THE WIEKTS

Thoar Wiekt was a very strong soldier. He seemed to be perfectly built for the job. In a fierce battle against the enemy, he would be the one charging ahead way in front of his fellow soldiers. That was one of the quality that the King saw in him when he assigned Thoar the position of a Captain of his army. He was never one to shy away from a real fight. Even when the situation clearly disadvantaged him, he would go forward with his weapon raised, ready to slaughter the enemy. He was just that fierce. And so, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him face his life problems the same way he faced his battles. He kept on pushing forward trying to defeat the enemy even though other people kept saying to him that he would lose everything if he didn’t change his way.

This led us to his current predicament with his wife. He had been married to his wife for several months now. He loved her dearly and he would give her almost everything if only she would just listen to him. Now, Thoar was lounging in his house, waiting for his wife to come back from her training. He almost laughed at how absurd it sounded. Husbands should not wait for their wives to come back to the house, it was supposed to be the opposite. The wives should be there to cater to their husbands needs after a day full of tiring work. Thoar was someone who really uphold the custom and tradition, so when he faced something that was out of the custom such as this, he went back inside himself and prepare for confrontation. As soon as he made his mind up, he heard the tell-tale sound of his wife entering their front door. He stood up from his seat and with a crossed arm, waited for his wife to see him standing inside the room.

Lorrona Gurts — Wiekt now, she reminded herself — entered the front door with a satisfied smile plastered on her beautiful face. Her face was dirty with dust but the beauty radiating from it was clear for everyone to see. Added with the smile on her face, it was like looking at the sun itself. She was smiling so happily because her training period had been over. Today was the last day, then her mentors would evaluate her performance and then she would be one of the soldiers in the King’s army, together with her beloved husband. And by the way things had been going during her training she just knew that she would get that position in the King’s army. If she was good enough to be one of the personal guards for the Skeistl’s Queen then she would be more than capable to be a mere soldier in the Proscris’ King army. Now, she was home and she couldn’t wait to share this good news with her husband.

“You’re late,” stated Thoar coldly.

She stopped on her tracks after hearing such cold welcome from her husband. She frowned, knowing that they would have yet another argument. They had been arguing almost all the time these days.

“I’m sorry, alright? My mentors keep me longer than usual since this is my last day in the training. They wanted to make sure that I was really capable enough to pass the training period. You’ve been there before, Thoar, you know the drill,” explained Lorrona with a sigh.

“Of course I know the drill, but I’m a man. It’s perfectly normal for me to join the army and thus join that training. But you’re a woman!” exclaimed Thoar.

Lorrona rolled her eyes and slumped into the nearest chair tiredly. “Not this again, Thoar. Aren’t you tired having the same arguments over and over again?”

“I’m not trying to have an argument with you. It’s you who are defying me again and again even though I’ve told you that the custom here is different from Skeistl.”

“I know that it’s different!” She shouted with a loud voice. She took a deep breath and continued with a calmer voice. “I know that it’s different, that’s why I’ve been trying to alter my views to suit your need and the custom here.”

Hearing those from his wife, he laughed. “You’ve been trying to do what exactly?! What did you compromise, huh?”

“I compromised a lot of things, Thoar! You’re just too clouded with your judgment to see them even if they’re right in front of your eyes.”

“What? I’m too blind? Bah! Nonsense!”

She stood up and faced her husband head on. She was also a fighter and she would never go down without a fight. She would give as best as she got.

“You stubborn man! Don’t you see that I’ve literally sacrifice my home to be with you? I left Skeistl when you asked me too even though I’ve told you that my family still need me to support them. I told you that my parents need me to take care of them because I’m the only one they have left. But you told me to come with you and I did!”

“I didn’t tell you to do anything! You did that yourself. It was your decision, not mine. Don’t try to put the blame on me, woman!”

“Yes it was my decision, but I made it because of you. Because you said that it wasn’t right for a man to move into his wife’s home, I followed you to yours. And I took your name even though I said that I wanted to keep mine.”

Thoar was furious. How dare this woman openly defy him. He had never met a woman like his wife, for sure. No woman in Proscris would be able to stand up to her husband just like what she did now. If they did do that, then it must be the husband’s fault as well. A man should never let his wife controlled him. Even that lousy wife of Roan wouldn’t dare to leave the house if only his brother could be a little stronger in his attitude towards his wife. Thoar would not be like his brother. He would be able to control his wife no matter what happen. He wouldn’t lose this argument to his wife. And even though some of his friends said that he would lose her if he didn’t try to at least see the matter from her point of view, he didn’t budge from his stance even an inch.

