Page 8 of Pawns of Fate

“Tell me, when will your business with the Ojoh be finished?” Hector asked.

Nicholas and his father exchanged concerned glances.

“All in good time,” Marquess Sharp replied casually, unconcerned with Hector’s attempts to pressure him.

“I’ve finished my tea,” Nicholas interrupted, setting down his cup with a small clinking sound. “I would love to see the famous Robson rose garden with a proper guide.” He smiled at Rose. “I didn’t see much of them while I was here last week.”

Her uncle understood what Nicholas was implying. “Rose, why don’t you show Nicholas around the gardens? It will give you two a chance to get to know each other. Marquess Sharp and I need to talk business, anyway.”

So, Nicholas gracefully took her hand, and the pair strolled to the garden. Rose felt immense relief at being allowed out of the tense meeting, but found herself at a loss for words as she led Nicholas out of the castle.

“Are you nervous to be around me? I was rude to you the last time we met,” he asked.

“Ahhh, I’m just…” Rose wanted to answer gracefully, but decided truthfulness was the better option. “I’m a little nervous.”

“Me too,” Nicholas hummed.

“Really? You don’t seem nervous at all to me.”

“That’s good. I want to seem as dependable as possible to my future wife.”

Rose breathed in sharply when Nicholas called her ‘wife.’ It sounded surreal, but she could get used to it.

Nicholas stopped to admire a bed of white snowdrops .

“These are lovely,” he remarked with a wistful expression.

“What is your favorite kind of flower?” Rose asked.

“I like moonflowers best. They grow better in higher elevations, like the mountains of Onanish. I doubt your uncle has any here.”

“No, but if you like rare flowers, the gardener did plant some red marsh lilies by our pond. The color is unique to the swamps east of the castle.”

“That sounds intriguing. What is your favorite flower?”

Rose paused, then remembered Ava’s encouragement. “My favorites are the roses.”

Nicholas smiled and rubbed a petal between his fingers. “Because of your name?”

Rose’s heart swelled with confidence. “Seeing them reminds me of the kind priestess who named me after the Robson roses without knowing who I truly was. It is also my favorite because…” She always lost her train of thought as they walked into her favorite section of the garden.

“Because it is so beautiful,” she finished.

There had been roses in the gardens of the Robson viscounts for centuries.

The family legend stated that a fairy, sleeping in a pink rosebush, had given the original viscount Robson their aural magic.

Of course, no one believed in fairies anymore.

But the tradition of keeping pink rosebushes had grown over time.

The floral scent pleasantly invaded her nose.

More roses than one could ever hope to count populated the garden, in a hundred shades of pink and red.

A few bees buzzed from flower to flower, and the spring sun’s rays caressed Rose’s skin.

She found her favorite spot, a simple wooden bench surrounded by roses in the shade of a large cherry tree.

“I can see why you like this place. It’s so nice and quiet. Nobody moaning or yelling,” Nicholas said as he looked around at mountains of thick, pink rose bushes.

“What do you mean by —”

“It’s almost as beautiful as you,” he interrupted, gently grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close to his side.

“Oh, thank you. You are too kind,” Rose said, then turned away to hide her blush. Nicholas had surprised her with his forward behavior, but she certainly didn’t mind his touch. They were engaged to be married soon anyway, she reasoned as her heartbeat quickened.

“Can I ask you a question?” Nicholas said.

“Of course, Lord Sharp.”

“Please, call me Nicholas. We’re engaged, after all. We do not need to address each other by our titles.”

“Okay… Nicholas,” she said tentatively.

He smiled at the sound of his name on her lips. Rose’s mouth went dry.

“That is much better.”

“What did you want to ask me?” Rose asked.

His face darkened slightly.

“Have you heard that my family is wrapping up a small war with the clan that lives south of Onanish? The Ojoh? I shouldn’t call it a war. There have only been a few skirmishes.”

“Yes, I’ve heard about it.”

