Thunderstorm and lightning (3)

Storm arrived in the middle of a great and windy thunderstorm. The poker faced duke was in the castle and therefore not at home in the big mansion. I had been given a rare day off to revise and rest. The wind, rain and thunder was so loud and boisterous that it was too noisy to concentrate.

I sat in my study doing my homework, trying to remember why thunderstorms gave me the jitters. A window blew open and I rushed over to close and latch it again. When I had shut the window, I froze. I felt his presence before I saw him and I didn't dare to turn around or make a sound. Who knew whether he would punish me?

I felt his arms wrap around me while I stood there woodenly, trying to force my brain to think, think, think of a way to escape and of a way out.

"Eighteen months," I heard him say, resting his chin on the top of my head. "Eighteen months of busy work, rushing here and there at my Liege's whim, pretending I had given up and forgotten about you, and finally I am free again. Did you miss me?"

"Not really," I said, reaching up to pat his cheek above my head. He caught my hand and held it to his cheek for a long moment. "I've been terribly busy."

"They've been training you into one of those annoying, ugly ladies," he grumbled, letting my hand go and I slipped an ornamental pin out of my hair while I was bringing my hand down, hiding the pin in the palm of my hand.

It wasn't strong or robust enough to use as a weapon, but it should be enough for me to throw at the bell pull and make it ring. If only weakly. But even that would be enough to bring my staff running.

"Alright. It's time to go home," Storm said, sweeping me up into his arms. I screamed and threw my hairpin at the bell pull. My throw missed but my scream brought the guards and maids running. Storm looked down at me and sighed with the roll of his eyes. "You know how this is going to end," he complained. "This is just a waste of time."

"I can't just let you take me," I huffed. "I have to try something. It's been nice here."

"They've been turning you into something you're not," snorted Storm coldly, putting me down in a corner. "Stay here. Don't move."

Storm strode over to fight with the guards, knocking them all out with alacrity, followed by my maids. I glanced out the windows and eyed the distance to the nearest tree. I just needed to get to the balcony first. I should be able to make it to the tree if I had a big enough run up.

I sidled over to the balcony door and unlocked it. The wind slammed the door open. I backed up and began to run, only to be tackled to the floor just short of the balcony door.

"Aria, what..."

"Don't, my lady," Aria whispered, holding me down with her trembling body. "Don't try anything reckless. His Grace is on the way. We've alerted him. He should be here any moment now. You can't escape Storm in a storm. That would make it easier for him to take you away."

A blow to the back of Aria's neck knocked her out and she was rolled off me.

"Good maid," Storm said to the unconscious Aria, kissing his fingers and pressing it to her forehead. "I'll give you a gift. A one time use lightning defence."

And then, while I was scrambling up to run for the door, he caught me around the middle and carried me toward the open balcony door.

"Let's go," he said, only for us both to be tackled back inside the house from outside the balcony.

A figure in dripping black clothes stood up, glanced through the room and then calmly turned to lock the balcony door shut behind him.

"Pardon my intrusion, my lady," he nodded to me where I was picking myself back up off the ground. "I mean no offence."

"None taken, you Grace. I appreciate the timely save. It was rather dashing."

That caused a cold smile to spread across the duke's face.

"Remove all unrelated people. My lady, please go to your bedroom and stay there with your guards until I come for you," the poker faced duke's facial expressions was no longer stoic. Instead it was lit with the cold light of fury. "Storm," he nodded to the intruder. "Long time no see."

"Likewise, your Grace," Storm nodded. "I would have preferred for it to stay that way. Not seeing each other."

"Likewise," the duke agreed, staring at his rival.

Guards and maids helped me drag or carry all the unconscious people out of the room and then I was bundled down the corridor into my own bedroom where I was surrounded by a gaggle of maids, menservants and knight guards. I sat on the bed and hugged my knees.

It had just come to my attention - rather belatedly, I had to admit, that this was a fantasy world in which magic and technology prevailed, and yet I had never been taught how to use magic. Why was that? Was it because outworlders couldn't use or learn magic in this world? Or because they didn't want me to learn the very useful magic that they had here?

I put the question to one of my fighting instructors who was in the room with me.