“Are you trying to put the blame on me now?! Are you saying that I coerced you to do all of those things?!” yelled Thoar.

“No!” Lorrona was almost hysterical now. Her face was crunched up as if she was in pain. She ran her hands through her hair and mussed it. “I didn’t say that. You didn’t force me to do anything, Thoar. But that’s not the point! You can’t keep on demanding me to do as you like without giving something in return!”

“But that’s what supposed to happen in a marriage, Lorrona!”

“NO, IT’S NOT!” she shouted the words from the top of her lungs.

They both stopped in their respective places, both frozen. She sighed and went to the other bedroom in their house that was initially reserved for their future children, but then turned into a guest room because Lorrona said that she wanted to wait before having children. Thoar didn’t stop her. There was nothing that he could do to make her see sense now. He could only hope that after sleeping it off, they could have a much more civilized conversation come morning. He didn’t go to the other room though. He took a seat back on his chair and slumped, the fight leaving his body.

He didn’t want to keep on having these arguments with his wife. But she had neglected her duties as his wife and people started to talk. He knew that the people had such a power over a man. He didn’t dare to imagine what will happen to him and his stubborn wife if the word spread out that he couldn’t control his own wife. But he loved his wife dearly, and deep down he didn’t want to cause her more pain. He knew that he needed to start thinking about his priorities. He knew that he couldn’t keep on listening to the people’s talk. People would always talk. But he asked himself whether he was ready to face the severity of the people’s judgment towards himself if he did choose his wife over the normal custom. The answer was no. he wasn’t ready.

And so, he stayed in the other room that night and for many nights after. They drifted apart. Arguments after arguments were started by one of them without any conclusion being made. They were constantly fighting and Thoar was haunted by sleepless nights as he recounted what happened earlier in the day. He was plagued with memories of his harsh words to his wife and he was going weary by the seconds. He couldn’t concentrate on doing his duty as the member of the King’s army. But still, he didn’t change his mind. And Lorrona didn’t change hers either. This continued for several weeks that turned to months. Because of the constant arguments, they silently decided to never talk to each other anymore. But still the stare of the people on the streets when they saw Lorrona went to her trainings were of a big discomfort for Thoar. Every time he went outside, people would give him that look. He just couldn’t stand it anymore and decided to confront his wife once again.

“Lorrona,” he called softly, when he saw her entering the front door after one of her trainings. She looked tired.

Lorrona stopped and looked at her husband in shock. Months of silence and then suddenly he wanted to talk. “What, Thoar?”

“Sit. Let’s talk.”

“Talk about what? The weather?”

“No.” Thoar gritted his teeth to control his flaring temper. “Us.”

“Is there any us to begin with?” she asked quietly.

Thoar chose to ignore that. “Lorrona, I’m asking you again. And I’m asking you kindly here. Will you pleasestop from going to that training?”

“No.”

“Look. People talk behind our backs here. Do you want them to continue talking about us for the rest of our lives? Do you want them talking about you?”

“I think you’re just afraid of them talking about you, Thoar.”

That sentence practically ended their conversation in a shouting match, just like usual. They stayed in their respective rooms again that night. And the silence returned. But once again, Thoar couldn’t help feeling like he was a failure. The way people talked and looked at him when he walked past them. He couldn’t imagine if this news reached his father. He would be extremely furious with him. And disappointed. Thoar could handle furious, but not disappointment from his father. He grew more and more desperate to make his wife understood his stance. This led them to another talk.

“Lorrona, please. Stop!” said Thoar softly.

“Thoar, you need to stop thinking about what people say.”

“But my reputation! Our reputations!”

“Is nothing of importance! I hated all these silence, Thoar. We were supposed to be happy. We were married. All that matters are here, Thoar. Here, in this family. In this house. In our relationship.”

“Lorrona, you don’t understand!”

“Yes, it’s true. I don’t understand. I don’t understand you, Thoar.”

“What?”

“You choose to sacrifice what we have just because people talk. I thought you’re braver than that. I admit that I didn’t work on this relationship either, but I’m ready to start working on it now. I was miserable for all these months and I can’t stand it any longer. I know that it’s not too late for us. But, please. I can’t be the only one trying.”

