"What?! How could you do this to me? I am too young to marry that…that…argh! You see? Words fail me, for I can find none fit to describe my distaste with this arrangement!" I stormed, allowing myself a small smirk of satisfaction when I saw how nervous my tirade was making my father, although I knew that it was not me that he feared, but rather, my politically powerful "suitor" in the next room.
"Katharean, please, contain yourself. You are eighteen years old and still unwed! There are not many maidens of your standing who can boast the same thing. Why, you're sister was betrothed to her man, Garth, when she was still a girl of fifteen and she did not complain the way you do!"
"Because she was in love, father! I refuse to enter into a commitment of any description with a man who I have just met, and who I have no interest in meeting again!"
"That is not for you to decide! This union will bring peace between our two families, and we have much land to gain through-"
"Land! You would sell my soul for a yard of land! Is that all I am worth to you?! Earth and trees and rocks?! If you force me into this marriage, I will see to it that every square inch of your land is burned to ashes before I ever utter the words 'I do' to that insipid fool of a man!"
My father sighed heavily and sank wearily into a chair, holding his head in his hands. For the first time, I could see how the years had finally caught up with him. He had always been so strong, invincible to my young mind, but now, I saw him for what he truly was. It is a disheartening and disillusioning affair to realise that the man who was your hero, who kept you safe and warm throughout your childhood, is just a man like any other. I could see this in him now, that he was only human, and that he did not know what his next move should be. I almost felt sorry for him, almost gave up my fight before realising how much I stood to lose if I did.
I had the upper hand in the argument now, I saw, and I could not allow my love for my father soften my will, as it had done so many times before.
"I won't." I whispered. He looked up at me through weary eyes, nodding wordlessly. He stood up and walked towards me, clasping my shoulders in his hands and kissing my forehead, lightly…and I knew that I had won.
Without another word, he turned and strode into the next room to face my rejected suitor with the pride and confidence of a man who had not just been bested by his teenage daughter. I smiled to myself, although I knew that this was only a small victory, and that he would continue to urge me to wed. I wondered sadly how many more fights like these I could possibly win, he was becoming more and more persistent, and eventually, I would be beaten down by his will.
I sighed and headed for my bed chambers, the sound of the front doors slamming and the angry shouts of my suitor meeting my ears like the sound of sweet bird song on a summer's breeze.