It takes about 1 week to arrive in the Harsh lands from Wispglane the capital of Avilen. It also takes 1 more day to arrive at the mansion that is now their home. During that journey, they need to take about 3 stops a day. The reason for this is to not only let the horses rest and eat but they also need to eat. There are even many posts where they will change the horses out and when thay arrive at such a place they will stay and change out the horses in order to travel faster. A 3-stop day, it will turn into a 2-stop day. This will go on for 5 days but when they arrive closer to the border such stations are no longer available.
That is for 2 reasons, one is that scarcely any tourists travel this close to the Harsh lands. The second reason is that the population near the harsh land border even if it is 2 to 3 days away is very small as only farming and mining villages exist here. The first stop on their journey is a town called Waterwood, it is named after the forest nearby and is always flooded during the spring and fall. They will change horses here and go back on the road. The next stop is Airynhill, which is one of the 8 major cities in Avilen. That's where thay will sleep for the night. After that, they will take the merchant's road and take it for about 4 days. There are many stops and inns on this road as the name implies many merchants travel on this road in order to get from city to city. There are even some larger towns near this area as well. Then on the 4th day, they will rest at Afalter which is the closest major city close to the harsh lands border. After that, they will need to camp outside and stop to replenish supplies in a nearby town or village. Until finally a few days later they arrived at Redfast mansion. Named after the scarlet red stone that is used to build it. This was painted over when it changed its owner for a third time but the name stuck. Now it is said that the mansion's color is pale yellow.
The first day of their travels has come to an end and they are now trying to find Rose Jade Inn in Airynhill. Since they are coming with a large group they have booked the whole in for a day in advance. This means that other than Maryden, Lucius and. their servants and knights they are completely alone inside the inn. Although most of their people are in the Harsh lands right now there are still 30 peapole with them and this inn Only has 20 rooms. Maryden and Lucius walk into the inn and check-in. The innkeeper gives them their key and personally leads them to their room. The room they got is the most luxurious room in the whole inn and it is popular for those on a honeymoon. Of course, the person who personally selected this room for them is the queen herself. Once the innkeeper showed them to their room she left after she told them that they may use the bell in the room if they needed anything. Maryden walks in first and when she sees the room she is dumbstruck. This room is even worse than the room they slept in after their marriage. The room is decorated with thousands of red roses and pink peonies. Then there is the huge bed with a black quilt with a huge red heart on it with matching red heart-shaped cushions. Then on the night table, there are sex toys of different kinds. Like a whip, mouth gag, chains, dildo, and more. There is also an aphrodisiac lube and birth control pills. Then there is also a big pink sofa.
Seeing her freezing and not walking in it sparks Lucius's curiosity and he gently moves her aside to have a look. His reaction is no better than Maryden's but instead of being dumbfounded, he is a mixture of embarrassment and excitement. He glances over to look at her face but gets a little disappointed when he sees no blush on her face. Could it be that she trusts their promise so much that she thinks that nothing will happen between them?
Maryden: " When did the queen have such hobbies?" She says with a hint of displeasure.
Lucius: " You mean that this is your sister's idea?"
Maryden: " Most probable."
Lucius: " Hey... if you like why dont we ask the staff to take all these out?"
Maryden: " No, need that would be even more embarrassing. Besides I trust you. There is no way that a reputable general like you would not keep his promises."
Lucius: " I am surprised, did the Avilen army speak good of me?"
Maryden: "No, they think. that you are the demon incarnate."
Lucius: " The where did you hear of my great reputation then."
Maryden: " From captives... this information should be reliable even if it seems a little biased."
Lucius: ... Did she regularly speak with them?
Lucius: " Did you interrogate them personally?"
Maryden: " No, that is Vivin's area of expertise,"
Lucius: " One of your comrades?"
Maryden: " Yes."
Lucius: " Then why would they tell you about this?"
Maryden: " I dont know I just stand near them and then they start to talk. Either they brag about one of their generals or they ask if I can realize them if they give me some information."
Hearing this Lucius becomes speechless.
