by Nina Monroe
“If you would repeat my words, Young Princess,” Rainer turned away from Will and focused on Tamzin. Will gritted his teeth as Rainer stared at Tamzin’s cleavage, and her own eyes signaled that she, too, was annoyed at his staring. “I, Princess Tamzin of Roth Territory, take Prince William Thurston of Thurston Territory as my lawful husband. You will support and obey the Prince and your husband in all his endeavors…”
Will watched as Tamzin took a deep breath at the word ‘obey.’ What they were speaking were common marriage vows, but both Roth and Thurston families agreed that women were their own entities; Tamzin was as much royal and just as intelligent as Will himself. But Tamzin stood straight and repeated the words with a strong and dignified voice:
“I, Princess Tamzin of Roth Territory, take Prince William Thurston of Thurston Territory as my lawful husband. I will support the Prince and my husband in all his endeavors…”
Will smirked at her noted lack of the entire vow, but he said nothing, as did his father. Rainer stared her down, but he continued the marriage ceremony. Gregory tapped his son where he handed him a small golden ring. When he turned around, Tamzin held a thicker golden ring and she stared up at him and smiled.
“The exchanging of the rings,” Rainer said as he watched Will slide the golden ring on her left hand and Tamzin did the same. The ring fit him snugly, just as her hand did in his own. Without a second though, Will rethreaded their fingers together and watched as Rainer brought a white silk scarf forward. Rainer bound their fingers together, the old way of marriage from when their parents were married. “Bound together forever by this scarf. King Roth, please remove the crown from your daughter’s head.”
Will watched as Turner stepped forward, his blue eyes filled with tears as he removed the Roth tiara from Tamzin’s head. With their left hands still bound, Will felt his father place the Thurston tiara in his own hand, which he handed to Rainer. The tiara was small, but made of gold with rubies and emeralds gleaming.
“If you will both bow,” Rainer asked as Will and Tamzin kneeled on the soft pillows of the altar. “I crown you, Princess Tamzin, our newly Crowned Princess and future Queen of Thurston Territory. If it would please you, Prince William, you may now kiss your bride.”
This was the moment that Will knew would decide the fate of his marriage. She, with her nails digging lightly into his skin, gripped the hand that was bound to him. He took a deep breath before he leaned in. Her lips were soft and warm and her teeth lightly nipped at his bottom lip. Forgetting himself and where they were, Will drew Tamzin closer as he wrapped his free arm around her waist. His tongue lightly traced her mouth and he felt Tamzin stand on her tippy toes to kiss him deeper.
The catcalls from the audience broke their kiss, and Tamzin broke their kiss. Will smiled as he saw her bruised and red lips staring at him. She carefully untied their scarf and handed it to Rainer when he caught her eyes. She smiled at him as he offered her his arm.
“Shall we?” Will asked as Tamzin took his arm. She lifted her dress as they walked back down the aisle together. Will’s men all patted his shoulder as they walked by with Tamzin smiling graciously at them. The men had agreed that the alliance between the Roth’s and Thurston’s were a good idea and a prime match; the men looked forward to spending more time at home than on the battlefield. “Who is that man?” Will pointed to the older man talking to Gemma and Thom.
“That is Jacque. He delivered my brother and me and was my father’s personal physician. Since you do not have a personal physician, my father has sent him as one of our wedding gifts,” Tamzin explained as she waved to Jacque. “There is no one more loyal than Jacque.”
“I trust you, Princess,” Will said as he nodded to the older man, who bowed in return.
“We are married now. Please call me Tamzin,” Tamzin said with a bright smile. “Your kiss tells me you are most earnest to be my new husband.”
Will smiled as he cupped her face with one hand. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers in a much more chaste kiss than their first. When he pressed his lips to her ear, Will whispered, “I am honored to be your husband.” Will spoke as he pressed his forehead to hers, and Tamzin’s laugh was soft enough for only he could hear it.
“You’ve warmed quite a bit to me, Will.” The way Tamzin said his name made his cheeks flame and his loins stir. Would he bed her tonight? He certainly wouldn’t be adverse to it, but what she wanted was most important. He felt a hand on his shoulder and Will turned to see Gregory with a smile on his face. He hadn’t seen his father smile like this in a long time.
“That was quite a kiss,” Gregory laughed heartily as he leaned in and kissed Tamzin’s cheek. “Welcome to the family, Tamzin.”
Tamzin smiled at Gregory as he passed the couple by to greet the soldiers standing behind them. Will placed his hand on her hair and kissed her forehead before he said, “my father has a lot to do with why I’ve warmed to you.”
“And what did he say to have such a pronounced effect?” Tamzin asked as she touched the furs on his cloak. He caught her fingers and pressed his lips to them.
