Chapter 51: Chapter 51

***This Chapter Contains Trigger Material. Viewer Discretion Is Advised***

The newlyweds awoke to banging at the front door of the cottage. Tidas shot up in bed, while Skye barely opened her eyes. He got up, went to the bathroom, and grabbed his pants. As he buttoned them, he walked back towards the door and opened it after the last one was fastened. The gatekeeper tipped his hat to the prince before speaking.

“Afternoon, my prince. I hope you and yer lass are enjoyin’ yer time with us. I brought the clothes that were delivered this morning, and the basket. The old woman who gave them to me wanted me to pass along a message as well, but.. Umm...”

The man hesitated as he fidgeted with the handle of a large, heavy-looking basket. Tidas gave an exhausted smile before asking; “Did she say her name was Peggy, or that my wife is her lady?”

The man lightly flinched before replying nervously; “Ah, aye, my prince.. Both, actually. And she’d stressed that I was to tell ye, ‘to take care of her lass or yer title wouldn’t save ye from her’... I swear I have no part in that crazy old bat’s threat, me prince! But she swore she’d... ‘Remove pieces’, from me if I didn’t tell ye exactly what she’d said!”

Tidas felt pity for the poor gatekeeper as he dropped to his knees in fear. Peggy was scary to the the prince, so threatening someone of less standing wasn’t a concern to the old servant in the slightest. The prince could only imagine the man’s fear as he was forced to say something threatening to royalty. Most others would’ve killed him on the spot. But Tidas would never do something as childishly evil as blaming the messenger.

He helped the man to his feet before saying; “Ack! Don’t worry about it! She’s harmless, and I know that you have no bad intent towards me or my wife. So don’t worry, man!”

.....

Tidas patted the gatekeeper on his shoulder in a friendly manner before the man relaxed. He knew the prince was a good man, and clearly loved his wife dearly. ‘He’d have to, to deal with that old witch!’ The man thought internally as he grabbed the dress from a small wheel barrel he’d used to haul everything. He’d covered it with a sheet to keep his delivery clean as well.

Tidas set the basket down inside the cottage before taking the dark green dress from the nervous gatekeeper. He then handed the prince a bundle with shoes and stockings for Skye, and what he’d thought were two sets of fresh clothes for him. Tidas was touched by the gesture, but still chortled out loud at the notion of having to thank her for it. The two conversed a moment; reaffirming the prince’s plans for tonight, before bowing and taking his leave.

Skye had fallen back asleep on her side, letting the sheet expose her curves. Her arm, shoulder, and one foot were exposed. Tidas sat on the side of the bed, leaned over, and begun to kiss his wife’s shoulder.

“Mmmm... Don’t go startin’ anything ye can’t finish, husband..” Skye replied in a deep, sleepy voice.

“We’ll have plenty of time later, but for now; you need to get ready, love,” Tidas smacked his wife’s ass as he’d spoken.

Skye lurched from his love tap, then shot her husband a death glare. She wasn’t a morning person anymore, but Tidas obviously still was. She’d huffed in her husband’s general direction before wrapping the sheet about her; including her head. Tidas chuckled at his wife’s antics before saying; “So shopping and food don’t interest you?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Skye ripped the sheet from her head and asked with excitement; “At Dragonhorn?”

Tidas smiled and nodded in the positive; inciting his wife to throw the sheet from herself and embrace him. He laughed out loud before saying; “I had no idea you liked shopping, Skye.”

Leaning back, she explained: “Not for clothes or the like, but books and oddities are always worth a look!”

Tidas smiled gently at his wife’s enthusiasm. She’d never been one for fashion and gossip, but always craved knowledge. She was one of the most intelligent people he knew, and was quite proud of the fact. Her parents had let her read almost anything, and encouraged her to learn as much about the world as she could.

Tidas gave a cheeky grin before saying; “Well, if my wife wants trinkets and dusty books instead of dresses and diamonds, I guess I’ll have to find a way to cope.”

“I have plenty of that nonsense. But one can never have enough books, dear husband.. Don’t think yer pocket book will see any relief from me..” Skye replied with a challenging smirk.

The prince laughed loudly at his cheeky wife before kissing her into submission. She was nearly gasping when he pulled away. She looked up at him with hooded eyes and asked; “What was that?”

“That, dear wife; was me making sure that you remember not to get too carried away. I am a wealthy man in my own right, and you are a wealthy woman. You have your own money to spend however, and on whatever, you wish. But do not ignore the value of a coin, or you’ll soon find yourself without any,” Tidas sounded like her father as Skye listened.