"Instructor Helm," I said and he coked his head at me to tell me he was listening without moving his gaze from the door. "Just out of curiosity, but why have I never been taught magic?"

"Your files say you have no aptitude for magic, my lady," he straightened his head, "and that there is no point trying. Also, you have been forbidden from learning magic due to an accident in the past."

"Accident? What accident?" I asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Instructor Helm shrugged. "If you don't know, then none of us do. Apparently they feel you have had some memory loss, which has resulted in you having to relearn everything."

"Ah," I sighed. I understood. They had made up background files for me that would look reasonable to the average person and hide my outworlder status. "Then I have no idea. Since I can't learn magic, then what are the theories behind it?"

People glanced at each other through the sides of their eyes. One by one, they began to shrug, feeling there was no harm in explaining the basic theory of magic to me.

Outside of the scientific elements that made up the building blocks of all matter were a completely different set and type of elements that could change the nature of the basic scientific 'building' elements and bias them toward a more 'natural' element, say wind, water, earth, fire and so on. These 'natural' elements could make certain elements of the 'building' type become sharper, blunter, softer and more flexible, more heat resistant and so forth. For example putting wind element in iron would make it sharper and lighter, whereas the water element would make it softer and more flexible. The earth element would make it denser and heavier, while the fire element would increase friction, make it more heat resistant and more likely to produce flames. There were also other 'natural' elements such as time, space, life, death, shadow, light, healing, feminine and masculine elements, and so on. It was accepted that there were many unusual types of 'natural' elements and just like the scientific 'building' elements, there were still many more out there waiting to be discovered.

"What are you all talking about?" Aster, my head maid sat up, holding her head and asking groggily. She had been one of the first people Storm had knocked out.

"Magic theory," someone told her.

Immediately, Aster sat up straight and alert.

"Stop," she said. "She's not permitted to know."

"Why?" I asked her. "I can't practice magic. I'm not a mage. Why can't I at least know the theory?"

"Because those are the rules," Aster told me heavily and got someone to help her up onto her feet. She sat on the edge of my bed and pressed her fingers to my temples. "You'll have to forget it all. I'm sorry, my lady."

I tried to pull out of her grasp but a maid and manservant held me still.

A moment later, I yawned and blinked at Aster who was rubbing the back of her head and neck.

"You just woke up? Are you ok?" I asked my head maid in concern.

"I will be fine with a little rest," Aster told me and slid down to sit on the floor beside my bed and lean her head back onto my bed.

Outside, I heard the bang, crash and crackle sounds of magic in battle. The men were still going at it. I wondered if my study room would survive intact. Come to think of it, I was now living in a fantasy world filled with magic and high levels of technology. Why had nobody ever taught me any magic?

I put the question to my head maid and she sighed. Like a wind swaying through the room, there was a rolling sigh through the rest of my staff.

"My lady, you must be tired," Aster told me.

"No, I'm not," I protested. "I'm not tired yet."

"You look a little pale my lady. Why don't you get changed, lie down and rest?"

Against my protests, I was manhandled into the bathroom, wiped down quickly and changed into sleeping clothes. Before I knew it, I was being tucked into bed while everyone wished me 'sweet dreams'.

Aria had been shaken awake and she dazedly sang me to sleep before I could protest anymore.

It was in that half asleep state between waking and sleeping that I realised that there were very many suspicious gaps in my memory. There were very many mages and practitioners of magic all around me and yet I had never thought of learning magic? That was suspicious in itself. Even if I couldn't learn magic, I could at least learn the theory surrounding it.

I dug at the holes in my memory, trying to tear away the blankness surrounding them. There was brief spot memory of someone telling me that magic was an innate ability that some people could manipulate and control, while others could not. Some people were strong, while some were weak. And for a handful of people, their magic was so dreadful and powerful that they had to be killed or forced to forget about magic. For those who were weak but desperately wanted to learn, sometimes they would go to extremes in order to learn, pushing themselves to the verge of death.

I wondered which category I fell into.

The more I worried at those strange blank spot of memory, the more spotty memories I recovered and soon, I realised a shocking truth. I truly had thought about learning magic. Many times. Multiple times.

