Chapter 3

--The journey was long on horseback. It felt long to her at least. She had never traveled far outside the kingdom's walls. The forest was far more spectacular than she had ever imagined. However it wasn't enough to stop the cloud of thoughts that were plaguing her mind. Luckily the day of traveling gave her plenty of time to both organize her thoughts and enjoy the scenery.

--She was happy to be out of Anovia now. She was now traveling among the trees that she had previously been only able to gaze at from afar. The scenery the woods had to offer was amazing, but nighttime was beginning to obscure the view under its dark cape. Soon the only light to see by was that cast by the stars and the crescent moon.

--The night here was much different than it was in the castle. Since nobody lived in the woods, she expected the place to be very quiet at night. Instead it was filled with an orchestra of noises. The bugs buzzed from their branches high in the trees while owls hooted and frogs croaked. The only noise she had ever had to sleep through was the occasional sound of someone in the hall or the clanging of pans from late night cooking. Another noise she heard were the rhythmic thuds of their horse's hooves hitting the ground. She had only ridden a horse on a few occasions in her life. Luckily both horses were very obedient.

--They traveled for a day at this point, and where they were going was still a mystery to her. She had assumed that he was leading them to his own kingdom, but where was it? When she had asked him earlier, he told her "my place" and would not give her any more details. All she could do was trust and follow him. He decided to stop for the night. On the previous night, the priest had let them sleep in his carriage after the wedding. Since that was no longer an option, they would have to set up camp for the night. Lilia's trust in Mark seemed well placed, as he appeared to know just what he was doing while setting up camp.

--From her seat on the grass, she watched him make a tent out of some extra clothes he had found in the horse's saddlebags. He worked fast, but acted as bit strange. He kept glancing up at the thin crescent moon in the night sky.

--He had been acting oddly along the way, looking around often. To be fair the swift escape from the kingdom would probably be seen as kidnapping on heir of the royal family. That was a good to be watching out for people who were following or watching them.

--The two of them lay down in the tent together when it was finished. The moment of peace quickly decayed to an awkward silence. Lilia rolled onto her side and slid her hand over Mark's chest. This was the perfect time for an intimate moment. As her and moved over the belly of his shirt he said, "Please don't."

--Lilia withdrew her, and the awkward silence began creeping back with a vengeance. "Why not?"she asked after a few seconds.

--"I'm... it's just not the right time." His odd behavior was becoming more obvious. On their wedding night, he had told her that they should save their strength for the journey and rest. What could be his excuse tonight?

--"Mark, we're married now. If something is troubling you, I think I have the right to know. As a couple we can share our problems and help each other overcome them." Make gave no response, so she went straight to the point. "Something is bothering you, and I want you to tell me what it is."

--Mark hesitantly sighed and began, "There's something I need to tell you. It's something I should have told you before we got married."

--His words sent her mind rushing to guess what he meant. But as she sought to prepare herself for the news, her thoughts just brought up increasingly ridiculous scenarios that were no help at all. She could only lay speechless and listen anxiously.

--"I haven't been honest with you. I'm not who I say I am."

--"What do you mean?"

--"First of all I lied about my name. My name isn't Mark. It's Marco."

--"That's not very different. What else do you mean?"

--"I don't really look like this. I'm not handsome. Unlike you my face isn't something pleasant to look at."

--"That's not true. You're a very handsome man."

--"You don't understand. What you see of me is an illusion of magic. Behind the veil is my true hideous appearance."

--"I'm sure it can't be that bad." she said with a growing expression of trepidation.

--"Just prepare for the worst. Do you still love me?"

--"Of course I do. I love you for what you are inside."

He paused for a few seconds before saying, "I don't feel right consummating our marriage when I have this disguise. Just promise me that you won't scream."

--"I understand and I promise... How long will it be until I can see your true form?"

--"Not long I'm afraid. The spell is fading and will stop working by tomorrow night. Luckily we are close to our destination."