“My father said I shouldn’t go into this marriage expecting it to fail. We are different, yes, and you were picked to bring peace to our countries, but my father believes you and I will make amazing rulers, as long as we have each other,” Will said as he watched Tamzin’s eyes darken. He thought what he said was noble and strong, but she disagreed.
Will felt as she disentangled herself from him. She no longer looked as happy as she looked around at the people that stood nearby. Tamzin touched the tiara on her head when she said, “you only view this as an alliance?”
“Well, it is my number one concern that the alliance stays strong, yes,” Will began awkwardly as he ran a hand through his curls. He knew this wasn’t going the way he wanted but the words fell out of his mouth like vomit. “I would love for this to develop into a friendship or an affection, but the alliance is the most important.”
It looked like he had slapped her. She took a deep breath, her breasts heaved against her dress, and Will swore he saw her eyes water. But Tamzin put on a sad smile and nodded before she made an excuse to go speak to her mother. Will watched as his previous joyful bride picked up her skirt and rushed to her mother. In only a few sentences, a girl he thought he made an insurmountable amount of progress, only to take two steps back.
Will looked to his father and Garrett; both of them had looks of confusion on their faces. Solemnly, Will walked over to his father and best friend and took the mug from Garrett and downed the beer.
“What did you do?” Gregory asked in a hushed whisper as he watched Tamzin interact with her mother and her ladies. “Tamzin doesn’t look as happy as before.”
“I told her I wanted to keep our alliance strong, that the alliance was the most important. I didn’t want her to be bound to love me,” Will said as he looked at Tamzin sadly. Of course he wanted Tamzin to love him; she was his Princess and future Queen. It was more than that; Tamzin was beautiful and kind. She would be a merciful leader and a wonderful mother. Will felt like she could understand him when others couldn’t. She wouldn’t compare him to his father or prefer the company of his best friend. Her sharp tongue would keep him in line and with the fact that she was just as educated as he was, she would check his decisions and tell him if he was making a reckless decision.
The truth was that Will longed for true companionship and he wanted someone who only wanted him. It was a hard emotion to explain, but no one thought he was the funny one or the smart one or anything. Someone was always better and they always left him when his flaws showed, so he didn’t show anything to anyone. He kept her at arm’s length so she wouldn’t get close enough to hurt him when she found she loved someone more. The only women to ‘love’ Will were the prostitutes he paid when the loneliness became too much to bear.
“Maybe you should tell her that entire answer, because I don’t think you did,” Garrett said as he took back his mug. “You do
n’t think much before you speak to her, do you?”
“I just don’t want her to feel obligated to love me just because I’m her husband,” Will said softly as he continued to watch Tamzin as her father and brother walked over.
“I think she has the same idea, Will. I’m sure she doesn’t want you to feel forced to love her, but no girl wants to hear that you’re only interested in the alliance. You basically told the girl she was going to be in a loveless marriage because her husband in completely preoccupied with his country. I am happy that you want to be a great ruler, but country isn’t everything. You need warm arms to melt the day away; a kind voice to tell you that everything is okay. You get that from your wife, not a general or a countryman,” Gregory said to Will as both men watched as Tamzin left the Throne Room with her ladies. “There is always time to make things better.”
Will knew his father was right. He was always right. Tamzin was now his wife, but he wanted her to embrace the role. Will wanted Tamzin to feel that her place was beside him as a Queen, Wife, and Mate. He just wanted to feel her warm smile again.
CHAPTER NINE
It was probably the biggest feast Will had ever seen and the cheers from his people outside the castle as news of the official marriage spread like wildfire. Will watched as Tamzin ate her fruit happily, especially the blueberries brought from Roth Territory.
“You love blueberries?” Will asked as he peered at her dish with curiosity. Tamzin looked at him with surprised eyes. Since their broken conversation in the Throne Room, Will hadn’t said much to her, but he was a dutiful husband; he gave her all the best pieces of meat and her choice of fruit and other foods.
“I do, yes. My mother would have the women in the kitchens make something called a pie for me as a child. Blueberry was my favorite flavor. Would you like to try one?” Tamzin asked as she picked up the small blue orb and held it out to him. Will noticed her delicate hands; obvious that she hadn’t worked a day in her life. His own hands were covered with callouses from years of sword training and sparring with Garrett; how they grew up differently had never been more evident.
Slowly and with caution, Will took the blueberry in his hand before he tossed it into his mouth. The berry tasted like it should have been sweet, but it was extremely tart and he contorted his face and sucked in his cheeks. Tamzin laughed lightly as she watched his face and grabbed his hand.
“Fruit isn’t plentiful here, is it?” Tamzin continued to laugh as she finished the blueberries on her plate.
“The castle has been run by men for a very long time, so it’s been a meat and potatoes type of household. I’ve never had a pie before,” Will said as he took another serving of ham and put it on his plate. “Do you know how to make some?”