Lucius: Then what's the use of interrogators? You just need to stand and do nothing while me and my men need to break them in order to get what we want. We from Dyrk are not that spinless right?
Lucius: " Well, I am happy that you trust me... we have some spare time left, do you want to accompany me to the city center? I hear that the night market here is very popular. Even we from Dyrk know about it"
Maryden: " And do what?"
Lucius: " Well, maybe we can find something useful to buy." Lucius says that because for some reason he is too embarrassed to ask her on a date directly. No, it is more like that if he asked it would either go over her head or she would accept out of obligation. He doesn't want that.
Maryden: " Alright, I dont know if there is anything though."
Lucius: " It is alright if there isn't but it can still be fun either way."
Maryden: " I see."
Lucius smiles brightly, grabs her hand, walks out, and says: " Then let's go."
Maryden just kept quiet as right now for some reason she could only focus on the firm hand that was intertwined with hers. It is strong and rough in handling a sword. Yet she finds his firm grip very comfortable and her heart flutters a little. It is a foreign feeling that she won't know what it is or where it comes from. She only knows that it must have something to do with this man in front of her. But she doesn't dwell any deeper on it. Identifying emotions has never been her strong suit.
They soon arrived at the night market of Airynhill otherwise known as the night wind market. Merchants from all over visit here to seal their goods. From the merchant of Avilen to Waspo and even merchants from Dyrk even when the war was going on. The reason is simple, Avilen never killed merchants of an enemy nation if those merchants agreed to trade with Avilen, and by anchoring that they would they gave the merchants a choice to die or be marked by Avilen. The mark is a magic-infused burn mark. It is like when you brand a horse but with magic added to it. This mark made it so that no market would accept them except from those of Avilen. If they did not trade with Avilen the mark would turn black and their brains would fry permanently leaving them to have the intelligence of a 7-year-old child. This method is cruel and many have protested its use. But it is not like Avilen is the only country that does this, in fact, there are only 3 countries in the world that have outlawed its practice. But neither of those countries is near Avilen's borders.
The 2 of them look around with their hands still intertwined, it is like Lucius never noticed that he is still holding on to her. The air is quiet between them neither knowing what to say. The only occasional sentences between them are when they find something of interest to look at. This market truly has almost everything. From food to clothes. Jewelry to farm tools. While they were quietly looking around Lucius was actually very attentive. He is trying to figure out what she likes by watching her reactions. And what he discovered was that few things actually did catch her interest. But there were a few things that did so he made a mental note of it like a checklist.
1 she likes swords, 2 she likes anything bird-related except if it is dead. The final thing that he discovered is that she likes soft furry carpets made out of real fur. The most popular choice seems to be reindeer and giant snow bear carpets. This got him thinking, if he wants to give her a new sword it is probably best to get it costume-made so he can't get that. The furry carpets are not that good of a first-time gift, besides he rather hunt down the animal himself to make it more meaningful so all that is left is something bird-related. So he looks around.
Lucius: Paintings, no that is too bulky... a ring, no that would get in the way when she uses a sword. But the other types of jewelry don't have any bird motives. A cup doesn't seem suitable.
That is when he sees it, a stall that sells small figurines. The stall owner even has many different varieties of bird figurines of different species. But all of them can fit into one palm easily. Seeing this his eyes start to shine as he finally has found her the perfect gift. But he wants it to be a little surprise to her. So he asks her to stay while he buys something and leads her to a bench to sitt on then he walks directly to the stall with the figurines. But looking at all the different little bird figurines he doesn't know which to choose.
Stall owner: " Sir, is there something special you are looking for?"
Lucius: " Yes, well you see my wife really likes birds so I thought that I would get her a little bird figurine but I have no idea which is best suited to pick."
Stall Owner: " Ah I see, these figurines are carved and painted by the Alboret tribes peapole and to them, each of these birds has a special meaning. But since you are choosing one for your wife it is much easier as there are only 3 birds best suited for a lover. Tell me how long have you been married?"
