I opened my eyes to find myself in complete darkness. The fire had gone out, leaving it to pitch black. Stickiness between my legs made me shudder at the thought of what I would find there once the sun came up. Deep breathing I heard next to me, letting me know my new husband was asleep.

Caleb’s breathing changed. He turned over and threw his arm around me, holding me to him. A loud clap of thunder crashed, and the sound of rain falling hard on the thatch roof rang in the air. I stiffened as Caleb moved closer to me.

“It’s just a storm, don’t worry, Emerald. I’m here.”

“I’m okay. I feel safe here in your strong arms, Caleb.”

He pulled me up onto his chest and then wrapped his arms around me, protectively. The sound of his heart beating filled my head as I lay on his chest. His breathing fell back into a regular rhythm as he fell right back to sleep.

I will be able to hear the sound of his heart beating like this for the rest of my life. He smelled like the forest. His skin was so soft on mine. His breath was warm on top of his head, moving my hair slightly.

Before I knew it, I’d fallen asleep in the tight protection of my husband’s arms.

* * *

The sound of thunder in the distance brought me back into a state of consciousness. No heartbeat met my ears. No soft chest rose up and down, slowly with the deep breaths of sleep my husband took. Looking over, I saw my husband was no longer in our straw bed. Then the door opened and in he walked, dressed and carrying a pail. “Good morning, sleepyhead. I brought ya some water to clean yourself up with.

Holding the blanket to cover me and blushing fiercely, I sat up. “Thank you, that was thoughtful of ya,” I managed to choke out.

He placed the pail down next to the bed. Sitting next to me, his long fingers reached out and touched my cheek, rubbing it as he looked at me. With his other hand, he brushed my hair back, and then leaned over and kissed my cheek.

My body responded to his touch immediately, and I made a small moan.

Caleb made a little groan and pulled his mouth from mine. “I’m afraid we have no time for that this morning. We have to get to my parents’ place early. I’ll give you some privacy. Don’t take too long, I want to get going. We can eat breakfast with my parents if we get there in time.” He strode from the dark home, tiny slivers of gray light filtering in through the cracks in the walls, all the light I had to clean and dress by.

I hurried as I washed, finding myself disgusted by the mess his attention to me had left. The dried blood was worrying me, and I hoped nothing was permanently damaged. Dressed and hair brushed and braided, I walked out, finding my husband brushing his equine’s mane.

“I’m ready,” I said.

His eyes went wide as he took me all in, and then a smile flowed over his plump lips. “You look very pretty, Emerald. My brothers are going to be so jealous.”

“I’m glad my appearance pleases you,” I said shyly, pulling out the hem of my white cotton dress that went to my knees. I wore a new pair of strappy white sandals, and a white ribbon held my braid in place.

Taking my hand, he led me to the side of the wagon. The touch of his hands on my waist sent a flurry of butterflies through my stomach as he lifted me up, placing me on the seat of the wagon, and then he climbed up next to me. Our legs touched, Caleb’s eyes went to them, placing his hand on my knee, rubbing it gently. The butterflies flew higher in my stomach, threating to fly right out of my mouth.

Caleb tapped the reins, and the equine moved, making the wagon he’d attached it to lurch forward. I grabbed his leg to steady myself. Caleb grinned and seized the moment to place a quick kiss upon my cheek.

Blushing, I removed my hand from his leg and rubbed my cheek where he’d left the tiny kiss, smiling at the memories of our wedding night.

How sweet he was.

Caleb chatted away as we rode the half hour ride to his family’s place. I listened intently as he told me story after story of his brothers and their shenanigans.

The appearance of Caleb’s family’s home let me know immediately why he considered the thing he built such an impressive work of architecture. His home was a series of small shacks, which surrounded an open area where the family congregated to cook, eat and socialize with one another. It was dirty and completely unsanitary. A large carcass of some type of animal was hanging on a line at the edge of the ungodly circle.

There was a variety of people of various ages who lounged about the area, sitting or lying on different filthy pieces of furniture. No one had any real interest in me, the newcomer.

Except for an old woman. She came up to me, eyeing me up and down. I looked at Caleb, realizing he was nervous. I wondered why he would be nervous. It was his mother after all.

Looking back at the woman, whose hair was hanging in limp, oily, gray strands around her deeply lined face, I realized his mother was a bit angry. “So this thing cost you two swine and a fowl? Your brothers never paid more than a fowl for any of their wives, and that was good enough for them. You, though, you’ve always had to have things a little bit better than what we gave you. Ungrateful is what I’ve always said about ya,” Caleb’s mother said as she squinted her eyes at him.

Surprise filled me as a giant smile found its way over Caleb’s face. “To answer your question, the wedding went great, and we are deliriously happy. Oh, and I love ya, too, Mother. Let me introduce you to my wife, Emerald. Emerald this is my mother, Matilda Booth. Is breakfast ready?”

No smile showed on his mother’s face, yet her eyes glistened a bit. “There're sausage and bread over there on the table. Get your skinny asses over there and eat. Neither one of you has enough weight on you to keep you warm once the cold comes.”

I was bewildered. Caleb took me by the hand, leading me to a filthy table, which had a plate with some pieces of meat on it. The same dark colored bread we ate the night before sat next to it.

I was not hungry in the least, and I saw three of his older brothers coming towards them, with frowns upon their faces. The tallest of them said, “News has come about the uprising, Caleb and there has been talking about who they’d like to lead it. It’s between you and another man. Of course, we expressed our interest in you.”

My eyes went wide. “Caleb, they want you to be involved? But I thought…”

The tall brother interrupted me. “Yes, he has told us how he wants nothing to do with it. The fact is there aren’t many men here on this planet with military experience. You happen to be married to a highly decorated militant who is also a trained assassin.”

I looked at Caleb, surprise etched over my face. “Caleb, you’ve told me none of this. Why?”

“I’ve had enough war. I want only peace now. That life is one I left behind,” Caleb told me as he caressed my cheek. “I want a simple life filled with you and our children and nothing more.” He looked at his brother. “Jared, I don’t see the need for an uprising.”

The tallest brother, Jared glared at him. “Caleb, we live like animals! They think of us as one notch above animals. We are not allowed to go into their cities and even trade, yet they can come out to us and trade things they think we need with the items they want from us. It’s unfair, and we need to show them who we are.”

“I am not that man. I want simple things. This is why I came here. I thought it was why all of us came to The Euthenia Nebula. Not to take it over.” Caleb turned away and took me with him. “I’m getting my things, and I’m leaving. I want no more of this.”

He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard his father’s voice. “Caleb, have you turned to cowardice, son? After all, you’ve accomplished, have you forgotten who you owe your allegiance to? We need you, son. You are the only one in the settlement who knows how to make the plans to come together to accomplish this. And you are also the only man who has been to the capital and met the King and Prince at the castle when we arrived here. You are our leader, whether you want to be or not. Do you understand me, son?”

My eyes met Caleb’s as he looked at me apologetically. “I suppose I must do this, please understand and forgive me.”

I nodded, but my heart felt heavy.