THE WIEKTS

Thoar Wiekt was the happiest man in the land. He had just come home to Proscris, his Kingdom, with the best news possible. The diplomatic alliance succeeded perfectly, and the Queen of Skeistl agreed to let them take back the rebels who were seeking protection in her land. Of course it was done after the King of Proscris promised her that they would be put to fair trial in the King’s court. Apparently, she was just as concern as the Proscris’ King about ending another lives over such trivial matter. Thoar couldn’t disagree more with the Queen. But the King agreed with the Queen so he couldn’t do anything except obeyed his ruler. But, aside from his slight disagreement with his King, he was enraptured with the Queendom. It was so beautiful and mesmerizing. They had many beautiful beaches that he would like to revisit sometimes. Of course, it was also extremely different from Proscris in terms of the people and Thoar was confused and almost got into a fight with quite a lot of people the first time he was there, but he managed to keep his temper and opinion to himself for the rest of his stay there.

The thing was, everything was so different and strange for him. He was a man of principle and so, he felt that he just couldn’t let the things that he thought wrong to go on. Thus, the almost-fight that he had there. The first time he reached the beautiful land, he saw the Queen herself with her guards. Her femaleguards. He scrunched up his nose as if he was disgusted, but surely he didn’t want to embarrass his King so he stayed quiet. But that particular time, he almost got into a fight with the men in one of the taverns there in Skeistl. It started with a simple conversation about work and wives, but it turned into a heated argument when one of the men there said that he didn’t do any work at all. The man said that his wife could provide for the family well enough, so there was no reason for him to work. He simply stayed at home and took care of the house chores and kids. The rest of the men nodded, smiled, and patted the guy telling his story on his back, but not Thoar. He argued and told the man a piece of his mind — quite rudely. The arguments escalated fast because the man telling the story was affronted by Thoar’s accusation of his manliness just because he stayed at home and took care of the kids. The other patrons started to get involved and cornered him when suddenly one of the Queen’s guards came through the door and stopped the agitated people before they hurt Thoar.

And that was the one thing that makes him the happiest man alive. He fell in love with the beautiful guard that comes into the tavern that night. And so, right after they docked the ship in the harbor, he asked for permission from the King to go back to his hometown in order to let his parents know about the happy announcement. The King, seeing one of his Captains in such a great mood, agreed to give him several nights of vacation so that he could go to his hometown and visit his parents.

Now, Thoar was walking on the streets of his hometown as if he owned the place. He walked with a spring in his step. Nothing could darken his mood for the day. He kept on walking until he reached the front door of his parents’ house. He knocked at the door impatiently. Soon after, the door was opened and his younger brother’s face greeted him.

“Oarn! My little brother!” exclaimed Thoar jovially.

“What brings you here, Thoar?” asked Oarn, not giving Thoar a way to enter the house.

“Come on. Cheer up, brother! Where are Mother and Father? I need to talk to you all. I have very good news!” Thoar barged into the house and looked around for his parents.

“Oarn, who’s that?” his mother asked from the kitchen.

“Mother! I’m back!” shouted Thoar.

Several heavy steps could be heard from the direction of the kitchen and soon after his mother appeared in front of him and hugged him tightly. Thoar gave her a big laugh and hugged her back, even twirled her a bit. She laughed and demanded to be let down. He complied but only after he gave her a wet kiss on the cheek.

“Where’s father?” asked Thoar.

“In the farm. But he’s going to go home soon. What happened to make you so happy, Thoar?” asked his mother.

“Let’s wait for him, Mother. Let us sit first,” suggested Thoar.

They sat together near the fire while waiting for Arn Wiekt to go back from the farm. Oarn was quiet for the whole time they were talking. They talked about many things that happened to the family during Thoar’s time being away in the foreign land. Thoar kept on trying to stall the stories of his journey until he heard the front door creaked opened and the voice of his father’s footsteps could be heard loud and clear. He jumped up and went to greet his father who looked just as shocked as his mother. He was extremely happy that he even gave his father a big hug which left his father even more confused and shocked than before. Thoar only laughed and clapped his hands to grab everybody else’s attention.

