Eladrim left the room after holding Claire. It felt empty without the presence of the tribal leader, and Ruthivan stood by the bed still. Finally, he sat down, looking at the floor, his brow creased. "I'm sorry I had to bring him here. I know you don't like when I involve your family." She said nothing and he continued. "Claire, I knew you were going to try to run away, so I had the healer put up a ward. I know that if you get away from me, you're going to kill our child. I know you don't want me, or it, or any of us. It hurts me so deeply, but we are bonded. You know that if you ran away, it would only be a matter of time before your body would draw you back to me, just as mine would seek yours."
Ruthivan paused and then reached out, taking one of Claire's hands in his own. He placed it over his heart and looked at her earnestly. "I don't want to be angry with you, or upset, or... I just want to love you and you love me. I want us to help our race, and I want us to be accepted back into the tribe. If you keep running away, or wanting to, and keep refusing everything I try to do, we will never get that chance."
Finally she looked at him, but the look was distant and raw. "Didn't it ever occur to you that I didn't want to live in the tribe? All those times, didn't you understand that? Why else would I have run away?"
At that moment, Ruthivan knew the defeat was total. He bowed his head as though acknowledging the passing away of any hope he had for a Claire who loved him for himself. He let pass the hope that he would ever be welcomed back into the only home he'd known on this planet. He took her hand from his heart and lowered it. When he raised his head again, his expression was hard. "Then we won't ever go back. But you will not go anywhere else, Claire. You don't have to love me, you don't have to want your home, you don't have to desire anything, but you're not leaving me or our children. You can hate me and loathe me, but you will do your duty. I'll ensure it."
Ruthivan stood up, feeling a pain in his heart. He never wanted to turn into this - he hoped the nature in him would only have to be reserved for fighting others, never his wife. Never his Claire. He shoved the gentle desires away in favor for that of a man on a mission. He had a duty and his duty was to make this woman stay loyal, serve her people, and honor her bond.
"If you ever start to see how you could and should love me, then I may let up. Until you do-"
"Please... just drug me and let me sleep."
Ruthivan stared at her for a long moment, his jaw set. He finally looked down to the rug, crossed the room, and got out his vial and cloth.
