1/7 - You are Gifted a Weapon that will Save Everything (part 3)

Lord Perrin of the East, the now heir to the Dukedom of the East and my new husband (for we had just finished the ceremony) was unfortunately not going to have dinner with us.

He was summoned away to the castle, the king wanting to meet with him and discuss some finalities of his brother’s passing and our marriage in his stead.

Gregory assured me that all would be well. “I don't know little Perrin as well as I know his brother, but I can assure you he's a very sweet and well-meaning boy under all the pomp and ceremony.”

And with that, my eldest brother was off to go oversee the small section of land that was bestowed to us from the Duke of the East as part of the payment for our marriage. He would be staying there indefinitely, as the new Lordship of it all.

While I would be sent off to live with my new Husband in his lands in the East my family would most likely stay in the capital city for my father’s merchant business.

Come morning all my things would be packed and shipped off to my new home, while I would be sent to take the stupid magic pen knife and go deal with the looming threat. Sacrificing any usage of words before being sent off like a package to my new home and husband.

Not the most ideal or favorable of situations.

So when the morning sun broke across my face, not waking me for I had been awake for hours now, I knew it was time.

I had been running little escape plans through my head all night, and I could see none of them working in my favor. I would just have to go along with this, perhaps if I was lucky whatever the threat was would need me. Though it had never done any harm to anyone before, besides what they were meant to sacrifice for the use of the weapon.

Once I was dressed and saw most of my belongings being packed up I was sent on my way, hardly able to ever say goodbye to any of my family, though Nate had snuck into my room to give me a quick goodbye and some cake for the road and a little letter.

“Read it afterwards ok?” and with that, he was gone too.

It was sweet, but I think he forgot that I wouldn't be able to read afterward.

Soon enough it was time for me to set off, and so I was bundled into a carriage with my new husband. Which I had not been expecting.

“Oh.” I stared at him and he stared back at me.

“Oh?” bright green eyes narrowed as he looked at me.

“Apologies. I wasn't aware you would be joining me to go… to go do whatever it is I'm supposed to do with this.” The penknife sat on my lap, on top of a handkerchief that Samuel had given me right before I left.

“Ah. Well, it would be in poor manners if I let my wife go wandering about towards danger on her own, so I am accompanying you.”

“Oh… Thank you.”

The carriage had already started, so there wasn't really anything much more to say about it. However, we both seemed more than a bit uncomfortable as we sat in silence.

I had brought Nate’s letter and my favorite book with me, hoping to have enough time to read both for the last time before we got to where we were going. But it was rude to open a book and read when you were with someone in a carriage, it was seen as ignoring them.

But to read a letter from your family was fine I'm sure.

So I opened it.

’Dear precious Faeryn,

We couldn't tell you this while you were in the house because our parents forbade it and they don't truly know half of it, but now that you're leaving (and off to deal with something like this) it's about time someone told you.

Gregory told me to stay out of it, as he always does, since Perrin should be the one to explain it all to you, but I'm not letting my baby sister go off into the unknown without some information from a trusted source!

So here it is!

First off I'm sure you've been wondering why exactly the Duke of the East was so insistent on having his heir marry a daughter from our family and why he is paying so much for it.

Well to put it lightly, you're not our sister.

We all think of you as such of course! And Samuel doesn't even know about it yet. But in all truthfulness, you're the King’s and Queen’s firstborn. The two of them have been married for quite some time before you were born, but the heir to the kingdom can't be a girl (especially since they had a marriage agreement with the neighboring kingdom, they didn't want to lose their land if they had a daughter to marry one of the princesses from there.) so you were sent to live with someone who couldn't use you.

Our parents in short. Our father had enough money that people wouldn't notice the jump in wealth he would get from accepting to take you in and raise you, and our mother knew how to raise noble children because she is of noble birth (no matter how low of a noble her family had been). But our family lacked any actual ability to use you to their advantage.

In return for raising you, our parents were given the hefty sum and the promise of their lands to be lord and lady upon your coming of age and marriage to the Duke of the East, which had been pre-arranged even before your parents' birth.

