Aris’s Arranged Marriage

King Landis was not the only one to have trouble and heartbreak. The Rhonwens had their fair share of grief as well. King Fergus’s faithful servant, Leal Rhonwen, died at the age of 80. His wife, Mairi, and Leal’s 4 children saw him buried near the apple orchards he had tended so lovingly since he had left the castle.

Leal’s family had no time to grieve however. The farm was busy and Aris had her own husband to care for now.

Aris’s marriage to Andrz did not start out well. The matchmaker had chosen the aged weaver to be her husband and she did not love him. She did not even want the man to touch her.

Although he was gruff and unkempt after years of living alone, Andrz was also a patient man. He remembered what it was like to be young and to want love. He did care for the girl, though he wouldn’t say that he truely loved her. Love was meant for the young, not an old man like him. He did hoped that Aris would grow to love him, so that she could be happy.

Aris was out in the garden one hot summer day, not long after the death of her father. There had not been much rain and Aris had taken to drawing water from their little well in order to keep the garden plants from drying out. No harvest would mean a lean winter. Besides Andrz’s weavings had not been selling well in the market because the cost of wool had been so high in the spring. Aris was hoping that her garden would thrive enough for her to be able to sell excess in the market.

She stopped her work as a wave of dizziness swept over her. “That’s odd,” she thought as she staggered over to her water bucket. The bucket was empty and she took the long walk to the well to refill it for a drink. “I must be thirsty,” Aris muttered as she strained to draw the water from the well. It felt so heavy. So heavy…

Andrz came home around twilight and was shocked to see that the house was dark and Aris was no where to be found. A frantic search soon revealed the girl, passed out by the well. She was hot to the touch and muttered fitfully when Andrz spoke to her. Andrz assumed she was suffering from heat stroke.

Gathering her up in his arms, Andrz hurried his unconsious wife into the house and put her in the bed. Rushing back down to the well, he drew out the water Aris had struggled to pull up and ran back to the house. He spent a sleepless night sitting beside his wife, bathing her face with cool water and trying to get her to drink.

Morning arrived and there was little change in Aris. Feeling completely at a loss, Andrz hurried down to Mairi Rhonwen’s home and prayed that Aris’s mother would know what to do.

It would be several weeks before Aris would be well enough to be out of bed. Aris was one of the first to contract a terrible fever that killed many that summer. For days she stayed in bed, hot with fever. Through her illness, she saw a tenderness and care in Andrz that she’d never seen before. He kept her fed, tended the garden, and still managed to get to the market for the day. He hired a young girl to help tend the house and Aris when he was gone during the day. When he came home, he would sit with her for a bit before working on his weavings.

When Aris became stronger, she sent the hired help home. They were not able to afford to keep the girl around much longer. She still wasn’t as strong as she was before the fever, and several times Andrz came home to find her asleep on one of the benches.

He never complained though. If the housework wasn’t done or dinner wasn’t made, Andrz would simply help where he could. As the summer went on, Aris and Andrz both began to notice a difference in their relationship. It was almost like love.