"
"This is why women shouldn't travel."
"Thaggar!"
"It's alright, queen Sarika. I'm used to been used by men. I find myself always in debt to them." Akira said laughing as her tears begun to flow.
Thaggar froze, unable to say anything as she got up. She walked past him, her eyes holding no emotion and she begun to dismantle the tent they had laid in. Sarika glared at her son accusingly and went to help Akira, the later politely refusing and hurling the tent alone.
Taki also got down and and started helping even displacing some men alongside her mother to make him feel worse. Thaggar wordlessly made his way to his horse and waited for everyone to finish.
They soon set out and rose non stop for seven hours and finally stopped close to a river. He wanted to speak to Akira and apologize but he stopped himself when he saw her face. She started unloading the horses' troughs, a duty normally performed by the men. Then she started filling them with water from the river. Taki and Sarika did the same leaving the men with no option but to start the fire. Tak took out the pots about to start cooking but Akira took them from him.
"I've nothing to do."
"Then just rest. This is a woman's job."
"Akira don't be like this...."
"Like what? A traded wife performing her duties?" Akira asked calmly, a sad smile on her face as she looked at her brother,"Traded for a bit more salt, right?"
Tak felt a pung of guilt but he said nothing and watched her start to cook, Taki joining her as well. Thaggar and the other men who had heard just quietly settled down, not liking how things had changed.
Once they finished eating, the men quickly got up to start packing so the women wouldn't do everything alone again. Savvy was just watching hoping that Akira's change of attitude towards Thaggar would make him distaste her. Maybe she would be the one to lay with him tonight.
The road ahead was bumpy and would certainly cause discomfort to those in the cart so Thaggar ordered for them to ride on the horses. He wanted Akira to come to him and hoped he could dissolve the situation but he knew she wouldn't come to him willfully.
"Akira! Come, you'll ride with me!" He called out making Savvy's face garden as she was already going towards him.
"I will stay with the supplies, your majesty. Someone has to watch them." Akira replied seriously.
Savvy smiled and looked at Thaggar, loving the expression on his face. His frown deepened when he realized she had addressed him as 'your majesty' instead of his name as he had asked her to.
"I said you'll ride with me, that's an order." Thaggar said once more.
Akira sighed and walked towards him stiffly. He extended his hand for her to take but she ignored it and got on the horse without his help, settling behind him on purpose. Thaggar was left dumbstruck having not expected her to openly disrespect him like this. He grunted in frustration and barked out orders for everyone to hurry. He spurred the horse forward at full speed and the others followed.
His frustration grew as it became clear that Akira wouldn't hold onto him for support. She was holding onto the horse's hair and balancing herself by clamping her legs around its waist. For fear that she might fall, he slowed down. Two hours later, the stone walls of his kingdom could be seen and he wanted to show it to her from this distance but he knew his large frame would obstruct her vision. He sighed inwardly but thought quickly and stopped his horse.
"We'll take a short break here!"
Akira dismounted quietly and walked over to the side where she settled. Thaggar dismounted as well and followed her, settling beside her and noting how her face hardened.
"I wanted to show you how majestic the walls look from here." He said gently taking her hand.
She nodded, still maintaining her silence. He frowned. She didn't even look at the walls!
"Stop being this way, Akira. It won't resolve anything." He said, frustrated at how calm she seemed,"Then look."
Akira raised her head and briefly regarded the walls and she nodded once more.
"This will be your land to rule with..."
"Your land with Savvy." Akira retorted.
Thaggar swore his heart skipped a beat at those words.
"What?"
"She is your first wife and deserves that much."
"I didn't choose her." He said through gritted teeth.
"Your marrying her has already changed the course of her life. You can't just ruin another's life and move on."
"Then I'm not leaving you either, Akira."
"Your not. I had no life even before you found me."
Thaggar shook his head but had no appropriate retort so he just watched her. She turned away from him and closed her eyes as if she didn't want to hurt her eyes by looking at him; at least that's was his interpretation of it.
He got up and walked around for a few minutes before telling everyone to get back on their horses. This time he let Akira mount first then he happily settled behind her. She moved herself in front to create some distance between their bodies and he frowned.
"You'll ride better with support on your back." He stated plainly pulling her closer to himself.
She didn't respond or move so he started the relentless march once more. They travelled for another hour and soon we're at the gates that opened immediately and they entered without having to stop. The kingdom's citizens cheered for their king as he made his way in, noting the presence of the woman with him. Akira looked around and immediately felt out of place. Their manner of dressing was completely different. Coming from a warmer region it was normal for her to be barely dressed but as she looked at the women here she saw that they were mostly covered and having woolen clothes not leather or animal skins. The difference in status between her and Thaggar seemed clearer now. Had he worn leather just to fit in with her people when he'd come to marry her?
"We're here. Do you like it?" Thaggar whispered in her ear making her aware that they'd stopped in front of another gate. The gate opened and they went in.
"This is home now. Everyone here is beneath you." Thaggar said once more trying to make her comfortable.
Not wanting to embarrass him, Akira nodded making him smile. He stopped at the entrance of his palace and dismounted first, holding out his hand for her. She didn't want to but she accepted his help and obediently stood beside him.
"Your majesty! We are glad you've returned." An elderly man greeted.
He had ivory bracelets and extravagant beads adorning him, a sign of his wealth and he made sure that they were noticeable.
"Your people have missed you."
"Is that so, Farak?" Thaggar asked taking Akira's hand,"I trust everything is ready then?"
"Yes, your majesty. I also organized a feast for tomorrow to....."
"With whose permission, you fool?!" Thaggar growled startling everyone who thought he was in a good mood.
He glaced at Akira and noted she was now shaking so he lowered his voice a little.
"My wife is mourning so the whole kingdom will mourn." He stated and he felt Akira's hand tighten around his own and then loosen.
"B-but the messenger informed me that it was suicide. We don't mourn those who.....ahh!"
Thaggar punched Fanak making the man scream in pain. Akira stared in horror at the site of the now bleeding man. She was certain she'd heard a bone break but she didn't even see where Thaggar had hit him. Everyone fell silent and even Fanak refrained from whimpering.
Akira was dumbstruck. Did Thaggar think she would forgive him when he had treated her mother's death as a burden himself?!