Disclaimer: Don't own a thing. And it's probably safer for the series if I don't hehe.
The sun was out, heating the cold night that had just passed. A woman observed from her home's window that it was probably half way to noon. Her smile was serene and she sat at her table, soaking up the rays and drinking tea from her favored tea cup. It would have painted a perfect picture of serenity, only impeded by the unreasonable stacks of paper swamping the table and the fact that under her robes, the sweltering sun was quickly dampening her dress with sweat.
Despite years of living here, she still hadn't quite adapted to her surroundings yet. Ren Kougyoku, 8th imperial princess to the Kou empire. Well, at least she was. Right now she merely acted as ambassador for the Kou empire, half-sister to its current ruler and wife to her assigned country's local hero. Yes, despite her dreams of marrying the great Hero King Sinbad, she had been forced to marry a commoner to appease the elder council of both her home country and this one.
The day when her fate had been decided for her was painful. Even now, years later she would still relive those few moments and remember pain like daggers in her heart.
"We cannot wed. That is the man you must marry."
"But I love you!"
"You will love him."
"I love you."
"Princess..."
"I am no longer a princess so there is no basis for this union."
"There is more meaning than you think."
"I don't love him."
"But... I don't love you."
A heavy sigh dripped from her pink lips, a sign of improvement on her part. Perhaps once upon a time, she would have cried herself to sleep in her bedchambers for a night or two, locking everyone out: her servants, her appointments, even her husband.
Though she could never quite keep him out. Kougyoku's straight face quirked with the slightest of smiles at the thought. Her husband wasn't the local hero for nothing. He was strong, though not quite like Sinbad. He was dashing, completely outclassed by her first love. He was crafty, though nowhere near as wily. But those things which weren't what she grew to admire about him. He was honest, she hated that about him. He was earnest, sometimes she wondered if it was a trick. He was kind, so much that a child would call him naïve. He saw her as an equal, not someone to be manipulated.
The differences between her husband and Sinbad were far too many. Where Sinbad was like the sun, ever radiant and life giving. Her husband was like a candle, gentle and warming. She had once always believed that Sinbad was better, that this person was always an inferior pretender of her beloved. But in time, she learned. Sinbad was exactly like the sun she had imagined: Overwhelming, all encompassing, and inspiring a passion that made your soul burn. And burn she did, for as she drew closer to him, his radiance did nothing but overpower her. In contrast, that small candle that she saw her husband as was pleasant. He accommodated her. His soul like the flames, small and warming when huddled against, stalwart and wild when fanned.
She sighed again, solemn silence engulfed the whole of her room. Despite her position, she had opted in the past few years to live alone with her current family. Keeping only the minimal amount of people as her entourage from Kou. It was not as if she wished to sever ties with them, the reason why she still wears clothes unfit for the country's arid weather. Rather, she felt that her husband wasn't quite so happy with their arrangement then. He smiled, he laughed, but he was uncomfortable. He hadn't told her, but that was just his kindness. Being forced to live in his country, he swallowed any discomfort and adapted to her wants and needs. Never once had he asked anything of her, never once told her to change. There was the occasional jab but he never went anywhere with those.
"Hmhmhm"
The former princess raised a sleever to cover the sudden giggles that overcame her. She had really changed. There was no doubt in her mind that the time she'd spent here with her husband had tempered her into a more likable person. She could almost imagine her past self sitting in her place, sickened by the thought of the man she'd married. Wasting her life pining only for Sinbad. The ambassador looked out the window at the sad thought. Perhaps she would have even hated this country.
Yes, this place at the edge of the desert, somewhere dirty and unforgiving. Had her past self have the chance to compare this place to her temperate home. She would have called it lifeless and ugly. But she knew better now. This country was beautiful. It was not as lush as Kou, nor was it as bustling as Sindria but this country was beautiful. Not in its landscape, not in its food, culture or anything that one could normally boast. This country's beauty was in its people. A city-state whose inner sanctums were filled with happiness despite certain death that lay beyond the walls. Merchants, farmers, fishermen, sailors, caravans all working hard and enjoying every moment to savor the fruits of their labor. She had missed it before but she saw it now, that concept of joy beyond a hard day's work, the wish to preserve a small happiness in a world of only hurt. This city reflected in her husband well. Whether he was fighting to protect the people, or working his job as a cart driver to scrape a few silver to bring meat scraps home, he was truly this country's hero.
Kougyoku brought her cup to her lips but felt nothing other than porcelain. She felt foolish. Had her thoughts occupied her mind for so long that she had forgotten emptying her cup? A look at her progress in paperwork and the large change in the sun's position told her yes. Sighing for the third time that day, she prepared her stiff shoulders so as to help the servants with preparing lunch. He promised to be home and share the meal with her.
Two hands clasped around her shoulders from behind and her already stiff shoulders tensed up even more. Her heart stopped for a moment as the thought of a stranger suddenly sneaking up behind her, despite her skills, was a frightening. But the momentary skip of her heart wasn't out of terror. Not when she felt familiar lips press against hers with the flavor of Kou tea. So that's why the cup was empty.
She felt her assailant move away and tell her with an intoned joke, "You're way too tense.".
Her eyes fell on him with a flat glare, "And you should stop doing that.".
"I'd be more intimidated if you didn't have such an adorable blush on your face."
"Sh-shut up! That's just from the heat.", the ambassador turned away petulantly.
"Don't be such a child. You're the delegate of the mighty Kou empire to the humble desert city-state of Balbadd.", he smirked, "Though as your husband, I wouldn't mind since its cute.".
"I really hate you.", Kougyoku spat at the man as he gently swept her up into his arms.
"That's a lie and you know it.", he raised a skeptical brow.
Kougyoku hid her flustered face in his chest and breathed in his comforting scent. "It's the truth.", she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a deep kiss.
"At least it was. Alibaba.".