Chapter 1 #4
“You are my wife. Why must I seek anyone’s permission to take you with me? Your father has no right to interfere.”
With that, he lifted her up and placed her in the carriage, where she sat in mute astonishment. “My wife.” Jumbled thoughts filled her head over those two words. Could this mean Riftan did not intend to divorce her?
“Go!” Riftan shouted out the carriage window as he sat down across from Maxi.
The carriage rattled to a start, and soon Croyso Castle shrank into the distance. It was unbelievable. Maxi had imagined dozens of different scenarios as she prepared for their reunion. This was not even close to being one of them.
Why is he taking me with him?
She stared, dumbfounded, at her husband. He was calmly taking in the passing scenery with one arm draped over the windowsill. Was this really the same man who had showered her with blistering remarks and kisses before marching out of Croyso Castle, dragging her along with him?
Maxi recalled her father’s words: King Reuben has offered him the princess’s hand in marriage. He will not let such an opportunity slip by!
Duke Croyso was the one who had drilled those words into Maxi’s head, but he was not alone in assuming that Riftan would marry Princess Agnes.
She was a renowned sorceress who had fought alongside Riftan in the campaign against the Red Dragon.
Two warriors falling in love after sharing the thrill of the battlefield was an irresistible source of inspiration for the bards, and they wasted no time in composing ballads of the romantic tale and performing them throughout the city.
Everyone had anticipated a royal wedding after the princess’s and the knight’s victorious return.
Maxi herself thought a divorce was inevitable. Even the cleric who officiated her marriage to Riftan would have agreed. Everyone knew that Duke Croyso had strong-armed Riftan into marrying her, and Riftan had every right to demand a divorce.
So why…?
Maxi stole a glance at Riftan’s finely sculpted features.
Tousled hair crowned his chiseled forehead, and it rippled in the gentle breeze that blew in through the window.
His lustrous, golden-brown skin lent him an exotic appearance.
And though the arduous campaign had etched a forbidding edge into his naturally stony face, his handsomeness hadn’t eroded in the slightest.
Maxi had never seen Princess Agnes in person. Rumor had it that the princess was remarkably beautiful, with golden hair and deep blue eyes. If Riftan and the princess stood together, they would probably look like a work of art.
She turned to her reflection in the carriage window.
A broad, round forehead. A small, low-bridged nose with a dusting of brown freckles.
Large, round eyes that seemed to throw her features off balance.
Wavy red hair twisted into a single braid, stray strands sticking out like pieces of straw.
Maxi could only think the worst of herself.
It was impossible that Riftan really wanted her as his wife. There had to be a catch. A secret scheme, perhaps. What was he planning to do with her?
As if he sensed her misgivings, Riftan whipped his head around to look at her. Shrinking before his piercing gaze, Maxi averted her eyes. She must have done something to displease him, for he began to curse.
“Am I so unbearably repulsive? At least try to hide your disgust! You’re stuck with my company whether you like it or not. I have no intention of leaving this carriage.”
“Y-You aren’t r-repulsive. I…I n-never s-said…”
“Then do something about that dreadful look.”
Maxi’s hands flew up to cover her face. It was true that she felt uncomfortable, and it was true that his presence scared her.
But she hadn’t realized that her expression so openly betrayed her feelings.
Knowing that she had angered him, she struggled for the remedy.
Just what kind of expression should she wear?
Riftan sighed. “You must realize that we’re not like other married couples.”
Cold sweat beaded on Maxi’s forehead.
“I don’t know much about you,” he continued. “And you don’t know much about me. But you are my wife, and I’m to spend the rest of my days with you. How can I treat you as my wife if my mere presence makes you tremble like a leaf in the wind?”
“The…The rest of y-your d-days…w-with m-m-me?”
His features twisted into a frown. “We were married three years ago. We are man and wife. Are couples not supposed to live together for the rest of their lives?”
She looked at him as if he had suddenly grown another head.
She could not believe her ears. Did he genuinely want her to be his wife?
Or was he lying for the sake of some ulterior motive?
Perhaps he was mocking her, thinking that she had yet to learn of his engagement to the princess.
Increasingly distressing thoughts tore through her mind.
“I may be a man of low birth, but I hold the vows of marriage sacred,” Riftan snapped in frustration. “It astounds me that the daughter of a duke would show such contempt for our vows.”
“C-Contempt?”
“If not contempt, then what is it? You married me, yet you’ve disregarded my existence all this time. Do not expect me to tolerate that any longer.”
Dismayed, Maxi stared at him. How could he accuse her of such a thing? He was the one who had left without a word the morning after their wedding!
“I’ve…I’ve never disregarded y-you! You’re th-the one who…who…”
“Enough! As Lady Calypse, you should have left for my estate immediately after our wedding night. Yet for three years, you chose to remain in your father’s opulent castle!
” Riftan snorted. “Then again, how can I expect the daughter of a duke to give up her high standing for the life of a near-widow, forced to await the return of either her husband or his corpse?”
Taken aback, Maxi could not think of a retort to his accusations. His words were utterly incomprehensible to her.
“H-How c-could I have left for your estate? I d-didn’t know w-where it was. You d-didn’t t-tell me a-anything…!”
“Enough with the lies! Before I left for the campaign, I made every preparation I could for you to come and live on my land. In the event of my death, you would have inherited the estate! A duke’s daughter may not care for such a paltry piece of land, but it’s a place I hold dear.
It was your duty to be there, but you neglected it. ”
His eyes blazed with anger. He did not seem to be lying. There was no reason for him to invent such a tall tale.
Maxi swallowed hard against her nerves. “I-I d-d-didn’t know…Y-You d-d-didn’t s-say a w-w-w—anything.”
