A thousand thanks to Todger65 for editing yet another chapter!
*****
Left alone in the room with Krouth, Isonei felt uneasy. The slim Torgan kept his eyes averted as he moved around the room fetching her clothes from the day before, including mended small clothes, and a basin with a cloth. Afterward he left briefly to fetch the breakfast she had been told to eat.
Washing from a basin was wretched. Draeseth had said they didn't bathe frequently this time of year but what that meant wasn't entirely clear. She hoped it meant only a day or two, how they could make do without soap and with such a small amount of water was baffling.
Once dressed, she stood looking out of the window. The view would have been more impressive on a clear day, but the mountains in the distance rose startlingly, dwarfing what she had thought of as the mountains around them. Her view over the fortress wall was clearly looking deeper into Torga.
The sound of a tray being brought in pulled her back from the window. Oddly enough it wasn't Krouth, but a timid looking Torgan maid. Isonei tried to give her a reassuring smile but the dark haired woman recoiled as if Isonei had scowled and shouted, fleeing from the room. The woman's reaction made her feel dubious about touching the breakfast, it didn't help that she wasn't terribly hungry or that the only things she recognized were the egg and toast.
Eying the door, it occurred to her that there was only one thing that would upset Draeseth the way he had been before he dressed and stormed out. Word must have come from her Daga. To come so soon... he must have come himself when Daga Caeridith sent word. And if Draeseth was demanding she stay in the room... he didn't want her to hear what was being said. Isonei headed for the door.
She opened it to find Krouth standing on the other side as if he were preparing to enter. "Lady Isonei, is there something you require?"
"Yes. Has word from my Daga arrived?"
"The letters were sent off in the evening I wouldn't expect a reply for a few days, my Lady." His tone was very reasonable; it made her think he was lying.
"Then why was Draeseth so upset. And why would I be required to stay in the room?"
"You weren't this distrusting in Leria, my Lady."
"I hadn't been poisoned by people I trusted or shoved naked into a barrel." She gave him an icy look. "Some distrust when I think someone is trying to deceive me is warranted."
A ghost of a smile crossed his lips for a moment. "I have my orders. Unlike some people I obey them well."
Isonei tried to brush past him and the slim Torgan sighed, preventing her. "You are to wait in the bedroom, Lady Isonei. He wishes to protect you."
"I need to speak with the messenger."
"Lothlaerith's messenger is not particularly pleasant. And there is only the one. If you come inside I will tell you what I know of his missive." He gestured into the room with his free hand. "I would rebuild some of the broken trust."
Against her better judgment, she let him usher her back into the bedroom. "Perhaps you can tell me what you found objectionable about my letters as well."
"Of course." Krouth eyed her untouched breakfast. "You would prefer to have someone taste your food before you eat?"
"The way the maid reacted when I smiled at her, yes. Something wasn't right."
Before she could confess to her ignorance of the foods on her plate, the slim Torgan took a sizable drink of her juice and proceeded to take two bites of everything on the tray, from the fried egg on toasted bread to the dark dried fruit and odd looking little lumps of meat. When he finished she sat at the table to eat, giving him a grateful nod. "The missive?"
"Daga Lothlaerith demands you be returned or trade will be halted. The state of his men when they made their way back was... unfortunate, and that you were stolen in such a brazen manner on such an important night has not made him inclined to acknowledge Prince Draeseth's claim to you."
"The Dagas should have discussed it amongst themselves. My Daga considers Draeseth a friend and he acknowledged the match. It would have been his place to correct Daga Lothlaerith and give him permission to have me pass beyond the gate. Stealing me not only put Draeseth at risk but put that permission at risk."
"From what I was told, Daga Lothlaerith was very clearly trying to get his son to court you. And you were responsive. Prince Draeseth loves you and cannot risk you being seduced away."
"His jealousy is exhausting." Isonei picked at the bland fried egg on toast.
"Your tendency to stray is exhausting, Lady Isonei."
"When have I strayed?" She looked sharply up at Krouth. "Being exclusive is incredibly demanding and I am doing it to the best of my ability. I have not allowed any other man to touch me or please me as Draeseth does, nor have I touched or pleased another man as I do Draeseth. I didn't know I was meant to keep my heart untouched during this year but since it was made clear I have done so."
