The King of Saminu

Chapter 12

Mams' eyes widened, the veins in her forehead growing prominent enough for even Brann to see them from the other side of the room, and I could hear the sharp intake of breath at the idiotic announcement the king before us had made.
"Future mother-in-law?" Mams questioned. Her words were exhaled through her teeth with a sharpness I wasn't happy to be on the receiving end of.
"Hasn't Rensker told you yet? You've been here for quite a while," If I weren't so damned nervous, I would have hit my forehead out of exasperation.
"No, I haven't," I mumbled, and Mams turned her wrath to me.

    "You willingly agreed to marry this buffoon of a king? Have you listened to a single word Pappy and I have told you for twenty one years?" I backed up from my mother, lowering my eyes to avoid her angry gaze.
"I was trying to, you just were off on your own tangent, I-"
"That's why you were trying to convince me that marriage was an option for you here?" Mams' voice was high pitched, her composure long gone. I had nothing to say. In fact, I was disappointed with myself. Brann had taken every single belief I had, torn them down, and left me willing and almost excited for the future he had planned.

    "Buffoon?  Ma'am, I'd... kindly like to assure you that I am anything but. I know what I'm doing. And I am a good option as a husband for your daughter. It's not like I'm forcing her to marry me or anything either. She came to accept my hand in marriage after I explained all of the benefits it would have,"
"What benefits? We've been in Spenn for barely a day! Not to mention the fact that more than half of the time we've been in your capital, you've had him in chains! Your brute of a guard forced him to be separate from us, even though he was under the assumption that Ren was fourteen! And to ice the cake, you threw all of us back into prison! What benefits other than you using him for his powers did you convince Ren of?" Brann was silent, but for a man who appeared so young and naive, he wasn't silenced for long.

    "My reasons are mine and Rensker's own. And, your opinion or not, Rensker is an adult woman. She is in Spenn, where it is safe for her to be a woman. I am not the bad guy here. There isn't a need to argue anymore. I'll take your measurements, and I'll allow you to talk to your daughter in peace. When you've calmed down enough to see reason and allow me to talk with you in a kind manner, I'll be back," There was a bite to Brann's voice, one I wasn't familiar with. It was strange to hear that tone of voice coming from the man, but still, Mams didn't seem to care. The King of Spenn grabbed the notebook Mams wrote all of my information in, then finally left the room. I sighed, sitting down on my bed and curling up in my own embarrassment. Mams continued to fume in the corner of the room.

    "You realize why I'm upset, right? You realize why Pappy is going to be upset? Why all of us are going to be upset?"
"I know, I know. It's just..."
"It's just, what? We spend years and years on the run from our own king, and now you're going to jump into the lap of our enemy? Did he actually give you the option of marrying him, or is he forcing you? We can find a way to escape, Ren,"
"It's not like I just jumped into his lap, Mams. He did give me the option, and I tried to be strong, but-"
"But what? What possible reason could he give you to betray your own country?"

    "If I have a child with Brann, they could have both powers. A way to beat the war, unite our countries again. I could be a hero. We could all be heroes," Mams had the audacity to laugh.
"Rensker, please. I thought you were the mature one, one of my only children to see reason. Ellsk believes in fake beings who watch us from the stars, Gamm likes to pick fights and get hurt more often than you can even have time to heal him, but... now you're thinking that you could somehow magically whip together the genetics to end a war that's been going on for centuries?" There was nothing I could say to that, but my chest stung from the belittlement.
"There has to be another reason, Renny. I can't possibly believe you'd be willing to stay in this country and marry a man you hardly know without a better reason," I nodded, knowing that Mams wouldn't be happy with my answer, but confident enough in myself to finally tell her what she needed to hear.