Chapter 7: Blanket of silence

Chapter 7: Blanket of silence

Tia had no one to walk her down the aisle to the reluctant knight standing before the officiant.

She couldn't believe how her life went from hard to extremely difficult in a matter of hours. She had been chasing a prince in the garden but instead she caught a frog, a grumpy one at that.

She also marveled at the turn up to her marriage for a minute but then she remembered that it was a ceremony of kings and Queens regnant, she had only managed to make herself the center of attraction by she getting herself into this ridiculous situation.

She had opted for a blue dress instead of white, it wasn't exactly ideal but she was queen and nobody would say it to her face.

Keenan stood there like a statue devoid of any distinct emotion. He didn't even bother to offer up a smile to ease the nervousness of his bride.

"Do you, Tiamat Cypher-Dumont, Queen of the Midlands take Sir Keenan Del'matal to be your lawful consort according to the laws of the land which you stand upon?" The officiant asked Tia.

"I do"

It was the last thing Tia remembered from the ceremony. It was like she intentionally blocked out the rest, so she wouldn't have to see her husband's countenance or reply.

After the ceremony, the couple departed for Lamek.

Fye stood by the railing and watched them go. She might have saved a life but she also ruined three lives, hers, Del'matal and the Queen's.

"Fye"

Fye was startled by Joan's voice. She turned quickly to look at him.

"Yes, your majesty"

"It's alright to cry, little one. No one is expecting you to be a steel…at least not me, little sister"

Fye never realized how much she needed to cry until she heard her brother say that to her. She tried to hold it in, try to control it too. Crown princesses weren't supposed to cry over a mere knight yet she felt her heart split and her cheeks filled with tears as she flew into her brother's arms for comfort.

"I am so sorry, Fye. I had no idea you felt for him so strongly" Joan rubbed her hair as he comforted her.

His was eyes glued to the carriage moving towards the opposite direction, he didn't need anyone to spell it out for him. He just lost his best knight to the Midlanders.

Joan only turned away from the carriage when he felt a presence behind him. He turned around to find two knights standing behind them.

"Aren't you on duty somewhere else?" He questioned the knights.

"No. Our duty is to protect you. Sir Del'matal insisted I take on his role as lead knight in his absence and he reorganized the whole Knighthood rank, your Majesty. So, until sir Del'matal returns, I am your shadow knight" Sir Walters answered.

Joan watched them like they were the most annoying creatures in highland but the knights appeared unaffected.

"What else did Del'matal say as he rearranged my entire knighthood rank without my permission?" Joan asked them.

"That you will most definitely be unhappy with the arrangements and you will order us numerously to make our presence scarce but we should do our job all the same '' Walters had framed it nicely. Del'matal told him to disregard Joan's discomfort about the arrangements and protect him at all costs. Del'matal was bold and Walters wasn't.

"Speak only when I speak to you. It was why Del'matal was exceptional at his job, his ability to go days without saying a word and of course, his discretion. Do you understand Walters?"

Walters smiled. "Of course, your highness. Be seen but do not speak. What if I want to asked you something urgent? What if..."

Joan ignored sir Walters, He knew it now that Del'matal had made Walters the lead knight as some sort of revenge for making him marry. Walters was a parrot. Joan would never have a moment's peace anymore. But Joan relaxed when he remembered that he can always have his tongue removed.

****

Tia stared at the drapes. She had spent the last half hour getting acquainted with them. Yes! She had counted the ropes, exactly ninety two of them on each side except the side closest to her. There were ninety one.

She felt her body shake for a second. The carriage must have stepped on a stone. Tia's hand instinctively reached out for the nearest solid thing to her. It was a mistake.

She heard a slight grunt and she immediately took her hand away like she touched the scorching sun.

Tia recomposed herself. The silence in the carriage was almost suffocating... almost like a descending cold blanket, trying to keep her down. Tia tried to keep to herself, anything to keep her mind busy except she had run out of drapes to count.

Her eyes wandered for a while darting from one thing to another....anything but the presence beside her. She could hardly ignore him. He was twice her size and towered over her like a giant. And he grunted at interval like he was in physical pain.

Tia pushed her mind away from him. And it landed on the wall of the carriage. There were dots on the wall, about a gazillion of them. She could count them? It will probably be enough to keep her busy till they arrive at their destination.

They just had a few more hours till they reached Lamek in Midland.

Tia's mind instinctively tried to go back to the events of yesterday. Event that got her sitting side by side of a grunting silence mongering being, that made the carriage uncomfortable. Instead Tia fought her mind and she started counting.

One purple dot. Two purple dots. Three purple dots.

She couldn't believe it's been three hours in the carriage and yet, he didn't utter a word to her. It was becoming unbearable. And she could hear her own heart beat.

Four purple dots. Five purple dots.

What number came after five? This was ridiculous. How long can she keep up with this. She slowly pulled aside the shade of the window and looked out of it. They were passing through a village and they would need to give the horses water.

"Do you want to stop and get a little rest?" Her voice was a bare whisper.