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«I will be leaving for a battle tomorrow.»
That can’t be happening. They just got married a couple of days ago, and now he was leaving her! She could only stare at her newlywed husband in shock. How could he do this to her? How could he leave her so soon? And he wasn’t even saying anything after that. Just staring down at her.
He had a sad, guilty look on his face, but it only made her angrier. Could he not refuse it? They just got married! Wasn’t he too young for a battle anyway? How could he go out there? What if something happened to him? He has been training for years, yes, but can he actually handle a real battle?
She was his wife, she was supposed to support him, but she just couldn’t. She couldn’t let her husband go into battle so early! Shouldn’t they celebrate their wedding some more? They shouldn’t take him away from her! At least not just yet. Just give her some more time.
She was supposed to be the smart one. She should just smile and wish him luck. She should just hug him, perhaps, before letting him go. Acknowledge somehow. But instead she raised her hands and hit his torso, lowering her head to hide her frustration. She was all prepared to sleep, she thought he came to spend the night with her. Not to tell her that. Not to tell her that he was leaving her.
«It is not far from here. We will be done in no time. You won’t even notice that I was gone, Sorghaghtani. It will be quick and without any losses, trust me.»
His hands were wrapping around her, gently stroking her back. The feeling was way too nice to let herself relax, but just for a bit. Her hands gripped his clothes, while the tears filled her eyes. How could she know if it would actually be quick? Or if there wouldn’t be any losses? And how dare he say that she wouldn’t notice him being gone? Of course she would.
She tried to stand up from her throne, but her legs just gave up. The only reason she didn’t fall was thanks to her husband’s hands around her. He slowly sat down on the floor and then sat her down on his lap. Before she knew it, her hands were around his neck, and she was sobbing in his hands.
«I can’t let you go! What if something happens? We just got married! I am not letting you go out there. You are staying here.»
She tightened her grip around the man’s neck, just for him to pat her back and start rubbing his cheek against her head. Last time he did that yesterday, when he said that she was just amusing. What was so amusing about her worrying about her husband? Was that just some silly games? Was going to a battle from which he might not return so funny to him? What was wrong with him?
«I’m so happy. I’m so happy you don’t want me to leave.»
He was just being ridiculous. Sorghaghtani sat up straight and looked carefully at her smiling husband. He seemed to have not a single care in the world. He seemed to not care about anything at all. Just smiling and staring at her like a dog. If he had a tail, he would be probably wiggling with it. Did he not understand the situation they were in? Or was he pretending not to? How could he be happy?
«I do really need to go though. I will make it as quick as possible to return to you. How does that sound?»
Sounded awful. She just slammed her body against his, crying into his shoulder again. How could he stay so cheerful? What if he gets injured while making it quick? What was even quick for a battle? A day? A month? What if he will be ordered to go further and not back? What if he will have to go into another battle right after returning? She couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t let her go.
«How about this. I will sleep with you tonight, and I will leave early morning, so that tomorrow night you will sleep with me as well? So you won’t spend a night without me.»
His lips gently pressed against her head. That wasn’t enough to stop her from crying, but it did make her feel a little better. She didn’t want to say anything, so instead she just nodded slightly, but that was enough of a response for him.
In a second, he picked her up and stood up, not letting them be apart for even a second. He sat her down carefully on her bed, still holding her by the waist with one hand, while her hands were wrapped around his neck. He quickly threw off the outer layer of his clothes and got in bed to her, laying down and letting her get settled on him, wrapping his hands gently around her. Perhaps, she should’ve laid down straight on him, instead of next to him and placing her head on his shoulder. Then it would’ve been much harder for him to get rid of her in the morning.
«Don’t leave me, Tolui.»
Sorghaghtani just gripped his robe, but let one arm let go as he placed his on it. She let him intertwine their fingers and watched him bring her hand to his lips, kiss it and then let them rest on his chest. That did make her feel slightly better, but it would make her feel so much better if he just stayed. If she just woke up and it all came out to be a joke. Or a bad dream. Anything but the truth.