“So, now that Father’s here, I have something very important to tell you,” he began. “As you all know, I have been travelling with the King to re-establish the alliance between Proscris and Skeistl. It was such a wonderful experience for me, having spent my whole life on land, to be able to taste the life inside a ship. But that’s a story for another time.”

He stopped then. He cracked a big smile on his face and his father grunted, “Come on, son! Spill it! Don’t leave us curious!”

“Yes, dear,” his mother seconded that opinion.

“Alright, alright. So, Skeistl was beautiful. It was warm and humid. It’s so different from the cold that we are used to here in the North. The beaches were extraordinary. You should see them, Father, Mother. But that was a common knowledge. What most people don’t know is that the women — and even the men — were so beautiful. They’re like gods walking on land. And I have the chance to meet one in person, one woman who is the most beautiful woman I have ever had the chance to meet,” explained Thoar dreamily.

“Oh! That is simply extraordinary!” exclaimed his mother. “What’s her name, dear?”

“Her name is Lorrona Gurts, Mother. She is wonderful. We’ve grown into such close friends during the time I was there with the King because she’s the Queen’s guard,” said Thoar.

“A woman becoming a knight?” scoffed his father.

“I know, Father. It’s still a little weird for me as well, but never mind, I have every intention to change that very soon. You see, the news that I wanted to share with you all is that I have asked for her hands in marriage and the King and the Queen of Skeistl themselves were there for our union and blessed us with their willingness to be the one uniting us,” he paused and then continued, “I am now a married man, Father, Mother!”

The silence was prominent for a while before cheers erupted in the room. Everybody in the room, except Oarn who huddled by himself in the corner, then came to Thoar and gave him either a pat on the back, a kiss on the cheek or a tight big hug. The man bringing the news laughed hard. He hugged both his parents and finally after they all calmed down a bit, he continued his story.

“So, yes. I am now a husband to the most wonderful woman I have ever met,” he said.

“I am happy for you, Thoar. I believe that you have thought everything through before marrying this woman, and I trust your judgments. You are my son after all,” said his father. “But I can’t help but concerned about some things and I am afraid that these things will ruin the mood if I voice them. But I have to, son.”

“Don’t worry, Father. What are your concerns?” asked Thoar calmly. He knew, of course being so similar in personality to his father, what were his father’s concerns would be. But he also knew that he would be able to give a strong enough arguments that finally his father could do nothing but let him go through with his life together with his new wife.

“Son, she is a knight. It’s not right. It’s not for a woman to be a knight.” His father started his opinion with a calm voice, but the disagreement was audible there. “Must I remind you of what happened to your brother, Roan, and his wife?”

No, his father didn’t need to remind him, because he remembered perfectly well. His brother’s wife was one of those women who were freaks of nature. They rebelled to the system that had been established for so long. She was one of those women who think that women deserved to work and have some earnings of their own. That was something that Thoar completely disagree of. To work and to provide for the family was the men’s task. Women should just be at home, took care of the family, and served their husbands. They shouldn’t go to work. It was an abomination. Having the exact same principle with his father, Thoar understood perfectly why his father would concern himself with the matter that Lorrona was a workingwoman. And a knight, at that.

“Don’t worry, Father. As I said before, I could change that. What I haven’t told you before is that she’s going to stay here in Proscris with me. She’ll leave her post in the Queen’s army in Skeistl and come with me to be my wife. In fact, she’s in my house at the Capital right now, waiting for me to come back, like a good wife that she is,” said Thoar.

“Are you sure, Thoar?” asked his mother.

Thoar raised his eyebrow in surprise. He looked at his mother and saw the concern there. It was normal for his mother to be worried about his well-being, but it was unusual to hear her speak with thattone. It was rather hard to describe, but the tone was usually used by his father. His mother always sounded concern but never in that disagreeing tone. Yes, the tone that she was using at that time had that hint of disagreement. Usually, she just followed whatever his father said. Lianne Wiekt was not a strong woman. She was soft, motherly, and everything someone would want in a wife and then mother, but she was not strong. She was always obedient towards Arn, her husband. That was part of the reasons why her sons — well, her troubled sons — didn’t feel at all comforted by her presence when they were having arguments with their father. It was because she would never defy him. It was as if his words were her law. So, now, hearing her speak with such conviction about her doubt in her son was something very surprising indeed.

