“What’s wrong?” Jorne asked, before eating another mouthful of food.

I slouched a bit, then remembered that I knew nothing of what happened the night before, “Is the hill ours now?”

Jorne nodded, “The General was able to placate a few hundred men from Icklish before the attack began but we still lost a few hundred, even though we had the element of surprise in our hands.”

I looked at his hands, then his chest and face, seeing no injuries, “I didn’t think the hill was that big to hold so many people!”

Did he get hurt?

Jorne gave one low chuckle, then said, “The top of it is flat, it’s the climb up that is the hardest.”

Looking under his eyes, perhaps to see if he was really tired or something, I didn’t see too much change from the day before.

How did he fight like this all the time?

And…Hadn’t Malory been in the army too?

Suddenly, I was ever so curious upon the way of life in the army during war times…

“Come here!”

Uh?

Getting up and sitting next to him, Jorne took me into his arms, now only using one hand to eat.

Stiffening up, I look around, seeing the obvious guards around, “Jorne…”

“It’s alright, Love. They are only happy for us.” Was all he said back.

I was silent and a bit uncomfortable because of the company but…I just didn’t have the heart to withdraw from his close embrace.

He had just won a battle and I found that if I was to run away from his tight arm, then wouldn’t I be quite selfish?

Maybe he just wants to forget what happened the night before simply because it was gross? Maybe he missed me, you know, like an innocent side of life, instead of that of killing other people and seeing blood.

Warmonger!

Right, I hadn’t really thought of him as a warmonger for a while…

I started to think of him as Jorne…It must have been when I couldn’t say no to him anymore…Not that I said no often to him in the first place!

“It’s done, Your Highness.”

Looking behind me, I see that man that is the husband of Malory coming over towards us.

He looked extremely tired, yet he so lovingly held his wife’s hand as she was tagging along beside him.

So…Didn’t he get any sleep before the battle either?

Malory looked fine, not tired at all…

I had to admit, the way she was walking, with such a big belly like that…How could it get much bigger!?

Apparently, she was only about seven months pregnant and even I knew that you had to be pregnant for about nine months, so…That belly will somehow grow even bigger…

“They all swore allegiance?” I heard Jorne ask.

“Of course!” The other man stated, sitting opposite us now.

Malory again stunned me, as she went onto her husband’s lap and her husband openly just held her.

“This Captain Black you speak of, he is a strange fellow…”

Looking at Jorne, seeing him looking at the other man, I looked at the other man too.

“Don’t underestimate him, Your Highness. He was my right-hand man…” Was all the other man stated.

“Took me a while before…Before I could kick him.” Malory got out.

With that strange sentence, silence entered the area.

What could that possibly mean? Why would she want to kick this other person?

I saw her husband then smile proudly at her and I…I still didn’t even know his name!

“What’s your name? Sir…” I suddenly bursted out.

I was really sick of not knowing what to call him!

“He is General Wilton.” Jorne said quite promptly.

“My name is Kael Wilton.” The other man stated, smirking at Jorne.

“Call him General.” Jorne said, looking directly at me with intense eyes.

Ok…

“Did Captain Black agree upon our plan?” Jorne asked, making everyone a bit more comfortable with the change of topic.

“Yes, again his condition is the families, but all his men seem at ease knowing that we will not just race in and kill everyone.” The General stated.

Families, kill everyone…

“We will meet up with Wedge first.” Jorne stated, pushing his food tray away and sipping at his drink.

“Not we, Your Highness, just you!” The General stated.

Jorne shook his head, “My Princess and I, we!”

The General looked at me and laughed, “Then good luck with that, Your Highness!”

I frowned…Why was the General wishing me good luck!? No…He was wishing good luck to Jorne…Why!?

We sat there for a little longer, as Jorne spoke to the General and I wondered how they could talk in somewhat riddles.

It was like they were reading each other’s minds and didn’t have to speak a whole sentence!

I swear that I missed half of what should be said!

…It wasn’t fair!

But…When I looked at Malory, who didn’t care at all and just stayed quietly in her husband’s arms, I started to wonder if I was asking for too much to want to know what was going on!

Was she like this when she was in the army too?

I guess the soldiers didn’t know everything, they only knew who to fight, so…Perhaps she didn’t play all that big of a role?

Hang on…How did the two of them meet and get on in the army!?

“Did you meet each other in the army?” I finally asked, not knowing if my imagination would be worth spending more time on what I would call ‘romance’ within the army.

Malory gave a quick nod and Kael let out a small laugh, “I made her my assistant, at the time I didn’t know she was actually a female.”