“My men told me you refused to leave,” he said, his voice bitter. “So spare me the excuses. For three years, I’ve known precisely what you think of me and—why are you trembling, damn it? Are you afraid I might beat you?”
“I’m…I’m s-sorry. T-Truly, I knew n-nothing of it. I awoke th-that m-morning to find you g-gone….N-No one ever t-told me.”
He narrowed his eyes, as if to assess the veracity of her words. Like a prisoner awaiting judgment, she braced herself for his reply. When he spoke again a few moments later, it was in softer tones.
“Even if that were true, you should have left for my land. A wife’s duty is to take care of her husband’s house. If that didn’t occur to you, I can only assume that this marriage is worthless to you.”
Again, she could think of no reply. Their marriage was not as meaningless to her as Riftan imagined.
Still, it was true that she had not wholeheartedly accepted the arrangement.
She had simply thought of them both as victims of her father, and their marriage an unavoidable sacrifice.
Had Riftan been sincere about their marriage all along?
“What were you going to do if you were pregnant?”
“P-P-Pregnant?” Maxi raised her head, jarred by the unexpected word.
The corners of Riftan’s mouth twisted. “It was a possibility. I performed my duties to the fullest that night, didn’t I?”
His sardonic tone drained her face of blood. To Maxi, the events of their wedding night remained a harrowing and shameful memory. She was now aware that every marriage required consummation, but that did not change anything for Maxi. She still trembled when she recalled what he had done to her.
Riftan, however, spoke casually of their wedding night as if it had all been a trivial affair. Maxi shuddered with renewed dread.
Riftan’s face contorted into a scowl, and he slammed his fist into the wall of the carriage. “Don’t make that face! As if the thought of having my child sickens you! I—”
Something cut him short, drew his attention away from her and to the window. With one hand on the hilt of his sword, Riftan leaped out of the carriage, his fierce growls morphing into action. Maxi screamed as a knight in their escort bellowed a warning.
“Commander! Ogres!”
“I know! Cast a shield around the carriage!” After shouting his orders, Riftan turned to Maxi. “Whatever happens, do not come out!”
He slammed the carriage door shut without waiting for an answer. A thunderous roar shook the ground and Maxi clapped her hands to her ears.
Thud. Thud.
As the earth shook, so did the carriage.
Maxi curled up into a ball on the floor, averting her eyes from the window.
She had heard rumors that monstrous creatures had been spotted near the dukedom, but she hadn’t expected to encounter some within an hour of leaving Croyso Castle.
She was terrified, stricken by the thought that one might soon attack her.
“Stop that ogre at once!” A voice rang through the chaos outside.
The carriage rattled violently. The knights’ cries and urgent shouting mixed with the eerie shrieks of something inhuman, echoing frighteningly through the air. Maxi buried her face in her skirt.
Thump. Thump.
Something struck the carriage and Maxi looked up, fearful that the ceiling would come crashing down on her. Then, she started in shock—an enormous eye, green and bloodshot, stared at her through the window.
Maxi screamed as she stood, pressing herself against the opposite side of the carriage. The world turned upside down, and her body fell backward as the door flung open. She tumbled out of the carriage and crashed to the ground.
Pale with terror, Maxi scrambled to her feet, but her legs were paralyzed with fear. She looked around for help, desperately, but the others were all busy fighting the ash-skinned ogres. She would have to find her own way to safety.
She began crawling toward the carriage, just as an ogre lumbered toward her, pounding the earth with its enormous feet. Maxi shrieked at the top of her lungs. There was a flash of bright light, and the ogre collapsed, falling flat onto its back.
“My lady!” A lean knight tugged at Maxi’s shoulder. “You must get inside at once! There’s a shield protecting the carriage. It’s safer in there!”
Startled from her daze, she whipped around. The knight was staring her down.
“Mountain ogres, my lady. Fortune frowns on us, but we have nothing to worry about with Sir Riftan here. Please get back inside!”
“I d-d-didn’t m-mean to c-c-come out. I-I w-w-was th-thrown…” Stammering, Maxi tried to explain. Riftan’s stern order for her to stay inside the carriage echoed in her ears. She hadn’t intended for this to happen. She hadn’t intended to get in the knights’ way!
“The c-carriage was sh-shaking, and…!”
“My lady! Get inside!”
The lean knight cut her off impatiently. She stopped trying to speak, silenced by his irritation. He was right. This was no time to be making excuses. She rushed to collect herself, and she had already begun climbing unsteadily back into the carriage when another thud shook the ground.
Maxi turned around. Behind her, blood spurted like a fountain from an ogre’s cloven torso.
She clapped a hand over her mouth. Her stomach, already tense with anxiety from the past few days, now twisted painfully.
Something sour rose up in her throat. She attempted to push it back down, but to no avail.
Watery bile splattered the ground and her throat burned.
“My lady!” Alarmed, the knight wrapped an arm around her heaving shoulders.
Maxi panted and clutched her stomach, hot tears stinging her eyes. Something was twisting her insides.
“Heavens…Are you all right, my lady?”
Maxi gasped for air. The knight patted her back, trying to calm her down. However, her nausea refused to subside.
“What happened?!” Riftan’s concerned voice cut through the air.
Maxi managed to raise her head. He was standing in front of the ogre’s corpse, its body split cleanly in two.
Without realizing what she was doing, she began backing away from him, even as he stepped toward her.
With each stride, he left a dark red footprint on the ground.
The long, sharp blade of his sword gleamed blue as fresh blood trickled down its edge.
In his silver-white armor, now mottled with crimson, he was nothing short of ghastly.
As she retreated from him, Maxi stumbled and placed a hand on the carriage to steady herself. Riftan’s face blurred, warping like a cloud of smoke before her. The world spun. Her vision dimmed, and sounds became indistinct as she sank into the dark depths of unconsciousness.