Karissa jolted awake as the carriage came to a halt, then winced as she became aware of her aching body again. Traveling for days on end in a carriage was uncomfortable, even with the plush cushions.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” Lilian, Karissa’s lady’s maid, said. She handed Karissa a canteen. “Here, have a drink, my lady.” Karissa obeyed, taking a short swig of lukewarm water.

“Why have we stopped?” Karissa asked, reaching to pull aside a red curtain from one of the carriage windows. But Lilian grabbed her hand before she could grasp the fabric.

“Wait!” Lilian exclaimed. “I don’t know why we’ve stopped, so maybe we should wait until we’re told. There may be bandits, or wild animals out there!” Karissa snorted, shaking her head but allowing her hand to drop away from the curtain and into her lap. There was no need to make her companion more nervous than she already was.

“Your imagination is the only wild thing around here,” Karissa teased, trying to lighten the mood. She took another drink of water,then handed the canteen back to Lilian. “I find it hard to believe that bandits would be allowed to roam free in these lands.” 

Lilian’s brow furrowed. “Well, I just mean you never know, do you? What could be out there? I’m sure the Duke has made these lands as safe as he possibly could, but some beasts are harder to get rid of.” 

Karissa did not answer, just looked down at her hand in her lap at the mention of the Duke. Her own nervousness returned. In less than two days they’d be arriving in the Dukedom of Hallel. Her new home.

“Lady Karissa,” a man’s voice said, followed by a knock at the carriage door. 

“Yes, Captain?” Karissa answered, finally pulling the curtain aside to reveal Dalvo, Captain of the Kyleon Guard. Across his back was slung his bow, along with a quiver full of white-feathered arrows. Past his shoulder she could make out the trees just beyond the road. A sudden curiosity overcame her. What did roam these woods?

“We are stopping for the midday meal, my lady,” Dalvo said, calling her attention back to him. He wore the usual gray uniform of a guard, with no embellishments to signify his rank. The man looked far too young to be a captain, but then only young men were left to fill these types of roles in Kyleon.

“Already? It feels like we barely started,” Karissa replied, then remembered that she had fallen asleep almost as soon as they had broken camp that morning. Karissa smiled at the captain. “We will join you shortly,” she said, to which the young man nodded and turned away from the carriage. She gazed out at the trees for a moment longer, then allowed the curtain to fall back into place.

“Shall we then?” Lilian asked, obviously looking forward to getting something to eat.

“Yes, let’s.” Karissa reached for the carriage door handle when a comotion could be heard just outside. Lilian grabbed Karissa’s hand again and stopped her from turning the handle.

“Halt! Who goes there!” Dalvo yelled, followed by an answering call that the women could not make out. 

Karissa went still, straining her ears to hear what was going on. More words, but she still could not decipher what was being said. Suddenly, there was another knock at the carriage door.

“My lady, the Duke of Hallel has just arrived with his knights,” Dalvo informed her. Karissa’s breath caught in her throat. “He says he has come to escort us the rest of the way.”

The Duke? Here? Come to escort us? They were still at least two days away from reaching Hallel Keep. Why had he come so far to meet them? 

Karissa realized that Dalvo was still waiting for an answer. Amidst her jumbled thoughts she formulated a reply.

“Oh, that is… unexpected. Please invite him and his men to join us for our meal.”

“Yes, my lady. Will you still be joining us, or would you prefer to eat in the carriage?” Karissa bit her lip, but decided quickly.

“Yes, we will still come and eat with you, Captain.” If she did not greet the Duke it would be considered a grave insult, and that she could not do. 

Especially not to her new husband.

“What is he doing here?” Lilian asked, giving voice to Karissa’s thoughts. “Didn’t the messenger say we should meet him at the keep?”

“I don’t know, Lilian. I don’t know. But he’s here now, and I need to make a good impression.” Karissa began smoothing her hair away from her face, regretting her decision to not redo her braid after waking up that morning. At least she was wearing one of her nicer dresses, which was a deep maroon with ruffled sleeves. Lilian frowned, then took one of Karissa’s hands in her own.

“What are you talking about,” the lady’s maid said kindly. “You always make a good impression. You have nothing to worry about.” Karissa, smiled back at her companion, not quite believing that she had nothing to worry about. 

Becoming the Duchess of another land had never once crossed her mind up until two months ago. Yet here she was, traveling to formally meet her husband for the first time. And now here he was, coming to meet them when she should have had days more to come to terms with her new life. Yet another unplanned circumstance. 

Well, there’s no use stalling any longer. 

Karissa squeezed Lilian’s hand, then turned the handle of the carriage door and opened it, letting in the sunshine and warm spring air. She gathered the front of her long skirt in one hand and teetered on the edge, calculating how to best dismount using the tiny step attached to the side of the carriage. 

Suddenly someone grasped her free hand and guided her down in one smooth motion, then released her as soon as both of her feet were firmly on the ground. She looked up and felt her breath catch in her throat once more.

“Good day, Lady Karissa,” the man said, lowering his head in a bow, although he was so much taller than her that she could still make out his features. 

His head was bare, and she could make out some graying at his temples amongst the otherwise short, dark hair, along with a blunt scar across his left cheek bone. As he raised his head once more she was struck by how regal he looked in his armor. The wind picked up just then, sending the cape that was attached to his broad shoulders billowing around him, and she could just barely make out the blue stag of his coat of arms. 

This was him. The Duke of Hallel, Erik Ulrichson. Her new husband, and the conqueror of her kingdom.