A Marriage For The Best...

Lesald glanced up from the pages of her novel as he began to speak, seeing that he wished to continue to conversation though she had no idea why. It seemed that he was thinking a bit on something, maybe what she had said a caused him to pause and contemplate for a moment. She was about to comment how she saw no difference at all, he mentioned the time of his first victory and how his people acted and looked. She sat up a bit strighter and set her book in her lap as she looked toward him.

"They had every right to be. As you have said it was the first victory in years, you gave them the feeling of security and pride that they had long for. And the people in return trust you as their leader in these years and trust your judgement. It is just as I said, it is a giving relationship. Also it should be your concern if they care. Without those civilian men who are your soldiers you would not have you massive army. Without those civilian blacksmith you would not have shoes on your horses or weapons in you men's hands. I mean, you could by weapons from out of country but that would become expensive..." She said, drifting a bit in topic as she thought about the cost of weapons.

"Either way, you need your people and much as they need you."
 
All Sikander could manage was a soft snort as he looked back to the window. Everything that he knew, had learned from his father and grandfather said that she was wrong. Naive and wrong. She had it reversed, she was too concerned with what the people thought. It was a sign of weakness, he had been taught. The true leader stood on their own. And he had the respect of his soldiers because he gave them victories, he fought beside them. He didn't do it because he wanted their approval, he did it because it needed to be done.

But... she was right from her own point of view. If things changed though, he would show her right he was. He sighed, and stopped his thoughts. Why did he care about being right? What did he have to prove to her? He wouldn't have pressed the issue like this with one of his generals. What made this naive princess so different?

He looked to Lesald again, his eyes locking with hers in a confident stare. "I suppose that approach works in your kingdom, but this is a different land," He said, though his voice lacked all the conviction it probably should have had. After a few minutes with nothing but the hoofbeats of the horses and the creak of the carriage, he asked, "What are you reading?"
 
Lesald frowned a bit as he snorted at her comment, feeling a little peeved that he was so quick to shun her ideas and opinions. The people were an important part of the kingdom and it seemed that he didn't care weather they liked him or not. A kingdom would not survive if the people did not like a ruler, rebellion would be possible. She did not hang onto it to long and just looked back to her book once more.

The king seemed to go silent for a moment, leaving her alone to finally enjoy her novel in peace and quiet. However, before she could even get to the next paragraph, he started to question her about what she was reading. So much for her plan to ignor him most of the trip...

"I am reading a story about a man and a woman who go on an adventure." She said simply as she tried to start her story over again.
 
Her dismissive response bothered Sikander, though he could not place why that would be. Why should it? Why should he even want to have her attention? He sighed and let his gaze drift back to the window, feeling a twinge of disappointment that the conversation should end like this.

He let the ride continue for a few minutes in silence before turning to a satchel he had brought with him, reaching into it and pulling out a leatherbound book, recently made by the look of the cover. It wasn't a story or a history, but a collection of reports from his generals and governors. He began to read, though found himself distracted just by Lesald's presence, his eyes flicking towards her when he thought that she was focused on her book.

His gut twisted into a knot though. He knew precisely the reason why he had commissioned this report, and that more than anything this would either send his rule into newer heights of greatness or bring his country back to the state it was in before he had taken the throne. He tried to settle into his seat and focus, but it was difficult. What he held in his hands was not what he wanted to give his attention, it was who was sitting across from him.
 
Lesald continued to read her story in peace, Sikander pulling out a book of some sort and starting to read it quietly. She was glad to finally be able to focus on her novel and the story it held, she felt that it was hard to absorb a story if she could no focus on it properly. She read slowly and steadily, her finger going to her mouth to lick it lightly before she turned to the next page, a habit she had developed from her tutor when she was very young. Her face looked peaceful now, content as she read the story and enjoyed the tale of the man and woman she had mentioned before. It seemed that she would finish the novel long before the trip would be done for the day but instead of continuing on she placed a colorful strap of leather in between the pages where she stopped.

She turned to her small truck and placed the book back quietly, pulling a ball of yarn from there and closing it before taking the yarn in her hand and working with it. She did not have any needles, instead she used her thin fingers to knit her small creation at the moment, building up a few loops and quickly getting to work on something, it was far to soon before anyone could tell what she was making yet. As she worked she glanced out the window every now and then, seeming be able to knit without looking at her hands.
 