Lucius: " We are newlyweds, although it is a political marriage and I have not known her for long she captured my heart the first time I saw her."
Stall Owner: " Ah I see, then the Blue jay should be best suited. Its meaning is protection, faithfulness, and devotion. It should fit just nicely."
Hearing this Lucius smiles and says: " You are right, I will take it. Also, can you wrap it as a present for me?"
Stall Owner smirks meaningfully and says: " Sure thing, you have my blessings."
Lucius: " Thank you."
The stall owner quickly wraps up the blue jay figurine after Lucius pays for it. Once Lucius got it he put it into his pocket, smiling. Then he returns to Maryden and they look around for a little while longer before they return to their room at the inn. Once they arrived both of them started to change into sleeping ware. The 2 of them are at 2 different ends of the room not facing each other when they change. Maryden changed into a black nightgown but this one is much more modest compared to the one she had on her wedding night. She also swished out her mask in favor of a blindfold. Lucius on the other hand simply took off his shirt and changed his trousers. Lucius was done before Maryden so he sat down on the bed while waiting for her to be done. While doing so he can't stop his mind from wandering off.
Lucius: Crap, why can't I stop thinking about it. Is it because she is changing right beside me or become of the mood of the room? Why can't I get the thought of her naked body out of my mind? She trusts me damn it. I need to hold myself together.
Lucius starts to tap his feet in an attempt to control himself. But it doesn't seem to work. Fortunately for him, Maryden is soon done and starts speaking to him, and doing so breaks his thoughts.
Maryden: " Are you stressed?" She asks emotionally if you listen closely you can hear the worry in her tone. Lucius being a magic sword master can easily pick up even the minuscule changes in a person's voice and expretions.
Lucius turns around to look at her and sees her wearing her nightgown. He doesn't know if she should be happy because the nightgown is not that revealing which would make it easier to control himself or be disappointed that he does not see as much of her tender skin as on their wedding night. This thought doesn't show on his face instead he smiles warmly at her.
Lucius: " No, I am alright."
Maryden: " But you were tapping your feet."
Lucius: " I was just trying to maintain my self-control."
Maryden: "Self-control?" She asks not really getting it.
Lucius: " ... "
Seeing that he does not answer she walks over and sits beside him. Then she leans closer to him so that she can look into his eyes and asks again: " What is it?"
Seeing her leaning forward his ears start to blush but she doesn't notice it. Although he can't see the upper part of her face he can not help but stare at her pink lips. He can only imagine what her eyes look like. Thinking about it since she is the twin to the queen of Avilen it means that she must be the direct descendant of the Avilen queendom. So her eyes must have the signature green color of the Axen bloodline. The royal bloodline Dyrk and Avilen's royalties hail from. That shade of green eye color is because of the special magic only direct descendants of the Axen bloodline have. Although the shade does vary slightly depending on how diluted the magic in their veins is. Eye color is the simplest way to know that they are a direct descendant of either of these countries' royal families. The only way for someone of the Axen bloodline not to have even the slightest shade of this eye color is if they had a child with someone with a higher attitude of magic than they have. It has been forbidden for them to marry someone with a higher magic attitude and when they did their children would not be a part of the royal bloodline. In Dyrk those children will be given a noble title and their parents will still recognize them. But In Avilen those children will either be killed or abandoned even if the child's parents refuse to do it they will be forced to do so by either others from the royal family or nobles. If they still don't listen their child will face assassination. Of course, if someone has ever supported their child in the dark it will be ignored unless they are openly discovered.
But it doesn't take long for him to stop dwelling on this instead he is focused on her unguarded closeness to him. It is obvious that she is oblivious to her attractiveness and how this innocent action on her part is actually very tempting. Seeing this he knows that needs to be honest with her or else she might accidentally trigger something in him and he would break his promise. It is not her fault but it needs to be said.
Lucius: " I am a normal man with sexual needs so of course I would be attracted when I know that my wife is changing her clothes near me."
Hearing this her whole face turns red making her even more attractive in his eyes.
