An Unfortunate Misunderstanding
Meg's, Meg's chicken legs, Big Fat Hen come lay some eggs! she would remember the village children taunting. Nephenee was the only girl outside her family who treated her with respect. But now she was developed into a young woman, and she was expected to be married.
She was to marry a man slightly older than she. His name was Zihark, and he was very attractive. He was taller than she, but not a towering giant; his face managed to be both masculine and feminine at the same time, and he had been talked of as one of the most open-minded men who had fought in the Mad King's War, which is saying something, considering Ranulf, Tormod, and the Commander Ike himself provided reasonably large competition.
But Meg's father Brom had forgotten that Zihark already declined, and even if he had remembered, he wouldn't have cared.
And he never bothered to tell Meg.
So naturally Meg was crushed when Zihark talked her up as though he found her charming, and then he finally got enough courage and firmness to tell her, "no."
"No," he said, "I'm sorry, Meg, but…" Zihark was unable to finish his statement before the woman began to cry. Thoughts of the children chanting ran through her head. He had been talked of as open-minded, but when push came to shove he couldn't see past her body shape. She ran away as quickly as possible.
Zihark contemplated the implications of what he had just done. Meg didn't know the whole story. No one did. Except for him, his lost love, and Muarim. Zihark simply prayed that Ilyana did not show up and do something innocently suggestive in time for Meg to see.
But as with all oddly specific prayers, what can go wrong will go wrong. "Hi, Zihark!" Ilyana shouted as the tiny mage wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "What do you say we go out for dinner?"
"Not now, Ilyana!" Zihark shouted, attempting to push her away.
"Why not?" Ilyana asked, crossing her arms.
"Because," Zihark began, "I just broke Meg's heart and if she catches you doing… this… I might not be able to un-break it!"
"Who cares about Meg?" Ilyana asked.
"I DO!!" Zihark yelled. The sound resonated for several seconds. He repeated calmly, "I do."
And as ironic as it seemed, it was those last two statements Meg caught. Her eyes lit with joy. "You do?" she asked.
"Of course," Zihark said, "Why do you think it took me so long to officially turn you down? The last thing I wanted to do was hurt your feelings. I like you, Meg. I like you a lot, but…" and then he turned his head away.
Meg looked down at her stomach. "I can lose thirty pounds!" Meg promised, "Maybe even forty if I try hard enough!"
"That's not what I mean," Zihark sighed. "Meg, your weight doesn't bother me one bit," Zihark said with the finality that proved the statement about his open-mindedness was true. "But…" he began, "I have never loved anyone romantically since my first girlfriend. I'm… for all intents and purposes…asexual." He closed his eyes as he said that last part, sighing deeply. "I want you to have a man who can satisfy you in all areas and… that's something I can't promise."
Meg cried, "But it's… not fair! The one man who likes me doesn't want intimacy!"
"Many things in life aren't fair, Meg. Like the fact that racism still exists even in the most enlightened of nations, or like why you're worried I'll dislike you for your weight when Ilyana eats as much as a humpback whale and weighs less than a hundred pounds."
"Hey! I resent that statement!" Ilyana yelled while eating some cherry pie and cakes, fistfuls at a time, crumbs and frosting all over her lips.
"Zihark," Meg said, "Where can I find a man who's as open-minded and wonderful as you?"
"Well Ike is," Zihark began excitedly and then disappointedly remarked, "A taken homosexual. Oh, but Ranulf…" he followed up with the same speech pattern, "Would probably not want to settle down." Getting desperate, he mentioned Tormod, before remembering his unfortunate minority. But thinking of Tormod reminded him of someone else. Suddenly he had an epiphany.
"Muarim!" Zihark exclaimed.
Meg asked incredulously, "Muarim?"
"Sure, what's wrong with him?" Zihark asked.
Meg felt sheepish to admit the reason—he wasn't her type. The same reason she feared Zihark would not want her. She thought Zihark would chastise her for being shallow, or worse, racist, but he didn't.
"Okay," was all he said.
"You're not mad?" Meg asked.
"Of course not," was all Zihark said before he walked off into the sunset. As he left, he called back, "Good luck with your search."
It was at that moment of truth that Meg realized Zihark was the only man she'd ever love, and due to his lack of attainability, she was for all intents and purposes, asexual.
She pondered whether or not this change meant she should go after him, but decided not to try. After all, it had been a significant trouble for Zihark to reject her; he had already gone through the pain and suffering that was attached to such an act; why make his actions be in vain?
Author's Note: Yes, Zihark knew about Ike and Soren. He's an observant guy; Ike told him no such thing. But it's not as if Zihark holds it against him.