As much as he tried to focus, SIkander found his attention diverted from his reports onto her hands. They were hypnotic, the speed and expertise being displayed by the fair-skinned, delicate fingers. It made him feel somewhat self-conscious of his own hands, calloused and strong from years of training with the sword. It was only when he finally looked back to the reports that he realized that he had been staring.

And that realization made a small grumble of frustration escape his throat. Why should this princess keep making him feel this way? He finally shut the report and set it aside, looking out the window like had done so many times already this morning. He couldn't focus with her around, but he was not going to give in and give his attention back to her. It was clear that she wanted nothing to do with him, so he would not give her the satisfaction of his attention. Not this spoiled, contrary princess.
 
Lesald continued on with her knitting, making a good amount of progress on her knit item of sorts. She had done this many times when she was younger, the technique having been taught to her by her late grandmother, the queen. She usually did this to pass the time on trips as well as to make presents for her friends, however the motion had become more of a comfort than anything else these days. She caught the small grumble from Sikander and glanced over to him from the window, wondering what could be bothering the man.

He hadn't been able to keep still most of the ride and it seemed that he had a lot on his mind, which made sense since he was the king after all. She continued her knitting quickly, her fingers moving rather fast as she turned to face him for a moment.

"Gold piece for your thoughts?" She said to him softly, looking over him quietly as she waited for his reply.
 
He wanted her. Sikander couldn't escape that realization. She was different, she was opinionated, and she stood up to him. That she was intelligent and beautiful only intensified the feeling. She had made him curious about her, about who she was and how she ruled. He had been with women before, but none of them interested him the way that Lesald was doing. And it was infuriating him.

When he heard her question, he looked back to her slowly, a contemplative look in his eyes as they met with hers, before he responded, "I'll give you more than that."

And before she could reply, he leaned across the space between the seats, reaching out and gently holding her shoulder with his right hand, feeling the soft skin beneath his palm. It was purely an intimate gesture, there was no pressure in it to keep her still as his lips met with hers in a brief, tender kiss.
 
Lesald looked at him confused for a moment at his words not understanding what he meant. She felt her heart start to beat faster suddenly as he moved in closer, his hand touching her shoulder lightly before he pressed his lips against hers. For a while she was stunned, not believing that this was happening at all. Her face grew quickly red as he continued to kiss her, her hands having stopped their knitting and her eyes having shut.

She wasn't certain about how she should react to his kiss, she had never kissed anyone before. All she knew was that her heart was beating terribly and she was having a hard time thinking. Her nervousness was started to show as she gave a small shiver, her face so read that she might as well be on fire.
 
He broke the kiss softly, his eyes half closed. Her taste was still fresh on his lips as he stayed close to her, lips almost brushing together again as his eyes met her. He felt the shiver running through her, and saw the redness of her cheeks, and though his own didn't redden in response, he felt a twinge of guilt. She seemed stiff and scared. Was she really that innocent? It almost defied his belief, but didn't make her any less attractive to him.

He moved back to his seat, unable to meet her eyes for a moment as his emotions were in turmoil, guilt and pleasure wrestling with each other. "I'm sorry... I could not resist. And you did ask for my thoughts." He glanced back at her, a hint of sheepishness in his expression, but that quickly faded as he said, "I thank you for it."
 
As soon as he pulled back, she let out a small shaky breath that she had been holding unknowingly. Hey eyes slowly opened as he pulled back from her, leaving that taste of him on her lips. For a moment she couldn't think of anything, nothing to say, no way of reacting. She looked over at him shyly, his words making her cheeks darken as he blamed her for his actions. For a moment she thought about snapping at him but she couldn't bring herself to do so, she wasn't even completely sure if she was mad at him or not.

The only thing she could really admit to is that her heart was racing dangerously and she felt terribly hot. She looked back down at the yarn in her hands as she spoke, her shy nature coming out.

"Well, that was the last thing I expected to be on the mind of a king..."
 