You see the Family of the East and the Royal family have been trying to merge for a while now through marriage, but all of their children have been boys. So both of them were very happy when you were born, the only issue was the marriage agreement with the other kingdom (which stipulated that the heir/firstborn from our kingdom must marry into theirs). And without knowing if they would have another child they sent you away.

The plan was to have you revealed if it was very necessary with some sob story about attempted assassinations on you as a baby and you being sent away for safety but never too far that your beloved king father and queen mother couldn't watch after you. I helped come up with it and it was quite a tear-jerker'll have you know.

So hopefully this explains the marriage thing. And as revenge against Gregory for insisting that I hide this from you, I advise you to ask after his ‘finance’ the next time you two see each other.

Onto what is probably more important to you, the chosen weapon and the ‘threat’.

It's all fake. The weapon is real, it's just an enchanted mimic that sees your greatest love and desire for the future, and then it just tells you whatever that is has to be sacrificed for the greater good after it forms itself into a new weapon every fourish years.

The Duke of the East is actually in charge of making sure that those things are ‘sacrificed’. There is no threat, and since you're married to him and only our family knows that you had the weapon you won't have to lose anything.

Yay!

I have no idea why they do this whole charade, something about proving the citizens' loyalty to the royal family and making people fearful and respectful of the gods?

It never made sense to me, but I have the sense to not question it and you should too!

Now, don't do anything stupid, enjoy your time with your new husband (who is not nearly twice your age and is very pretty!), and have fun reading and writing to your heart's content!

Love your favorite brother,

~Nathaniel~’

I stared at the letter in my hands for a while, not noticing that we had left the city limits nor that my new husband was watching me carefully from across the carriage.

“There's something on the back of it.”

I jumped in my seat, startled by his sudden speaking. “Pardon?”

“I'm assuming that's the letter that Gregory told Nathaniel not to give you? He wrote something on the back as well, you seemed to have finished the front of it.”

I flipped the last page of the letter over, revealing a Postscript that had been covered by my hands.

’P.S

Don't tell any of them I told you this, but Gregory and Hassein (the older duke of the East you were supposed to marry) have been plotting to get you and Perrin together since you were five. I met you once on a visit to the capital city and fell absolutely in love with you! He's been grilling Gregory for all sorts of information about you (I heard he's made a little library in his mansion just for the two of you filled with each of your favorite books!). So good luck and enjoy married life!

P.P.S

If he does anything to hurt you, tell me. I can and will drag the seven of us boys over there to beat the shit out of him.

Love You!

~Nate~’

“Ah…”

“I'm going to assume that he explained the reason behind our marriage?” Perrin’s head tilted to the side, his arms still crossed in front of him.

“Yes, both reasons.”

A questioning look crossed his face before I continued

“And that this is just fake.” I gently tossed the closed penknife at him, which he quickly snatched out of the air.

“Yes, well. We couldn't have you suffering with the fear of this for long could we?”

I just stared at him, unable to grasp what this all meant for me.

“Well, then Princess. When we arrive back home I'll give you a tour of our private residence. My Father and their majesties will be waiting to meet us three weeks from now at my father’s abroad which is nearer the capital, we will be heading the furthest east our lands have.”

“And will I be able to meet my brother’s fiance? Nathaniel wrote that Gregoryrwas engaged.”

“Ah… Well, the thing is about that, he's with my brother.”

“Your brother?”

“Yes.”

“Your elder brother?”

“Yes.”

“The one who died, which is why we two are married instead?”

“Well, he's not dead. He's just horribly Gay and in love with your brother.”

“And you're in love with me?”

“Was that in the letter?” Perrin was flushed red, growing bright by the moment.

“In the postscripts.”

“I see.” He was silent, looking anywhere but at me, “Well, then you’ll be glad to know that I've been in love with you for quite a while and that I set up a personal library and writing study for you.”

“I am rather glad to know that…”

“You're blushing.” He murmured, finally looking at me with a dopey smile on his face.

“You're blushing more,” I replied, quickly turning to look out the window.