Everyone within a hundred miles had heard about it. Nicholas was trying to downplay the fighting. The battles had been small in scale but not in intensity. The Ojoh were fierce opponents in battle. They made up for their lack of magic with skilled and vicious warriors.

Years ago, Rose had spent an entire summer in one of the smaller Ojoh villages, serving as political collateral for her uncle.

She’d seen firsthand just how fearsome the desert warriors were.

The village she’d stayed at had only two dozen warriors or so.

None of them were mages, from what Rose remembered.

Even so, those warriors defended their home from desert monsters like the sand hydra and rock scorpions without casualties.

She could still remember the day that the warriors brought a troll carcass back to the village.

They used the tough, yet malleable skin to make things like armor and saddles.

The memory of the carcass made her shudder, even years later.

Nicholas interrupted her thoughts. “The thing is, my family’s military is tied up with the Ojoh. There hasn’t been fighting for months, but we don’t trust the Ojoh enough to lighten the border patrols. At least, not yet.” He frowned.

An awful thought crossed Rose’s mind. She’d known that a marriage to a good, attractive man would come with a price tag.

She’d suspected that her uncle was leaving out some vital detail to guarantee her cooperation.

Hearing Nicholas talk about the region’s politics, it dawned on her what the problem and its solution were before Nicholas could even finish his little speech.

The warm arm around her waist turned to ice.

“My father needs insurance that the Ojoh won’t attack us before he can send our soldiers to clean out the swamps for your uncle.” He pulled his arm back. “I can see from the look on your face that you know what that insurance is.”

Why was there pain and disappointment in his voice? He wasn’t the one about to be sent off as collateral. An important, first-born son like him would never understand her position— how it felt to have so little value to your family that they could just trade you away.

“I’m to be sent as a captive to them. That’s why you picked me instead of Luanna.” Rose’s voice trembled with disappointment and anger.

Why pick Hector’s daughter when they could have his already-tested niece?

Nicholas grabbed both of Rose’s hands and faced her directly. He put a finger under her chin, guiding her to look at his stormy eyes.

“No, that isn’t the reason. I picked you because you were kind to Ava. I’ve never seen another noble woman treat her as an equal.”

Rose blinked at him, unsure how to feel about his confession. “I don’t really know how to answer that.”

“You don’t have to. I can only imagine how disappointing it is to hear that you’ll serve as collateral again. I promise it won’t be for long and will never happen again. My father had already put everything in place before I asked to marry you.”

Rose wanted to yell or stomp away from Nicholas.

She’d never thought she’d have to return to that dry desert again.

The memory of one Ojoh warrior in particular sprang into her mind, and the tangle of emotions that came with thinking of one’s former romantic partner.

But it was doubtful that she’d see him again.

There were twenty Ojoh villages, and she’d stayed at the one closest to her uncle’s land.

She wouldn’t be sent to the same place if she served as collateral for the Robsons.

The largest Ojoh settlement, where the head elder lived, was near Robson territory. She’d most likely be sent there.

Rose inhaled sharply, trying to calm herself.

She was angry, but anger wouldn’t help her out of the situation.

Her calm, logical side decided to handle it with as much grace as she could muster.

Bearing with things quietly had served her well in the past. She’d box up her anger and deal with it later.

“Thank you for letting me know, Nicholas.” Rose nodded resolutely.

She racked her brain for a reason to leave.

Even if she had been suspicious of this whole arrangement for a while now, she wanted some time to process the news.

Conveniently, a large man dressed in light armor and wearing an intimidating scowl chose that moment to appear and interrupt their conversation.

“My Lord,” the man said with a slight bow. He had a startlingly deep voice.

“What do you need, Jo?o?”

“Marquess Sharp wants you to join him.”

“It sounds like you’re needed, so I’ll excuse myself,” Rose voiced before Nicholas could reply to the man that Rose assumed was his bodyguard.

She politely curtseyed, then hurried away.

When Jo?o thought she was out of earshot, she heard him say, “That went well,” in a sarcastic tone.

She swore that Nicholas hissed, “Shut up.”