A Purchased Bride

I have not been married long, only a few weeks actually.  It was a whirlwind courtship, arranged by my father.  I was, you see, a purchased bride.  I knew from the day I was born that I would never be allowed whoever I personally chose for myself.  My father called me the 'Flower of Frosthaven.'  I was his delicate little snowdrop and nobody was going to soil me without paying a hefty sum.

When Hamal purchased me from my father for a pretty penny, I thought that I would be sent off to marry some undesirable man.  Anything was better than staying in the house with my father, though.  Living under his thumb, under his fist, was not a place I wanted to stay for the rest of my life.  I was grateful to my would-be husband before I even met him, thankful for the opportunity to get away from the world I'd grown up in.

Imagine my pleasant surprise when I met him and he was a handsome devil with a charming smile.  He is kind and loving and does much to care for those in his life.  He makes me feel like a treasure in a world where I did not always.

There are many things that I love about my husband.  Our wedding, though small, was magical.  The wedding night was....exciting.  We did not touch much before the wedding, you see, so the wedding night was an entirely new experience for me.

The thing I remember most distinctly is the way that the nape of Hamal's neck felt in my hand.  There at the base of his skull, with my fingers in his hair, I felt the most connected to my husband.  Even now, weeks later, I feel the same.  I know that if he has had a hard day at work and he comes to me for a kiss, I can bury my hand in his hair and wrap my fingers around the back of his neck and help to soothe away his tension.  Truthfully, it helps to soothe away my own tension as well.

It is the first place I touch when I want to feel him close to me, the place that I reach for when he kisses me.  My fingers always find their way there when we are sitting together, and when we are in bed together and he shows me how much he loves me with his body - my hand is always at the nape of his neck.  I think that it provides a connection between us that I've only shared with him - a connection than means more than just physical intimacy.

He has my heart completely, as I hope that I have his.  If ever there is a doubt in his mind, he need only look deep in my eyes when I rest my hand on the back of his neck, he need only to see how exposed it is for him there in my face.  I was, you see, a purchased bride.  But now, I am a loved woman, a happy wife, and I only need to run my hand across the nape of my husband's neck to remember that.