Mina walked down the path that ran through the village, arm in arm with her sister. On her back, she carried a pack with her belongings. She was meeting her husband at the edge of the village to go to her new home. Once the ceremony had ended, she and Thali had returned home to gather her things. Neither one of them had said anything about the ceremony or the fact that Mina was now married to a man that she had never met until that day.

"There he is," Thali said quietly, breaking the silence between them.

Mina looked to the end of the path before her to see her new husband and Caleb standing together. She swallowed her nervousness and closed the distance between the two pairs. She released her sister's arm and embraced her for a few seconds before moving to her brother. As Caleb wrapped his arms around her, he leaned down and whispered into her ear.

"It won't be as bad as you think it is. I can't promise you will be happy, but he will take care of you."

Caleb released her and took a step back, giving her a small smile. Mina returned the smile before turning her attention to Kolya. He offered his arm to her, which she took, and they continued down the path, leaving Caleb and Thali behind.

As he led her down the path, Mina looked up at him. His face expressed no emotions, but she could sense that he felt as awkward as she did. She wasn't sure what he expected out of this marriage. She didn't even know what she herself was expecting. There wasn't clear expectations when it came to an arranged marriage. This arrangement was nothing more than a businesslike transaction to her family, and orders for him. While she racked her brain for ideas on how to make this marriage mean something besides good standing for herself and her siblings, she didn't notice that they had turned off the main path. Eventually Kolya stopped in front of a small house. Mina pulled herself out of her contemplative state and took in the dwelling before her. It was not exactly what she had expected of a man that had dedicated his life to the Genii military. She had suspected that he lived in a bunker in the underground part of their civilization, not a quaint little farmhouse.

"Welcome to your new home," Kolya said, uttering his first words to her outside of their wedding.

Mina pulled her arm out of his and walked forward, opening the door to the house. As she entered the main room, she took in her surroundings. The kitchen and dining area sat off to one side, with a small living space on the other side of the room. A hallway at the back held three doors, a bathroom and two bedrooms.

Mina heard the door close behind her, indicating that Kolya had followed her into the house. She turned her gaze from the room to look at his face again. This time, she was able to see something more than a blank stare. He almost looked worried, like he was awaiting her opinion of his home. The fact that he seemed to value her opinion touched Mina's heart. She gave him a reassuring smile.

"It's lovely. Different than I expected, but I think that I will enjoy making this my home."

She watched as relief washed over his face. It seemed to soften his hard appearance, which changed Mina's view of him. When he wasn't actively frowning, he had a handsome face. When his eyes met hers, Mina realized that she had been staring and looked away quickly.

Kolya crossed the room and opened one of the doors on the back wall, revealing a bedroom with a single bed and a dresser. He looked to her and gestured to the room.

"I hope this room will be satisfactory for you."

Mina's face must have expressed her confusion for Kolya closed the distance between them and gently grasped her hand. Mina started slightly, as she hadn't been expecting him to touch her. She instantly regretted her actions when he quickly released her hand.

"I know that this marriage is not something you wanted. I expect nothing from you and I wanted to give you your own space. I don't plan on making your life any more difficult."

Mina could see the sincerity on his face, and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel. It almost seemed like he had been hurt by her reaction to him touching her, but when she looked in his eyes, she saw nothing that showed he felt anything towards her besides indifference. She could have sworn that she had briefly seen something at their wedding in his eyes that could only be described as lust or affection. The brief kiss they had shared had sparked something between them, but that spark seemed to have disappeared. Part of her wanted to kiss him again just to test it out, but her self-control and want to avoid the awkward conversation afterwards stopped her.

"Thank you Comman…" Mina started, stopping herself from finishing her formal addressal, "what would you like me to call you? Commander just doesn't seem like something you should call your husband."

The corner of Kolya's mouth rose in a smirk.

"You may call me Acastus."

"Very well. Acastus, thank you."

Mina pulled one of the straps from her pack off of her shoulder, and walked into her new bedroom. She opened the bag and began to unpack her belongings. As she began her work, she glanced out the door to see Kolya had disappeared. She hadn't heard the door close, so she assumed he was still in the house.

Her mind returned to her previous thoughts of what it would be like if she tried to reignite the small spark she had felt between them a few hours ago. They were stuck in this situation together, so maybe they should make the most of what they had been given. The room she was standing in pulled her back to reality. He had purposefully given her her own room, separating her from him. He had said that he did it for her benefit, but what if she had misread the feelings she thought she saw in his eyes. What if he really wanted nothing to do with her?

A/N: I know this chapter is super short, for which I apologize. I hope to update again in the next few days. Please review and let me know what you think!