Warrior Princess

Ayra

     I hated lying. Especially to such nice, hospitable people such that as Dheeran's family. I remembered every detail about my life; mainly because every step I took and the blunders I've made have been recorded on tons of books back at the palace. I was the future queen of the Eastern kingdom, and as a result, I had no privacy.

Dheeran and I were walking along the crowded alleyways of the market. Dheeran was sporting a scowl on his angular face, and he looked like he was at war with himself. "Are you alright?" I had asked a few times, to which he simply spouted a scowl in my way.

I had overheard the mother and son talking about me. My number one goal right now, is to take Dheeran to the palace. Eventually, I want to get married to him, but I have to go step by step. I know he doesn't like me, but he didn't seem like the person to fall in love at first sight. I, on the other hand, wouldn't be dishonest to myself, and say that I'm not shallow. I am. It's just, some people lure you. Dheeran is like that. Compared to all the men I've met before, he was what I was looking for. Maybe I haven't had the chance to encounter more kind-hearted men, but I might never find a man like him.

He is kingly on the outside, and soft on the inside. I was watching him closely, as he helped me along the path we were following. The sprain in my leg mended a few hours ago, but this was a god-given chance of physical intimacy between us.

"If you want to leave me here, I understand." I said. He cranes his neck in my direction, startled that I would say such a thing.

"I wasn't thinking of leaving you here." He replied numbly.

"I heard the conversation between you and your mother. She thinks the suitor coming to see your sister will be taken with me. She doesn't like me, and you don't want me in your house. I understand if you want to leave me." I was playing him. I knew he wouldn't leave me here, but I wanted to know what was really in his heart. If he felt any sort of attraction towards me, this would be his optimal opportunity.

"No, no. You misunderstood my intentions." He cleared his throat when I raised my eyebrows. "Alright," he sighed deeply, "the truth is, I want to protect my family. I wouldn't be able—

"I completely agree." I cut him off. "You wouldn't need someone with no use in your household. But, I have many skills that could be of value at the market." I pointed at a man selling silk. "I can embroider, stitch and fashion clothes out of almost anything. I'm crafty. It's not something you see everyday, is it?"

"There's loads of people who can do those things."

I squinted my eyes at him. "Can't you let a girl feel special?"

"You sound more conceited."

"Well, what are you good at, other than being a donkey?"

I saw his lips curve up, but I maintained my composure. I was fighting a smirk, when he said, "I can make anything out of nothing, and I can make something nothing if I think it is of no use to me." He leaned towards me. "And I was known to be a heartbreaker."

A shiver went up my spine. "What happened now?" I retorted. "Lost your touch?"

He snorted. "Life happened."

I snorted back. "You mean no girl fell for you because of your ugliness."

He laughed. The first laugh I've drawn out of him, and it was beautiful. The lines near his eyes crinkled, making him look a lot younger he was. Dheeran was shouldering the burden of his whole family, and I wanted to know if the kind man was willing to take half my responsibility as well and carry the weight of the kingdom alongside me.

"Well, I'm not interested in being like that anymore. It was a phase."

"You dated a lot of girls?" Jealousy was a wanton seductress. It allures you like a siren, and brings your doom on a silver platter.

"Whole village of them, if you must know."

"But you're not like that anymore?" I ask innocently, as if I didn't want to hunt down each one of them and kill them with my bare hands.

"My mother said that I'm the best chance for my family to rely on, so with responsibilities, a lot of sacrifices had to be made too."

That's wonderful. "Oh."

"Well, you'll be staying with us, then?" He asked. I nodded in turn, still thinking about his statement of the many girls he's courted. Does that mean he is not a pure man? Would he have been intimate with women before?

It never matters when men give up their innocence. It never matters when men cheat on their wives. It never matters when men make mistakes.

Women are seen as fragile; something to be protected and guarded. Men's careless actions result in a cataclysmic reactions for women.

"Can I ask you something?" I start.

"Sure. You're a guest in our family, now. You can ask us anything."

"Well, I was curious," I began. "Have you been with a girl before?"

He lifted his eyebrows. "I see someone's got a crush." He sang. I nudged him gently, and he stopped laughing. "I don't see how this will help you fit into my family."

I noticed that his wording has been revised. Our family changed into my family.

"Well, I need to know if you are good as a man as you claim to be."

"I didn't claim to be anything."

"Please?" I ask him. "I would feel safe."

"You mean you don't right now?" Abort! Abort! You've been lured into a trap! "I don't see why you would need to know that; it's my private matter, and I have no wish to share my matters with strangers."

His hand supporting me on my waist departed, and the cool air hit my skin, startling me for a second. "You are a stranger." I said. "How am I supposed to trust you, then?"

He stopped in his tracks, forcing me to halt as well. "Trust me, or don't trust me. It's what I deserve for bringing you into my house. A bad name."

I turned to face him, standing completely on my own. The act I put on with my sprained leg vanished from my thoughts.

"I'm not giving you a bad name. I'm just pointing out that I'm a unmarried young lady, and it would be dishonorable to live in a house with a unmarried young man."

"Then go, for all I care!" He yelled.

Several pairs of eyes turned towards us. We scowled at each other before he walked ahead of me. I stood in the market square, waiting for him to realize his mistake.

I've provoked him. Apparently, he was sensitive when it came to his love life. Maybe he failed to capture the heart of the girl he loved.

"You'll love me one day," I muttered. "Only me," I said as he scratched the back of his neck and made a U-turn towards me.