The Warrior and Calissande

Chapter 4: I Would Know Who To Thank

My babe continued to grow over the next three weeks. Looking at my belly, I couldn't believe I had another two or three weeks to go. I was already huge and getting to the point where it was uncomfortable. But I loved feeling the baby's kicks and rolls and even hiccups. There were days I felt almost happy again, the way I had been before the warrior had destroyed my ideals. There had been no reply to my letter and I realized that no answer was my answer. Perhaps he was waiting to hear if I birthed an heir or a daughter before replying.

Two days later, my peace was interrupted as I was walking by the creek. One of the maids came rushing to me, all in a tizzy. "Milady, your husband is arrived!"

I froze. "Who accompanies him?"

"His two men...and a lady and her maid."

I wanted to crumple to the ground, screaming. How dare he? How dare he do this to me? Did he live just to torment me? The one thing I had asked – begged – and he did the exact opposite. Was it just to show me I was his chattel and had no right to ask anything? Was it to teach me that he was sovereign over me?

Finding myself drawing in deep breaths, I worked to calm myself. The baby kicked me as if to tell me I could be strong and get through this, too. I could be cold and gracious and...

The first tear fell. Then another.

Until there were so many rolling down my cheeks that I knew I was embarrassing myself in front of Marial. I found that being with child made me more emotional and the midwives assured me that was a common complaint of mothers-to-be.

Poor Marial came closer to me and put her work-worn hand on my hand, and I grabbed it.

"I'm sorry," I choked out.

"Please stop crying, milady. It's not good for the babe," she soothed.

I nodded, but only succeeded in crying harder. She patted my back and made comforting sounds, but it was many minutes until the tears stopped and I could calm myself.

"Leave us," a deep, rough voice commanded.

Marial took off with a quick, "Milord, milady," and then ran as if she was being chased by a demon from hell.

"My lady wife is not happy to see the husband she abandoned so many months ago?"

Not the best of greetings, but also not the worst. He was standing in front of me now but I kept my head down so he could not see the tears still pouring from my eyes. His monster hand moved to my jaw and tilted my head up, but I still kept my eyes down.

With his scarred hands, he wiped away my tears, but that just made them fall faster. I needed to gather myself and stop showing him how much he hurt me.

Then I felt his massive arms go around me, pulling me as close as my stomach allowed. He was hugging me! The warrior had never, not once, hugged me to him outside of the bedchamber. "Calm yourself, Calissande. I would not have you cry."

Hearing my actual name from him for the first time since we had been wed helped to snap me out of the misery that threatened to drown me. With a shove, I tried to push him away but his arms locked around me and it was rather like trying to push away an oak tree. "Then you shouldn't have done the one thing I asked you not to do. But you had to show me, didn't you? Yes, you are in control! You care nothing about the babe's well-being or mine. And yet you wonder why I cry."

"What did you ask of me that I have gone against?"

"Her! You brought her here just to prove to me that I am nothing to you, even heavy with your child. You could not honor what I asked of you, not even for the wellbeing of your child."