[b]Quickly, Sylvia gave her husband a small smile as he kissed her & tried to assure her that she was the only one for him, a small defense mechanism she'd learned over the years. The only problem was, she didn't believe Aranhil's assurances. All this time, she'd believe that Aranhil had at least picked his bride between her & her sisters. But he hadn't even done that; their parents had orchestrated everything!

& he was going to do the same thing to Cendres. Couldn't he see how poisonous caging a young woman like his sister would only end badly? She had to make him see the light soon; from the way things were going, Cendres would be introduced to her betrothed by the end of the year. Once that was decided, there was no backing out of it; she knew that from experience.

& then, there was the matter of her & Aranhil as well. What if he regretted his father's choice later & decided that she wasn't an acceptable wife? It was a very long shot, but Aranhil could still annul their marriage if they hadn't consummated it. He could possibly marry one of her elder sisters without much quarrel from either of their kingdoms. & both of her sisters were far more competent & well-groomed than her. She wouldn't blame her husband for wanting a better match. All she could do for the moment was so Aranhil that she was willing to work hard, she supposed.

"Aranhil, [i]Hallaer[/i]," Sylvia mumbled after a bit more thinking, "I think that I should continue my sparring lessons soon. Or rather, I insist on it. A couple weeks back, when Emera's father tried to take my life... I was useless to you, almost completely. I don't want to be such a weakness for your enemies to target; & you can't possibly hope to keep me at your side for all of time."[/b]