The Hunchback's Reluctant Bride ✔

7 | Rescue

"My husband," Shaza boasted.

A feeling of unease washed over Vadde for some time. She couldn't identify it. When she finally understood her feelings to be jealousy, she shrunk down so much that she nearly resembled the hunchback.

Bonn and Wyrn were polar opposites. And they both sat on either side of her.

Many women brought food, all but Shaza who took up root by her husband, holding onto his strong bicep and leaning into him.

A time or two, she brushed the man's long red hair back to which he hissed, "Stop."

Shaza's persistence had consequences because Bonn leaned away when she kept on petting him and he nearly fell back into Vadde.

The blush wasn't just in Vadde's face. Her entire body reacted to this powerful being thrust against her.

Bonn finally caught his wife's hands and looked behind himself. "I'm so sorry. Have I hurt you?"

All attempts Vadde made to speak petered down into a wheeze. She was forced to keep her eyes on the table to hide her flushed face.

Perhaps instinct or intuition, but she felt a pair of eyes on her. Her biggest mistake was glancing at the hunchback.

He stared her down. His dark eyes, what she could see of them behind the curtain of brown hair, roamed her face before he turned back to his wooden bowl, ignoring her.

Vadde found it hard to breathe. At first it was for Bonn's proximity but now it was sheer discomfort. Was there really no place for her? Her actual family had put her out; now this one could as well. Foolish. How had she been stupid enough to think her parents waiting five years to have another child was for her own benefit? Perhaps that was the time they'd needed to conclude she wasn't worth fighting for.

After so many years of being one child, she found herself surrounded by a very boisterous family. But the loudness wasn't terrible...it was friendly. People laughed. People talked. And more importantly, people ate.

So, in remembering her manners, she watched them and waited. There were no servants here and should she offend anyone, surely this warm welcome would fade.

Shaza kept on with her play until Bonn bumped Vadde and she slammed into the hunchback who held a spoonful of food.

"Sorry," Bonn told Vadde, and inched further away. He was nearly giving his wife his back as he asked Vadde, "Had you and my brother known each other long? From where do you come?"

The sound of people whispering and eating careened to a stop.

Rescue came in the form of the big man at the head of the table who called, "Is that really how the custom goes? Questioning a guest before even introducing yourself properly?" He gave Bonn no time to answer for he said, "And what interest do you have in your brother's wife?" He used his chin to indicate Shaza. "You seem to have your hands full with the one."

Laughter filled the room and Bonn took great interest in his food. The next time Shaza tried to touch his face, he barked at her to stop and she wilted into a dead flower.

The air was thick after that.

At least the questioning ceased. Vadde tried with all her might to regain composure of herself. She'd never felt this way around anyone. Bonn was a force. Simply sitting beside him made her body pulse with warmth. He was perfect, like a legend conjured up through songs and myth. If only this was how Prince Orm had been....

Vadde allowed the image in her mind to fade, but for a moment, it wasn't a terrible one. She even forgot her hunger and only remembered it upon seeing others partake in the meal.