The Feared Knight

The Second Meeting

Marquess Zilan was in deep distress. He still had not figured out a way to protect his precious daughter. It was no secret that he knew more than Penalia did and had kept all the truth from her. He felt as if he had thrown her into a giant troll's mouth, and now he was trying to keep its mouth from closing by using his arms. He thought to himself some times that it was of no use. However, no father can give up on his child.

He knew Penalia hated him for what he had done. He forcefully married her to a monster, and to her, it must have seemed that her father ruined her life. Even so, Marquess Zilan had no choice. There was no way he could have revoked the emperor's decision and, at the time, it seemed like the best thing to do. His daughter's life was in danger, and sometimes sacrifices have to be made to ensure survival. He was afraid to write to her. He didn't have anything to say, and it would also seem unusual as he hardly showed any affection for her, ever.
Showing up to the feared knight's fief was never an option. Penalia may not have liked his presence. It came to him almost suddenly that there was one person she would never refuse to see. Although he had his sources already set in Baliz to know about her whereabouts, he still wanted to make Penalia feel at ease, and it seemed only that special person could do it.

Marquess Zilan called out for Calin to write a letter.

    -----x-----x-----x-----x------x-----x-----x-----

Penalia sat at the breakfast table, accompanied by her husband; Eron and Kana stood just behind her. Mera was busy with the best tailor in all of Baliz, giving directions for new and warmer dresses as the winter was taking a much colder route. Eron himself had ordered more dresses and even agreed to Penalia's demand of preparing minimalist meals to save food in the fief. Yarim had finally returned after the night of the unfortunate encounter with Reka. Her mother had said that she had gone to attend to her ailing father. For some reason, Penalia could not wrap her head around Yarim. She had an eerie aura about her and did not seem welcoming at all. Penalia decided to not think too much about it. She had also decided to not think about the events that took place a few days ago, as she had decided to start afresh. It was difficult but had to be done. There was no point in fussing over things that she could not change. She was aware that there was much that she was not aware of, but she decided to let it be for the moment.

She looked at Eron, who, to her surprise, was also looking at her with raised eyebrows. She realised that she must have appeared too deep in thought. She gave him a warm smile, which he returned with another.

Eron had begun to smile more often when he was with her. Today, he had woken up with Penalia in the same bed as him. He looked so serenely peaceful that he did not have the heart to wake her up, even though it was almost noon. He had had the best sleep of his life, he was sure. In fact, he had slept like a baby. With his wife beside him, the bed felt warmer. He felt as if he had never slept before. As he watched his wife eat, he felt pleased that she was not one of those women who ate smaller portions to appease men. He liked everything about her. To him, she was the most lovable person, and he had to protect her at all costs. He could sense that she was in a better mood and much more comfortable around him ever since they had talked. It wasn't a fair talk; they both knew, but none of them said a word, as if preserving whatever peace they had in the present. They were happy with how things were, for now.

Penalia was taking a walk on a balcony on the second floor, which had just been cleaned upon her arrival. The balcony looked over the front lawn of the estate, which had light grass, and that too would soon be covered in snow. She was just staring ahead in space, pondering what to do next to pass her time when she noticed a horse running in the distance. It was approaching the estate and soon stopped right in front of the main door, and a well-dressed man got down from the horse. The man said something that she could not hear, to Ahral, who was standing at the main gate. Ahral turned around and walked inside. After a few moments, he appeared with Eron following him. The man handed a letter to Eron, who took it and looked at who it was addressed to. The man soon looked up and spotted Penalia and bowed to her. Just as she bowed in response, Eron looked up at her as well and smiled in her direction. He then proceeded to wave the letter at her, motioning it was meant for her. Penalia couldn't believe it. Who could be writing to her? It could not be her father, certainly not Penalia, as she would be scared to send even flowers to the Erons estate. Then suddenly it clicked, as if that could be the only possible explanation. She swiftly exited the balcony and ran down the flight of stairs. It was her brother's cousin, Febro. Who else could it be? He must have finally decided to make amends and contact her. There was no way she would let him go without a scolding. He had left her alone when she needed him and didn't even attend the wedding. No matter how crossed she was with him, her heart was bursting with happiness. Finally, she would meet someone from home, someone who cared about her.