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Chapter Quote:

"Patience is a virtue, but so is a strong sword arm."
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Chapter 2

Kiara

I managed to convince my mother to let me ride outside of the carriage for most of the trip because I was becoming claustrophobic. But when we came close to the kingdom, she forced me to ride inside. I barely talked the entire trip there. If I did speak, it was to Elysia. Whenever my mother tried to engage me in conversation, I gave her short, curt answers. I still had not forgiven her or my father for embarrassing me in front of Agathon. It would be a while before I did.

Within two weeks, we arrived at the gates to the city: Buteridava. It was a sprawling place (although not the largest in Thrace), and I could see the palace rising above everything else. Guards walked up and down the wall, halting when they saw our entourage. I heard the gates opening; peeking out from the curtains, I saw people lining the streets, some waving at us excitedly, others glaring. Those people didn't want us here and I couldn't help but agree with them. I didn't want to be here either.

The carriage ride took twenty minutes for us to get to the palace. When I stopped, I took a deep breath to calm my pounding heart. I was going to meet my future husband in just a few moments. I remembered what Agathon had told me, but what was Kyrian's personality like? Was he kind or mean? Was he smart or ignorant? He must've had some smarts about him if he was a general, but then again, there were some men in mine who I wondered how they got to the ranking they did with their brains (or lack of should I say). Was Kyrian loud or quiet? Romantic or not? Aggressive or passive? Was he blunt or did he sugar coat how he said things? Was he impulsive or logical? So many questions, and I had answers to none of them. If it was possible, my heart beat even faster.

Someone looped their arm through mine. Looking over, I saw Elysia smiling encouragingly at me. She must've sensed my distress. She said, "You'll be fine. You're strong, Kiara. You can do this."

"Glad one of us thinks so," I mumbled as we followed my father and brother down the pathway. Thracian guards lined it, their swords held above our heads, creating almost like a tunnel. The effect was cool, and if I hadn't been so nervous, I would've smiled at them.

"Remember to smile, sweetie," my mother whispered. I ignored her advice. She'd already made me come to Thrace to force me to marry a man I'd never met and was not in love with. She couldn't force me to smile too. Besides, I felt awkward smiling at nothing.

When we entered the actual palace, I had to admit it was nicely built and decorated. Someone in this family had good taste at least.

It was Elysia who stopped me from running straight into my father because I'd been too busy ogling my surroundings that I would soon call home. I slipped my arm out of hers. She had told me I was strong, and if I wanted the King and Kyrian to see that, then I was going to walk in there without any obvious support.

Palace guards opened the doors to the throne room. My guards lined the walkway, but this time without their swords raised. There was also a guard next to King Alkis and next to another person whom I could only assume was Kyrian. The prince had been conversing with his guard, laughing and smiling, until he realized my family and I had entered. His face fell immediately; his guard's gaze lingered on him for a few seconds before looking over at me. To my surprise, he gave me a soft smile. I tried to smile back, but if I did, it would barely be noticeable. I was too nervous right now.

"King Alkis," my father greeted, bowing. My brother followed suit; my mother, Elysia, and I all curtsied.

"King Nikolos, it is a pleasure to have you here," Alkis said, beaming from ear to ear. He stood up and gave my father a hug. Kyrian stood up but stayed where he was. The king proceeded to hug my mother, then my brother, then Elysia, and finally me. When he pulled away, he looked me up and down. "You are very beautiful, Princess Kiara. You will fit in perfectly here. Come, meet my son."

King Alkis led me up to Kyrian. I had to admit, at least my husband would be fun to look at. He was tall, towering above me even though I'm not that short. He had cropped blonde eye, emerald eyes that watched my every step as I came closer to him, and last but not least, his training and fighting as a general had given him an extremely built and muscular body. It was no wonder enemy armies and kingdoms quaked when they heard they were going to have to fight him.

"It is an honor to meet you, Prince Kyrian," I said politely, curtsying.

"The honor is mine," he replied, bowing before taking my hand and kissing it. Kyrian stood back up.

"Tonight, we will have a feast in honor of your arrival. Until then, ladies, I will have Zelina show you to your rooms. King Nikolos, Prince Taren, I ask for your company in discussing military matters."