“Are you sure, dear?” she asked again.

“Yes, Mother. Don’t worry.” Thoar assured her with calm voice.

“It’s just — I don’t want what happened to Roan, happened to you, dear,” explained his mother while lowering her gaze towards the floor. Once again, the mention of her son’s name brought sadness and regret in her heart.

“Mother —,” started Thoar but before he could finish his sentence, his father cut him.

“Lianne, stop talking about that,” chided Arn.

She stopped talking about that uneventful family story, but she couldn’t keep the worry from her face. Thoar sighed and he lent towards his mother to comfort her. He didn’t really like to display his affection towards people in general. He only showed it when he was extremely happy or towards his family when the occasion called for it. But now, as he looked at his mother, concerned etched deep in her face, he felt the compulsion to calm her and to make her understand that he wouldn’t end like his brother.

“Don’t worry, Mother. I am more than capable in handling my wife. She wouldn’t end up like Roan’s wife and neither would I end up like Roan himself. Please understand, Mother, because despite all of her quirks and weaknesses, I really loved her and wanted her as my wife,” said Thoar.

She smiled at him then and said, “Alright, so. If that was what you really wanted then I wouldn’t deter you from it anymore.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

Later that night, they went to have dinner together as a family after so many years. The last time Thoar was home before he went to Skeistl, they couldn’t get Oarn to join then for dinner. Now, the remaining family member of the House Wiekt was once again reunited in the house where all of then grew up. They chatted over dinner, while Oarn mostly kept to himself. Every time Thoar tried to make a conversation with him, he answered with such clipped answers. It was so unlike the younger brother that Thoar knew before that it made him think about what happened to Oarn that make him change. But when he pressed the matter, Oarn would just clam up and refused to talk about it. He let it go, then, because there were more joyous things that could be discussed. They enjoyed themselves until way after midnight and only after that, they went to bed.

The next day found Thoar in the small stable near the house. It was their stable but since their family didn’t really travel much, it was normally used to stack things they couldn’t bear to throw away because of the memories. Naturally, the things there were mostly Lianne Wiekt’s things. Now as Thoar was riding his horse from the Capital so that he could arrive fast enough, he temporarily returned the place into its true nature. He was saddling up his horse, getting ready to go back to the Capital. He only went to this town in order to let his family know about the happy news. Now that it was already done, he was ready to go back to his house in the Capital and finally met his beautiful wife again. He just couldn’t wait to see her again.

“I’m leaving, Father, Mother,” said Thoar to his parents who went to check on his preparations. Oarn was once again gone with his friends to somewhere in the town.

“You be careful, son,” said his father gruffly. He gave his son a pat on the back and then he left to check on his farm.

“I’m going, Mother,” said Thoar to his mother.

“Be careful, Thoar. Make sure to send us a letter when you reached the Capital,” said his mother while pulling him in an embrace again.

“Don’t worry, Mother. I can take care of myself. You don’t need to worry so much about me. I’m a Captain in the King’s army, you know?”

“I know that. But it’s in every mother’s instinct to be weary for the safety of their child.”

“Yes, but please try not to be.”

“I’ll try, dear, but I can’t promise you anything, though,” said his mother with a small chuckle. She knew that sometimes her constant worry burdened her son, but he couldn’t help it. She felt way more protective towards Thoar now that she had lost two sons.

Thoar gave his mother a small smile and a last embrace, and then he was on his way. He traveled fast and by the second night, he finally reached his house in the Capital. He frowned when he saw the gate was closed tightly with no one to open the door for him. Sure, there weren’t a lot of people in his household, but he did have several servants he paid in order to keep his house clean. He got down from his horse and went to the gate to open it himself. His anger started to flare. They were paid to take care of his house, not abandon it in the middle of the night for everyone to come into. He barged into his house and searched for his servants and most importantly, wife. If the servants weren’t there to welcome him, at least his wife should be. She should know that he was coming home and should be able to stay alert enough to welcome him immediately after his arrival.

He searched his house rather frantically, from door to door, when finally he stopped in the middle of his way towards the dining area. There on the table, eating happily were his wife and his servants. Well, to be exact, she was eating while the servants waited on her and talked with her about anything that she wanted to talk about. He stood there, just standing with his mouth agape at the scene unfolding in front of him. Then, at that moment, his wife finally noticed his presence and acknowledged him.