Sikander's brows furrowed as she replied to him. Why should that be the last thing on his mind? A king should never feel this way? With a bit of a defensive edge, he said, "What about the mind of a man who is taken by your company?"

So long as he was being honest, he might as well go all the way. The admission took some weights from his shoulders while adding new ones in their place, leaving him sitting in an odd mix of the sensations of relief and worry. For one of a few times in his life he was unsure. He didn't know how to read her reactions like he did some others, and had no comparable experiences to gauge this sensation against.

He gave into another temptation though, and reached across the way between them to place his hands over hers, what he thought was a comforting gesture. His lips twisted into a small smile as he asked, "Gold piece for your thoughts?"
 
Lesald was silent as she tried to find the right words to say, not really knowing how to reply to this situation at all. She had never been in a situation where a man had kissed her over even approached her with such intention, her father had been very protective of her. She wanted to curse her parents for being worrisome and making it harder for her to handle this, but she could not, for even if they had tired to educate her she was certain that she would just blush and shy away anyway.

When he touched her hand lightly and used her phrase her cheeks only grew hotter, more from annoyance than embarrassment. First he was kissing her and now he was using her own words against her, how mean! She glanced up at him shyly, a small pout on her lips as she looked into his eyes.

"How horrible of you to corner me with my own phrase, especially after taking me by surprise." She said, her tone more soft and shy than angry and upset.
 
"I'm sorry... it only seemed fitting," Sikander replied, a hint of amusement in his tone. But he released her hands and leaned back, moving to his original place, feeling her emotions and deciding to give her the space she apparently wanted. He wasn't sorry, though. Not for simply, harmlessly doing what he desired.

"If you don't want to answer me, you don't have to. One gold piece can't mean that much to you." He couldn't wipe the amusement in his voice, and he didn't know why. He was never this light with others. But then, no one made him feel this light or made him want to be this way. Another sign of how she was affecting him. He wanted to curse and praise her for it at the same time.

He tried to keep his gaze out to the countryside, but couldn't help but look back at her from time to time, curious to watch her and her reaction. He wasn't sure yet what he was looking for yet, he was just looking.
 
Lesald watched him pull back, his tone light now as he sat in his seat. She felt her cheeks continued to burn as he said she didn't have to answer. In truth, it wasn't because she didn't want to but because she didn't know how too. She had never been in a situation like this before and had no idea how to respond to him at all. The only thing that she knew was that kissing was a sign of love or attraction so what had he meant by it? Was he saying he liked her or was only attracted to her?

Either one would make her uncomfortable. If he loved her then she would feel pressed since she had only known him for a few days and even during that time she had barely spoken with him because he was busy and she had been avoiding him because of their first argument. If it was because of attraction then she would feel nervous and worried. If he did not care for her then what was stopping him from just tossing her away after they were married and she had given him an heir, he had the military power and not the advantage to take her whole kingdom as his own.

"It's not that I don't want to answer you, it is just that I cannot this of an answer." She said softly as she looked over her fingers, fiddling with the yarn in her hand as if she were going to start up again. "I have never been kissed before, or in the company of any male without a guard or my father...So when you ask me if a man who is taken by my company can think of such things I cannot tell you for I have no experience of such a situation." She said slowly, her fingers starting to knit once again.
 
"Never?" Sikander's voice was somewhat skeptical, along with his eyebrows raising. She didn't look like it, that was for sure. She should be able to have any man she desired and wrap the others around her finger. While he could hardly believe it, from he had seen and their conversation she seemed to be an entirely honest person. As strange as it sounded to him, it was probably true, though no less of a shame.

"I will not apologize for that kiss," he began, "But I will say that I'm sorry for forcing this experience on without warning. When you think of an answer to give me I'll be happy to hear it." He watched her hands for a moment before reaching back to the report and opening the book, thinking that she might prefer to be left alone now. After pause though, he added, "Though you have little reason to answer favorably," without looking up at her.

He sounded unapologetic, and he meant it. He would not regret doing what had to be done for his kingdom. It might have been cold, yes, but it had to be done. Whatever attraction he might feel for her was unrelated to that, an unexpected benefit, and that was it. What had been done was done and there was no point in remorse now. Whether she loved him or hated him or anything in between was immaterial.