"My son and I would be glad to stay," my father replied. He gave me and my mother a kiss on our foreheads, telling us he'd see us soon. Elysia, my mother, and I took our leave, following a raven-haired girl out of the room.

"Good afternoon, your majesty, your highnesses. My name is Zelina. I will be one of your handmaidens on your trip. We will go to Your Majesty's first, followed by Princess Elysia, and lastly Princess Kiara." The room for the Queen was also for my father. It was lavishly decorated and a massive basket of fruit awaited them on the bed. The next room for Elysia was had a wonderful view of the town and I knew she and Taren would thoroughly enjoy it. Lastly was my room. "It's right next to Master Kyrian's if you don't mind. King Alkis thought it best to have the two of you next to each other."

I nodded, not saying anything though. I was too busy admiring the room. The floor and columns were made of white marble which had been polished to perfection. The bed was perfectly made with a basket of fruit in the center. Realizing I hadn't eaten in six hours, my stomach rumbled at the sight. I went for an orange on the edge of it. Peeling it, I inquired, "Pardon my curiosity in asking this, but will you be my handmaiden when I become Kyrian's wife?"

"If you wish, yes, although it is Alcina who normally decides who will be your handmaiden. She's the head of the servants here. She'll be training you in preparing to live as the future Queen of Thrace. I'll be helping her sometimes, but if it's a friend you are seeking, I would be very happy to be one to you," Zelina said kindly.

I smiled at her. "Thank you. I may just take you up on that."

"Is there anything else you need your highness?"

"No, and please, call me Kiara. I'm not one for formalities with people close to me."

"Very well, Kiara. If you need anything, do not hesitate to let me know."
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Julian

"Well," I began as we walked out to the training field, "You could've fared worse. At least she is a beauty to behold."

"There are more important things than beauty, my friend. But yes, you're right. I must ask, do you think she and I will end up a decent match?" Kyrian asked, throwing on his armor.

"It's hard to tell considering I've never met the girl. But if you so wish, I can figure it out for you."

"I would love you forever, brother, if you did that."

"Say no more. I'll find her later today, or perhaps I'll have a chance to speak with her at the feast tonight. Until then, how about you give me a run for my money and try to win a few rounds against me?"

"By the time I'm done with you, you'll be broke," my friend bantered.

"I beg to differ!" With that, we started our sparring match. For three hours, we fought, with Kyrian winning two of three matches. He lorded it over me jokingly but I knocked his sense of humor out with a well-placed kick to the stomach. At least I thought I had. I'd only caused him to laugh harder. I was glad to see my friend in such good spirits after him having been down for the past two weeks, dreading the meeting of his future wife.

"You're such a child sometimes," I mused.

"I'm twenty years old, Julian. I'm still young. How old are you? Forty three?"

"Very funny. Try twenty-three. You-" I stopped as I caught a glimpse of a figure watching us from the shadows. I wondered how long she'd been there. "We have company."

"What?" Kyrian bent his head backwards, rolling over and standing up.

"What do you mean 'what'? It's-" I looked back over to the shade. The figure was gone. "Kiara was there. Just a few seconds ago."

"Where'd she go?"

"I'll go find out. Practice with some other people." I hastily took off my armor and jogged over to the general area where Kiara had been. The path she'd been on led to the gardens so I followed it. Luck was on my side when I arrived. The Athenian princess was strolling through the flowers alone, deep in thought. I cleared my throat to announce my presence. Her head lifted in my direction.

"Greetings, Princess Kiara," I said kindly, bowing.

"Hello soldier," she replied, giving me a curtsy. "What is your name?"

"Julian. I'm a general here in the great Thracian army."

"It's a pleasure." She paused. "You were the guard next to Prince Kyrian when I arrived this morning. You smiled at me. I do hope I smiled back."

"You did," I said with a small laugh, "although only a small one. I believe you were rather nervous. If it makes you feel any better, your highness, Kyrian was nervous as well. Don't tell him I said that though, he'd kill me."

"Your secret is safe with me. I apologize for interrupting your training session."

"You interrupted nothing. If anyone interrupted anything, it was Kyrian with his laughing fit. How long were you there?"

