That Arrogant Rule (GildedDragonFly & Bibliomania)

[Bibliomania]

The chorus sang. The bells rang. And the doors clanged. Aelnar was unimpressed.

The barbarian chieftan considered all of this useless frivolity, much like shaving a man’s beard, but he supposed that he needed to entertain his new leige to some extent. Much like the new insignia that he wore on his shoulder armor, a sea dragon on a field of gold, or the ties that held his shaggy hair and beard in place. But he still had the bare stomach and calves of a sea raider used to the summer heat, even if his muscular chest and arms were covered in metal.

The bronze skin of him and his enterouge made a deep contrast to the pale northerners around him. Even if he was ostensibly making an oath to the King, there could be no doubt of who the true victors were, as evident by the disdain and terror on the faces around them. While the King gained the nominal loyalty of his new subjects, it was the barbarian invaders that had gained a rich fiefdom, a foothold on the coast, and a hostage in the King’s daughter. The princess was beautiful enough to make a fine wife for Aelnor, but her real value lay in the leverage that she gave him. For rumor was that the princess was the apple of the royal eye and doted on to an incredible degree. And now she belonged to a nomadic rider of the waves who had beaten the cream of the royal army until the King had been forced to integrate the invaders into his domain.

One of his warriors sneered at a noble who bore a ceremonial shield over to the new noble. Aelnar took the offering with faint disgust. Only those who lacked confidence in their swords required such things.

 

[GildedDragonfly]

The opulent coast of the Ethian Empire had been plagued by their neighbors to the south for generations. The sea raiding barbarians were a quarrelsome, heathenish lot in comparison to the lavishly dressed Ethians. Where Aelnar and his people wore little to protect their skin from the sun, the more regal of the two nations chose to dress in rich silks, ornate headdresses, and opaque makeup. As if the Ethian men were not pale enough with their bare skin, the noble women of the court had painted their faces and necks entirely white.

For the princess herself, the only color on her face was careful additions of wine colored paint for her lips and blush across the crest of her cheeks. During the entire ceremony she hardly met Aelnar's gaze and her own vows sounded rehearsed. She knew her part in this farce of a marriage. A pawn whose only job it was to ensure the safety of her people from the brute whose hand she now joined. Her reddish hair was hidden away under the intricate headdress she wore, the red and gold matching the colors of her gown. Far too much skin was hidden away for the liking of the raiders.

Truthfully, they had been surprised that had been his demand. A foothold in their kingdom and a marriage into nobility. It truly gained him nothing as he would have no right to challenge the throne and he had made an enemy of Princess Thea's brothers.

Had it be any other noble woman besides the princess herself, her father might have given him swamp as his fiefdom. Concern for his beloved Thea had driven that thought of vengeance from his mind.

The ringing of the bells signaled the end of their wedding and a flock of pristine white doves took flight. Historically, this had signified the purity of the wedding. While none believed that to hold true for this particular marriage, it disturbed the onlookers greatly when a hawk snatched the lead dove right out the sky.

It was only as their wedding was finally complete that her eyes rose to meet Aelnar's. No matter whether he held the same interpretation of the events overhead as her people or not, it would be immediately obvious that she was no dove.

 

[Bibliomania]

Aelnar had to admit that the Princess was breathtaking. Any raider worth his salt would have taken her back to the Isles of his homeland, but Aelnar had other plans. For while his people had a long and proud history, their islands were sinking. It'd only become evident the year before, when ancient piers and long-used docks had slipped into the growing waters around them. Truth was that--in generations before--his people had been a peaceful, farming culture, with abundance all around them. They'd only turned to raids once the sea had invaded their lowlands, turning once-plentiful fields into swamps and bogs.

So he was here, securing a future for his people in the soft lands of the North. Not a place any of them wanted to be, but the augeries had confirmed that soon there would be no choice. Conquest or drown. There was no other option.

That's how he found himself looking into the crystalline eyes of the Princess before him, contemplating just how much time had been wasted covering up her natural beauty with that paint. Still, it had an exotic air to it, reminding him that he was in a foreign land, with a foreign woman waiting for his vows.

He said them, they weren't long, but they had the typical useless complexities of the Northerners. Once he was done with their vows, however, he added those of his people. "I will take you and guard you and guide you through the maelstrom and the doldrum. Together we will sail these thrashing waters, from sunset to sunset." He said that last part emphatically, considering his last battle had ended at sunset, with the head of the King's greatest knight in his hand, roaring in victory over ten thousand of his men. Not bad for a few thousand 'barbarians' as these Northerners called them.

With that, he kissed the Princess, making a point to overpower her. His hands gripped her rear, mouth glued to hers as his tongue ran along her lips. Her tiny shoulders were encompassed by his large ones, until little could be seen of the Princess.

