30
The Princess had flown pigeons to her father as soon as they had settled down from the journey and waited for his reply pensively. Unfortunately the sky showed no sign of the bird's return. Jza's attention was towards the clear skies every morning without fail but she turned back disappointed. She had no way of the knowing whether the troop of escapees had reached King Samuel's terrain. She also longed to know which way the tides of the battle had turned. There was no sign that King Samuel had even received her correspondence to her dismay. The waiting was more grueling than the farm tasks she assigned herself which enabled her to watch Tarquin covertly.
There was an aggitated silence between the royal pair that weighed upon the atmosphere heavily. The other men noticed the frosty air and avoided conversing when both of them were in the vicinity. Tarquin who had not left the Princess' side for most of the journey now found work to be dealt with as far as he could away from her in their modest surroundings.
Jza watched him learn a new task with hooded eyes from her hiding place. He was a fast learner but clearly unused to the drudgery of farm life. She had warned her men the prisoner was not to indulge in any manual labour due to his injuries and they warded off his efforts to help them clean up the farm. Hyacinth had managed to wrangle the Lord into milking the cows. He followed her instructions with a very grim expression on his face but kept what he thought of the process behind sealed lips.
Jza wanted to take him by the arms and shake him into spilling the secrets he hid behind those very lips. She could feel his voice echoing in her head taunting her for her ignorance. She felt the tips of her fingers just right there at the feet of the truth that kept fleeing away from her leaving her chest hollow.
As she sat in the dark cleaning farm machinery the wooden barn door slammed open leading in very red faced men.
"Is it the Somerlians?" She asked, throwing iron wool at her feet.
"No, no, it's our banner. They must have come for us."
"It's father," Jza pushed the doors open and ran into the dusty courtyard. The dust swirled around the incoming horses leaving her coughing but she did not care. Even many years after that fated day she did not know how she had guessed it was her father leading the troop. Perhaps she knew the King well enough to be certain that seeing to his daughters' safety was paramount.
"Jza, my daughter. Is this but a dream? I thought I was parted from you forever," The King cried out as he jumped to the ground unsteadily.
Jza's father looked like he had aged many years in a span of a few months. His hair was overgrown and he had hollows under his eyes his vanity would never have allowed before the war. Her eyes raced over his body and found no injuries worth worrying about although the slight limp was unpleasant to see. Jza flung herself into her father's arms.
"I missed you dearly," Her voice muffled into his shoulders, her eyes dampening his navy shirt.
"I am unsure what this new update is all about?" King's Samuel's voice was made of iron as he watched Tarquin trail out behind the rest of the group. The royal sword was out of its sheath as soon as the Somerlian reached them while he kept Jza tucked firmly under his chin. The Princess placed a firm hand on her father's sword and lowered it. Her father complied her request as he watched her wan face.
The girl gestured towards one of the empty barns and both men followed her lead quietly. They entered the room which she closed on the puzzled faces of their subjects who attempted to follow.
Jza was suddenly stricken by how much taller Tarquin was than her father. It was odd how her impression of both men caused the disparity in truth. Her father's strength of character had made him loom all over his subjects while Tarquin's false claim to the throne had made her size him up unfavourably. It did not help the Somerlians were on average a tall race and upon their first meeting she had seen Tarquin alongside with Vladimir who simply dwarfed most men including his Lord.
"He is my prisoner, father," Jza uttered with a shake of her head. She thought it was best to get to the point.
"Prisoner?" King Samuel exhaled, his confusion mounting further. In her letters she had mentioned the presence of Lord Tarquin and even his injuries but never quite indicated how they ended up in their current predicament.
"Lord Tarquin has rescinded the claim to the Somerlian throne. He is no longer a threat to our nation," Jza repeated what she written in her letters but her father yearned for more information. He still could not believe the war had ended with such ease.
"How could that be? They talk of his ambition, the severity of his relentless attack. A man with his fortitude does not leave his rightful place," King Samuel sized up the other Royal with piercing brown eyes. Knowing her father she was certain he was both impressed and disheartened by his enemy's physical attributes. Her father had many virtues to his name but unfortunately suffered from a bout of vanity now and then.
"I have no love for the Somerlians and they have no love for me. I never wanted the throne for beyond avenging Galios' acts," Tarquin uttered although there was a certain deference in his voice Jza had not heard before. Her father did not ask he clarify his statement indicating he knew about his racial background.
"And how come you found yourself possessing such a valuable prisoner?" King Samuel eyes now probed his daughter.
"He came willingly. Do not overestimate my skills." Jza sighed and decided she was ready to share the burden of truth, "Father I broke a bond to my vow."
"How is it that you live?" Her father's panicked hands gripped her forearms.
"The day I found myself to be their key keeper I vowed to keep my sisters' safe. I believed at that time it would be best if I strengthed it with a bond. I tried my best, father, believe me! Lord Tarquin had the locket in his possession making escape impossible but he never understood it's function. He never opened it to my knowledge. You must have gotten my letters about my sisters, you know of their misdeeds? Writing those letters broke the bond. I put their life in danger when I revealed their truth to you," Jza could barely exhale her words coherently. King Samuel seemed to be facing the same dilemma as his daughter.
"Ah, the famouse beauties! They were all within a hand's reach and I never even knew it," Tarquin broke the silence making both father and daughter glare at him.
"Of course, not! You were the enemy. I would have died rather than given you the advantage over us," Jza regained mastery over her words and bit out her words with a sour look.
"But how is it that you stand on your two feet? The judgement for breaking a vow is swift and merciless although..." The King trailed off trying to understand how a broken vow could remain unbroken.
"You should ask him. I have little recollection beyond the pain," The Princess pointed at the prisoner.
"I used my vow to bind us," Tarquin said plainly although it was odd how his eyes were fixed to the ground. The itch in Jza's palm urging her to confront him about the contents of his thoughts came back.
"I see," King's Samuel paused far longer than expected, "A touch dramatic for an enemy's daughter."
"I did not know her identity. If I had know I would have never let her too close. If you worry about the appropriateness of her stay you needn't worry. Her behaviour was beyond reproach," Tarquin juvenilely kept a sneer on his face but his eyes would not raise above ground. Jza was certain her father had discerned what she had not. "And so was yours. He kept me safe and now when I am in the safety of the farm. I am grateful it was you who found me and none of your subordinates," The brown haired girl said softly and the words caught all of Tarquin's attention whose eyes reached hers.
"Your gratefulness is unnecessary. I would never have allowed an innocent woman to suffer the consequences of war. I may not be the best of men but I am not a beast," The Lord hissed out the last words as if he loathed their very existence.
"So, what is the plan for the future? How long do you intend to stay here? If my daughter must stay with you than you know what must be done," King Samuel's words were unusually firm.
"That will be impossible," Tarquin stated though his eyes were on his female companion who had not caught on to what her father was implying.
"Why the protest? You are already married to her, is that not correct, Lord Tarquin?"
"Married?" Jza's face lost all colour.
"In front of the barbarian god one does not need witnesses or pomp. Both souls pledge their vows to each other and it is done. It's unlike anything I've seen in our culture where even bonding to marriage vows is not so exteme. This was why Galios succeded in felling the barbarians so easily and then Ivan. If you kill one part of a pair the other dies instantly. He married you the day he saved your life," King Samuel explained and he looked unbearably sadded for that moment that it broke Jza's heart.
