Different Paths (Paths #1)[ON HOLD]

CHAPTER 2

Ariala

"So,you seem to be in a very good mood today. I take it that your lover visited?"
I choked on a tenderly cooked carrot as he raises an eyebrow.
How typical of him to just blurt out something like that.

I give him a fake smile "Oh,he did."

"That was quite brave of him to enter my palace where he could have been killed on sight. Quite brave....or should I say rash".

"He is quite brave. In fact,he could easily disarm ten of your best soldiers".
Ranou raises an eyebrow,"He must be really strong. Wonder why he is not in the army

"Unless he has been hiding under your skirts this entire time".
He was so infuriating but I wasn't stupid,I knew a trap when I saw one,"How do you know it isn't one of your precious generals? Perhaps he has been right under your nose the entire time".

I watch as his jaw ticks then he gives me a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes,"My soldiers value their lives so much to try that".

"Why are you sooo interested in my.....affairs. Didn't your mistress come to you today?"

It was a sick game we played in order to hurt each other. The men of Amerhyia proved their manhood by taking mistresses after marriage. It was something like an open secret one we all knew about the womenfolk were forbidden to speak of.

Ranou had told me that he planned to keep his lover even after we had been wedded. I had told him that I will do the same. Suffice to say it wasn't a pretty wedding night.

The difference between us was that whereas he took a mistress to prove his worth I really loved Henrik and if I wasn't a breeder and had to be married off like some piece of property we would have been married instead.

But no,the gods decided to punish me for some unknown sin I committed and trap me in a union filled with hate and bitterness.
I sigh deeply,I hated thinking of such things there was no way around my so called destiny and all my thinking yielded was bitterness.

I sigh again and dig into a beancake.

Ranou

I watch Ariala from across the table. Her face is one of the most expressive faces I ever seen with the only other one being my mother.

It was their astonishing similarities that had made me choose her as my wife,they were both tall and willowy with curves in all the right places with perfectly oval faces,the only word that came to mind whenever I saw either of them was stunningly gorgeous. The only difference between them was whereas my mother had amber eyes with a thick black mane,Ariala had hair the color of white sand at the seashore with of course,blue sparkling eyes.

They both had tough exteriors with hearts of gold hidden underneath the surface.
Though they were so similar, they never saw eye to eye. Women,such difficult creatures.

Ariala sighs,it sounds so bitter that I cannot help but ask what the matter is. "Nothing",she replies curtly. I could see she was feeling bitter.

"Tell me about your day". She glares at me for a moment before launching into it.
She tells me how the Ishka  plans on a public reading of the prophecies,"Flora says she will meet with your father in order to set a date for the reading".

I raise a skeptical brow,"I am surprised you know her name."
"She is my friend. She is part of the girls now."

I am even more surprised,"She seems aloof and totally incapable of making friends".

Ariala smiles,it was like the room lighted up
"That's just her on the outside. On the inside she's a very good person. She needs to command respect because some people like your goons don't think a woman should be the Ishka."

"They are very mistaken then. We have never had better relationship with the gods than now Flora is the mouthpiece."

She approves my comment by a blinding smile,"Will you be going for the reading?"

"Of course. I would not miss it for anything. And before you ask,no you cannot go with the girls. We will go together."

She glares at me before sighing. Another reason why I chose her as wife;she knows to pick her battles.

A/N: Hi everyone,finally my brainchild has been born. Pls vote and comment it means a lot to me. Thanks
I will try my hardest to update frequently pls don't get mad when I don't. xoxo