In order to dissuade me, I was often put to sleep, distracted or forced to forget those few seconds or minutes of time. If I put together all that I had learnt over time and traced these blank spots all the way back to the beginning, I should find the first memory. The one that told me why I had been forbidden to learn magic in the first place.

But memories are anything but linear. They are subject to change and persuadable. In the end, I struggled to find the real first memory. I could only dig through any and all memories I came across in the hopes that I'd find...

A strange memory of me with Storm in the year I had been down with post teleportation syndrome. I had woken groggily with a dry throat and wanting water. Being unable to find a cup of jug of water anywhere near me, I had spotted the clouds outside. Clouds are made of water, I had thought, reaching a hand out toward those clouds. The water had been unable to enter the locked windows. In frustration, I searched and pulled at anything with a source of water toward me, just wanting to satisfy my thirst.

I had heard screams from outside my room, water from the clouds had hammered and then smashed through the windows, rushing toward me. Storm had flown into my room and knocked me out, but as he had done so, I had seen the water streaming from his eyes, nose and mouth, from his blood and skin pores, reaching toward me.

Ugh. I paused, horrified at what I had accidentally done. I had just been thirsty and I had nearly killed Storm and possibly other people nearby. On one hand, I realised my magic gift had an affinity toward water. On the other hand, I think I could understand why nobody wanted me to learn magic. What if I unconsciously drained people of their water again just because I was thirsty? After all, people were what, fifty-five to sixty percent water?

Scary.

If my magic ability was so dangerous, perhaps they were right. Perhaps it was better for me to forget these memories and leave all thoughts of magic behind. Alternatively, I could practice manipulating the magic and ensuring I learnt to keep it under control. Very strong control.

I had plenty of water inside my body to play with. If I played with the water in my own body and learnt to control that - wait, scratch that. Maybe not inside my body in case I ruptured a blood vessel or something, but I could play with the water in my saliva or the sweat that came out. I could control the urine as it fell into the toilet, my bath water and other washing water. I could excite or slow down molecules in my soup or drinks to make them hotter or colder. I could practice making beads of ice through my sweat and play with the rain when it fell. Eventually, my control would be so fine and well tuned that I could move fluids in a person's body without harming them. If I was back home on Earth, I'd be excellent at targeted drug delivery systems if they were water soluble drugs. It was a pity I was so far away from home with no way back.

In fact, my life on earth now felt like a distant dream. As if I had never lived there before. Everything was but a dream.

The clashing and explosions of strong magic powers battling each other brought me to greater wakefulness. Outside my window, the storm continued to roar and rattle the window frame.

Cautiously, I reached outside the window with my magic toward the clouds, sensing all that gathered water with curious interest. I felt Storm's power mixed into the clouds, continuously calling more water vapour and clouds toward the area.

I wondered if I could warm up the rain and mist began to rise. Then I cooled the rain down and it pelleted down as large hailstones. Reaching up higher into the sky, I poked at and shaped the clouds into various shapes, having fun molding them into all sorts of cartoon characters, animals and things.

A telephone. A computer. A shopping trolley. Various types of food with steam still rising from them. I compressed one cloud into as small a space as possible until it froze and the fell out of the air, making a hole in a hedge. Oops.

I focussed on the big ice block that had fallen, sculpting the ice into the shape of a unicorn. When that was done, I grabbed another cloud to make another ice block and turned it into a flirtatious mermaid. I grabbed cloud after cloud in concentration, honing my ice sculpture making skills, trying to improve my control over water manipulation as I did so. The lightning tried to stop me from snatching clouds and turning them into ice blocks and I pelted it with a cloud of ice blocks in return, dazzling the lightning with itself and making it fry up the ice blocks that had gotten in its way before it could develop into its full strength.

There was water in the air and atmosphere as well. Those noisy and annoying men were still fighting. Maybe being doused in cold water would wake them both up. Carefully, I gathered atmospheric and the ambient air in the vicinity. I ushered the humid air moisture toward the room where all the fighting was taking place and compressed it in a corner. I sucked the storm water in from outside the windows through the cracks in the balcony door and window frames. This water boiled and steamed as I compressed it past boiling point and then into the realm of close to solid ice. Fridgid, icy water, somewhere close to four degrees Celcius where the water molecules haven't rearranged themselves into ice molecules yet but have collapsed down on top of each other to create a kind of dense water.