“Yes,” Tamzin smiled as she took the piece of meat that Will had just cut and popped it in her mouth. “Marriage is about sharing,” she teased lightly while Will smiled. “Do you have a favorite fruit?”
“Apples, when it finally warms up,” Will replied without missing a beat. He listened to the boisterous laughing of his men but Will was only focused on his new bride. She cut her meat delicately, much like she did when it was just a family dinner and he stared at her with interest. “Would you make me an apple pie?”
“I suppose I could,” Tamzin said as she turned to look at him as she placed a small piece of meat in her mouth. She shivered lightly when a gust of wind hit the window with the snow beginning to fall. “I am not yet used to the cold,” Tamzin said as she placed her fork down on her plate and wrapped her new cloak tighter around her body. Without thinking, Will took off his war cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders. Will grinned as he watched the extra weight slumped her shoulders, but she did seem to stop shivering. “Thank you,” Tamzin whispered as she finished her meal. “Do you dance?”
It was Will’s turn to shiver. He was a terrible dancer, the worst in the history in the world. Awkwardly, Will sat back in his seat with his shoulders back to appear regal and in control.
“Well, ahem, I haven’t had much practice. We don’t host too many people here, since it’s so cold and when we travel for diplomatic reasons, we don’t spend much time with court,” Will said as he grabbled his goblet and finished his wine.
“So you are shit at dancing?” Tamzin laughed and Will nearly choked at her unladylike use of words.
“Yes, I am terrible,” Will smiled as he sputtered the last of his wine out of his throat. “My father hadn’t been looking to marry me off until you, so I never studied the art of wooing women by dancing.”
“I can tell,” Tamzin said as she took a sip of her own wine. “You are the least gifted man I know when it comes to wooing a woman.” Her eyes locked on his and Will felt extremely uncomfortable. He knew he made egregious mistakes with her already and she was calling him out on it. “Perhaps you need more practice.”
“Only if you’re my teacher, Your Grace,” Will said as he kissed her hand that held his own. Tamzin smirked and looked away, no doubt her cheeks blushing furiously. “I haven’t had much experience with women.” His words forced a smile onto Tamzin’s face.
“Really? None?” Tamzin asked with a mischievous smirk. They were sitting at the head of a large table, surrounded by family, and each family’s various bannermen. That didn’t stop Tamzin from questioning him inappropriately or disentangling their fingers so she could put her hand on his leg underneath the table. “A handsome prince is still a virgin?”
“Are you?” Will asked in a dangerously jealous tone. Tamzin was an absolutely stunning girl, so he knew she was never short of suitors. He, himself, was roughly handsome; his hair was nearly always unkempt and full of messy curls with a coarse beard that he needed to shave more often. His body was nearly always covered in bruises from sparring and old scars from battles and mishaps with sword practice. Will knew that Tamzin’s skin would be perfectly unmarred and as white as the snow outside.
“I am, I assure you, Your Grace,” Tamzin said as she took the goblet of wine in between her fingers. “I’m sorry to tell you that you were not my first kiss.”
The prostitute from the brothel had been his first everything. Will wasn’t sure if he would relay that information to her, in fear of embarrassment or that she would be offended.
“How old were you when someone plucked your first kiss?” Will asked in hushed tones. Tamzin smiled and leaned forward; her breasts pushed together and Will couldn’t stop staring.
“I was eleven and he was a stable boy. He was very attractive to eleven year old me,” Tamzin smiled and Will returned it. “I haven’t kissed many men, I promise. Only a few dozen,” she teased.
“Do you want to kiss me?” Will asked. She reduced him so quickly to a teenage girl, swooning over a boy. He removed her hand from his leg and wrapped it tightly within his grasp. Tamzin didn’t mock him or seem to make fun of his with her grin; she placed her small hand on his cheek and with small fingers, she rubbed his rough cheek. Slowly, she leaned in and kissed him softly. She kissed his upper lip as he sucked on her bottom. It wasn’t a sexually charged kiss; it couldn’t be for where they were. Tamzin pulled away after she placed a tiny kiss on the corner of his mouth.
“I like kissing you,” Tamzin said as she brushed the unruly hair away from his forehead. “You’re known in my territory as being a brutal warlord, but I don’t think you’re truly like that.”
“I don’t like war. No one does, really,” Will said as he continued to stare at her ruby lips. “I feel like I’ve known how to kiss you for a long time.”
“So tell me, Will, are you a virgin? Kissed more than just a woman’s lips?” Tamzin said as she sipped her wine. “If I were a prince, I don’t think I would be.”
“I am not a virgin, no,” Will smiled at her as he peered out at the nobles sitting at the lower tables. Tamzin followed his eyes and leaned in to whisper:
“Was she a noble? Have I been introduced yet?” She asked before she kissed his ear. Will shuddered and gripped her hand ti
ghter. Dear God he wanted to bed her tonight. “I promise I won’t be jealous.”