Chapter Text
Hilda gnawed the inside of her lower lip as she stared at the ring on her finger. Accepting Claude’s proposal had been one of the easiest decisions she had ever made. There was no doubt in her mind that she loved him completely. Even during all of the uncertainty of the war and its outcome, one thing she was certain about was her love for Claude.
Her eyes shifted now to the boxes and bags that now held the personal items they intended to move to Almyra. Her family had spent numerous years holding the Almyran border along the mountains of Fodlan’s Throat by keeping a tight rein on Fodlan’s Locket. Now, she was planning to cross the Locket into Almyra with the notion of actually living there. What was even more surprising was that her family, after only minor complaints and concerns, offered their blessing for her happiness with Claude.
As her ears heard the click of the door knob, she turned and watched as Claude walked in and smiled at her. “Everything is all set?”
“All set,” he answered as he walked over to her and leaned in to brush a kiss to her lips. “All of this stuff will be sent on. You have everything you wanted for the next few days in that bag by the door?”
“Yep,” she answered. “At least, I hope I do.” Her eyes moved to look from the bag back to his deep green eyes. “Do you really think your parents will like me?”
“Nope,” he answered with a smile, just to tease her a bit. “They’ll love you. Stop worrying. All will be fine. My mother is pretty easy going, while my father is just a bit rough around the edges and always says what’s on his mind. Once you get used to this, you’ll get along fine.”
“Sure, we can’t just stay here in Fodlan and live happily ever after?”
“I have to go home, Hilda,” he said as his arms wrapped around her. “We talked about this. There is a happily ever after waiting for us through the Locket. You’ll see.”
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
“That’s my girl.”
Hilda held on to Claude’s hand as they made their way through the numerous areas of the palace in Almyra. Her thoughts were bubbling over with everything she had seen so far, while she wondered if she would ever understand the language. She appreciated the way Claude was taking time to point out easy ways for her to remember which corridors led where. Still, it all seemed just a mush of information at this point.
Her heels clicked on the stone flooring as they made their way to the room where she was to meet her future in-laws. The closer they got, the more butterflies turned loose in her stomach. She sucked a deep breath through her nostrils and slowly let it out through her lips.
“Relax,” Claude softly encouraged as they came to a halt for a moment. “You are cutting off the circulation in my hand,” he said with a smile as a brow lifted. “Listen, no matter what my parents think of you, I will still love you.”
“Okay,” she softly replied. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” Smiling, she enjoyed the brief kiss he dared to press to her lips before they headed into the room where her eyes focused on the couple that had to be his parents. The woman, slender and nothing short of beautiful with long, light brown hair in a high ponytail, fine features and green eyes smiled as they approached, while the man was every bit the vision of a scary Almyran, she decided.
“Khalid!” Tiana exclaimed as she smiled at her son. “It is about time you came home,” she said before her eyes moved to Hilda.
Carefully eyeing Hilda for a long moment, the muscular man with a head of curly dark hair, with bits of graying here and there, turned his attention to Claude and began speaking to him in Almyran, **“It is good to see you, Khalid, but we did not quite expect you to be in the company of a woman. This was surprising news. She is, of course, welcome, but it may become a bit awkward.”**
**“I considered sending for her after I had settled back in but decided that I didn’t want to leave her behind.”**
Hilda frowned as she looked from the man to Claude. “Okay, rude,” she softly said as her head tipped slightly downward. “I can’t understand you, you know.”
Claude smiled as he looked at her. “I know. A moment of necessity.” He looked back at his parents now. “I would like you both to meet Hilda Goneril. I brought her with me because we are engaged, and I couldn’t leave her behind.”
“What?!” Tiana exclaimed. She looked at her husband now. “Gafar, we have an issue here.”
“Mmmm,” Gafar’s hum was a deep rumble. “Goneril. You are a member of the family that continues to hold the Locket.”
Hilda looked at Claude’s father, willing herself to see her future father-in-law and not just a scary Almyran. “I am, but that’s not my fault that my family has been holding the fort for years,” she offered. “I mean, I only went there when I had to, not because I wanted to.”
He narrowed his eyes at her a moment before he looked at Tiana. **“Since Khalid is already betrothed, this woman will have to go back where she came from.”**
Claude stared at his parents. “Hold on just a minute. What do you mean I’m betrothed? Since when, and why would you even agree to such a thing?”
“Huh?!” Hilda exclaimed now as she looked at Claude.
**“Khalid, such an arrangement would be of great benefit to our regions,”** Gafar stated.
“No, no, no,” Claude interrupted before his father could say more. “First, you need to speak so Hilda can understand what the hell is going on here,” he demanded, ignoring his father’s scowl. “Second, why wasn’t I ever told about this?”
“Khalid,” Tiana began now, “you must understand that these things are arranged sometimes when the benefits of many outweigh personal feelings. This was discussed between the families years ago.”
Claude pointed a finger at his mother now, “I can’t belief that you, of all people would agree to such a thing.”
“I did not agree,” she explained now, “at first I was completely opposed.”
Hilda had remained quiet while trying to keep her emotions in check, but she couldn’t seem to help herself now. “I don’t understand, if you were opposed to your son being pawned off in some deal, why did you agree? Just tell this woman, who ever she is, that he is not available for her.” She looked at Claude’s father now. “Cause he’s mine.”