“Lorrona…”

She sighed and rubbed her temple wearily. “Just sleep on it. Think about it. If you decide that you want to salvage your reputation more than you want to start trying to change together with me, then it’s your choice. Just let me go, then. But if you want to try, I amwilling to try with you, Thoar. After all, I still love you.”

She left after that, and from their conversation, Thoar started to ponder upon their lives for the last few months. And now as his head cooled from the anger, he started to see the logic in his wife’s argument. He remembered one of their first arguments about his demands and tried to see it from his wife’s point of view. She had given him so much while he gave her nothing in return. He kept on demanding her to do things that he thought suit the custom here in Proscris, but he didn’t even try to see how she felt about it. If it was hard for him to change his ways to suit his wife, then it would be certainly just as hard for her to change hers to suit him. He looked back at his wife and he tried to get that feeling of awe back in his mind. He recalled the time when he fell in love with her. He fell in love with her because she was different. She was brave, strong-headed, and just as skillful in fighting as he was. That was why he loved her and now he wanted to change that. He suddenly realized that he had been acting so stupid all this time. He looked back to their most recent argument and determined that he would change. His wife was right. He couldn’t keep on paying attention to what people say about him or his family. He needed to start not to care so much about what they say. He would choose his wife over whatever the people might say about them. With that, he went to bed with a light heart and a small smile on his face.

The next morning found Lorrona gaping in front of the kitchen door. She couldn’t believe what she saw happening in her and her husband’s kitchen.

“What on earth are you doing, Thoar?” she gasped.

Thoar turned and looked sheepishly at his wife standing at the door, seemingly afraid to come into the kitchen. He didn’t know what to say to explain his situation but the flour in both his hands and the half ruined kitchen seemed to be self-explanatory for his wife.

“Are you…” she trailed off.

“Yes, no need to say it out loud. It’s enough to know that you know it,” he answered.

She was still confused and he knew that she had questions that he would need to answer. He sighed and gestured for her to take a seat. Once they both were seated quite comfortably on the chairs nearby, he cleared his throat.

“So, I was having quite a long conversation with myself last night after you went to bed,” he started. She opened her mouth but he motioned her to wait until he finished talking. “As I said before, I was having a conversation with myself about us. To make matter short, I decided that I am willing to try with you, Lorrona. I love you and I didn’t want to lose you just because I was too stubborn to change my ways or too afraid with what the people might say. But, please, don’t expect me to change quickly. I’ve been raised here with the strict discipline and the value deeply embedded in my mind. I’ve practiced the custom and the traditions here my whole life. I couldn’t just simply throw it all away and I couldn’t simply throw care into the wind regarding the people. I’m still not ready to change that much, but I will try for you. This will need time. And I hope you will give me at least that.”

By the end of his little speech, his wife was brimming with tears but a huge smile was on her face. The smile, just like it always did, made her shine so bright that she became even more beautiful than she was before. He looked at her expectantly. She stood up and embraced him tightly.

“Of course. Of course I will give you time. Thank you. Thank you,” she whispered quietly in his ears.

The days after that incident, they were both happy and blissful. There were no other words to describe them. Thoar started to let his wife go to her practices — she insisted on going even though her training period was over — with a light heart. He even started to help her with the house chores even though he was still a bit reluctant at the beginning. But with her encouragement, he was starting to open up. In return, she was adapting to the expectations that the people in Proscris had for the wives. She learned to wait for her husband and be at home before him so that she would be able to welcome him when he reached home. They were learning some new things about each other and they had never been happier. And that was why they never saw the problem coming their way.

It was a typical day in the household. Thoar asked for a permission to stay at home on this day because he knew that today Lorrona would receive the letter which would tell her whether she was accepted in the King’s army or not. He knew that his wife would be accepted. He, of all people, knew her skills and capability. And so, preparing for the happy announcement from his wife, he decided to practice what he learned from doing chores around the house from her. He would surprise her with a clean house and a warm food on the table by the time she was back.

He was in the middle of cleaning their front yard — something that he didn’t dare to do when he knew that there would be many people around his house — when it happened. A gasp was all it took. He was holding a broom and there was no mistake as to what he was doing. The woman was his neighbor and he knew that her husband was in the army. She had been walking towards his house in order to tell him that her husband was promoted to a higher rank and as his senior officer Thoar was invited to a celebration party in her house. Imagine her shock when she turned around the corner and saw her husband’s Captain sweeping the front yard. She gasped then and Thoar froze.