She can’t let him go. But she also couldn’t fight the sleep. Not when his warmth was around her. Not when he was whispering to her about how he was going to make the battle last as little as possible to return with a victory in her name. Not when his lips were pressing against her head with each sentence. With each word. How could anyone possibly fight off the sleep when they were in so much comfort?
Unfortunately, that comfort was gone as fast as it came to her. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to feel around the bed. Only to find nothing. She was alone in it. She jumped off the bed and looked around the tent, trying to find any hint of her husband in the room. Thankfully, he was still there. All alone, standing near her throne and putting something on. She looked at him for a bit and then started walking towards him.
He didn’t notice her. Or at least pretended not to. Most likely second, since he opened one of his arms for her to comfortably bump into his side as his hand wrapped around her. The metal felt so uncomfortable against her skin, so cold, while her cheeks were still warm from the pillows. But she was just happy to be able to hug her husband before he left.
«Sorghaghtani... I didn’t mean to wake you up. I thought it would be better to change here, since you were asleep and that way I would take even less time to get back to you. I have to leave now, though...»
She slept for too long. If she woke up even earlier, maybe she would manage to persuade him to stay with her in bed for some time. She couldn’t just let him go like that. At the very least, she could see him off, right? Wives are supposed to do that, aren’t they?
«I want to see you off.»
She looked up at him with slightly watery eyes. His face, serious earlier, immediately softened as his hand cupped her cheek. And she leaned closer into the hand, let his thumb brush away the tears from her eyes. It was so nice to still feel him before he left. But he didn’t look too happy about her words.
«I would love that... But it’s still cold outside, and your clothes are so thin... Wait, I have an idea.»
He let go of her, so she had no choice but to do the same as he started walking around the tent. Like he was looking for something. She just stood in place, confused, and watched him. Finally, he stopped near the bed and started looking around there. And that’s when he came back to her and put on her his outer robe from yesterday.
It wasn’t too heavy, definitely heavier than hers, but it was less warm than what she usually wore. But it was just an outer robe for before sleep, so it made sense. But it had that nice yellow colour, the same as almost all of her husband’s clothes. She let herself sink into it, while his hands wrapped around her once again.
She grabbed one of his hands and led it up to her cheek, making him cup it just like before, while her hands were simply resting on his shoulders. She took a good look at his armour. It seemed to be good enough to protect him, but who knows what their enemies are capable of. Her only worry was for her husband to return without any injuries.
The hand on her cheek gently turned her face up. And so she did. She looked up at her husband, whose face was much closer than before. And it was getting only closer. But she wasn’t fighting it. She just let her lips smile a little as she reached up herself and let their lips finally connect.
It felt nice. His lips were a little dry, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that they were on hers. What mattered was that his hands were around her. What mattered was this moment. Their lips connected, their bodies pressed against each other, the way his palm got all sweaty on her cheek. When they finally let each other go, she could feel her cheeks getting red and hot, but she could also see her husband blushing. They just stared at each other like that for a bit.
«I wanted to do this after returning...»
Tolui spoke first, looking down in embarrassment. His voice was barely above a whisper, but she still managed to hear it. She couldn’t help but chuckle lightly, as her hands cupped his whole face and made him look at her, instead of the floor. She just smiled at him and quickly kissed his lips again.
«Consider this a good-luck charm. And after you return, we can kiss even more. How does that sound?»
His face immediately lit up. He smiled widely and kissed both of her cheeks before grabbing his sword and getting out of the tent. She walked after him, wrapping herself better in the robe and watching her husband climb onto the horse. She walked down a couple of steps and called him with her hand to lower himself. Thankfully, he didn’t leave yet, so he leaned towards her and let her place another kiss on his lips. After that, he sat straight in the horse and smiled at her, leaving as the sun was barely rising.
When it became harder to see him, she walked back into the tent, keeping her husband’s robe on. Even if it was warm inside, she was still a bit chilly from being outside. She simply climbed into her bed and covered herself fully in the robe before the tears started rolling down her face. All she could do now was to pray to God for Tolui’s safe return.