Right, that’s what that other man, Neil, had said. Something along the lines of Malory acting as male.

How hard would that have been!?

“Did they find you out?” I asked.

Malory looked at me, neither nodding nor shaking her head, just looking at me with eyes that seemed to hold a long story.

Watching as the man held her tighter, I put a hand up and quickly said, “Don’t worry about answering that.”

It wasn’t really any of my business…But dam…I was so curious!

Yet…As much as I was curious, I didn’t want to make Malory look that way. In fact, I felt bad for asking, simply because Malory had shown that kind of face. It had been so in depth, so…Full of honesty and…Well, the look seemed to state that she tried her damned hardest at whatever she did…Or maybe I’m wrong, I mean, what do I know about her!?

What was it about her though!?

Her husband was so possessive and protective, Neil was protective and happily standing by her side and now me…I also didn’t want harm to come to her…Why was that!?

I didn’t know her very much at all but when I look at that innocent face of hers…

Weird…

Did Jorne feel that too?

Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling came over me and I placed a hand to my chest.

It was…Like sometimes when I thought of Jorne with his…Other wife…

But…Malory was another man’s wife so…What was I thinking!?

With a sigh and small laugh, I shake my head and felt immediately better!

Malory was no threat and to be honest, I didn’t want to think about threats when it came to this man…

He was either mine and I his, or we weren’t…I didn’t want to share!

…And since, right now, where he really was only mine, I was going to make the best of it and deal with the rest later!

Simply because….

Looking at the man beside me, I see him raise his eyebrows at me and then nod towards a nearby guard.

Uh?

What now!?

I pretty much forgot exactly what I just thought of Malory and my jealousy and started to wonder how that sexy move of Jorne’s had anything to do with me…

What was he up to now!?

Seeing Jorne get up, grabbing my hand afterwards, I got up too.

“Time to go.”

Seeing that Kael and Malory also got up, I let myself get dragged towards a carriage and couldn’t believe how quickly we set off.

With Malory on the other side of the carriage, Theo having come to her in some quick moment, it only took a minute or two to set off!

When had they been ready?

Did Jorne expect this already upon wakening?

Shaking my head, I couldn’t believe him sometimes.

He really was in another league!

Powerful, seen as smart, logical, loyal…

I…Really felt less and less deserving of him as the time went on!

Letting out a huff, then looking at Malory, who seemed to be looking at me, I blinked.

Normally people she found staring at her would look away upon being looked at by her, but Malory was different.

Letting out a small smile, I think I finally found what I liked about her. She was like the essence of innocence, like purity…

No wonder the General fell in love with her! He killed and killed, and she was like a salvation…Maybe?

But I couldn’t help but think there was more to their relationship then that!

I mean, Jorne and I…We had more than one thing, didn’t we?

Was there something that I gave him, like Malory might give to the General?

For a moment, I really did panic because, I didn’t know what I had!

We fought like brothers and sisters but how would that be something to help him? We teased each other like shy lovers and…

I swallowed, stopping myself from thinking further. I clearly understood what I was feeling, and I really didn’t know how to deal with it!

I felt…Inadequate…

Was this what it was like to be married with someone then?

Not only the want to be the closest person to them but to also be something that the other person couldn’t do without?

Ha…Surely, I was just going crazy because…Well because this was still new!

We hadn’t really been a real married couple for long so, perhaps I’ll feel more…Normal in another couple of weeks or something…

To be honest, feeling inadequate and wondering if he feels the same about me was something that I just didn’t want to think about right now!

I wasn’t some little girl that wanted to depend on a man to live! I wasn’t someone like this! I was…I was me!

Just be myself, just be who I am!

Right, that will do for now, this is how I’ll deal with my feeling of being inadequate and worried feelings about his feelings…

Because then…Well, at the end of the day I could at least say that I still have myself! That I…

I don’t know! I just know that I didn’t want to turn into some wanton weasel and that’s that!

***

As the trip continued, I stared out the window.

I tried not to let things bother me but, I just couldn’t help it!

I had really just made a deal with myself and what, it’s only been an hour or two since and I was all worried once again!

Yet, being myself…Included that of worrying about things, that was a part of me…Right?

So…I decided that I had a right to worry about thoughts and ‘ponder’ to ‘let the time go by’…

Yet…I got so involved with my thoughts!

I know my father was someone that was more valuable than I had originally thought, I know that I was also a woman and those two things gnawed at me.

I didn’t want to believe that Jorne was only with me to try and show his appreciation for my father, nor just to use me as someone to give him children.

No, he told me! He told me that he loves me and…Why does he love me?