Gafar’s brow lifted now as he looked at Hilda. “This is not your concern. It may be best if you leave us so we can come to an understanding.”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Claude said now. “She made a valid point and it is her concern. Why did you agree given that you fled Fodlan so you could marry the man of your choice?” he asked his mother as his hand continued to hold onto Hilda’s.
Tiana’s sigh was audible as her green eyes, much like her son’s, shifted from Claude to Gafar and back again. “Sometimes, we must make choices based on the needs or benefits of many rather than selfish ones. This happens to be one of those cases, and as the royal family, we needed to consider these facts.”
“It’s not like she is just some stranger to you, Khalid,” Gafar stated now. “You have known her since you were children.”
Claude’s mouth dropped open a moment. “You know what, I can’t deal with either of you right now. This was supposed to be a positive experience for Hilda to finally meet my parents. Rulers of Almyra and not at all the barbaric people she thinks this country breeds.” His brows drew together in irritation. “Instead, it has become a huge cloud of what the fuck?”
Hilda couldn’t help her snicker as Claude pulled her while he turned and left his parents. “Wow, Claude. Judging by what I am hearing in the tones of their voices back there, they aren’t too happy with you. So, what do we do now?”
“We head to our rooms and regroup,” he grumbled as they walked along. Turning his head, he looked at her as he continued to walk at a fast clip, nearly making her trot to keep up. “I’m so sorry this happened. I really had no idea.”
“I believe you,” she said as they made their way up a large staircase. “So, our stuff was brought into a room in this area?”
“Yeah,” he answered now as he slowed his gait now. “Actually, not a room but rooms. My stuff is in my own room, but yours was probably taken to another room around the corner from mine.” He smiled as he glanced at her. “That doesn’t mean that you have to stay there, if we can manage a bit of a sneak maneuver.”
“Oooo, I like the sound of that.”
He pointed down a wide corridor as they walked on. “Your room is probably the first one on the left down that way, but we are going straight to my room.” Pushing open the wide door at the end of the large hallway, he smiled at Hilda. “Make yourself at home.”
“Wow,” she sighed as her eyes moved around the large room. “This is amazing.” Her eyes enjoyed the colors and plants that decorated the room around the furnishings. A large bed resting in the middle of the room drew her attention before she walked over to where double doors opened to a large balcony with a chaise lounge and several large pillows.
Walking up behind her, Claude slipped his arms around her waist. “This is not the welcome I wanted for you,” he softly said against her. “I really didn’t know about any deal for marrying me off for the good of the country.”
She turned in his arms now, slipping her hands up his chest to his shoulders. “So, what do we do about it? Go back to Fodlan?”
He shook his head. “No. I have a birthright here that will allow me to work at changing things for the better for both Almyra and Fodlan. I won’t abandon this vision because of some deal my parents entered. I’ll figure a way out.” Claude’s eyes held hers now as he allowed a smile to touch his lips while his hands drifted further around her to pull her closer. “We’re supposed to have dinner with my parents,” he said before he softly dropped a brief kiss to her lips. “I don’t know how you could possibly want to do that.”
She tipped her head and bonded her lips with his a moment before she answered, “I wouldn’t dream of letting them think that I will isolate myself until this is all straightened out.” A pink brow lifted now. “Can’t give them the impression that I am just gonna take a back seat here. After all, I have a ring on my finger that says you belong to me.” She let a broad smile light her face. “Dinner with the parents, it is.”
Tiana insisted on a truce during dinner with only pleasant conversation directed at getting to know each other better. The more she spoke with Hilda, the more she found she rather liked her and her light-hearted and unusual way of expressing herself. Gafar, on the other hand, found her perplexing yet also very perceptive in her observations, which was surprising considering she had only been there for the day.
Hilda looked at Claude now as she took a sip of her drink. “You know, it’s gonna take some time before I get used to Khalid.”
“You’ll be used to it before you know it,” he said as he reached over and pushed a long pink pigtail over her shoulder. “Interested in what you think of that dessert you took your time eating.”
“Well,” she began as she glanced at Claude’s parents, “I was taking my time because I didn’t recognize some of those little fruits, and I wanted to know which ones I was tasting in case I didn’t like any of them.” She looked at her empty dessert dish as she continued, “The dark ones weren’t as sweet as those bright yellow ones, but I liked them. Still thinking about that spicy little wafer thing.”
“That is there to offset the sweetness of the overall dish,” Tiana explained. “Which is why we suggested you take a bite of it after a few bites of the fruits rather than eat it all at once.”
“Still, if you want to eat the whole thing at once,” Gafar said now as he waved a finger at her, “have at it.”
Hilda lifted a brow at him as she half smiled. “I think you are trying to tease me a bit.”
He couldn’t help chuckling a bit now. “You know, Khalid, she is a rather amusing young woman.”
“Yeah,” he agreed with a smile. “You have no idea.” His eyes looked at his father now. **“I still have every intention of marrying her, despite this arrangement you have made for me.”**
Gafar regarded his son carefully, inwardly admiring his determined spirit. Yet, this arrangement was not to be broken.