Maryden: "B... but... I am not attractive at all. I know that you are just being kind."
Hearing her downgrading herself makes him a little angry but he controls himself. It is not right to blame her as she did nothing wrong but it still makes him upset. Why does she think so badly of herself? Why can't she understand that he really does find her attractive? Did many tell her that she is not beautiful so she instinctively believed it to be true? These are all the questions circling around his mind. But these questions don't matter now at this moment. What matters is for him to prove that he really does find her attractive, no that is too light of a word. Enthralling sounds more right to him.
Lucius: " No, you are wrong. You may not believe me but if I did not like you I would never have such thoughts and I would not lie about having them. So dont you dare to say that in front of me again. It is like you are discarding my feelings for you." He says very seriously. Hearing this She becomes very stunned and doesn't know what to do. How can she not believe it when he says it so seriously? But even so, she still can't trust it. She knows that it is wrong but he has not truly seen what she is so she can't heartedly believe in him. So she doesn't know how to answer him as she doesn't know what to do and it makes her feel very complicated and she does not like complicated. Lucius can sense her mix of emotions and he can see that she wants to believe him but just can't. Seeing this he knows that there must be something deeper to this and there can't be an easy fix to it. So he needs to make her trust him little by little.
Lucius: " So you dont believe in what I said?"
Maryden: " No... I... it is just..." She says feeling very flustered.
Lucius: " No, matter. I will slowly make you believe in me." He says with a wolfish grin then he gently grabs her chin with his hand and makes her look directly into his eyes.
Lucius: " Can I kiss you?" He asks with a very serious and flirtatious voice that will even make straight men blush and she is no different.
Maryden: " Wha..."
Lucius: " I promised you that we could take it slow, but if you dont get used to it we will get nowhere and I dont have the patience to wait too long. It is just a kiss I won't touch you anywhere else except your face for now."
Hearing this her heart starts beating madly and her mind became hazy like mush. So much so that she doesn't know how she was able to answer him.
Maryde: " A... alright."
Hearing her agree to it he becomes very happy like a dog meeting his owner after they have been separated for a very long time. So much so that he forgot that he only intended to give her a little peck on the lips. Instead, he used both of his hands to hold both parts of her face. Then he pulled her closer while he also pressed forward. What accrued is a very forceful and passionate kiss which makes Maryden's mind go blank and her body go weak. He put his tongue into her mouth greedily devouring her like a wild beast. He explored evry part of her mouth with his tongue and then starts to suck on her tongue. While doing so he can not help but lean closer and closer and Maryden falls down and is now lying down on the bed with Lucius hovering over her as he devours her mouth with no intention to stop anytime soon. He finds her tea-flavored tased addictive and wants to savor evry moment of it.
Lucius: Delicious, so soft, I want more, more, more. If only I could touch her, mark her, make her mine both in body and soul.
Although he thinks like this he doesn't break his promise and just continues to devour her mouth and only ends it when he notices that Maryden can not take it anymore as she doesn't know how to breathe in a stable enough manner for the kiss to continue. So he stops the kiss regretfully but still takes the opportunity to suck on her lower lip and then lick her mouth before he pulls away. It was only then he actually realized that Maryden had fallen over and he was above her. But he can't help to stare at the mesmerizing sight that is his wife instead of sitting up. Maryden's heavy breathing flushed checks, and even though her clothes and hair were completely intact she looked very messy like thay did more than just kiss. This sight makes him excited but he controls himself. But if he was able to see her hazy eyes it would be impossible for him to not go for another kiss.
Lucius: " How was it? Was it to your liking?" He whispers into her ear seductively.
Maryden: " ( Breathes hevyly) Ah... ah... I think so."
Hearing her honest answers he can not stop himself from grinning so he covers it with his hand before she notices.
Lucius: " I am glad." After saying that he helps with lying down on the bed properly as she is too dazed to do it herself. Then he turns off the light and goes to bed himself. Both of them sleep soundly. With Maryden not having nightmares and Lucius dreaming of his wife and the kiss they just shared.