Blutgang had taken his new bride, Belmardina from her home so quickly that all she had of her possessions were the clothes on her back. She was still so angry and sad about the whole affair that she did not talk to her husband for an entire week.

Her new people, the kraat, were a nomadic race of bird-like soldiers; their clawed feet were strong; they were used to climbing rugged mountains and traveling barren earth, while her human feet were used to slippers and indoor levelness. She fell to the back of the line quickly, unable to keep up. She looked about for a horse the first few days, but soon realized the kraat did not ride: their legs were simply not built for it.

She considered running away for a good deal of time, but she was already far from home and she didn’t recognize where they were. They had used trails and passed towns she had never seen as they approached the west ocean. If she did run away, she could very well fall into dangerous hands.

So, finally, on the week anniversary of their sudden wedding, Belmardina decided to speak to her husband. Although it hurt her feet all the more, she ran to the front of the line of kraat soldiers and stomped in front of the king so that he had to stop in his tracks. Instantly, the line stopped when he did.

She did not know her husband, and was unsure how he would take the intrusion. Still, being a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl, and daughter of a duchess she had confidence to spare. “Just when were you thinking of asking me how I’m faring?” She shouted as if her voice were an arrow aimed at his head, “I’m your wife and you haven’t said a word to me in a week!”

Blutgang took the halberd he had been carrying against the armor of his unending shoulders and held it aloft. She thought he might be angry and almost took a step back, worried he might swing it at her throat. She was relieved when he threw the end of it into the ground instead. “As I recall,” he said politely, “you were the one shrieking that you would never speak to me as long as you lived.”

Belmardina looked back a week in her mind’s eye and saw herself kicking Blutgang as he carried her from her childhood home. She had shouted so many oaths that she could not remember exactly what she said. “Whatever, the case,” she said firmly, “it’s your duty as my husband to take care of me. Have you even noticed my state?”

Blutgang looked her up and down, something she did not like in the least even though she had just invited him to do so. “You look healthy enough to me.” He said simply, “however, I do agree that your clothes are unsuited for Queen Kraat.”

Belmardina raised her eyebrows. At the mention of ‘queen’ she finally realized she had become high nobility by marrying Blutgang, and took a little pride in the title. “Yes, new clothes. And also, I demand a horse. I simply cannot go on marching like a soldier.”

Blutgang looked at his fellow soldiers as if he had just heard a child demand the moon. They laughed under their breath, their beaks moving gently. Belmardina shot dagger eyes about her, but before she could say more, Blutgang placed a heavy orange claw on her shoulder. “New clothes you will have, my little queen. However, I can’t buy them for you.”

The kraat about her laughed again. Belmardina pursed her lips. “Ugh! You say I’ll get new clothes and then say you can’t buy them for me! Which is it?”

“As soldiers on the march, we have no regular income. Usually, we barter services for goods and vice versa. Luckily, I have just the chore for you to earn a handsome wardrobe indeed.”

The thought of work made the girl blanch. She looked at her palms—palms she had been trying to keep soft and untarnished. Already the dust of the road had taken some of the moisture from her, making them feel rough. She was silent, and felt herself falling into a well of sorrow, her own voice echoing in her mind, screaming for her to run away. But she lifted her chin instead—she could not let her husband win this game. “Fine! What do I have to do?”

Blutgang finally took his claw from her shoulder and pointed to the west—toward the ocean. “There’s a cave of gold we’ve been heading toward since we left your castle. Once you clear the cave’s mouth, we can buy you perfect clothes for the Queen of the Kraat.”

“I’m confused. What do I have to offer that can open a cave’s mouth? Will I have to use a shovel? I’m not strong enough to do something like that.” She held out her thin arms, her milk-chocolate-colored skin almost blending with the ground beneath their feet.

“No shovels involved. All we really need is you, milady. You and that very special power of yours.” Blutgang said and retrieved his halberd from its sheath in the ground. With that cryptic remark, he continued his march, his soldiers immediately following his pace.