4. Defending Him

All princes and their first wives were invited to have dinner with the alpha. When they arrived, the alpha welcomed them and they greeted him in turn; then the princes greeted one another amongst themselves. While the princes chatted and laughed (except Nicklaus), the princesses just glared at each other. There was some kind of hostility between them.

Nicklaus didn't go up to his brothers, he just stood beside Tiana. None of them seemed to care about him, either. He had told her earlier that they didn't like him because he was the son of the of forbidden creature. She wondered if they really believed that kind of blasphemy. Why did he say that he didn't know if he actually was the son of the something not know?

Before her head imploded with questions, dinner was served and they sat down in their assigned places. Each prince sat beside his wife. The Crown Prince was sitting next to the king, and they were talking about something animatedly, waving their hands around wildly. His wife Amaira looked at Tiana now and then.

Tiana wondered what her problem was? She was really beautiful, actually. Possibly the most beautiful of all the princesses, with her curly brown hair and grey eyes. Nicklaus and Tiana ate their dinner in silence; he seemed uncomfortable, and she wondered why.

A guard came in and whispered something into the king's ear. The king stood up. "I have things to take care of, but enjoy your dinner," he said guardedly, and with that he left.

The crown prince stood up from his seat holding his wine glass delicately in one hand. "First, we shall welcome our little brother's bride," he said. "And then," he trailed off, clearly not fit to form complete sentences in his intoxicated state. 

"And then," the prince next to him picked up where his brother had left off, "we shall tell embarrassing stories about our little brother to his bride." The brothers laughed. They may have been speaking of this as a joke, but something was off. Their laughs weren't genuine, they sounded stilted and vile to Tiana’s ears.

She could feel Nicklaus shifting uncomfortably beside her. The crown prince walked along the table and stood behind the prince and his wife that were sitting in front of Nicklaus and Tiana.

"You must have heard the rumor about our brother, about him being the son of the forbidden creature. What do you think about that?" he asked, cruel mirth clear in his tone. Tiana could see Nicklaus clenching his fists under the table.

"It's as you said your highness, just a rumor." Tiana replied. She was surprised by herself, she didn’t know why she defended Nicklaus, but she felt a strange protectiveness over him.

The crown prince sent her a scrutinizing glare, but he wasn't willing to give up. He was probably thinking of other ways to insult his brother. He had no right. 

"So you don't believe them?" he asked. 

"Should I, Your Highness?" Tiana said in a challenging tone, mock sweetness coloring her voice.

The prince sitting in front of them continued, "Even his mother didn't want him after she gave birth to him."

Tiana couldn't believe her ears. How could he say something so cruel to his own brother? Beside her, Nicklaus entire body tensed up, ready to spring at the brother sending cruel taunts to the both of them. Under the table, Tiana reached out and gently laid her hand atop his, willing him to stop and consider his actions.

Nicklaus stilled. He raised his disbelieving gaze up to Tiana’s eyes, clearly surprised by her contact. Tiana gave him a reassuring smile, and by intuition she could tell he had calmed down significantly. Turning to his brothers, she was furious.

She hadn’t known her husband for that long and she didn't want to be married to him, but now he was her husband and that couldn't be change. Tiana had only one option: to make this marriage work.

His brother looked at her, calculating. He must have guessed what she was thinking. "Well, I hope he treats you well," he said slowly, backing off. 

“Well is an understatement of how he treats me," she said stiffly, and his brothers sent her a look. Disappointed? Nicklaus intertwined his fingers with hers under the table, as though he approved of her defending him.

***

For his entire life, not one person had stood up for him like this beautiful woman had. His wife. A woman who barely knew him and took no notice of the rumors that flew around.

Tiana had surprised him with her touch and melted his heart with her words and smile. She hadn't believed the rumors about him, that even he sometimes believed about himself.

They arrived at their private chamber and went inside. She seemed to be in deep thought. He wondered what she was thinking about.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Yes! Yes, I just... can I go outside to the garden?" Tiana seemed to like being outside, so he decided to take her outside the castle. Her eyes twinkled when he told her he was taking her out.

"Can you ride?" he asked her. "No," she replied, embarrassed. "Then you should ride with me."

He helped her up and she sat behind him on the horse. "Hold on," he said.

She seemed to hesitate, but then she put her arms around his waist and held him lightly, almost not touching. As soon as they started riding, her grip tightened, pressing her soft and warm body against his back.

"Am I riding too fast?" 

"No," but her tight hold around his waist said otherwise. Either way, he didn't slow down; he liked the feeling of her arms around his waist.

He took her to his favorite place, a vastly large and brilliantly lake. The lake extended as far as the eye could see and not a sound could be heard other than the branches of the willow trees moving in the wind. It was soothing. He would often come here when he wanted to be alone; it was his secret safe havens.

He looked at his wife who looked so happy. She had run down to the edge of the lake and was dipping her feet in the cool water, flicking it with her toes. The water must've been cold, but she didn't seem to care.

He just stood there staring at her. She was beautiful, with her long blonde hair and hazel eyes. Her dress clung to her body in all the right places, showing off her beautiful figure.

Suddenly, he heard a shrill yell of pain.

Nicklaus looked around.

"Tiana!"

She wasn't in the water anymore; she was sitting on the ground beside it holding her knee. He rushed to her side.

"What happened?"

"Nothing much, I just fell," she explained.

Her dress was torn and her knee was bleeding.

"Come on, let's take you home," he said, helping her up.