"About twenty minutes. Long enough to see his win over you and to see you place a kick to his stomach. You were trained by Spartans, were you not?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Your fighting style is similar to a few men in my army from there. I recognized it. I also asked Zelina about the important things around here and she included that you'd been trained by the Spartans," Kiara said sheepishly.

"Already getting the lay of the land I see. That's smart to get familiar with your future home as soon as possible though. And not to brag, but I did train Kyrian," I told her.

"No wonder you two are so well-matched in fighting. It was quite an impressive sight to behold. I already knew you were both feared among enemy armies, but I did not understand the extent of why. Now I do. I must be going; my mother will be mad if I am not back in a few minutes. But I thoroughly enjoyed talking to you Julian. Perhaps we will have a chance to speak again?"

"I look forward to it your highness," I said, bowing. She curtsied at me before walking gracefully away. I liked her. I could tell that once she got to know someone well enough, she would be much more open, much friendlier. With her being in foreign territory with foreign people with the imminent day of her marrying a complete stranger, Julian understood her quietness, her hesitance to say anything. She was testing the waters, to see how far she could go with something. It was strategic. Kiara was smarter than she let on. Kyrian would like that. He enjoyed intelligent women.

"So what's the verdict?"

Speak of the devil... "She's smart. Smarter than people give her credit for. Give her some time; she's still nervous. But I believe we'll start to see more of the true Kiara one she becomes acclimated to living here. When she does, I do think you two will be a good match."

"I hope you're right, Julian."

"I know it's difficult for you to be so, but be patient. She will not submit to force."

"I'll try."

"No, there is no try. You will be patient. Don't try and hide your nervousness from me Kyrian. I can see straight through you."

"Maybe I am nervous, but I'm not going to let her see that. I'm a fearsome Thracian general. I can't show weakness in front of my wife."

I shook my head. "Besides me, Kiara will be the only one you can show that to."
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Kyrian

The feast began at sundown. Most of the generals in our military attended. One by one, they came and greeted Kiara, either with a bow or a bow and a kiss on the hand. One guy, Macaire, blatantly flirted with her. He was like that with all women though. Kiara didn't seem impressed but he seemed not to notice. However, she was very polite about it. Once introductions were made, we sat down. As the guests of honor, Kiara and I sat at the head of the table on one end. My father and King Nikolos took the other end. Thankfully I had Julian sitting next to me. Penthea, or at least I think that's what her name is, sat beside Kiara. The two girls were chatting amiably. Halfway through the dinner, Macaire started boasting about random qualities of his that, to be honest, weren't all that necessary to boast about.

"I've learned that giving small amounts of flattery increases her likeness of me and makes her think my manners are practiced well and come with ease," he said obnoxiously.

In a whisper that was obviously meant only for Kiara herself to hear, she muttered, "Like anyone would think your manners are practiced. At that, I tried to laugh, but forgot that I'd been swallowing a piece of steak. I began choking but managed to recover. I gave my future wife a look of new found respect. She gave me a curious stare.

"I completely agree," I said, barely restraining my grin from spreading across my entire face.

Horror dawned on her face when she realized I had heard her statement. As Kiara was about to say something, Julian asked, "Are you well Kyrian?"

"Yes, I swallowed a piece of meat the wrong way," I answered. Turning back to Kiara, I added quietly, "I have a feeling that you and I will get along just fine."

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, looking sheepish.

"No, you're not, or else you wouldn't have said it," I pointed out.

She raised one eyebrow, and unless I was mistaken, the corners of her mouth were tugging her lips into a smile. "Yes, I agree. I think we will get along quite well."

Her statement made his heart jump. Maybe this marriage wouldn't be so bad after all. Kiara had this... aura about her that she was much more mischievous than she was currently letting on. I wanted to get to know that side. But she had her guard up. Still, the agreement between us that Macaire was being an abhorrent guest was a small step towards lowering those walls she had. Patience, Julian had told me. Patience would get her to open up. But patience meant time, and time was something Kiara and I were short of before we got married. I wanted to get to know my future wife some more, before we were married. However, I didn't think I was going to get that chance.
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Hope you enjoyed! For those of you who have read "Royal Pains" most of the last scene from Kyrian's view was a flashback of his in "Royal Pains" in case you recognized it :) Review!