(ELAINE)
I knew I was a complete mess. My eyes would be puffy and bloodshot from all of my crying last night. I wiped the sleep out of them and tried to pinch my cheeks. I didn't want to come out in front of all of his men and look like I had spent most of the night crying. Ben had avoided me last night and that suited me just fine. I was glad that he let me have the tent to myself for the night. The privacy was much needed for me to cry in peace. I didn't want to talk to him or get to know him I didn't care about his favorite color or his childhood experiences. He didn't deserve for me to get to know him.
When I climbed out of my small tent that Ben had created for me I was presented with a plate of food. There was some sort of meat as well as a piece of bread. Looking at it made my stomach turn. I couldn't eat when I felt like this. I held the plate at arm's length trying not to smell it as I made my way over to the small fire that was dying out. Dumping the food on top of the fire would be a waste but I was extremely tempted to do so.
The men were sitting around the fire eating their breakfast. It looked as though most of the camp had already been packed. I sat down with my plate in my lap trying to figure out what to do with it. The man sitting next to me inched away and a new person took his place. Ben was the one who sat down next to me. I kept my gaze forward refusing to look at him. He sighed and grabbed my chin turning my head so I had to look at him. I did my best to fight him but it was no use. He took in my tired looking appearance before he spoke.
"Good morning." he said cheerfully. When he noticed my mood was less than cheerful he continued. "I'm sorry about yesterday." He said and I didn't reply. All of his men that were sitting around us slowly shifted away. Many of them eased up to their feet and walked away so we could have some privacy. "I shouldn't have kissed you like that in front of your family." Ben said.
I was shocked that he would apologize. No man had ever been weak enough to apologize to me. "No. You shouldn't have." I croaked with a dry throat as I shook out of his hand that was holding my head in place so he could look at me. I should have been grateful that all he had done was kiss me. According to the law he would have had every right to do much worse to me now that we were married.
"Will you please forgive me?" he asked sincerely. I was shocked. The men I had been around never apologized for anything. And they never asked for forgiveness.
"I'll think about it." I said then I set my plate in his lap and went to gather my things. He was tearing into the bread while he watched me pack up my bed roll.
§
(BEN)
Elaine hadn't eaten all day and Ben was beginning to worry about her. After they had left camp she was silent. All traces of the angry woman from before were gone. She was just a shell of the person he had met earlier. She looked broken and exhausted. Ben wanted to talk to her but she refused to speak. The only thing that broke the silence was the hooves of the horses as they walked and the quiet murmur of voices from his men.
Ben slowed the pace of his horse to match hers holding out an apple in his hand. She looked at the fruit and shook her head. Then she ignored him and turned back to the road in that annoying way of hers.
"You need to eat something." He insisted.
"I am not hungry." was her reply.
"Come on Ellie are you trying to starve yourself to death to get out of this marriage contract?"
She glared at him when he called her Ellie. Then she refused to speak to him. Ben sighed. It was going to be a long day.
After riding for a while they stopped to water the horses. Ben kept an eye on Elaine as she went to the water's edge and knelt down. He inched closer in fear that she might try to drown herself. He could imagine her jumping into the water and swimming away. The river was swift and she would be able to get away quickly. She scooped up the water to splash it on her face washing away the grime from traveling. She kept her back to him as she washed up to her elbows then using a cloth wiped the back of her neck. Then she sat on a rock and waited for the men to water the horses. While the horses were drinking their fill Ben went to sit down next to Elaine. He couldn't help but notice her stiffen at the close proximity.
"I'm sorry Elaine." He began.
"You already apologized you don't need to do it again." She said cutting him off.
"No I do. I want to apologize for forcing you to marry me." He understood why she was so angry. It wasn't her fault that she was the daughter of the chief and at his mercy for picking a husband.
"You are weak for apologizing to me." She said and Ben could hear the anger rising in her voice.
"I apologized because I felt bad for forcing you to marry me. You are clearly upset."
"Well, what did you expect?" she asked arching an eyebrow. "That I would fall at your feet and worship you? Or maybe you thought I would pledge myself to you?"
"No nothing of the sort." She was leaning away and glaring at him through little slits. Ben felt like he wasn't getting anywhere. This woman would hate him forever. In the few hours that he had known her she made it clear that she would never accept him as husband. She opened her mouth to speak but Ben cut her off by standing and walking away from her. He didn't need to hear the things she was going to say. No doubt they would be cutting. He had said what he wanted to say so now he would walk away before he said something that would make Ellie even angrier.
§
(ELAINE)
I watched him walk towards the horses. Once again my temper had gotten the better of me. I was angry at him for forcing the marriage but it wasn't his fault. Not really. He couldn't control that he was the future chief just as I couldn't control that I was born a chief's daughter. While watching him stroke the silky nose of his horse I decided that it could have been much worse. I could have gotten a mean man who treated me like a slave. Instead I had Ben who had been nothing but gentle since the moment I met him. It was obvious that the things I had said had hurt him. I reached into my pocket and felt the cold handle of the dagger that was there. I had grabbed the dagger at the last second as a last resort. It could be used to slit Ben's throat or I could use it to slit my own. That had been my original plan. I realized now how foolish that had been. A murder would only bring war.
