The marriage peace treaty

Chapter 4 Before the Wedding ( Part 3)

It is the day before the wedding and it is the tradition of both countries that the future bride and groom will meet each other the day before the wedding in an isolated place. This ceremony is simply called the pre-unity. The chosen place that they are going to now is a tiny luxury hut in the Gray ice mountains that is located in Avilen. That place is famous for its gray-colored icicles that form on the trees in winter. And also for it many hot springs that are as clear as ice. The hut that they are going to is reserved for just this occasion and is a very popular place among the rich. If it wasn't for the queen and the importance of this wedding, they would not be able to use this location since it is most likely already booked. The first one to arrive is Maryden, as per custom she is wearing a long black dress that is loose but still has a corset underneath. Today she is wearing a different mask the mask this time is black and has a wail on it so it hides her hair. She is also still wearing her black gloves and instead of her black high-leather boots, she is wearing black sandals. She is covered in black the only skin she shows is the under part of her face and neck. One has to know that normally you won't cover so much skin but with her needing to wear a mask and with this being an arranged marriage between both countries this is what she needs to wear. It is said that the closer the soon-to-be newlyweds are the more skin they are allowed to show.

Once she steps out of the carriage the coachman immediately drives away leaving her alone by the hut that is surrounded by the mountain forest. It is summer so there is no snow here right now and the leaves are as green as they can be. The unusual thing about the trees in this forest is that the tree trunks are all silver in color and these trees can't grow anywhere else. It is said that the color of the tree trunks is the reason why the icicles here are gray in color since the colors of the tree trunks reflect its color to the icicles. The hut on the other hand is not very large but the the whole hut is made out of marble and is very brittle. She can sense that someone has put a spell on this hut to protect it from the elements. She walks inside and sees that this hut has only one room except for the toilet. It is very clear that this is t force the couple to stay in the same room. On the floor is a red colored Rugg that covers the whole floor. In the middle is a table with 2 chairs and on it, there is a bottle of rose lemonade and a fruit bowl with grapes, strawberries, mango, and apples. Grapes stand for unity, strawberries stand for fertility, mango for happiness, and apples for loyalty. The rose lemonade is just there because it is romantic.

Other than that there are two beds on both ends of the room as well as a bookshelves with a few books. The walls are white with painted murals on them with a violet color scheme. Then there are also a lot of flower vases with blue spider Lillis. There is a back door in the hut and when she opens it she sees a hot spring. She decides to close the door and walks towards the table and sits on one of the chairs. She closes her eyes as she waits and starts to meditate. 2 hours later Lucius arrives and steps inside. Maryden stops meditating and looks at him calmly.

Lucius: " And here I thought that I would finally see the face of the lone general." He teases as he sits down on the other chair facing her.

Maryden: " Sorry to disappoint 5th general, I only show my face once I can trust my life to them. still, you get to see half of my face." Hearing this he gets a little curious but doesn't probe, they will get married tomorrow her will get his chance one day.

Lucius: " So you recognize me even though we never meet in battle?"

Maryden: " I have seen you from afar, just like you must have. I know that you are a good commander and great with magic."

Lucius: " I did not expect you to praise me." He says surprised.

Maryden: " I am only stating facts."

Lucius: " Most people won't dare to say it to their rival's face, you are open-minded."

Maryden: "... We are rivals?" She says confused.

Lucius: " ...Did we not always indirectly compete with each other?"

Maryden: " We did?"

Lucius:"..." 

Lucius: I never thought there would come a day that I am both embarrassed and speechless at the same time.

Maryden: "I am sorry, I am someone who always thinks about what is in front of us, so I never realized. I... I just focused on keeping me and my comrades alive and killing the enemy in front of me."

Lucius: She is so polite, if I did not know better I would not think that she is that killing machine that could wipe out 2 whole squads alone. And with that attitude how is it possible to be so disliked by her fellow soldiers? They must have been jealous of her. Tch, dammned Avilens. 

Lucius: " No need, we are on the same side now. Although I do hope that you will spare with me in the future."

Maryden: " Sure, sounds like fun." Hearing her agree he gets a little happy but does not show it.

Lucius: " Oh, but it seems that we are doing things out of order, I am Lucius Fireoak what's your name?" He asks as he grabs an apple to eat.

Maryden: " Maryden Albot."

Lucius: " Any hobbies, besides swordsmanship?"

Maryden: "... Birds."

Lucius: " Birds?"

Maryden:" I have a lot of birds."

Lucius: "Does that count as a hobby?"

Maryden: " I love birds, they are loyal, they are cute, they are friendly and I love watching them do what birds do. Collecting them and taking care of them is my hobby, They are my babies."

Lucius: Simone is going to be in a lot of trouble, does he naturally dislike her because she is a bird person and he fears birds? So without knowing that she likes birds he still hates her by instinct? But I can feel how happy she is talking about birds without seeing her facial expression. It is kind of cute.

Maryden"... Ah, sorry, this is probably boring you, not everyone likes birds after all."

Lucius: Is there something wrong with me? I have never thought that anyone was cute before except my youngest sister. Not only is she my ex-rival whom I dont know anything about except her skill with swordsmanship. I dont even know what her face looks like. 

He takes another bite of the apple.

Lucius: " No, I asked so I wanted to know."

Maryden: " You are kind, even my sis... the queen gets bored when I talk about it."

Lucius: sigh, am I going crazy? Luckily she is the one I will marry or else I will be in trouble.

Lucius: " Do you want a bite from my apple?" He asks as he is holding out the apple to her. He does this because per custom the couple needs to eat from the same apple to solidify their loyalty to each other. Well, that is what he told himself is the reason and he even managed to fool himself to believe it. She looks at it for a while hesitating before she finally decides to bite the bullet. Instead of taking it with her hand like he thought she would she leans towards it and takes a bite with her mouth while it is still in his hand. Although her lips did not touch him, they got hot from the illusion of her lips touching his fingers. He freezes on the spot and is very dumbfounded.

Lucius: Is, is he being shy and bashful !?!? This is so not like him, he is a powerful magic swordsman and a general is acting like a lovestruck lady even though nothing has happened. Outragues, he must not let anyone know, especially Simone.