The Dragon Prince's Bride
Chapter 80. Sharing a bedchamber

Chapter 80: 80. Sharing a bedchamber

After some more greetings and welcomes both in her language and in Tragish, Neriah was finally left alone with Barak.

"Why would a married couple share the same room? What about their privacy?!" Neriah had asked when she had first been informed about their sleeping arrangements. Back at home, her mother had her own private chambers and so did her father. They only used the same chambers on certain occasions.

But on getting here, she was informed that she was to share quarters with him! When they were back in Avelah after they just got married, she thought her parents were just trying to punish her and that’s why they put her in the same room with him. And then on the ship, she had presumed there were not enough cabins to house husband and wife separately and believed that was the reason they shared a cabin.

But now, in this very big palace, she refused to believe that they could not provide her a different room! It was madness.

"It is Tragonian custom that husband and wife share a bedchamber. We believe that separate rooms are one of the many reasons for broken homes. A husband and wife should share a room, so as when they have differences, neither of them have a place to run to, but to return to the chamber and settle those differences."

And Neriah had retorted by saying "That is a very dumb belief. Either of them could easily find another place to sleep, like a friend’s place just to avoid their partner. I have heard that in some nations where this act of sharing a room is practiced, a lot of homes still end up shattered."

"Well that might be the case for some other nations but the ratio of a marriage falling apart in Trago as estimated by one of our fine scholars was 1 to a 100. And that is because we dragonbloods are known for our everlasting loyalty and devotion to our partners."

"Still, this is unreasonable. I do not wish to share a room with you."

"It is not like this will be our first time sharing a room. I do not see the reason for all the fuss. And besides, having separate rooms in Trago is a sign that the couple are having a rough relationship, we are newly wedded, we cannot let such false talk fill the nation."

"You do know the meaning of false, right? What is false about us not having a good relationship?! It is the truth! I never wanted this marriage, remember?!" She had retorted.

They continued arguing the matter for a good amount of time until Neriah realized she was exhausted and could not win the argument. For some moment, Barak left her alone in the room.

The room... NeNeriah could not get over the room. And to think she always thought her father’s room was large. This was extreme! And he was a prince, not a king!! The walls were painted white just like the outside, carvings of dragons were etched into the walls and ceilings, coated in gold. And they were beautiful, the floor was lovely and the scenery was not to be compared.

And one of the things she feared most was them not having a proper roof over their head and a bed to sleep on.

But she had never seen beautiful structures like the ones she’d seen that night and they did have a bed!! And it was soft! The sheets were silky and smooth and she could picture herself sleeping for hours.

Really everything was surprising to her. So surprising that she feared if she found out more about these people she had believed to be barbarians all her life, her entire perspective on them would be different. Which would mean that history books and story books and all the books available in Avelah were based on lies!

She hoped not.

She looked around and realized that all the time they were busy greeting and receiving greetings in return, her things had been brought into the room and arranged neatly there.

It was clearly decorated for a newly wedded couple, but she could also tell that it had been his room before her entrance into his life. His portraits were hanging on the wall. All in different sizes, from the smallest to the biggest.

He was such a narcissist, she thought to herself.

What kind of man hung portraits of himself in his own room? Not one or two, but six different portraits. He was looking different in all of them and yet she could tell he was the same person... Only getting older the bigger the portrait was.

The biggest portrait in the room was of the man she knew now. In the portrait he stood in his princely attire with one hand behind his back and the other rested on his sword by his side. No smile in place, just that deadpan expression, and yet it was all he needed to make the portrait look like that of a renowned war general. The portrait was one that drew out respect from the beholder.

Neriah did not know whether to applaud the artist or the man who stood still for the long amount of time it would have taken to finish such a masterpiece.

The smallest portrait in the room was of a young Barak. Even in that one he had his sword by his side, still no smile in place. But his eyes were sort of larger and his head looked bigger than the other parts of his body which made her laugh. He was a slim kid and it made her wonder how he grew up to be the macho man he was. How did that slim boy become the huge barbarian she was now married to?

Moments after Barak left her in the room, Aria had entered with some other maids who spoke in the language Neriah understood. They drew her a bath and helped her wash up.