It was this slow gathering of two buckets full of very cold but not frozen water that I dumped on both gentlemen, in between their explosions. Through the water in the air and in their bodies, I knew that both men had jumped in fright. They had glanced out the window at the hole in the storm clouds and down at the various ice sculptures lying around the lawn below. Then they ran toward my bedroom.

The door slammed open and two tattered figures rushed in.

"Stop her!" both men shouted while I had switched my focus to polishing an ice statue of Mickey Mouse at his ship's wheel. Their shout made me lose focus and the whole sculpture shattered when my heart leapt at the shout.

I examined the shattered ice pieces through my mind but someone shook me by the shoulders. I was shaken so roughly that I completely forgot what I was doing and what was going on.

"Let go!" I tried to push the hands away but Storm held me tightly by the shoulders, gazing angrily into my eyes. "Let go! Hurts. It hurts!"

"Are you awake now?" Storm asked me coldly and I felt the temperature in the room drop. I glanced over at the poker faced duke who was staring out the window and up at the storm clouds with various other staff.

"What happened?" I asked.

The duke snapped his fingers at Head Maid Aster who heaved a heavy sigh, reaching to wrap my head in her hands.

"Really. What just happened?" I asked.

Aster was fixing my hair while Aria was softly singing a tune behind me, making me sleepy.

"They've finished fighting," Aster told me with a tense smile. "You haven't been well. Go back to sleep. Everything will be alright when you've woken up."

"I'm not going anywhere, right? I can stay here? Storm isn't going to take me away, right?" I mumbled sleepily, fighting the drowsiness. "Aria, stop singing, I can't concentrate."

Aria didn't stop singing.

"Don't worry," the poker faced duke leaned over me with furrows in his brows. "I'll sort everything out. You rest first."

"But I don't feel sick at all," I complained as my voice trailed off.

I fell into a deep sleep. The sort that made me feel as if I'd been locked in a deep and dark hole. After I'd had enough, I'd tried to wake up, but had found something stopping me. The faint pink colour slowly winding through the darkness had Aria's aura on it. The swirling pink that had created the black ceiling was reinforced with Aster's light blue. There was also the duke's aura and Storm's lightning suppressing me. I didn't understand what was going on. Was there something seriously wrong with me? Enough that they had to keep me asleep? Were they going to make me sleep to death?

I hammered at the ceiling but was struck by a bolt that sent me unconscious again. When I tried to wake up again, I was still stuck in the dark, unable to break past the ceiling once more.

I was afraid. Scared. They weren't really going to lock me up like this forever were they?

Whenever I made too much noise and strove too hard to wake up, I'd be struck unconscious again. I had a strong feeling that if I stayed here in the dark for much longer, I was going to die. The dark without any interaction or stimuli is not a place for any healthy person to live.

****

I went about my usual schedule, but with a strange feeling that something was wrong. The poker faced duke and the irritable Storm could often be found in a hidden corner watching me. I kept overestimating how strong I thought I was and felt clumsy. I also had the strange sensation that I had forgotten a lot of things. Important things. What they might be, I wasn't sure.

I had very little time to myself or my thoughts. Little free time. My maids surrounded me every second of the day and even waited for me to sleep at night before leaving me. I couldn't understand what was going on.

I was also feeling restricted, closed in on every side. With so many eyes constantly watching and assessing me all the time, it felt like I couldn't relax anywhere. Stressful. It was so stressful. Draining.

At dinner with Storm and the duke, I could see them silently vying for the upperhand all the time. Their eyes glared while they went through the polite motions.

"You should leave," the duke told Storm who was watching me with burning eyes. "I won the duel. She will be my wife. She will be taken care of. I will protect her. I refuse to let you have or touch her. Unless you feel that the duel and all our sparring have not been conclusive enough? Are you sure you want this to be escalated to his Majesty? I may not be able to defeat you in a true life or death battle, but I can in these little duels. At present, I am sufficient for her."

