Author's note: No promises, but this has been floating around on my desktop for a while so I thought I'd throw it up here and see what y'all thought.
Read and Review!!
Synopsis: They were married, but had never met. When they do meet, she's ready to move on, but Arthur isn't so sure.
Vatia watched the scene before her with curiosity a mostly open-air tavern, drunkards with their whores, muddy streets and an air of reckless abandon. This was the life her husband did not want her to see.
This was his reason for the proxy at the wedding. She laughed cruelly; this was why in the five long years of her marriage she had yet to meet her husband. He had, at one time, sent her letters but those had faded as the months passed into years.
From her corner she watched the group of men enter together, nine in total. Despite the armor only one bore Roman red. She finished her drink then stopped a wench as she passed. "Which one is Arthur?"
The woman snorted, "the one in the red. But there's no point in getting your hopes up. He doesn't take the women here."
"Why not?" Vatia asked her interest piqued. It was nice to know that the man at least honored his vows.
"They say he took some Roman pig as his wife back at home."
Vatia nodded inwardly seething. Some roman pig?
Smiling she rose and made her way over to the man who sat with his men around a long table. Without asking she perched herself on his lap the way she had seen the wenches do.
"My lady," he sputtered, his knights laughing. "Please remove yourself."
"Why?" She asked glancing over her should at him. He may be a piss poor husband, but he was attractive man she noted clinically.
"I'm married." He muttered almost losing himself in her dark eyes. His hands crept to her hips before he could stop himself but he could not bring himself to push her away.
"Funny," she shot back angry, "so am I."
Without another word to him she turned to face the laughing raven-haired knight across the table. Smiling she extended her hand in the roman fashion, which he accepted and brought to his lips.
"You must be the barbarians my husband told me about." She said sweetly. Lancelot frowned, but she continued before he could speak. "Let me introduce myself, I'm the Roman pig your commander married."
Lancelot looked at her in shock as Arthur stiffened beneath her. Vatia continued in a conspiratorial whisper, having caught their attention.
"Though I never met the man in all of the five years we've been married, proxy and all… You'll let him know I'm here won't you?"
Before Arthur could protest she rose gracefully, gave Lancelot a peck on the cheek and flounced from the tavern.
"Good looking woman." Lancelot pointed out struggling not to laugh. Arthur reached for the flagon, "There must be some mistake."
"Lucky bastard." Lancelot muttered as his commander left.
"There's been some mistake." Arthur said, "a misunderstanding."
"Well that's fairly obvious is it not?" Vitia snapped wandering the length of Arthur's study pausing to glance at one book or another.
"Did you know your proxy also insisted on having his share of matrimonial rights?" She growled, noticing with some satisfaction that Arthur's head whipped around. "And it took a very sharp knife to dissuade him?"
She almost laughed at the look of relief that crossed his face.
"I am sorry, my lady." He sounded remorseful. "I thought Flavious was an honorable man."
"You don't even know my name do you?" Vatia growled, honing in on his use of honorific titles. The man looked baffled, before his face flushed. "No matter."
He watched her warily. No woman gave up so easily.
"I just wanted to see," she waved her hand around to indicate Arthur and the fort. "Before…"
"Before what?" Arthur questioned.
"The annulment." She said, looking surprised at his lack of knowledge.
"Annulment?" Arthur sputtered, he had only met this goddess and she was leaving him?
"I did send a letter." She said pointedly indicating his own lack of post. Arthur glanced at the thick pile of orders, request forms, and other paperwork. It must have been buried.
"When were you planning on..?"
She smiled at him pityingly, "Don't worry, I've already arranged for a Bishop to come and oversee it. In a month we'll both be free and you can go chase all the pretty maids you want."
He did not miss the sheen on tears in her eyes as she walked stiffly from the room. How did he tell her that he didn't want it?