He found he could focus a bit more on the report now that his distraction had been dealt with.
 
Lesald shook her head quietly, showing that she was in fact telling the truth. She had no reason to lie to him anyway since they were going to be married eventually. She continued to look down at her fingers and focus on the knitting, listening to him as she did. She glanced up at him for a bit as he said he would not apologize for the kiss but he would for surprising her. She smiled a little bit to herself when he said he'd be glad to hear her answer whenever she was ready. She doubted she would ever be ready.

She looked back to her fingers and began to focus on her work once again, her fingers moving quickly and smoothly on her knit piece. The ride was moving along slowly for her even though the horses were moving as fast as possible to their place of rest for that night. She was starting to get tied from the lull of the rocking carriage and she leaned back into her seat, her fingers continuing to move and knit as she slowly began to drift off to sleep.
 
Sikander let her sleep as they traveled, studying the reports. He found the self-control to make good on his word to not steel another kiss from her, though it was certainly tempting. She looked so beautiful and peaceful at rest. They stopped for a short lunch at noon, without much to say to each other. Still, they had been making good time through the day.

It was as the sun started to reach the horizon, the shadows growing longer and the light dimmer. Just an hour or two of travel from their resting place for the night. The road had been widened and the trees on either side cut back every few years to make the region easier to travel through, both for civilians and the army. But the forest did not stay in the bounds set for it, every few years it had to be trimmed and pushed back once more. The trees grew close and thick on the borders, already looking dark inside.

Sikander had his eyes closed, resting, before there was a knock against the door of the carriage. One of the guards was riding just outside the carriage, and leaned in close as Sikander opened the door and asked, "Problem?"

"Overturned hay carts are blocking the road, sir. It looks like their pack animals spooked."

"Can we get around them?"

"Not likely, sir."

Sikander motioned for the guard to move away, and stood in the carriage door as he looked at the scene coming into view as the road curved. A flash of anger passed over his face as he looked back to the guard. "Clear the road. Once we get past we'll send a rider back to help. Understood?"

The knight nodded and began shouting orders as Sikander sighed and climbed back into the carriage.
 
Lesald had slept most of the trip away, only waking to eat lunch at noon with Sikander. She could not help that the carriage was lulling her to sleep, she could never stay awake long when in a carriage for the lulling motion and peaceful quite often pulled her into their temptation of rest. She did knit a bit more before falling asleep once again, her work growing larger and larger very slowly. She packed it away into her trunk before resting once again, staying that way for the rest of the trip. Her breath came out slow and light, sounding rather delicate and gentle.

The sound of a soldier knocking on the carriage door woke her a bit and slowly she was brought out of her slumber, the conversation between the knight and king lost on her as she let out a long yawn. She felt so sleepy, even though she had been resting most of the trip. She glanced out the window and noted that the sun was starting to set, if she continues to sleep at this rate she would send the whole night wide awake at the site, which would not be good for the next days travel. As Sikander finished his orders, Lesald rubbed her eyes and looked toward him tiredly.

"Have we arrived already?" She asked curiously, wondering if the conversation was about the inn coming into view. She could really use a bath and a nap, if she were to sleep in the carriage any longer then she would certainly hurt her neck.
 
"Unfortunately not, there's a block over the road ahead, some farmers carts overturned. It shouldn't take long to clear. Once the road is cleared we'll make our destination before nightfall, easily." Sikander gave her as close to a reassuring smile as he could give as he sat back, trusting in his men to handle this simple task.

What he couldn't see or know was that the first knight who'd dismounted to move the carts was standing by a haycart, and was about to ask the nearest farmer if he had a length of rope when that 'farmer' reached into the pile of hay, withdrawing a short straight sword and plunging it into the knight's side, the blade slipping through cracks in the knights armor. Or that all of those farmers suddenly had weapons, and that his guards were now in a close and hard battle.

He could only hear the sound of the fight beginning, and his expression suddenly changed into a hard mask. He reached to the windows, pulling down the metal shutters just behind the glass. He'd slipped his scabbard from his belt and laid it down across the seat behind him, but he grabbed it now as he turned to the door, the only words coming out of his mouth being, "Stay here."
 
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