forum The Queen and her Bear (Reboot) // OxO // Closed

Started February 02, 2020 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

Arin might have been a spitfire, yes, but she also was in way over her head. Had been since the moment Kade found her. Without formal schooling, without an adult in her life to help her learn, she knew about as much about court life adn civilization as, well, your average bear. Not much. What little she did know had come from small villages in the mountains; small, insular communities that were nothing like large cities, much less the capital with its nobles and court rules. It was that very naivete that Jacos was likely hoping to exploit; there were myriad ways he could manipulate her without even being cruel to her. Just by taking advantage of her lack of knowledge. She couldn't even read, much less know anything about the country she was supposed to be "ruling" beside her new husband.

Kade was supposed to know that the Queen didn't know anything. He was supposed to know that she didn't know anything to save her life. He didn't, or, at least, he didn't think about it. He was a bounty hunter. There was no need for him to have something as useless as basic human kindness and empathy. He just didn't care. Why he had come to the wedding, then, was beyond him. Why was he there in the first place?

And without too much more ado, the two were pronounced man and wife. Arin still looked upset, but there wasn't anything she could do about it now. There never really had been, in any case. This was to be her lot in life, whether she liked it or not.

There were cheers and shouts among the nobles, making Kade's lip curl in distaste. While he may not have been any better than they were, he still didn't like when they were happy. It made him… unhappy, to say the least.

He caught the glance around the room from Jacos, and knew that the king was looking for him. He stepped partially out of the shadows, and Jacos motioned for him to check out the area where the wedding reception was going to be held - where the nobles were likely to get drunk and robbed by the end of the night. He gave a slight nod, an even smaller bow, and nodded to Aris before vanishing again into shadow.

Arin's eyes narrowed when she saw him, hate and anger curdling in her gaze. She detested him. This was his fault, after all. If he had never brought her from the forest, she would still be there. Not married to an asshole.

Feeling her glare, the dark-haired man simply smirked at her before he made his way outside, where his horse was waiting, tethered up in the corner. He climbed aboard and rode the few minutes to the palace, where the reception would be held.

There were no words to describe how glad he was to leave the cathedral, with it's stifling aura and smell that he could never seem to get rid of, like dead bodies and old people. Plus, Aris looked like she wanted to tear his eyeballs out and squish them under her heeled feet, and Jacos was always hard to deal with.

Yes, doing dirty work for the high ups wasn't always bad, as long as he didn't have to deal with them personally.

After checking every corner to make sure there wasn't anyone around trying to attempt an assassination, and after making sure there were no traps set up, he sent a bird to Jacos to let the new king know that the gardens were free.

The wedding was, apparently, a success. It was talked about by nobles and even commoners far and wide, and those who weren't invited were all jealous. Personally, Kade didn't get the hype, but he supposed that with as little excitement as there was for them, the could over embellish all they wanted.

He was nowhere near the capital after the wedding. Tasked by his royal highness King Jacos to make sure the honeymoon destination was free of any criminals or people who would disrupt him - really, anyone who said no to Jacos - Kade was stuck doing that instead of enjoying the week long party before the honeymoon.

The only person who said no to Jacos who would be allowed at the honeymoon was, well, the bride. Arin hated everything about the man, including the clothing he made her wear. The corsets alone would have been bad enough but the cuts bared more of her to view than she would ever have wanted, and beyond that was the fact that, as her husband, he thought he could touch her whenever he liked. Thus far it hadn't gone beyond some groping when no one else was in the room, but she was terrified of what could happen on the honeymoon. He had already made it clear that he expected heirs from her, and she wondered how long it would take him to force her into that. Because she wasn't going to come to his bed willingly, and they both knew that. The only question was how much force he was willing to use to get his way with her.

"Please, no, please-" The man's voice was cut off as Kade's sword lopped off his head. He was a simple criminal, only trying to feed his family, but the hunter's task had been to eliminate everyone standing in the way of the new king.

He wipe the blood from his face - beheading was such a messy business - and knelt down, using the dead man's tunic as a cloth, cleaning the blood from his sword as well.

Kade didn't feel remorse. He only felt numb resignation and weariness. He had killed a lot of people for many different masters; there was no space in his business for weakness and regret. He had had to kill emotions like that, shove them so far back that they couldn't raise their head, and yet-

He knelt down once more and placed his hand on the dead man's forehead. "May the sun guide your travels from this world into the next," he murmured, the typical parting words to the dead. He stood again and pulled his hood over his face, melting into the night to find his next victim.

Currently, the king and his queen were seated in the council chambers with some of the nobles. Jacos had been commended for putting aside the happy enjoyment of his marriage to stabilize his country. Arin had been only mocked for "not being enough" for her husband. Jacos had of course given no instruction to her on what to do in council, beyond curtseying and being silent. She couldn't read the memos that were passed around, didn't understand many of the words that flew back and forth rapid-fire.

When Kade finally finished, his clothes seemed to be soaked in blood. He found an inn by the side of the road, a few miles from the castle where the honeymoon would be held, and checked in. The innkeeper trembled at the sight of him, dressed completely in black with a hood casting his face into shadow. Kade just rolled his eyes and ordered a room.

When he got into the room, he knocked his hood down and stripped off his gloves. They clung to his skin before popping off with a strange suction noise, and he winced at the dried red that had leaked through. He washed his hands and walked over to the window. He should message the king, tell him his honeymoon suite was ready.

And so he did.

When the message arrived, Jacos's mouth curled into a small smile, and he sent Arin to her quarters to prepare to leave. He himself stayed at the meeting until it was over, and then he came up as well, ordering the servants on what to pack into his bags.

The king will be arriving in one day. The message from one of Kade's spies was crumpled in his hand. He sat at a table in the corner, at the inn he was staying at. He knew that he was supposed to serve his majesty the king, the mighty Jacos, conqueror of whatever the fuck it was the man said he did. He shook his head with a groan and tossed the note into the fire, watching it crackle and burn as he waited.

(Timeskip again?? idk)

Arin didn't speak to her new husband unless she absolutely had to; interaction with this man was not somethign she desired or wanted, and so she mostly did her best to ignore him, answering questions with one or two words, and none of the deference he wanted from her.