The Comparation

Amelia stared at her husband, completely dumbfounded, unable to reconcile the man sitting before her with the husband she thought she understood.

Ryder was calmly watching the scenery pass beyond the carriage window, one arm resting casually along the windowsill as if there were nothing unusual about their situation.

The peacefulness of his expression only made Amelia more confused. Was this truly the same man who had showered her with blistering remarks and kisses before marching out of her father’s castle and dragging her along with him? The memory felt almost impossible to reconcile with the composed man now sitting beside her.

Her father’s words suddenly returned to her. "King Adrian has offered him the princess’s hand in marriage, and he will not let such an opportunity slip by!"

Lord Richard had been the one to drive those words into Amelia’s mind, repeating them until she had come to accept them as an unavoidable truth yet her father had not been the only person who assumed Ryder would eventually marry the princess. It seemed that everyone had expected the same outcome.

Princess Vivian was a renowned sorceress who had fought alongside Ryder during the campaign against the Great Dragon.

She had stood beside him on the battlefield, sharing the danger, exhaustion, and triumph of war, to the people who watched their story from afar, it was almost inevitable that such a partnership would become something more.

Two warriors falling in love after sharing the thrill and danger of the battlefield was an irresistible tale for the bards. They had seized upon the romance with enthusiasm, wasting no time composing ballads about the heroic knight and the beautiful princess who had fought beside him.

Those songs had spread throughout the city, allowing the romantic tale to grow with every performance.

By the time the princess and the knight returned victorious, everyone had anticipated a royal wedding.

Amelia herself had believed that a divorce was inevitable even the cleric who had officiated her marriage to Ryder would likely have agreed.

Everyone knew that Lord Richard had strong-armed Ryder into marrying her, leaving Ryder with every reason to resent the union. He had every right, in Amelia’s mind, to demand a divorce and free himself from a marriage he had never chosen. So why…?

Why was he acting as if he had no intention of leaving her?

Amelia stole a cautious glance at Ryder, studying his finely sculpted features when she was certain he was not looking at her.

His tousled hair crowned his chiseled forehead, the strands shifting gently in the breeze that drifted through the carriage window. His lustrous, golden-brown skin gave him an exotic appearance, while the arduous campaign had etched an even more forbidding edge into his naturally stony features despite everything he had endured during the war, however, his handsomeness had not diminished in the slightest.

If anything, there was something even more imposing about him now.

Amelia had never seen Princess Vivian in person, but she had heard enough rumors about her beauty. The princess was said to possess long golden hair and deep blue eyes, features that made her as striking as one would expect of royalty.

If Ryder and the princess were ever to stand together, Amelia thought, they would probably look like something taken from a magnificent painting, a beautiful princess beside a celebrated war hero and the thought made her chest tighten.

She slowly turned toward the carriage window and caught sight of her own reflection in the glass. A broad, round forehead stared back at her, her small low-bridged nose was dusted with brown freckles while her large, round eyes seemed almost too prominent for the rest of her features, throwing the balance of her face off in a way Amelia had always disliked. Her wavy red hair had been twisted into a single braid, though several loose strands had escaped and stuck out untidily, resembling pieces of straw.

The longer she looked at herself, the more flaws she found and Amelia could only think the worst of herself.

There was simply no way Ryder truly wanted her as his wife. There had to be something else behind his actions, perhaps there was a hidden reason, some sort of catch or secret scheme that she had yet to understand. Otherwise, why would a man like Ryder, a celebrated war hero who had fought beside a princess, willingly remain married to a woman like her?

What was he planning to do with her?

As it he had somehow sensed the uncertainty churning inside her, Ryder abruptly turned his head and looked directly at her.

Amelia immediately shrank beneath his piercing gaze and lowered her eyes. The intensity of his stare made her heart stumble, and she became certain that she must have done something to displease him. 

“Am I so unbearably repulsive?” he demanded.

“At least try to hide your disgust! You’re stuck with my company whether you like it or not, and I have no intention of leaving this carriage.”

Amelia’s lips parted quickly. “Y-You aren’t r-repulsive. I…I n-never s-said…”

“Then do something about that dreadful look.”

Amelia’s hands flew to her face, covering her cheeks as embarrassment washed over her. He was right. She had been uncomfortable, and there was no denying that his presence frightened her, but she had never realized that her feelings were written so plainly across her face.

Now that she knew she had angered him, she desperately searched for some way to correct her mistake but what was she supposed to do?

What sort of expression was she meant to wear?

Ryder released a weary sigh, his frustration seeming to ease only slightly. “You must realize that we’re not like other married couples.”

Cold sweat gathered along Amelia’s forehead.

“I don’t know much about you,” he continued.

His words made her glance toward him again, though she quickly looked away. “And you don’t know much about me, but you are my wife, and I’m to spend the rest of my days with you. How can I treat you as my wife if my mere presence makes you tremble like a leaf in the wind?”

Amelia’s heart seemed to stop. “The…The rest of y-your d-days…w-with m-me?”

Ryder’s face immediately twisted into a frown, as if her question genuinely baffled him. “We were married three years ago. We are man and wife, are couples not supposed to live together for the rest of their lives?”