War on Kitaris

Chapter 15 - They Won't Go Away

“You punched Galen?!” Marcus asked in shock, ending with. He leaned against the kitchen counter, shaking his head in disbelief. I turned away and clenched my jaw, pushing down the knife and slicing the apple in half in silence.

“I sure did,” I muttered, scooping up the chopped up apple pieces and dropping them in the bowl. I had woken up that morning feeling like I had to do something to keep my mind off of things, before I had a break-down. So I decided to make a fruit salad.

“What did he do?” Marcus asked, tilting his head. I reached for the pair and sliced it down the middle loudly. Marcus flinched.

“He cried like a little bitch,” I lied. Let’s just call that a little more of my pay-back for being a dibber-dobber. Marcus laughed and reached for a red apple, taking a loud bite out of it.

“So…” he said, watching me curiously, “how do you feel about…everything?”

I turned to him, the knife still in my hand, and eyebrows raised. “Oh,” he sighed, bowing his head, “that wasn’t really a question, was it?”

I nodded. “I don’t know about Devin, but I’m not ready to be married, Marcus,” I said firmly, running my hands through my hair and tucking a piece behind my ear. “I’m only eighteen, you know? I was sort of hoping they would wait a few years until the wedding, or at least until after the war, but no.”

“I know that you and Devin didn’t form the bond deliberately,” Marcus began, fidgeting with his shirt, “but to the Remorna people, being unmarried and having the spiritual bond already formed, it’s considered immoral.”

“Why?” I asked, curiously. Marcus coughed and looked down, not daring making eye contact. When he didn’t answer me, I took a step towards him. “Marcus…” I said warningly, “tell me.”

“Somehow, the king and queen form the spiritual bond during a ceremony of sorts. You do know what happens during the ceremony, right?” When I shook my head, he looked down and said, “They…you know…?”

My face went beetroot red and I gasped. “What? They do…that…in front of everybody?”

He nodded slowly. “It’s been a tradition for as long as we have records. It’s to do with some uniting of the souls theory,” he explained.

“But me and Devin haven’t-”

“I know, I know,” Marcus interrupted, putting his hand out. “It’s not impossible to have formed the bond without the ceremony. It could have been formed in the cave, or when you arrived in Kitaris, or during the Zmeya attack. Hell, it could have happened back in the human world as soon as you set eyes on each other. But the point is, is that your people won’t be happy if you and Devin aren’t married. I know you don’t want it, but my mother…she sees past that.”

“I sure know that,” I sighed, leaning back into the counter. “I just wish there had to be another way, you know? A simple solution without a huge raging war with Devin and I in the middle, being weapons. Married weapons.”

Marcus shrugged, pursing his lips. “I wish I had an answer for you, and I wish I could help you, but I can’t. My suggestion is that you just talk to Devin about it, and…” he watched me, and when he saw my head turn away at the mention of Devin’s name, he shook his head in disbelief. “You’re ignoring him again, aren’t you?”

Yes. “Nope.”

He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. I responded by staying silent and simply continuing to chop up the fruit for my fruit salad. “Rose,” he sighed, almost frustrated. “Don’t do this again, okay? Ignoring him won’t help. Just talk to him. I’m pretty sure he wants to marry you anyway.”