The Tiger Within

Clovis sighed deeply, looking up at the sky for a long moment . The odd swirling of shadows and dark, cool colors were intriguing as he gathered his thoughts . Keenan could sense his uncertainty, and his apprehension . Realizing both were most likely related to the past that he was so hesitant to share . He waited patiently, letting his brother in law gather his thoughts, while keeping his eyes and ears focused on the world around them and any potential dangers .

"To start off, I was engaged to a woman that I cared for, deeply . I know now I didn"t love her, not in the way I love Kyera and Raina . We got married a decade ago . I was sixteen . She was perfect . I adored her . About two months into our marriage she fell ill . For several months I sought out healers, I watched over her and did all I could to take care of her . She pa.s.sed into a deep sleep . She couldn"t be reawoken and her father… Her father freed me of my obligations to her, but I didn"t leave her . I diligently saw to her for several years . " He replied remembering her expression, those long nights when she would shiver or whimper in pain . Other nights she slept peacefully, but even those were filled with fretting .
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"That"s when her hand maid, a woman she had introduced me to long ago, began getting close to me . We bonded over caring for my wife . I was being pressured to remarry . I didn"t have an heir and the heir games would get messy if I didn"t handle that soon . My brothers were getting older and already seeking their own brides . I wanted to hold out for her, I believed she would wake up . In the end I ended up in a bit of a romance with the maid . I thought I loved her, and she told me she loved me . She was fine being a second wife, promising me she would never try to take the place of my first wife and help me care for her . Being as they were all but sisters, I believed her . I told her I needed time to think it over . Then my wife pa.s.sed away and I was devastated, in a moment of weakness I drank too much, I felt lonely and lost . Like I had killed her myself . In a drunken haze I found myself in need of comfort . We laid together . There was no other way to put it . I remember nothing of the actual act, but I remember waking up next to her and realizing what we had done . I told her I would take care of her . " He took a deep breath and slowly pumped his fingers in and out of the fist shape . What happened next would make most men"s blood run cold, or commit murder . Keenan frowned, reaching out and firmly patting his brother in law on the shoulder .

"Sounds like you had a really rough time . " Keenan spoke with a bit of a sad sigh . "I am sorry for your loss . "

"You don"t even know the half of it . " He replied with a self hating laugh . Keenan frowned and looked over to him a bit curiously, a hint of disbelief in his eyes . "We wanted to wait till her father returned from the war to announce our engagement . We figured out she was pregnant during the same time and I managed to hide her away in a small palace that I kept in the forest . No one was allowed near except for servants that I had serving her every whim . I stayed with her at night, and she was allowed to do whatever she wished . Then, I was pulled away for a while, my father sent me to tend to the supply distribution in the affected lands . By the time I returned she had borne our child, and I hurried to see her as soon as I arrived home . However, the palace was empty . There was nothing to suggest she had been there in a few days at least . I later found that she had not been there in nearly two months . " Clovis trailed off taking a deep breath .

"She ran off with the baby?" Keenan asked honestly kinda shocked at this point . He couldn"t think of a single reason a woman would do something like that .

"I wish . I found her and I was so glad to see she was okay . As I went to hug her and she informed me that I should keep my distance . Since she was my sister in law . " Clovis replied and Keenan"s eyes widened in shock . "Oh and our daughter, come to find out she abandoned in a tiny border town with a huge poor family . Her intention was for our daughter to starve because the family couldn"t" afford to feed her . "

"How the h.e.l.l did a woman ABANDON her child? Let"s ignore the fact that she cheated on you and married your brother but the child? She was innocent . " The anger in his eyes was clear . Keenan"s voice shook as Clovis shook his head slowly .

"You should have been there when I found Raina…" He whispered looking away .