--"That's good news for me. I don't think I can take this traveling much longer."

--Both of them slept soundly through the night. When the sun rose the next morning, their camp was gone. They had already packed up and left to get an early start. Lilia was anxious to arrive at the new kingdom. Luckily the journey was not very long that day. After a mere five hours and twenty three "Are we there yet?"'s, they arrived. Marco stopped the horses and dismounted. But Lilia didn't see any kingdom or house. They were still in the forest. The only thing that she could see different about this place was the wall of a vast mountain chain that rose abruptly at the edge of the forest.

--"This is it. Get off your horse now." he said as he took the saddlebag of food and fastened it to his back.

--"But I don't see anything. Where is the kingdom where you live?"

--"I never said I lived in a kingdom. I live up in the mountains. Get off the horse and let's get going."

--"You mean we're going to climb up there?" she asked staring up steep rocky face of the mountain."

--"Unless you can fly. It's not that long of a hike."

--With a groan of dread, she got down from her horse and followed her husband up a rocky path along the side. After a few minutes of walking, her feet started to hurt, but Marco carried her the rest of the way.

--Instead of a house, his home turned out to be a large cave. It was cool on the inside, but what kind of crazy person would live inside of a cave? The inside was decorated with high quality furniture and lit with candles. The place looked unbalanced in more ways than one. The rocky cave looked like the place for a wild savage, but the fancy furniture and decor suggested otherwise. Each piece of furniture was a bit wobbly due to the uneven quality of the rock floor.

--At least the place seemed to have everything that was needed. Large vases of water rested in one corner. An iron kettle sat next to the wall alongside a brick stove. Best of all, the wardrobe was full of new gowns. As odd as this place was, it would be an improvement from a castle filled with lunatics.

--"It's been a long journey. Why don't you change into some new clothes and get some rest." said Marco.

--"That does sound like a lovely idea. I'm so sore from all the traveling." She changed into a nice yellow gown and rested in the bed. Her back was aching from sitting on the horses so long and sleeping on hard surfaces. It felt so wonderful that she started to drift off to sleep on the spot.

--Before she could fall to sleep completely, she was pulled back by the feeling of something cold around her arm. She opened her eyes to see her husband closing a shackle around her left wrist. "What are you doing?" she asked with alarm. His only response was a single glance at her face before moving to the other side of the bed. When she sat up in bed, her arm was jerked back. The chain led to an anchoring ring on the wall. What was going on? "Answer me!" she shouted.

--"I'm chaining you to the wall." he calmly stated.

--"I can see that. Why are you doing so?"

--"I won't let you leave. I don't want you to run away." Had he gone mad? What if she had misjudged him all along? She pulled her right arm away from him but to no avail. He quickly pulled it back and snapped the other shackle onto it. "Just stay calm I'm not going to hurt you."

--"Why are you chaining me to the wall if you expect me to be calm?"

--"This is the last day you'll see me like this. When you see me what I truly look like, you'll probably run away, and I'll never see you again."

--"I promise I won't run away! Just let me go!"

--"I don't want you to promise that much. I just want you to promise that you won't scream." he took the key and walked away.

--"You're scaring me now. Where are you going? Come back here and let me go!"

--"There's no use making a fuss. I'll be back tomorrow morning. You'll be safe, I promise."

--Before she could object to this, he had already left the cave. Why had he done this? Perhaps he was some sick killer and had done this more than once to fulfill some kind of twisted fantasy? She forced her mind to think more positively. If she was going to die, being scared and uncomfortable now wasn't going to help. Oh yeah, that was a lot more positive. She focused on the time they had spent together. She still loved him, but was worried if she had been misled. The best thing she could do was to sleep to make this go by faster. The shackles irritated her wrists, but the comfort of the bed after the long journey was more overwhelming. At least the chains were long enough that she could lay her arms flat by her sides. She drifted off to sleep hoping that the next day would bring better fortune.