Not Your Princess

Chapter Twenty-One

By the time August returns to the home that he and Asch are currently residing in, the sun is beginning to set. He does not acknowledge either of the two guards standing outside the home's entrance nor does he speak with Henrick, who is standing in the living room.

The prince immediately enters the bedroom, finding Asch seated in front of the white vanity. Their eyes lock through the mirror. Her fingers pause mid-braid.

"You're back," she observes. He cannot discern any obvious emotions in her tone. "Did you learn anything of use?"

He begins to unbutton his shirt while he walks over to the room's wardrobe. "All of the other former guards made similar statements to the one you spoke to," he answers.

What he does not mention is the fact that the prisoner sucks to his original statement, despite hours of torture. He also fails to mention that none of the other prisoners changed their statements when pressed further.

Sparing his wife the details may prevent the argument that he can sense coming. It may maintain the peace that is so fragile it is worse than glass.

August and Asch have never fought before. In just a few weeks, they will have been married for a year. They have celebrated birthdays together as well as holidays and success. They have overcome failures, obstacles, and traumatic experiences. They have fought alongside each other against so much that August never believed that they could argue. He never feared for the day that they would fight with each other.

Now, he realizes that it was naïve of him to think that their relationship would be perfect. That their individual flaws would never chip away at the fragile bond they have been slowly forming.

Especially when he sees the angry look in his wife's eyes when she faces him. She abandons her task, leaving her hair half done. "And how many of those men did you torture in an effort to convince them to change their story?"

With a sigh, August shrugs off his shirt. "I was simply trying to get them to admit to the truth." A truth that none of the traitors were willing to share. No matter what was done to them, none of the men admitted to anything that made sense.

"Torturing them is more likely to get them to lie just so you can stop." Though she is angry, her voice is chillingly calm. It makes August both nervous and slightly irritated.

He pulls a black shirt from the wardrobe, practically tearing it off the hanger. "You're new to this, Asch. I have far more experience when it comes to interrogations."

Hurt shows on Asch's face. She rises to her feet and walks toward the room's window to look outside. "Right," she begins. There's a few moments of silence before she turns to face him. Tears glisten in her eyes. "I'm new to being a royal. I don't know how to be a princess or a proper lady. I might as well shut up and everyone else to risk their lives for me. That is what a good, proper princess does, right?"

Shaking his head, August steps away from the wardrobe. "That is not what I am saying, Asch. Do not put words in my mouth."

"You're saying that my inexperience prevents me from understanding this situation fully." She crosses her arms, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "I understand exactly what you're saying, August. I'm simply voicing what everyone else thinks."

Asch paces the room, throwing her hands into the air. "All the ladies in your mother's circle whisper amongst themselves, discussing our marriage. That woman is far more trouble that she is worth, they'll say. How could the prince ever love such a complicated young woman?"

Her words feel like a gut punch to August. How long has she been living with these words? He never wants Asch to feel as though she is too much for him.