Storm's eyes glinted with sparks and I heard thunder rumble in the distance, making me tremble for a moment. Aster, my head maid, brushed a strand of hair behind my ear and then I returned my focus back to my food, struggling to remember what I had been thinking of before my train of thought had been broken.

A tense silence fell over the dining table and then Storm pushed himself away from the table, knocking over his chair in the process and making my heart jump in fear. He threw his table napkin on the floor with a scowl, striding over to one of the big windows, unlocking it. He paused, glanced at me and then stormed out of the dining room through the door. His gaze had looked violent enough to make me flinch.

Butler Mint smoothly closed and relocked the window before returning to his usual place near the door, ready to step forward and serve if called. I took a few deep breaths to regain my composure and then continued eating my increasingly tasteless meal. Matron Olivia, my etiquette and deportment instructor nodded her approval at me. I wished to be excused from the table as well, but felt that now was not the right time. I could still feel those staticky prickles in the air from the earlier tension making my hairs stand up.

"My lady," said the poker faced duke. I really ought to call him by his name, but his name for some reason, often eluded me, despite how often I practised memorising it. I'd have to stick to his title for now. That at least, was much easier to remember. The Duke of Verbena raised his eyebrow at me. "My lady?"

Matron Olivia narrowed her eyes at me and I wiped my lips with my napkin, turning my attention back to the duke.

"Yes, your Grace? I apologise. I was lost in my thoughts," I said while I stared at the spot between his eyebrows in order to avoid loosing into his eyes.

"I wanted to ask, my lady, if you have chosen our marriage room and finished arranging it to your liking. Due to various circumstances, our wedding date will be brought forward to next week. I hope you remember me discussing this with you the other night?" the man leaned forward toward me and took a sip of wine.

I wanted to rub my head. When had he said anything like that? There was really something wrong with my memory these days. My memory was like a sieve.

I turned toward my head maid standing behind my right elbow.

"Aster?" I asked her to help me answer this difficult question.

"If you will allow, my lord," Aster bowed and the poker faced duke nodded for her to continue. "Matron Olivia has assisted my lady in choosing and decorating the room. The marriage room can be considered ready."

"Thank you," the duke nodded once more, taking another sip of wine. "The lessons on matrimonial matters have been concluded, I presume?"

"Yes, my lord," Aster bowed once more, "however the more important social lessons have not."

"She will have to continue her studies after marriage. We cannot postpone the marriage any longer. If it were possible, I would prefer for us to be wed even sooner, before Storm or any other people come to cause me more trouble. How is the matter of training the other personal staff?"

"It is almost complete," Aster bowed once more.

"Good," the duke turned his spoon over so that the round, convex bottom side was facing up, to inform the staff that he was done with his meal. He threw his napkin on the table. "I feel lacking in appetite this evening." He glanced at me. "I believe you feel the same, my lady?"

I nodded.

Seeing this, Matron Olivia turned her spoon over as well, wiped her lips and placed her table napkin neatly upon the table.

"In that case, I will excuse myself," she said, to which the duke nodded.

The poker faced duke walked over to my side and held an elbow out to me. Allowing Aster to help me stand up, I gracefully took the man's hand and allowed him to lead me out of the dining room.

"Why don't you give me a tour of our room, my lady?" the duke asked me.

I glanced at Aster who nodded at me with a smile of reassurance.

"As you wish, your Grace," I assented.

"I've told you before to either call me 'Lisso' or 'my lord'," the duke gazed at me with his calm and clear but piercing dark eyes, making my heart hammer.

"My apologies, my lord," I stammered and then caught a hold of my tongue. "I forgot."

"Please do not forget again. In the future, after the wedding, you may also call me 'husband'."

"As-as my lord wishes," I looked down at the floor, feeling heat rise in my cheeks.

"These next few days, I have set aside time for us to spend together in the evenings in order for us both to grow used to being in such close proximity," Duke Lissotrichous Mullein of Vervain patted my arm.

Finally. I had finally remembered his name. I still felt averse to ever calling him Lisso. Why was his name so tricky and difficult to remember? Remembering his name felt like a great feat. Like I had made an achievement.

"Ah. You are pleased? Have I been neglecting you? I apologise," the duke nodded at me with that frightening gaze that told me he wanted to kill me or that I had made a dreadful mistake.