"You constantly remind him that this is only for a year and you look for others to have afterward."
"I do not
look
for others to have afterward and this
is
only until the next Festival unless we agree on an Arrangement that might include others for
both
of us, or unless I can bear to be exclusive for longer. There are moments it seems bearable, but there are moments it terrifies me, and moments it doesn't feel quite right." Isonei frowned at the Torgan as he stood looking at her speculatively, "What mad person would agree to spend their entire life being exclusive, to have no other, after a single night? It requires thought and deliberation! A year... I thought a year would be bearable. If things went poorly, if I hated it, a year is not so long."
Krouth inclined his head. "I understand your reasoning, and I find it surprisingly sensible for an Aran. But you must understand, you've stirred the love of a Torgan man. He wants no other and he will not give you up. When you remind him that your time will come to an end it drives him to madness, as does the thought of having to share you. It makes him see every man, including his kin as a threat to his happiness."
She covered her face nearly putting her elbow in her plate as she leaned on the table. "We aren't well-suited. I adore him, but we aren't well-suited."
"Perhaps not." He paused. "Is it true that if you parted ways with him you would be required to remain chaste until the next Festival?"
"Yes. I tried to explain that to him the night he asked me to stay. If he changed his mind I would still be bound. Some didn't think it counted because he's Torgan, but..."
"But as lax as you seem in your prayers, you are religious." The hint of bitter amusement in his voice made her look up.
"The Gods gave us so many brothers and sisters of flesh and blood so that we can lean on them and rely on them. We're not encouraged to pray, our Gods are busy and do not wish to be troubled unless it is something they are truly needed for. Draeseth says your God encourages you to trouble him so that he can guide you. That must be comforting and I can understand why you would want to pray so often, but please don't mistake my respectful silence as disregard for my Gods."
Aside from the wideness of his eyes, the Torgan's face was carefully schooled. "I am certain that our God would welcome you and guide you if you wished his comfort, Lady Isonei."
"I've already asked Tyhnoth for comfort, but I thank you for the suggestion. I will bear it in mind as I learn more of your God."
He inclined his head. "I will see to it that you have a priest to speak to at the first opportunity. Ganas is much more comforting than your God of death." His disdainful tone made her frown but as she opened her mouth to argue the door slammed open.
Draeseth barked something at Krouth and the man's measured answer seemed to calm him. The two spoke for a few moments and the Torgan Prince bent to kiss her head. "You don't seem hungry."
"I'm not terribly. The egg and toast is a little bland, and I don't know what the rest is. It looks so strange to me. We were talking and I hadn't asked yet."
Making an amused sound in his throat he pulled a chair close next to her so that he could reach her plate. "The fruit is dried plums. These are chicken livers; they should have some flavor if the egg and toast is too bland. Burgath wanted to be sure you had an unobjectionable breakfast since you felt ill last night."
"That's very thoughtful of him." She wondered why anyone would dry a plum and eyed the livers with trepidation. "If there was a little seasoning for the egg..."
"I will have salt fetched, Lady Isonei." Krouth inclined his head and slipped out as Draeseth began to devour the livers.
"I can't tell if you're in a better mood than when you left or not." Isonei watched him eat the livers with relish and decided to try one, immediately wishing she hadn't, she left the dried fruit alone.
"Somewhat. I had asked Krouth to wait outside so that you wouldn't be nervous. Finding him in the room concerned me."
She sipped the juice and nibbled on the egg and toast again. "I feel a little better about him than I did. He volunteered to taste my food for me when I was too nervous to eat it. The maid looked terrified when I smiled at her and it made me feel like something was horribly wrong."
"Ladies do not smile at maids in Torga." He looked deeply amused, "You probably frightened her as much as she frightened you."
"Urzul and Dura didn't act like that!"
"They aren't maids. They run the inside of the inn while Olodaugh tends the horses and does the outside work. They may have also thought you were a harlot at first." Draeseth stole a bite of her toast and egg. "You were naked when you arrived." Isonei gave him an annoyed look at he leaned to kiss her. "You cannot be sour with me when I'm kissing you."
"It's very difficult; I may need to try harder." She let her lips twist turning her head slightly away.
"If you wish your husband to kiss you more..." He began to kiss her neck above the line of the Torgan gown.
