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It was her father's wish that she marry Lord Divish, and though Stephanie had mixed feelings about marrying a man so much older than herself when she'd just barely turned eighteen, she was determined to be a good wife to him. It was her duty, her lot as a woman. She would not be caught voicing her doubts aloud. She would, however, be lying if she said that meeting him didn't make her nervous.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Stephanie. I hope that your journey here was a pleasant one," Lord Divish said, his voice soft with a gentleness Stephanie had not expected. He sounded kind. She could fall in love with a kind man. Stephanie accepted the hand he'd offered her and, for the first time since she learned she was to be married, felt hopeful.
He was older, yes, but there was still some color in his hair, some liveliness to his face. And he was handsome, with features that would probably only become more distinguished with age. This was Lord Divish, the man that was to be her husband.
"The trip was pleasant enough," Stephanie replied with a warm smile, "though, I admit that I am not used to traveling so far."
"If you are tired, I can escort you directly to your room so you can rest. Sir Robard here will see to it that any belongings you've brought with you are taken there later."
Stephanie spared a glance towards the man at Divish's side. He had a rounder face than Lord Divish, but that didn't make him look more approachable. If anything, he had a stern aura about him. But perhaps that was natural for someone in his position. Stephanie did think that the guard captain seemed a bit wary of her presence though, as if he wasn't sure what to make of her yet.
She had faith that she'd win him over, given enough time.
Stephanie was given that time, but not in the way she'd imagined. Mere weeks after she'd married Lord Divish, Sir Havel Medek of Valdek stormed the castle. They had little warning. A messenger came, telling them that Pribyslavitz was burning, and then Havel's soldiers were upon them.
"The castle is lost," Lord Divish said with a deep breath before turning to Sir Robard and his wife. "And I fear there will be no coming to terms with Sir Havel based on how he has conducted himself so far."
"Send me and half of our remaining men out to meet him," Sir Robard said, "we'll create an opening in their ranks for you, Lady Stephanie, and any non-combatants to escape with the rest of our soldiers."
"Hm. No. I would have you leading the men protecting my wife instead, Sir Robard."
"But—"
"You can protect her and the others better than I ever could. And besides, they'll want to take me alive. I may yet be able to bargain for my life and the lives of my men, but I will be in a better position to do so if you escape."
"You just said Sir Havel wouldn't negotiate though," Stephanie interrupted.
Lord Divish gave her a strained smile. He must have been hoping she wouldn't notice that. "I will still try."
"My lord," Sir Robard started, a tremble in his voice, "you can't ask me to do this."
"I can. And I am," Lord Divish replied bluntly, "please, old friend, protect my wife and the others. At all costs."
Sir Robard shut his mouth and grimaced. He didn't want to leave Lord Divish. Stephanie didn't either, but the sounds of battle scared her and she wasn't brave enough to demand they all stay together. Sir Robard took Lady Stephanie by the hand and started to lead her away, but Stephanie broke free and went to Lord Divish.
"My dear," he said, eyes full of sadness, "you have to go."
"I know," she replied, looking up at him and cupping his face in her hands. She tried to memorize the details she saw there. She may never see him again. No. She shook that thought. God would reunite them. She would pray for it every night and day until he did. Stephanie stood on the tips of her toes to kiss Lord Divish on the cheek and then said, "you must come back to me, when this is all over."
He took her hands, squeezed them affectionately and then gently steered her back towards Sir Robard.
Lord Divish and his men fought their way to the gates and held back Sir Havel's forces as best they could as Sir Robard's group tried to escape by jumping off the drawbridge to the moat below. The fall was somewhat steep and not everyone landed without injury, but Sir Robard did his best to catch as many as he could, including Stephanie. They fled from there, as quickly as they could without leaving anyone behind. But the slower pace meant that some of Lord Havel's soldiers caught up to them. Sir Robard intercepted them. Stephanie got to see why he'd been appointed guard captain first hand as he swiftly dispatched them.
"Stay behind me," Robard ordered as another pair of soldiers swarmed him. Their chamberlain panicked and tried to run, but he was immediately shot down by an arrow. Stephanie wouldn't forget that image any time soon. Robard shook his head and sighed.
Sir Robard's skill kept the rest of them alive and, eventually, they were able to flee into the forest and disappear. Robard didn't call for a break until the sky became dark. After that, him and his soldiers grouped together to discuss their options while Stephanie checked in on the others. She didn't have much to offer but soothing words. She hoped that was enough.
Finally, Sir Robard broke away from his soldiers and came to her.
"I defer to you, my lady," he started, "but if I may make a suggestion, I think it would be best to head to Skaltiz for the time being. Lord Radzig can offer us some protection and he will be able to help us appeal for help from King Wenceslas."
"I trust your judgment, Sir Robard. And I confess that I would be quite lost right now without you. I'm afraid I'm quite useless in this situation."