Sighing and putting a hand through my hair, I lean back and closed my eyes. Why did I feel this way all of a sudden?

But…Really, it wasn’t all that sudden. I had always wondered why I had ended up where I was.

The reason I went to the palace was probably because of my father, the reason why Jorne liked me…

Dammit!

I don’t want to think about it anymore!

But…Then I remembered my time in the palace and how glad I was to get away. Was I seriously going to go back?

How different would it be this time upon going back?

If Jorne is true to his word and does care for me…Yet, how long will that last?

Perhaps, in a year or two, wouldn’t he take some kind of other girl to his bed? Wouldn’t he…

Ah, this was turning into a mess!

Trust…Shouldn’t I trust him? What would be the point of the relationship if I didn’t trust him!?

No one can foretell the future and what it can bring…

Then is that why we can be afraid then?

…For the first time in my life, I understood why people were afraid of the future and what it could bring…

The future was out of reach, something unforetold and yet I was here, wasn’t I.

Right now, in the present, I was with Jorne and he was with me…

Upon the carriage finally coming to a stop, I didn’t realize that most of the time lost to me in thinking, still didn’t mean it didn’t go by elsewhere.

We were now apparently in a town that was our ‘stronghold’, as Jorne said it.

He took me out of the carriage, and I let him cart me away, to some room where I could refresh myself.

With a quick tug of my arm, a quick touch to my cheek and kiss on my lips, Jorne was then gone…Leaving me a bit stunned.

I still felt his lips on mine, yet he had already left the room…

I really had it bad, uh…

Closing my eyes and taking a few slow breaths, I opened my eyes to finally realize that I was probably going to see this ‘Wedge’…

Should I call him that?

No!

I don’t want to!

***

Jorne was nervous.

He hadn’t seen Wedge for quite some time and knowing that he had broken a promise that they had made to him makes him feel this way.

He wanted to just go in there and declare his love for his daughter, but Wedge was not a simple man. No simple man can make a country easily taken over, easily bring it to destruction!

And…As much as he were a Prince and normally gets what he wants, he felt like he couldn’t use that title with this one man!

Breathing out a heavy breath, Jorne paced, already ready and refreshed.

Now…Now, he was just procrastinating…

They had things to talk about, like that of their next step, like that of getting the people of Icklish who are on their side to come together and settling the people.

Wanting to release a bit of his clothes near his neck, Jorne felt like he was having trouble breathing.

What will he say?

Wedge will probably already know…Well, of course he already knew that his daughter was here! The room had been readied for her, so…He knew. But what else? What else will he have news of already?

…Swallowing, Jorne just couldn’t stop himself from thinking that everything may already be known to that man and it was better to assume that, then to be caught unprepared…

“Wedge is expecting you, Your Highness.”

I know! Jorne thought, while wiping his sweaty hands on his attire.

Stopping and standing straight, Jorne then walked out of the room and followed the person for a while…To finally see that man, the father of his wife, the person that had wanted his daughter to be able to marry whoever she wanted, that she would remain untouched…

Walking closer to the man now in better attire then the last time that they had met, Jorne stopped before him.

For the live of him, being a Prince and all, he just couldn’t demand the person’s attention!

Watching the man continue to play chess on his own, Jorne decided to sit down but continue to speak of nothing.

Finally, after a few moments of silence, Wedge finally spoke, “How is she?”

Jorne immediately replied, “Fairing well.”

“From the reports I’ve received…It seems that you’ve broken your promise to me! A promise made in front of your father, the King!” Wedge stated, looking directly at him.

So quickly he had already brought up how he had failed!

Dam this man!

Jorne couldn’t stop his eye contact, but knew that he could only admit to it, “A promise that she didn’t know about and still she was the master of breaking…”

“Nonsense!” Wedge stated, nearly yelling. “How can she be the one to make you break it! Blaming others is not a virtue I thought you had!”

Jorne narrowed his eyes, then relaxed, “Then you know of my other virtues then, how could I have broken the promise without a reason! To state it simply…I love her!”

As Wedge stared at Jorne, Jorne stared back and both of them fell silent.

After Wedge sighed, he finally said, “If she is unhappy, I will do all that I can to give her what she wants.”

“If she is unhappy, I will also want to give her what she wants.” Jorne said back, yet…He was also willing to do just about anything to make her happily stay with him.

Wedge probably could make it happen though, where Oliver would leave him. He had his own supporters, not to take the crown or go against royalty, just more like friends that would help in other ways and…If there was a real reason, to take Oliver away from him, Wedge would use that to his best capability!

And just like here, in other countries, Jorne swallowed to what could be done…Obviously, a wedge would be created…