Nobles around them muttered in indignation at the blatant display, but Aelnar didn't care. This woman was his to use by right of binding. If any of them objected to that, they would know the unkind touch of his axe.

 

[GildedDragonfly]

Thea's face remained stoic as Aelnar added the barbarian vows at the end of his own set, the look in her eyes firm. He and his men had seen many nobles and their wives, the women were far softer than their own women who carried arms alongside them. The Ethian Empire didn't even seem to allow women to consider the option of fighting. While Aelnar's pretty bride was quiet, the Ethian court was muttering their discontent quietly enough that it did not reach their ears. His warriors would hear it.

There was certainly an uptick in the discontent as Aelnar and Thea took a step closer to each other. The ceremonial kiss was usually a chaste affair, yet Aelnar might as well have been a wild beast going in for the kill as far as the Ethian court viewed his advance. The large hands that gripped her rear would feel just how many layers of unnecessary frou-frou she had donned for this occasion. She was well aware of the massive size of her recently betrothed husband, yet that did not stop one of her hands from hitting the shoulder of the larger brute.

When their lips finally parted, likely when he finally allowed it, the crimson painted across her lips was noticeably smeared and her headdress askew. A hint of her red hair that was tucked away could be seen beneath it, though she took the time to tuck that hair back into place and fix the headdress.

There was a bitterness in the crowd that seemed to follow the couple as they departed the ceremony room and head towards the prepared feast. It was a bounteous spread of food and liquor, though no effort had been made to accomodate the palates of the southern barbarians. The meats were dressed up with fancy garnish and sauces, while the liquor was mostly wine or fruit-based rather than relying on starches and grains.

The largest set of chairs, naturally, were to be taken up by the King himself, but the set of chairs that the new couple were led to was nearby and nearly just as large, a mark of honor for the feast.

 

[Bibliomania]

With a slow stride, he accompanied his bride to their seats. They were ridiculous and anyone on them would've been tossed on a ship, but at least they were big. He dropped into the seat roughly, ignoring any sort of propriety with the order of seating. Next he leaned forward, looking across the spread.

They must have terrible meat this far north if they had to smother it like that. Disgusting. He'd have rather had fish fresh from the water, cut carefully and consumed raw with a bit of kelp and saltwater potatoes. He tried to pick out something that looked less suspicious. It had a bare bit of sauce, so at least he knew the meat wasn't rotten.

When the princess sat down, he looked over to her and took her plate. He found several simpler-looking dishes and dumped them on her plate. She wouldn't be getting poisoned by these outlander dishes, no matter how much she was used to it.

Once done, he placed the plate in front of her, and then resumed eating himself. A few of the nobles attempted to make small talk, but Aelnar gave them one-word answers and kept eating. He was annoyed that his party was placed at a separate table. Any of the actual warriors that he could've talked to were too far to do so. These soft money-counters were hardly worth acknowledging.

Finally, he spotted his best raider about twenty paces away. With a shout, he said, "Hey Rakin! Rakin! You should try some of this pinkish meat! None of this wet nonsense, and it reminds me of fat-belly tuna!"

Rakin laughed and shouted back. "I will! And congrats on the biggest chair! It should make a great boat when they chase you off the beach!"

 

[GildedDragonfly]

Regardless of how fast her new husband sat, the Princess Thea sat calmly and only after her own parents sat. It was a stark contrast that the nobility around her doubtlessly noticed as they glared daggers are her new, brutish husband. His appraisal of the feast hardly escaped their attention as well, but matter if his belief of why the food was dressed up was accurate or not.

Annoyed mutterings rose as he began helping himself rather than allowing the servants to serve him and the Princess. The servant that had gone to them to serve them paused and looked towards Princess Thea who briefly raised a staying hand. Instead of serving her, a task that Aelnar accomplished on his own, the servant quietly helped tidy up the smeared outline of Thea's painted lips before departing to serve food to another.

A few of the more curious members of the court sought to talk to Aelnar and Thea, but she was just as short with her answers as he was. This left the nobles annoyed at the untalkative nature of the barbarian. At least the Princess' shortness could be understood, she had married him after all. She took a slow, deep breath through her nose as Aelnar's voice rose over the crowd to call out to Rakin and she closed her eyes for a few moments, presumably counting to keep her patience and calm in this trying time. A nearby noble was less prepared for the disturbance and nearly dropped his goblet in surprise before loudly complaining of rude guests.

"Dear Husband," Thea began immediately as her eyes opened and she turned to Aelnar, her voice low enough that only he could hear her warning. "Do not give into heckling from those beneath your station."