Peter cast his eyes upward as a winged creature flapped around in the distance. He already knew it was Ruby and not that far off was one of her family members monitoring her to make sure she won't be out of breath from her sudden flight. His outburst had caused Ruby to not speak with him for some days now; sleeping in a different quarter, getting her food brought to her, and even flying so he couldn't have a chance to apologize. He had hoped that Ruby's father would send her the message but even he looked defeated and said that when Ruby wants to speak, she will remain grounded. He honestly didn't know if that meant that her whole family was upset with him as well or not.
"Is she supposed to be doing that?"
Peter sighed, "No… especially since we restricted her for most of her pregnancy"
"So, I take it that she doesn't want to speak with you" Susan came into view, "Not yet that is"
"I don't think she will ever forgive me" Peter groaned, "I was just so angry with all of these attacks that I accidentally let it out on the person I love the most"
"Have you tried telling her that?" Susan asked.
Peter looked to his sister in a pissed off but quizzical way, "I tried having Noah speak to her on my behalf but he didn't relay the message, I presume… maybe you or Lucy-"
"This is your marriage, Peter '' Susan quickly waved up her hands, "You can't rely on me, Noah or even sweet Lucy to solve your problems. I believe Ruby will be even more upset that you would send a messenger instead of yourself-"
"You know what, Susan? You're right! Let me just fly up there with my winged shoes and tell her that I am sorry for what I said" Peter snapped.
Peter turned and went to a nearby bench and plopped himself down onto it as Susan looked up to the sky. She's seen Peter's outburst before and was more experienced enough to know that her brother didn't mean the things he said. Still, she couldn't help but feel obligated to help out the marriage when Ruby spared time to understand her way of thinking. Susan turned and walked over to Peter who was slouched over that it looked like he could fall over.
"You mentioned to her that you wish there was never a betrothal event" Susan began, "That none of this would've happened in the first place"
"Among other things" Peter mumbled.
"Betrothal, in a sense, means you are united in marriage" Susan explained, "Normally, people don't fall in love until after the ceremony"
Peter moved himself back so that way he could look at his sister more squarely. Susan loved to beat around the bush before letting you know what her way of thinking was. Problem is, Peter had no time for something like that.
"I'm sure you will eventually tell me what you're not telling me"
Susan rolled her eyes, "Honestly, Peter, I am speaking about you and Ruby. You both fell in love at the betrothal event. If Ruby's family had come to any other event, I am sure you both would've met and fell in love the same way. The event had absolutely nothing to do with it! You would've married Ruby regardless of what celebration, holiday, or memorial brought you two together"
Peter jumped to his feet, "You don't think I don't know that? I'm trying to find a way to speak with my wife and let her know that but she is a winged maiden and whenever she is grounded, she's sleeping or refusing to see me"
"I really hate playing this card but it is something that needs to be said" Susan shook her head, "You're a High King, Peter. No one can force you to do anything, not even your own wife, who became High Queen through marriage"
Peter hesitated, "I can't do that, I have to value her space and time for herself"
"How long has it been since she slept in the same room as you?" Susan questioned.
Peter mumbled, "Five days"
Susan blinked in surprise before she cast her eyes up to the sky, now worried for Ruby. She had been flying around for part of a day for five days while she was heavily pregnant.
"Then for the sake of your child, talk to her" Susan concluded, "You can't let her go on like this… it isn't about her this time but your unborn child"
Peter nodded, "But I don't even know where she sleeps now-"
"I do," Susan said, "But you have to do something more than just apologize to her. You have to prove to her that you love her, Ruby's trust is shattered right now"
Peter sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, "Then what do you suggest?"
Susan only looked at him and raised her eyebrow.
"Right, my marriage" Peter corrected, "And I can't use anyone to say I'm sorry"
Susan laughed, "You've been High King for too long. Some things need to be dealt with yourself"
"And it has been a while that I had to do things myself as well" Peter mentioned, "Looking after you three is no easy task"
Susan seemed insulted, "I can look after myself, thank you very much"
"Alright, you can but not the others" Peter hesitated, "In the beginning, they were quite the handful"
Susan nodded in agreement, "But now you have something different in a task at hand; is this your first fight?"
"First real fight" Peter admitted, "We had little ones here and there but nothing as serious as sleeping in other rooms and avoiding one another"
Peter actually wished that he could skip past this awkward phase and they would continue on with their marriage. But he was sure that his mother and father had to go through something like this, everyone does. It's just that he has to figure out what he has to say to her in order to convince her that he truly didn't mean the words he said. Peter thought back to how he made sure that Ruby was the last maiden during his "trial" in order to spend more time with her. He had to think of something similar in order to make sure Ruby wasn't expecting him and had time to avoid Peter.
Peter turned back to Susan, "Where did you say my wife was hiding herself again?"