“Ye gotta suck the fun Right out of it, don’t ye?” Skye stated as she rolled out of bed to dress, playfully kicking her husband as she passed him.

Tidas scoffed as Skye walked over to the closet door. She cleaned herself off with the cold water, then checked herself in a mirror she’d noticed hanging on the door. After fixing her hair the best she could, she’d returned and reached for her clothes. Quickly dressing, Skye asked her husband to tighten the pull strings on her back.

It’d only taken Tidas a minute to dress himself, so he obliged his wife as soon as she’d asked. As Skye slipped her last shoe on, a knock came from the door. The carriage driver had brought a regular stagecoach. The carriage was beautiful, but the newlyweds preferred comfort to style. The stagecoach itself was smaller, but the seats were much bigger, and had more padding.

The carriage had been white with gold and silver. Whereas the coach was plain lacquered wood with caste iron. The inside of the carriage had been a dark blue color, but they could hardly tell in the moonlight. The coach was the same inside as out; with the exception of the seats being a dark maroon color.

Tidas didn’t want to draw any more attention than he was already going to. He had the driver buy two generously hooded cloaks for them, but that would only last until someone recognized him. Then the inevitable crowd would gather, leaving Skye confused. She clearly didn’t know about anything he’d accomplished during their time apart. Lucas had confirmed it.

They climbed into the small coach and begun their journey while Tidas argued internally. He didn’t want to upset Skye, but he didn’t know how she’d react to the eventual crowd. Deciding to chance her anger rather than her hurt; Tidas began to speak as his sweet wife stared out the window.

“I feel I should tell you something before we get to Dragonhorn... But please; let me explain all the way through before you judge me..”

Skye looked at her husband’s grievous expression before saying; “Aye.. But first: ye don’t have another family, or children, or anythin’ like that, correct?”

The prince gave a half-hearted chuckle before shaking his head in the negative. Skye smiled and nodded, signaling him to continue. The prince rubbed his hands together nervously before he cleared his throat, and began to speak.

“When I left three years ago, it was mainly to train, like you already know. One of the magic users I was training with had a girl he was courting. They’d have secret rendezvous every few nights.. He got caught sneaking out, and missed meeting up with his girl....”

Tidas swallowed hard before he kept going with his story: “She never, ahh.. made it back home. She’d been taken by slavers and put up for auction...”

Skye gasped, putting her hands to her mouth as Tidas continued: “By the time we’d reached her, she’d been sold and raped.. She..took her own life in front of us...”

As he ran his fingers through his hair, Tidas couldn’t look Skye in her eyes. He’d heard her breath catch, and she was sniffling occasionally. He knew she was ready to cry, and he didn’t want to tell her that his friend also took his own life after he’d watched his love die before him.

The two had both blamed themselves for the evil acts of others. His friend blamed himself for not saving her, and she’d felt overwhelming shame for what had been done to her.

The prince’s friend had killed himself minutes after the girl had; leaving Tidas alone in the room with them until Ralph had found him. He was the head trainer at the time, and the leader of the raid party to rescue the girl. She’d been the daughter of a nobleman, so they’d been mobilized immediately. But they still hadn’t been able to save them.

Anger and despair had built up in Tidas, causing him to almost murder the man who’d bought the girl. He’d beaten the man to within an inch of his life. It took five large soldiers to hold down the relatively small prince. He was one step away from a very dark path..

It was then Ralph said; “Without justice, you’re no better than him! Is that the type of man you want to be, boy?! One who makes his own rules? Decides who gets what fate, hmm? You’re better then that! You’re Prince Tidas! Ye got a chance to do great things, you just have to learn to fight for it the Right way..”

Ralph’s words never left Tidas’ mind throughout the years. He would make a better world, even if he had to die trying. He never wanted anyone to have to go through what his friend and the girl did, so he’d spent the last few years taking out the bastards who had perpetuated the violence. But this had also kept him from the one person he cared for the most, and it’d hurt her on top of it.

“I vowed on that day that I would bring an end to the slave trade in Alcon.. I’m sorry I never told you, but I didn’t want to taint your view of the world.. But, after what you said had happened when you were eleven, I figured it didn’t matter anymore.. I’m sorry, Skye.”

They sat in silence as the coach rolled down the road. Skye was wiping a tear from her eye as she composed herself to speak, but the coach came to a screeching halt before she’d gotten her chance. The couple looked at each other before sticking their heads out of the windows. When Tidas asked why they’d stopped, the coachman replied; “There’s a man collapsed in the road!”