“I sit on the ground?” I asked and she nodded. “Between his legs?” I went on to clarify and she smiled.
“It isn’t what you think,” she told me and I looked to the bangles.
“Oh yes it is,” I mumbled and her hand came to my chin, pulling it up so I would look into her understanding eyes.
“It is for some of the warriors, my dear, just what you think,” she said quietly. “For others, it is a way of being close to a loved one while enjoying something he likes very much.” She leaned in. “For a king and his long awaited bride, taking her to the games just five short days after he claimed her, my guess is, it’s the latter.”
I stared at her again and breathed, “He doesn’t love me.”
Her head tipped to the side and her lips tipped up.
“It is said, throughout history, that many a great warrior, in fact, the strongest and fiercest, have fallen in love with their brides simply by gazing upon them in the parade.” Her hand slid over my cheek and she suggested, “Perhaps this has happened to you.”
I thought about that morning. I thought about the last four days. I thought she was very wrong.
Then I stated, “I don’t think so.”
Her hand dropped, she stepped away and turned back to the trinkets. Then she said to the trinkets, “Many a Wife Hunt has gone by where King Lahn has watched the parade and let it pass him by. His people have waited for years for him to claim his bride. A warrior, any warrior but a warrior like King Lahn especially, has not developed a vast array of feelings. They war. They pillage. They plunder. They fight. They train. They do not form close alliances with their brethren for there are many opportunities for them to fall. They are rarely, in some cases never touched by kindness, a soft hand, a warm gaze and most certainly not before they’re wed.” Her eyes turned to me and locked on mine. “Many humans do not need that, can live their entire lives without it, but some cannot and fewer still of those are warriors.” She paused. “But they exist.”
At that, to cover how what she said made me feel, I blurted, “What does Lahnahsahna mean?”
She smiled. “It means ‘tigress’, my dear.”
“Tigress?”
She nodded and went on. “And ‘Lahn’ means ‘tiger’. He was named ‘tiger’ by his warrior father, who was, incidentally, also a Dax. Before he challenged and bested the Dax who bested his father, and even now, King Lahn was and is known as The Tiger because he is ferocious, clever and strong in battle. He declared you at the wedding rite, as his tigress. Obviously the perfect mate for the tiger and, I will say, it seemed quite clear with the way he said it that it meant little to him that you were claimed as his Dahksahna, even his rahna Dahksahna. But far, far more that he claimed you as his Lahnahsahna. He was not always the Dax but he was born The Tiger, it is who he is, it is who he will always be.”
Okay, I had to admit she was right. It definitely was clear that meant a lot to him. More than a lot. A lot, a lot.
“And kah Lahnahsahna?” I asked quietly.
“My tigress,” she answered quietly.
Oh my.
I looked away and changed the subject quickly before my heart could beat out-of-control.
“And rahna Dahksahna? What does ‘rahna’ mean?”
“Golden.”
“So kah rahna Dahksahna…?” I trailed off.
“My golden queen,” she answered.
“Mm hmm,” I muttered, still fingering the pearl bangles and I heard her chuckle.
The vendor said something eagerly to me, my head lifted and I saw his excited eyes go from me to the bangles and back again.
“Oh no, sorry, I don’t have any money,” I told him, smiling at the same time shaking my head and putting the bangles down.
His face fell.
“Take them,” Diandra urged and my head shot around to look at her.
“I don’t have any –” I started and she shook her head.
“He will send a messenger to the Dax, the Dax will give him coin or bestow a favor on him. If you want them, take them.” She grinned at the vendor then back at me. “You do, you do him a great honor. The queen has visited many stalls but has not offered her custom. They are all hoping you will shine your golden light on them so take them.”