The Prince and His Warrior Wife (Joy x OC Version)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Park Sooyoung, princess of the Khuzaits stood on the crest of the ridge, savouring the fresh air of the central plains as she stared off into the horizon where the forests lay, which housed many of the tribes under her father’s rule. Her father was the great Khan of the Khuzaits, the largest and most powerful of the tribes on the steppes.

The Khuzaits were famous for their horse-riding, mounted archery and forest warfare, having honed their skills in warfare for centuries across the plains and in the forests where a part of their people dwelled. Over time, they had earned the fealty of the neighbouring tribes living in the forests and across the plains through the greatest strength respected by all…….. martial prowess.

From the Gokturks, to the Khirgiz, to the Romulans, to the Varags, the Egiptians, Jaghatans, Saxonians and more, they had all learned to submit to Khuzait rule, having experienced firsthand their military might in battle. While that might have sounded depressing, they had come out of it stronger and more prosperous as part of a united empire that stood tall against the predations of the other countries in the South and West.

Even now, their solidarity as part of a united people and empire could be seen before her as a mixture of Gorkturk, Khirgiz and Khuzait cavalry passed by on patrol, ever vigilant for invaders from other lands (see figures 7, 8, 14, 15, and 16 of the pictorial guide chapter).

The other empires nearby saw them as little more than barbarians, but they could not match the martial prowess and the terrain that protected the Khuzait empire. Endless swathes of grasslands, deserts and huge forests blocked their paths, forcing invaders into small, narrow routes of roads that served as chokepoints. The Tamarielian Empire in the South had long desired to conquer the world, but the Khuzaits had taught them just how difficult that dream would be to attain. A century of warfare had seen the Tamarelians humiliated time and time again, no matter how many men they threw into battle. The Tamarelians had sworn to defeat the Khuzaits and enslave them one day as punishment for their continued defiance, but it was the other faction, Nilfgaard that had Sooyoung worried today.

Sooyoung sighed as she turned her attention back to the horizon where the forests lay.

She had been to the forest a lot and had never felt threatened, but today, she looked at it as the sign of impending doom for her. Her father, the great Khan had struck a peace treaty with Nilfgaard, for which the Nilfgaardians would trade food and crops, desperately needed by the Khuzait Empire for the lack of fertile land they had to grow sufficient food. In return, the Khuzait Empire would protect Nilfgaard’s right from Tamarelian outflanking manoeuvres, the forests and wide swathes of grasslands serving as a natural defence barrier to trap and kill the invaders in. To seal the deal, her father had betrothed her to a son of Nilfgaard’s emperor as a show of good faith.

Maddox, second prince of Nilfgaard had been chosen as her husband, and soon she would be nothing more than a caged bird, never to live and ride across the plains freely again. Her heart sank at the thought and the memory of being told the devastating news. Sooyoung had begged her father in tears not to marry her off to some prince from a faraway land, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Still, she understood the need even if she did not want to get married to Maddox.

Their people needed food, and this was the only way to get sufficient amounts. The empire’s grasslands were not sufficient to house its people and produce food for all the united tribes at the same time, forcing her father’s hand. She would have to sacrifice her freedom for her people’s sake, becoming nothing more than a trophy wife for a Nilfgaardian prince. Well, she would never be Khan anyway, that title would be given to her cousin as only males inherited the title.

If Nilfgaard had a similar culture like the Khuzaits and she was allowed to hunt and train with her weapons on her own estate, she wouldn’t have been so upset, but Nilfgaard could not be more different. As a ‘civilized’ culture, she would be expected to dress effeminately and to behave as such, meaning that she could not do or dress as she pleased. This was a similarity she shared with Maddox was that he too would never inherit the throne, for he had a brother already in line. Well, that would be something of a shared experience between them at least.

The sound of horse hooves roused her from her reverie, and she looked back to see her bodygaurds approaching her on their mounts. One of the four egged her horse slightly ahead of the rest in front of her, looking down at her. Despite being armoured and having their faces covered (see Figure 6), Sooyoung was able to tell each of them apart, having grown up together and fought alongside all of them.

“The Khatun commands you return at once to make preparations for your wedding,” said the bodyguard in front of her.

“I don’t want to get married Joohyun,” replied Sooyoung with a sigh to the leader of her bodyguards.

Joohyun raised herself slightly, on the verge of speaking but Sooyoung held up a hand and stopped her.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just whining,” said Sooyoung as she walked past Joohyun and mounted her horse.

Her eyes met Joohyun’s and she could see the pang of sadness in her eyes, clearly pitying her fate but she said nothing, not wanting to make things worse.

Sooyoung looked at all her bodyguards, Joohyun, Seungwan, Seulgi and Yeri.
They were among the few friends she had to confide in growing up. They had played, trained, hunted and fought together in battles against the Tamarelians. Soon, she would be separated from them, and the thought brought tears to her eyes.

The morning sun was starting to turn brighter, and Sooyoung turned back to take one last look at the central plains in all its glory.

Then, she rode back to the camp, bodyguards in tow, to prepare for the worst day of her life.