We were together and there was nothing that either of us could do about it no matter how much we wanted to. I heard the voice of my mother in my mind telling me to be kind to other people. For the first time in a long time I decided to heed her advice.
One of the men signaled that it was time to get moving. I climbed on my horse and forced myself to keep pace with Benjamin. He gave me a confused look and I didn't frown at him. He eventually offered me another piece of bread and I wondered where he got this endless supply of food to shove at me. I painfully forced a small smile to my lips and accepted his offering.
"Thank you." I said and his eyebrows shot up into his hair that hung over his forehead.
"You're welcome, Ellie."
I held back my glare at his ridiculous nickname. Instead I nodded at his reply and kept up his pace.
§
(ELAINE)
I was amazed at the sight before me. A large village full of people. With a beautiful sunset filling the sky above the town. Chedix looked incredible. Chedix was at least twice the size of my old home Elondra. I caught sight of Ben looking at my amazed expression. He seemed pleased about my reaction.
"Welcome to your new home Ellie. Welcome to Chedix!" He said the excitement obvious in his voice. I cringed at the new nickname that he was trying to force on me.
There was a shout from the villagers, they had seen us. Many doors were thrown open as the women inside raced out to meet their husbands. Children of every size ran after them to meet their fathers. Ben and I continued on horseback. As we neared the Chief's home I felt eyes on me. I looked around to find many villagers looking at me curiously but this was different. The eyes that I felt on me weren't from the curious villagers that were looking me up and down. As I was looking around the horses stopped. Ben had dismounted and walked over to me before I noticed that we were stopped. He reached up as though to put his hands on my waist to lift me down and I jerked away from him. His arms dropped a half inch and he gave me a look that told me I had better allow him to help me off of my horse. It was a ridiculous expectation. I was completely capable of getting myself down. Unwillingly, I allowed him to place his hands on my waist and ease me down to the ground. That was when I saw the person staring.
It was a girl. A woman actually. She was leaning against a house so she wouldn't be noticed. With the large shadows being cast by the setting sun she was difficult to spot. The first thing I saw was her beauty. She smirked at me at first then she continued to glare. Her eyes were locked on Ben's hands where were on my waist.
Something told me I had encroached on her territory. I looked at Ben who was waiting for me to follow him. We walked with his hand on the small of my back to keep me next to him. He was probably afraid that I would bolt. I pushed the angry woman out of my mind and went with Ben inside the house.
§
(ELAINE)
After the long day of traveling I was exhausted. Ben told me that he would introduce me to his family in the morning. Then he showed me to a room and walked out. He shut the door behind him to allow me privacy.
There was something strange about this room. There were shields all over. Some sat on the floor while others were attached to the walls. They were all the same color each with a different story. One shield was completely cut in half while another had been shot with an arrow. All together there were twelve shields. The next thing that caught my eye was the sword leaning in one corner. The blade was tarnished but strong. I picked it up to find it perfectly balanced. It was an impressive piece that had been crafted by an experienced maker. There was a long strip of leather that wrapped around the handle.
It seemed odd to me to have these shields and weapons in a spare room for a guest. Perhaps the village was too poor to be able to afford an extra room. In Elondra we would have only provided the best room for a guest. Here I was shoved in like spare baggage. Then it dawned on me. I was in Ben's room. He intended for me to sleep here for the night. Surely he didn't intend to stay in here as well.
Immediately I returned the sword and went to the door. Testing the handle to see if it was locked. It turned easily in my hand because the door was being opened from the other side and Ben walked in. He nearly plowed me over because I was standing right there.
"Aren't you tired?" he asked. Seeing that I hadn't changed out of my traveling clothes. I remained silent as he looked at me waiting for my reply.
"Of course." I said looking for a place to change my clothes. He sighed and left the room again. Once he was gone I dove into bed under the furs not bothering to change my clothes. Ben asked if I was ready yet and I squeaked my reply. The door opened and I tightened my hold on the furs.
When he saw me in bed with the covers tucked to my chin he chuckled. He walked to the bed and my mind raced. He pulled back the covers and slipped under them blowing out the lamp. I was shaking as he pulled the covers up. Ben laid on his side just a few inches from me. In the moonlight I could barely make out his face. I waited for what seemed like a lifetime for his breathing to even out and his posture to relax. I inched backwards to slide out of the bed and get away but his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.
When he touched me I lost it. I dove at him and his eyebrows shot up in surprise as I hovered over him. I grabbed my dagger from my pocket and held it to his throat. He seemed surprised when the cold metal touched his skin. He slowly released my wrist as I kept the dagger on him.
"Ellie" he said holding both his hands up where I could see them.
"If you try anything I will kill you." I growled at him. "Don't think I won't do it because I will." The dagger shook in my grasp letting him know just how terrified I was. If I killed him now there was a small possibility that I could get out of the house undetected and an even smaller possibility that I could get away.
"You have my word." He finally said. I waited a few seconds before I took the knife off of his neck and climbed off of him.
"Then we understand each other." I said and he nodded. For some reason I believed him that he wouldn't try anything. But that didn't mean I wouldn't hold into the knife just in case.