“I —,” he started but he found no words to explain his situation to the woman.

She only looked confused and quickly turned back to the way she came before. Left alone, Thoar dropped the broom he was holding and practically ran inside the house. He felt fear for the first time. He knew that he was starting to open up to his wife and that they were communicating — finally — after all these time they spent arguing about matters. But knowing the fact that he was ready to change to himself and having his neighbor actually saw him doing it were two very different things. He just knew that they would never understand. They would judge him without any remorse. They would talk about this behind his back, but now he would know that they were doing it and it would feel worse. Without he realized, he broke into cold sweat. He, who had never faltered in the sight of the enemy and who would always charge ahead without knowing the word fear, now felt the terror that, slowly but sure, creeping through his body. He was frozen there. And so, it was at that exact same position that Lorrona found him a few minutes later.

“Thoar? What are you doing there?” she asked him with the worry apparent in her tone. She had never seen her husband that pale before.

Thoar looked at his wife. He couldn’t tell her what happened. It would further shame him. He would totally lose his face. His neighbor had caught him at a moment of weakness. And from the time he ran away from the front yard into the safety of his home, his mind wouldn’t stop thinking of many possibilities of what would happen. This only frightened him further. He started to rethink his decision to change his ways and bit by bit try to learn Lorrona’s custom. He came into the conclusion that he decided to do so because she made him do it. She must have used some kind of trickery at him so that he would change his mind about keeping his custom and tradition. Yes, it must be so, because if it wasn’t what happened, then Thoar Wiekt would be admitting his weakness as a man by agreeing to do the things that should be done by his wife. And he couldn’t have that thought going around among his friends, could he? So, he did what he always does in battle. He fought back.

“It’s you,” said Thoar quietly.

“What? What do you mean?” asked his wife, confused.

“It’s because of you that I’m becoming weak. There’s no way that I actually want to do these things if it wasn’t because of you. It’s all because of you, Lorrona. If only you just stop arguing with me and be a good wife, then none of this would happen!” He stood rigidly and glared at his wife furiously.

“What are you talking about? Thoar? I thought you said —,” She wasn’t finished but he cut her mid-sentence.

“I didn’t say anything! Stop trying to make me change my way. You’re my wife. You choose to come here with me, so you’ll have to behave according to the custom and tradition here in Proscris. We’ll forget everything that happened these past few days. I was blinded by your words, but now I finally saw the truth again.” He took a deep breath. He didn’t look at his wife. He was afraid that he would fall into her trick once again if he did so. He made up his mind and with determined voice, continued, “You will quit going to practice and stay at home. And if you somehow got yourself accepted to the King’s army, you will give your senior officers your letter to be relieved from your post. Do I make myself clear?”

For a moment, there was no sound whatsoever in the house. The silence was broken only by the rustling evening wind. After a while, Lorrona walked away from her spot in front of her husband towards the guest bedroom.

“I asked you a question and I hoped you will provide me with an answer,” said Thoar coldly. His ruthless and stubborn attitude was back with a vengeance. There was nothing stopping him now to do anything to protect his wounded pride.

Lorrona stopped and answered him without turning her back to face him. “You made yourself perfectly clear. You wouldn’t sacrifice your pride to fight for me, for us. I understand. But I want you to know that I can’t live like that, Thoar. I was just not raised that way. Don’t worry. I won’t disgrace you further by being here and acting like an incompetent wife. That’s why I will leave and go back to Skeistl as soon as it is possible for me to get on a ship.” She walked another few steps but then stopped and this time, she turned to face him. “Just so you know, I was rejected by the King’s army because they said I wasn’t good enough. But I thought that it would be okay as long as you’re here with me. I was really happy with your change of heart, Thoar. But apparently, I was only fooling myself. Goodbye, Thoar Wiekt.”

And with that, she went into the room and slammed the door behind her. Thoar Wiekt was a stubborn man. He wouldn’t give in so easily when he thought that he was right — and sometimes he was still stubborn even though he was in the wrong. This time, he was absolutely sure that he was right — or at least he wanted to believe that he was — so, it wasn’t that surprising to find him standing arrogantly at the same spot where he literally just told his wife to go back to her homeland by herself. Only he didn’t know that he just threw away the only thing that gave him real happiness in his life.