Their wedding was still seared into her memory even though it was now days ago. How she had convinced herself that she wasn’t terrified and was certain that she’d convinced everyone else of that too. But all that anxiousness had somehow vanished the moment that they’d locked eyes and she could still vividly remember that moment of calm. Secure and comforting. Their vows had been a blur and she was only vaguely aware of the intensity of the words she’d given, her determination and resolve shining through in them. And then had come the happiness of the feast afterwards. The sweet satisfaction she’d felt when he had joined her in a dance, her stubbornness paying off once more. It had all felt so promising in that light but with each day that passed she wondered if she had made the right choice. Not just for herself but for her people. Perhaps she had just been so relieved that he wasn’t simply the mindless brute that wildlings had been made out to be that she’d fooled herself into believing that she hadn’t chosen wrongly.
At times it felt like something of a miracle that her impulse decision had worked out far better than she could have even hoped. There was a bond between them, of that much she was certain, even if it did seem to lie more in the realm of physicality. Still, she was grateful for it when language had formed a temporary barrier between them and that nameless tie she felt to him kept her feeling tethered and not as lost as she could have been. But words would have to come eventually and she was determined that they would not simply be strangers who shared the same bed. It seemed simple enough to rectify, nothing that some time together couldn’t fix and so she’d set off with confidence in her steps, ignoring the hesitancy that threatened to slip into her gait as she approached her husband. “I thought that we could go for a ride.” There’s no real question in her tone, despite its softness, when she wasn’t prepared to take no for an answer. “There’s some places I want to show you.”
@ofthefirstmen