"You are no such thing, my lady," Sir Robard said, "you could have given into despair and spent your time moping, but you did not. Instead, you did your best to raise everyone's spirits. You will be the light that guides us through this darkness until we're able to get Lord Divish back."
Stephanie wiped away the tears threatening to form at the edge of her eyes. If Sir Robard needed her to be a light, then so be it. She would do her best now that she'd been given a proper role.
"Until we're able to get Lord Divish back," she agreed. The alternative wasn't worth thinking about.
Sometimes it felt like Sir Robard was the only person Stephanie had left on her side. They'd journeyed to Prague to ask King Wenceslas for help, but he had done nothing. Nothing! Stephanie had never felt so helpless in her life as she paced around the room her and Sir Robard were currently staying in.
"We'll figure out another way," Sir Robard said.
"What else is there to try?" Stephanie said, "we've run ourselves ragged trying to gather the support we needed and it's amounted to nothing."
"We can't give up on Lord Divish."
"I… I know," Stephanie sighed, "but… sometimes I realize I'm doing all of this for a man I barely know."
"Then ask me. Whatever you'd like to know. I'll tell you."
It wasn't the ideal way to get to know Lord Divish, but the offer did calm Stephanie down. She took a moment to think over what questions she wanted to know the answers to and then asked. Sir Robard humored every one. By the seventh one, she started to understand something about the nature of Sir Robard's relationship with Lord Divish. There was a fondness there that spoke of something more than simple friendship.
"You love him, don't you?" Stephanie asked softly. Sir Robard's eyes widened in panic. She supposed she had been too blunt. "It's alright. I'm glad. Really. That my husband was lucky enough to have someone like you by his side."
"Forgive me, my lady."
"There's nothing to forgive."
"I'm not sure about that." The way Sir Robard sulked told Stephanie she needed to dig deeper.
"Did Lord Divish return your feelings?"
"He… yes. He did. But he would never cheat on you, my lady. He ended our relationship before he married you. He said it wouldn't be fair to you to continue on behind your back. And I agreed."
"Well, that won't do," Stephanie said, "not at all."
"I… If you want me to resign my post—"
"I didn't mean it like that. I see no reason that we couldn't all be happy together."
"Do you… really mean that?"
"I do. When we finally see Lord Divish again, we'll both love him as much as we can to make up for all the time we've lost. Agreed?"
"Agreed, my lady," Sir Robard smiled, "I would love nothing more than to cherish you both for the rest of my life."
Stephanie approached Robard and hugged him. When he wrapped his arms around her in return, she felt restored. She could keep fighting now. For as long as it took.
In the end, it took seven years. Seven long years. Stephanie wasn't sure if she would have lasted if it weren't for Sir Robard. They picked each other up every time things got too hard and now, after raising the funds to pay her husband's ransom with the help of Lord Radzig and some other nobles, it was finally time to see their Lord Divish again.
She didn't immediately recognize the man they brought before her. Lord Divish's hair had gone white and he was thinner than she remembered. But when she put her hands to his face and felt it, that sense of strangeness vanished. This was Lord Divish, the man that was her husband.
She burst into tears and thrust her arms around his shoulders, not caring who saw her embrace him. He was finally back, finally returned to her.
"I'm relieved," Lord Divish whispered quietly into her ear, "I thought that once you saw me again, you'd be upset. I'm not the man I once was."
"Maybe not, but you're enough," she replied, "you'll always be enough."
"I hope so."
"There's someone else who's been waiting for your return as well."
Stephanie pulled back and then stepped aside, letting Lord Divish see Sir Robard. There was a moment of shy awkwardness between them before Sir Robard stepped forward and hugged Lord Divish.
"I missed you, old friend," Divish said, holding his guard captain just as tightly in return, "thank you for taking care of my wife."
"She looked after me as much as I looked after her," Robard admitted.
"He gives me too much credit," Stephanie said with a smile. She turned her attention back to Divish and added, "the three of us should speak in private."
Lord Divish seemed a bit confused by the request, but he didn't argue. The three of them reconvened in a private room upstairs. There, Stephanie explained the situation, that she knew about Divish's history with Robard and that she was alright with including him in their relationship. Naturally, it took Lord Divish aback for a moment, but once his surprise settled, he was happy to agree.
"If you're certain about this, my dear," he said.
"I am certain," Stephanie said, "we've all had enough time taken from us. So let's not waste any more of it."
From then on, the three of them were together. Their relationship was a poorly kept secret amongst anyone who worked at the castle, but no one complained. And why would they? Lord Divish was a fair ruler, his wife was kind, and his guard captain was competent. There was a bit of concern about an heir for a while, but that was eventually resolved. Whether it was Lord Divish's child by blood or not was another thing the people of Talmberg looked the other way on. Regardless of whose it was, there was one thing for certain: that the child would grow up well with three loving parents.