The Nechi's Wife

✣ chapter fourteen ✣

double update because this chapter was way too long! ^_^

...

Flynd's POV

I toyed with one of Father's quill pens, an ancient one that had white plumes bursting from the tail. I didn't know the story behind it, but I could tell it was well-used.

"Do you know why I called you here?" He asked me, grabbing the pen from my hand. I wasn't surprised as he neatly put it back on his desk, parallel to the three other pens beside it.

"No, I do not." I said, suppressing a chuckle and leaning back in my chair.

"I wanted to ask about Ayan."

At this, my attention focused. "What about her?"

"How is the...process going?"

I wrinkled my face. Process? What was that supposed to imply? "I beg your pardon?"

"The reproduction process, Flynd."

Oh.

My heart heaved in my chest and my mind frantically scrambled to fabricate an adequate answer. What was I supposed to tell him? That Ayan refused to sleep with me and it didn't seem like she ever would? I tried to calm my nerves and managed to settle on a neutral and inconclusive response, "It's going well, Father. We're trying."

"Is she barren?"

"No. I doubt it." I said quickly. His probing had quickly become too pointed. Too personal.

"It's been several months now." He groaned, eyeing his pens. "We need an heir soon."

"We'll be fine, Father." I assured. Then, I remembered the plan Ayan and I had created so many months ago. One the both of us seemed to have forgotten. "What if we adopted an heir?"

Father stared at me as if I was mad. "And, how do you plan on adopting a half-caste baby?"

That was true. Obviously, our original plan would have never worked. Perhaps it was good we'd forgotten about it.

"I've heard from Sir Declan," Father said, filling the silence. "About the nobility."

"What did he find?"

"More people are grumbling about Ayan's Meretian heritage than ever."

"What do you mean?"

Father seemed grim. Worried. "You should watch her more closely; ensure she is safe. If Ayan is injured, Mereti won't hesitate to retaliate. We don't need another war."

"I thought you didn't care if we went to war."

"Of course, I care," He snapped. "But I needed them to think we had the upper hand, so they'd cooperate."

I frowned, disgusted by his words. Words that in the past, would have been amusing to me. As if this was all a fun trick. But it wasn't. This was Ayan's life, her family and kingdom's lives. No wonder she hated me, hated us.

"I think I'm going to find Ayan," I said, trying not to spit my words bitterly.

Father didn't stop me as a I stalked away. Only left me with a parting word, "Watch her closely. I mean it."

...

Ayan's POV

"I'm sorry, Ayan." Flynd said quietly, after approaching me in the library.

I wasn't sure how he knew I was here. He always seemed to know where I was. Perhaps it was some sort of internal instinct. "Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry that you have to be here. I'm sorry that you miss Mereti, and people aren't kind to you, and I'm sorry for not making the transition easier."

What? I watched him in quiet shock. He was beginning to worry me with his sudden behavioral changes. He was becoming nice...but too nice. And too quickly.

After I reluctantly accepted his apology, he sat across from me and began relaying the events of the day.

He was hovering. And I didn't like it.

But when had I ever "liked" it? Maybe something was wrong with me but I had a problem with men who...tried to talk to me. I always wondered what their motive was, why they were speaking to me in the first place.

In Mereti, most of the royal positions were held by women, except the title of King which was just that. A title that had no official obligations. The Queen held the true power. Thus, my interactions with men had been few and far between. It was a great shock to see that in Arania, men did everything. And now I was surrounded by them all the time.

Understanding them was proving to be an exceptionally difficult and uncomfortable task. And with men like Flynd, it was more difficult because his motives changed depending on his mood. When he was remorseful, his intentions seemed pure, when he was frustrated, he only wanted a sense of control, and when he was distraught, he was an aimless wreck.

"What book are you reading?" He wanted to know.

Slipping my fingers between the pages, I closed the book so he could see. "The Family Tree of the ó Baoill Line."

"It's been months since I recommended that book. Speaking of which, we haven't had a lesson in a while, have we?"

I was about to reject his inherent request, when a page appeared. "Your presence has been requested, Princess."

I inwardly thanked him for the escape. After saying goodbye to a disenchanted Flynd, I hurried after the page.

"Who paged me?" I asked as we walked down the corridors.

"Sir Declan." He answered curtly.

He was accustomed to not giving more information than needed. But I needed more information. "Where?"

"In the gardens, Your Highness."

The walk there was silent. Largely because pages were instructed not to engage in conversation with royals. They knew many secrets and innerworkings of the castle, so it wasn't hard to understand why the King wanted them quiet and subservient.

"Princess!" Sir Declan exclaimed upon seeing me. He was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, overlooking a fountain spouting crystal water.

As I spoke, I sensed the page had discreetly exited the scene. "What did you need me for?"

Sir Declan nodded in acknowledgment. "Walk with me."

I followed him as we strolled through the courtyard, making our way through a path that was enclosed by endless greenery. It smelled lovely, like blooming flowers and warmth, but it quickly overwhelmed my nostrils.

"I paged you here so we could talk privately,"

I nodded, coughing as the smell invaded my nose. "About—pardon me—"

He waited for me to finish coughing before he finished, "I have a warning for you."