Breathe

Chapter Ten - Anke

"Decim, this is the daughter of the mountain people's leader, and your future wife."

Those words resounded through the young leader's head as being far away, really really far away. Mountain people? Future wife? His mother was always a little whimsical, but Decim never expected her to go behind his back like this and do something of the sort.

"Would you like to introduce yourself dear?" Nona asked and the small girl got up, getting closer to Decim. Her face didn't give away a single thing, which left him feeling even more uneasy.

"My name is Anke, I'm the daughter of Alarik and your bride, pleasure to meet you Leader Decim". She held out a hand to him as to greet him, and Decim could see patches of very pale skin against her already lighter complexion.

"M-my bride? Mother, what's the meaning of this? It's the first I've heard of it!"

"Anke, would you mind me having just a moment with my son?" The older woman asked and the little girl nodded ever so lightly.

"Yes, of course, I'll be in my private quarters if anything is needed." Anke left, shooting a sideways glance at Decim on her way, her face still as unreadable as before.

"Mom, a bride? Seriously? Is this what you've been up to while I was gone?" The leader ran his fingers through his brown hair, letting his body fall to the nearest chair, exhausted from the trip. "This is not the time, we've only just began to forge an alliance with Ava's people, getting to know them, we shouldn't be bringing other tribes here or the whole thing might get blown out of proportions."

"On the contrary Decim, now is the ideal time! I know what you think of arranged marriages, you've made it pretty clear before, but you of all people should understand that forging a stronger alliance like this one could only be beneficial to our tribe, and our... most recent allies." Nona explained taking the same place as before, indulging in one more cup of tea and serving another to her son. "We've almost completely cut out communication with our few allies and our treaties are growing thin like this. A political marriage is the ideal way to assure our future, ALL of our futures."

Decim had no answer. His mother's words made sense, sure, but there was something wrong, some silver lining he wasn't quite getting, but the lack of sleep and the physical exhaustion were clouding his mind.

"Just... Let me sleep on the matter, ok? Don't make any announcements just yet..." He asked, rubbing his temples. Nona, on the other side, smiled victorious.

"Yes, of course! Go and sleep, tomorrow will be a big day!" Decim rolled his eyes internally; his mother would never let this go until she got what she wanted, there was no use arguing.

He retired to his room right away, leaving his mother with her tea. However, even though he was exhausted, it wasn't until the moon was high up in the sky that the leader was able to rest.

---

When Decim woke up the next morning he wondered if the evening before had been just a dream, something crazy his mind had made up but he had no such luck. He stuck his head in the pillow and grunted, wishing he could sleep this situation away.

The young leader could deal with bureaucracies and fights with elegance and ease, but when it comes to women, especially his mother, he was completely at a loss.

So he decided to just feel up the terrain before making any rash decisions. He was going to talk to the girl first, see what she felt about the whole ordeal first. So he got dressed quickly, nothing too formal, and off to her bedroom he went, which was just down the hall from his. Even if it was customary for guests to stay in the leader's house, Decim was pretty sure his mother had arranged this for the new couple to get acquainted more quickly.

He knocked twice and awaited for the girl to open the door, which she did surprisingly fast, after taking a small peak to see who knocked.

"May I ask why you're here Leader Decim? I think it's improper to visit your fiancée's quarters so openly." She asked but there was no surprise in her voice. Her eyes quickly travelled up and down his body, as if suspicious of his intentions.

"I haven't said anything about us getting married, for now you're just a guest in my house... Can I come in? I think a proper conversation about our situation is in order." Decim said a little abruptly, and the girl frowned just for a few moments. This gesture didn't go by unnoticed, the first real expression she showed ever since he first laid his eyes upon her.

"Yes, of course..." The girl said after a moment of hesitation, stepping out of the way and gesturing for the young leader to come in. As he did he noticed the girl was still wearing the same furs he had first seen her in, even if it was a hot day outside. She was probably burning, yet she didn't let it show as she sat on the edge of her bed, already made, her feet barely grazing the ground because of her short stature.

"As you may have understood from my reaction yesterday I'm not exactly pleased by the actions of my mother while I was away. I never wished for an arranged marriage. The benefits for both our villages are great, without a doubt, but I wish to marry for love and no offense, but I don't know you." Decim explained, gesturing as he went along, pacing around the room.