An Oath Of Lords And Ladies (ARTK, Book 1)

Chapter 5

Ocono 5th, 3327 A.G

Nara stood just outside the door of the stable hand's tiny home, hesitant to knock. She regretted even agreeing to meet him, so she knew what her answer would be and contemplated whether or not to waste his time. Then, just as she'd worked up the nerve to leave, a servant dropped a box of potatoes a dozen feet away, startling her. She hit her shoulder on the doorframe and glared at the servant- though she knew she used to be clumsier than that. In her early years she lost the golden-handled dagger more times than she could count, avoiding her father each until she found it.

  Footsteps approached from inside. She stood up straight and adjusted her crown, then tried to look intimidating. She didn't know why- but it'd become a habit since her father's death whenever she was meeting someone new and older.

  The man who opened the door-  Edun Dewgrove, wasn't as horrid looking as she'd expected- he was just much older. Her eyes fell over his and there was a certain wiseness to them that could only come from a difficult life. Greasy hair obscured the sides of his face; and she imagined he'd be  better looking after a bath. At least he'd put clean clothes on so the stench of horse shit wouldn't fill her nostrils.

"My lady-" He spoke first and his voice was almost creepily similar to Thorne's. She was reminded again of what her answer would be. She'd grown up with Thorne as a father figure and despite how polar opposite the two's appearances were, she couldn't imagine marrying someone who sounded like him. "Would you like to come in?"

She politely nodded, stepping through the doorway when he moved aside for her. She tried to hold back judgement as she'd been in staff and servant's houses before, but his was so much plainer inside than out. The bed, barely big enough for one person- sat a foot away from the table, and his fireplace another foot away from it. She took a seat at his table. The guard that followed her everywhere chose to stand in the corner as they spoke.

"I imagine you pictured yourself marrying someone younger." Edun said, hands clasped in front of him.

"I did-" She admitted. "But I've never thought of age as the biggest factor in marriage. I would ideally like to be with someone who has a tolerable personality."

"I like to think I do." Edun took the chair across from her and leaned on his hands. "I've never had anyone tell me differently."

"You do seem tolerable-" Nara nodded. "And kind, but I...."

"You can't get past the age difference." He finished her sentence. "'You tell yourself it's not important but deep down it is. My first wife was like that for a while. She got over it after we had our first child."

"What happened to her?" Nara asked. Just from the state of his house, she hadn't imagined him as someone who'd been married before. She really couldn't see him with a kid.

"She and my daughter died in her second childbirth. My son got attacked by an ice giant a few years ago and... I just couldn't bring myself to stay in our home anymore. Too many memories....." A few tears slipped from Edun's eyes before he could suppress them. "So I ended up here."

She understood how intensely memories attached themselves to places. She hadn't been back to the forest west of house Ashhand since her own encounter for fear of hearing the boy's screams again.

"Edun....." she said slowly. "I don't mean to offend you but... I just don't see us together. The only problem I do have with the age difference is... the very real possibility that I'd have to raise any children we might have alone. Children do better with both of their parents."

Now that he thought about it, Edun's son did have a better childhood than most.

"So... I'll take that as a no?" He raised an eyebrow.

Nara could picture him as a grandfather, not the father of her children. She tried, really tried- but he couldn't be more than a decade younger than her own grandfather.

"It is a no." She replied firmly and stood up. The guard slightly shifted, ready to see her out. "Though I do hope you find someone. An individual as kind as you should not be alone."

When she left him, she immediately went to her grandparents to get it over with. They sat at a table in the great hall, pretending to read while they waited on her answer. She coughed to get their attention; though they'd been listening for the door since they cracked their books open.

They both looked up and faked a smile.

"So? Was he to your liking?" Her grandfather asked. The way he talked about the man like he was a cut of meat or a fruit she'd never tried before bothered her, but she didn't immediately show it.

"He was kind, but I will not be marrying him."

Immediately, her grandfather's entire demeanor changed. He slammed the book shut and sat back in his chair, but her grandmother was slower to react. When she did, her tone was calm- but the words were her grandfather's.

"You are all we have left to inherit house Tomhend. Our only grandchild- Please, Nara don't be picky." Her grandmother begged. "You'll only have to see him a few minutes a night. Hell, you could lock him in a cell the rest of the time for all I care."

She knew what her grandmother was implying and it immediately disgusted her. She would never treat her spouse in such a way just because she could and hearing her suggest such a thing really opened Nara's eyes.

Her next decision was impulsive- but it was carried out faster than she could change her mind.

She turned to her guard and nodded, a gesture they'd agreed on weeks ago. He left and returned with her other guards in less than a minute.

Her eyes darted between her grandparents as she gave the order.

"Kill them. If their guards try to stop you you may kill them too. If the advisors refuse to surrender their loyalties, kill them as well." Shock flashed through her grandmothers eyes and confusion through her grandfathers, but not a second later- their heads rolled onto the floor, expressionless.

Again, she felt nothing.

She now understood that her father was wrong about killing.

Feeling like it was a perfectly good reason.