ARDELLE'S POV:
Moments later, I emerged, finding myself a complete stranger in this comforting wool.
I stepped out into the bright morning sun, the forest-green gown hugging my frame and the fox fur framing my face like a halo of mist.
I, who had spent my life praying to be invisible, found myself seeking a single nod of approval from the man who had bought this finery.
The dirt had been wiped from my cheeks, leaving only the haunting perfection of the features. He will look at me, without coldness, again. Right?
"How–" He slammed an unforeseen hat over my head, tying the lace under my chin before he hoisted me up, not letting me ask how I looked.
"Let's go. I have wasted enough breaths for your trivialities." He muttered, not daring to glance at me because of the earlier contacts.
The ride to catch up with the procession was a blur of wind and bitter silence.
I felt the steady, rhythmic thud of his heart against my back, a reminder that behind the armor lived a man who stayed outside my tent all night—even if he was made of flint.
When we finally crested the hill and saw the banners of the King's vanguard, a hush fell over the rear guard.
As Lord Kaldric guided his horse through the ranks, heads turned. The 'beggar girl' was gone.
In her place sat a woman of refined beauty that was latched to their Commander's name. Only by law, not by heart.
The fur of my hat framed a face that kept it almost hidden. I tried to lift my head to see the path ahead, but Lord Kaldric reached forward and tilted the brim of my hat down, obscuring my face.
Was he…. Not letting them see my face?
"By the Mother," one knight whispered as we passed. He looked at Lord Kaldric, a suggestive smirk playing on his lips.
"Oh, so you were guarding the tent all morning for... this. A wise use of a Commander's time."
My head snapped up, my brow furrowing in confusion though I saw his silhouette all night too.
"Guarding?" I whispered, the word meant only for the man behind me.
Lord Kaldric's grip on the reins tightened, a strictness emerging from him. He didn't answer. He didn't even acknowledge the comment.
He simply kicked the horse into a faster trot, his face like a thundercloud, weaving through the wagons until we found our place in the line.
"My Lady!" Sir Aldwin called when he saw me, his eyes mesmerized. My head lifted again to smile at him only to get my hat tugged again.
"You look... Well, you look like a different person entirely!"
Aldwin pulled his horse alongside us, his face beaming with a genuine warmth. He… averted his gaze.
"I hope the fit is correct," Aldwin continued, ignoring the dominant aura radiating from Lord Kaldric. His eyes ahead.
"The seamstress swore the green would match your eyes. She wasn't wrong."
"Thank you, Sir Aldwin, for bringing the clothes." I smiled sincerely. I glanced back at Lord Kaldric's stony profile, his features hardening.
"The men... they said he was guarding the tent. I don't understand. I thought he had left."
"Left you? My Lady, the Commander, sat there for hours with his sword drawn."
Aldwin chuckled, a light, easy sound while I was surprised.
"He looked like he was ready to decapitate any man who even breathed in the direction of the tent. He didn't move an inch until I returned."
I felt a strange, hot prickle in my chest. I looked at the scarred hands holding the reins.
The same hands that had mocked me back in town. Wrapped me in his cloak, then stripped me, and then meticulously tied my laces.
"He... he stayed?"
"Oh, he stayed," Aldwin leaned in, lowering his voice in a mock-conspiracy.
"Though I wouldn't thank him for it. He's much like an old wolf. Protect his territory, but growls at you the whole time he's doing it." He cracked a joke, I had to place my hand over my mouth to not giggle.
"He probably enjoyed the chance to look menacing in the sun too."
A low, vibrating growl came from Lord Kaldric's throat. He didn't look at us, but his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.
"Aldwin. If you have enough breath for jokes, you have enough breath to go scout the northern ridge. On foot."
Sir Aldwin chuckled nervously, pulling his horse back a few paces.
"Right. Deepest apologies, Commander. Just keeping the Lady's spirits up!"
He gave me a playful wink before retreating, though he didn't look particularly frightened by the threat.
I sat in silence for a long moment, the weight of the discovery settling over me. I looked down at the green sleeves of my gown.
"You sat in the cold for me," I murmured, so softly I wasn't sure he could hear me over the clatter of hooves.
"I sat in the cold to ensure the King's peace wasn't disturbed by a riot of lustful idiots," Lord Kaldric replied monotonously, his voice harsh and dismissive.
"Do not mistake duty for devotion, Ardelle. You are a responsibility I was forced to take. Nothing more."
But for the first time, his words didn't make me want to cry. The fact my name escaped his lips again wrapped me a warm sheet he was impotent to see.
I simply looked forward at the long road ahead, wondering what else the Commander was hiding behind his wall of steel.
********
Our next stop was a Duke's domain. He held a feast to honor King Alaric's arrival. My heart raced at the merest thought of emerging as the Commander's Bride. It immobilized me.
As we entered the Great Hall, the transition from the tough road to the glittering court was shocking.
No less than a lark trapped in a den of vipers, the heartbeat I stepped inside the hall, the reaction was instantaneous.
The men, nobles in velvet and silk, stopped mid-sentence, their eyes trailing over my emerald gown. The dropped jaw almost brought an empty smile.
From the rural streets of my town, the camp of soldiers, to an opulent gathering: The leers always existed.
Long enough to induce discomfort. Their praise was a suffocating hum.
But the women... The women were far more fatal. In town, they insult and hurt openly. Here, they would do the same thing but 'gracefully'.
And I doubt I could handle the impact.
"Oh, look, the Commander's Commoner," a Duchess whispered loud enough for the echo to carry.
So if anyone failed to notice me, they wouldn't now.
"I heard she didn't even have a shift to her name when the Commander took her. A clever little stray, isn't she?"
My hand instinctively extended to hold Lord Kaldric's forearm with the smallest hope. Though he let me rest my hand, the coldness emitted through the noblewear.
"Look at the way she clings to him," Another sneered, fanning herself lazily, "I wonder what she did to trick him into marrying her."
"It's a pity. A man of Kaldric's standing deserves a lioness, not a shivering rabbit."
The familiar heat of shame rising to my cheeks, the same penetrating sensation but this time I had someone beside me, no?
I could lift my head, right? I looked at Lord Kaldric, standing beside me like a statue of iron with those inscrutable eyes.
He was listening. I knew he was. But his gaze remained fixed on the King at the far end of the hall, ignoring my existence.
"My Lord," I whispered, leaning into his shadow, "Please... tell them I am your wife."
Lord Kaldric didn't move. He didn't even look down at me.
"Woman," he began, his voice a low, brutal rasp that cut deeper than the Duchess's insults. His eyes slowly reached me with a penetrating strictness that hitched my breaths.
"I am a Knight. I am a Commander of the Obsidian Pillars. I am not a gossiper who intervenes in the petty squabbles of women."
I flinched, my heart shattering, "But they are mocking your name through me."
"Do not disgust me more with your weakness, Ardelle. If you want respect, earn it."