Reading Can Be Dangerous

Yavanna's heart pounded nervously but she controlled her face and body from showing her nerves.

She didn't know why she'd reacted as she had. But it was wrong and insulting of him just to wander off with the first woman he saw. She was glad that she'd done it. Tossing his food to the pigs was especially satisfying.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes and tensed at how furious he looked. He wouldn't do anything to her, would he?

"I don't think you understand just how hungry I am."

She looked at him and shrank into the seat from how deadly his whisper sounded.

She opened her mouth and tried to think of what to say when he suddenly lunged at her. She shrieked but he covered her mouth with his large hand.

"Shhh… just be quiet."

His words felt like smoke as they travelled to her ear and into her body. She unwittingly relaxed under his strangely powerful gaze. Her lips parted open, staring longer into his eyes. He moved his head to her shoulder and she continued staring forward in a daze.

"What are you doing?"

She blinked and looked around her.

"What was…?" She muttered upon seeing the annoyed look in the king's eyes.

What had she been doing? She looked around and her face contorted in confusion. What just happened?

She shrugged it off and soon the incident faded from her mind.

The carriage bumped along the dirt road all morning long. At lunch they stopped by a river and Yvanna got out to stretch her legs, and to get away from the king. She hoped he wasn't always this rude.

The Nothad guards gave her some water and she gratefully accepted it with a thank you.

"Could you perhaps grab one of the chests down from the top of the carriage?" She asked nervously. She wasn't sure of her standing with the guards.

"Of course, your highness." One of the men bowed and they began to remove one of the chests from the carriage.

"Thank you." She replied with a smile and opened the latch. She smiled joyously upon finding some of the books she'd received as wedding presents. A spark of guilt appeared inside her when she thought of how these were supposed to be Mirella's gifts. But she pushed the thought away when she reminded herself that Mirella had lost the privilege of these gifts.

She stepped into the carriage with her new books, a smile still on her face.

The king said nothing, of which she was grateful, and she opened the first book. It was difficult to read with the veil on, but she made do. She flipped through the pages quickly. It was a book on the thoughts of teachers and tutors on how to educate children better.

She found it quite fascinating, learning how approaches to education really have evolved.

She gasped when the book was torn from her hands, "Hey-"

She glared at the king who was holding her book in his hands, scrutinizing it as though it were some disgusting object.

"You read this?"

"Well, I've been reading it for the past hours, so yes." She answered, trying to keep her distemperment from her voice.

He scoffed and threw the book back to her. She opened her mouth in horror and was too late to catch it.

"Ah!" She exclaimed as it connected with her eye.

Her hands instinctively raised to hold the pained area.

She raised her head to look at the king incredulously with her uninjured eye. She blinked and hissed at the throbbing coming from her right eye.

'What was wrong with him?! He actually threw a book at me.'

He stared at her with a wince concealed in his features. At least he regretted it.

She removed her hands tentatively and groaned at how swollen it already felt.

She heard him sigh and glared at him angrily.

"Here, let me look at it."

"I will not." She objected, aghast. First he throws a book at her, next he expects her to let him see the injury HE inflicted.

She saw an anger alight in his eyes and then they shut down. Cold and hard.

She crossed her arms and did her best not to whine at the pain ebbing from her eye. She couldn't read now.

The afternoon dragged on as her eye continued to swell. She stared dismally out of the window. They had passed through into Nothad now, and now had to reach the capital city, Harkburg. The geography was changing from green fields to forests and she could feel the temperature dropping.

Why couldn't Mirella have been engaged to the king of a warmer kingdom? She thought unhappily. Her mood was deteriorating.

Her gaze snapped up when the king knocked on the roof of the carriage. It slowed to a stop and she looked at him confused.

One of the guards arrived at the door. "Bring the medical kit." The king called through the door.

"Yes, your majesty."

Yvanna shifted uncomfortably. He was helping her? Was he truly apologetic, or did he just want his new wife to look presentable?

Within a few seconds the guard returned and the king opened the door and took the kit from him. She held her hands out for it and he looked at them questioningly.

She raised her brows, "The kit?"

He raised his own brows. "Do you know what medicine you need?" He asked with a mocking tone in his voice.

She frowned and glared at him. She had stopped caring about controlling her facial features when he'd thrown that book. And she'd stopped caring about her words as soon as he'd walked away with that woman. He'd managed to cause her to lose all respect for him in one day.

"No? Then I will treat you."

She fought not to pout at his words.

He opened the wooden box and began pulling out things; bandage, ointment and another liquid that she couldn't guess its use.

He crouched and moved to sit next to her. She instantly moved to hug the wall next to her. She hadn't noticed the carriage had already begun moving again.

The king looked at her tiredly and she sighed. She sat up straighter and waited for him to treat her.

When a few minutes had passed she looked at him, "What?"

"You need to remove your veil."

"Oh. But, I can't. It's not supposed to be removed-"

"I know that. But do you want your eye to become swollen shut?"

"You're the one who caused it."

He surprised her by dashing forward and pinning her to the wall. "Stop trying my patience, woman."

She swallowed and met his stormy blue eyes.