Talk Like a Man

"Empress, it's time to go," Devrim called gently. Aurora opened her eyes and saw Devrim smiling softly above her face. "The men asked me to wake you, seeing as how we are, you know, supposed to be married."

Aurora sat up and began to brush the hay from her dress. "Of course," she said, a little embarrassed that he had seen her sleeping. The pair had discussed before they left whether they should reveal the truth to their escorts before leaving and decided only to tell them if it became necessary. It would be unfair of them to ask the soldiers to keep their pretend-marriage secret when they returned home, so they opted to carry on as usual. Many political marriages were devoid of love and affection, being purely for business. Everyone in the palace knew the Emperor Consort and Empress had separate quarters and never visited each other in them (for of course no one knew about their secret passage). As there were already two royal heirs, Devrim's duty was complete. So the soldie