“Oh, hi, Thoar,” greeted Lorrona while smiling sweetly.

“Lorrona — what’s going on?” asked Thoar, he was lost for words.

“I’m having dinner, but because I’m rather lonely if I eat alone and I see that the servants actually doing nothing except loitering around your gate, I asked them to join me.”

“What are you doing?!” yelled Thoar. “Get out and get back to your places!” He shouted at his servants and closed the door after they rushed out.

“What are you doing, Thoar? I was merely eating?”

“Merely eating? Merely eating? I was tired from two days of journey and expected my new wife to be at the door waiting for me to come home. I expected my wife to welcome me but instead I found her sitting at the dinner table, eating.” He literally spat that last word on his face.

“Well, I’m sorry then because I don’t know that you expected me to do anything. I was hungry and so I eat. Why should I wait for you mindlessly like a stupid person?”

Thoar was seething with anger but he huffed and let out a huge breath that he wasn’t even aware that he was holding. He tried to reason with himself that perhaps she just didn’t know about the custom here in Proscris. She was just used to the custom in Skeistl, but now that she married a Proscris man, of course she would have to follow Proscris’ culture and custom as well. He just needed to be patient with her and taught her everything she needed to know about the new culture.

“Lorrona, listen.” Hart started to explain after he calmed himself down. “You need to start learning about the customs here in Proscris. For example, when I came home, you need to stand by the door and wait for me.”

She looked at her husband as if he was losing his mind. “I understand why I will need to learn the customs here, but that example of yours was just stupid. Come, Thoar, let’s not dwell in this matter too long. Aren’t you hungry?”

Thoar decided to let the matter go for now, but in his heart he promised that he would give his wife a stern talking-to after this. He sighed and took a seat at the corner of the table. He looked at his wife, sitting beside him, looking extremely beautiful. He smiled then and waited for her to serve him. Seconds ticked by and still no food was in Thoar’s plate. His frown deepened when he saw that Lorrona was still eating by herself. He looked at her pointedly and cleared his throat to get her attention. After several times of clearing his throat, she finally looked at him.

“What?” she asked.

He sputtered. “What do you mean ’what’?”

“What do you want me to do now? You were clearing your throat, so you must want me to do something for you, but I didn’t. So, what is it?”

“You should serve me while we eat!”

“Why?”

“Why? Why?! Because that’s the duty of a wife!” His initial anger was back.

“How come it’s the wife’s duty? I can understand if the husband is an invalid, but you have both of your hands and legs, and you have all of your body parts intact. Why should I serveyou? I’m your wife, not your servant.”

He just didn’t have the answer for that so he settled for the most plausible answer that he knows. “It’s the custom here in Proscris, Lorrona. You should obey it.”

She sighed but nodded. “Fine, I’ll try. But I can’t promise that I’ll be able to believe in them personally, because I still think that they’re stupid, especially the ones you mentioned before.”

“Good. That’s all I’m asking you.”

“Alright, Thoar. I’m going to turn in for the night. I’m tired from that entire trip in the ship. Oh, and tomorrow I wouldn’t be able to join you for breakfast.”

“What? Why?” asked Thoar.

“I was offered to work as one of the King’s army. Tomorrow’s my first day, so I’m planning to go early and make a good impression. It’s going to be fun, isn’t it, us working together.” She smiled at her shocked husband, kissed him softly, and left the room to go to her chamber.

Back in the dining table, Thoar sat there with his mouth opened and closed several times. He couldn’t find the words to describe his feelings right now except maybe confused as hell. He stared at the door leading to their room, and thought about his confidence in handling new wife in front of his parents. He was filled with the impending sense of doom then. He thought back at the way Lorrona acted and how stubborn she actually was. He didn’t know any of that when he first met her and decided to marry her. He knew about these traits of her when it was too late. He was married and the law in Proscris wouldn’t allow him to annul his marriage. But seeing his wife’s action, he was sure that the way to completely make her be a good wife was such a long and arduous road ahead of him. For the first time in his life after he joined the King’s army, he faltered.