The corners of my lips fell and I realised that I had been smiling. I had been smiling? When? Why? Oh. It must have been because I had finally remembered his name. Not because of anything else. I truly didn't feel the need to spend anymore time with this poker faced, strict disciplinarian any more than I absolutely needed to. I'd gone and done it now.

"After our marriage, you will have me and all my attention to yourself for a week," the duke patted my arm again. "There will be no need to be concerned."

That was what I was worried about. It wasn't that I didn't know what happened between a man and his wife behind closed doors. It was that I didn't want to go there ever. Perhaps. Maybe.

But then, this was what all this training was leading up towards. The marriage. Even if I didn't want him to touch me, as soon as I became the man's wife, some time, some day, he would make me his. I was going to become his wife whether I wanted it or not because I was being trained into the wife that he felt I should be.

Inside a large, pretty and well furnished room, Aster pointed out what had been chosen by me and what had been chosen by Matron Olivia. It was pretty. The colours matched. It wasn't overly bright or ostentatious. It had kept to a simple but elegant format.

Attached to the room was a large two person walk-in wardrobe and dressing room. Adjacent to that was a huge bathtub with a see-through shower cubicle where two shower roses hung. Accros the room from the shower cubicle was the largest bathtub I had ever seen. It was more of a spa or a jacuzzi. Even then, I'd liken it more to more of a small swimming pool in size. There was already milky water inside it, steaming and bubbling away. Rose petals floated upon the surface of the rectangular embedded in the ground.

The mat tiles on the floor didn't reflect light as much as the shinier tiles on the walls, but at least it looked non-slip. In a rack in the corner, there were floats. Ropes hung from one wall - for life saving, perhaps. There were also other tools lined up on racks along with bottles and bottles of various sizes. Who knew what those things might be. Did a person need so many personal care products?

Two toilets were hidden behind the door, each with their own wash basin and mirror to the side. A full length mirror hung behind the door, together with a trolley of various sized towels piled up upon the stack of drawers. I peered inside the top drawer and was taken back by the myriad of tubes and boxes of... I blinked with confusion.

"Balloons?" I muttered. "Gloves?"

"Of a kind," replied the duke with the most relaxed expression I had ever seen him with. The corners of his eyes were crinkled. He raised an eyebrow at me. "It appears you have forgotten the contents of your lessons on matrimonial matters. It appears that I shall have to teach you myself in order for you to understand and remember things."

My eyes met the duke's amused ones and I felt a blush spread from my face to the tips of my ears and down my neck. I hurriedly slammed that drawer shut.

The next drawer contained strangely shaped items that seemed to be made of silicon or a material similar to it. There were some silicone balls on strings and strange 'fluffy' alien shaped items. One had a mouth that opened and closed when squeezed.

Why were there children's toys in here? See. There was even a few rubber duckies. One with a beak that opened and closed. One with a strangely shaped long beak. One that looked normal, but when I squeezed it, a cork shaped thing popped out the duck's backside, making me drop the toy in surprise.

I replaced the toy and shook my head, closing that drawer and opening another one. It was filled with boxes and clips. Batteries and ribbons. Small electronic pads, other strange electronic gadgets. All sorts of odds and ends. Truly strange.

The last drawer seemed the most normal. There were folded clothes and belts in there. Uniforms and things. Who knew whose clothes these were?

I lifted my eyes to meet the duke's strange gaze and tilted my head. Why was he looking at me like that? I truly did not understand. Couldn't really be bothered understanding.

His hands cupped my cheeks and before I realised what was going on, his cool lips met mine. I felt him smiling while I stood there in a daze, halfway between pushing him away and allowing him continue, because the kiss wasn't as unpleasant as I expected. In fact, it was rather pleasant.

Feeling me soften beneath him, he pulled me toward him and deepened the kiss. It was only when his tongue intruded into my mouth that I regained my senses enough to push him away.

He kicked his lips while I touched mine with curiosity at the slightly numb and tingly feeling.

"My good girl," he smiled at me and pulled me into his arms again, giving me another kis on my swollen lips until I ran out of breath. "Breathe. That's the way."

I could barely keep my feet when he was finally satisfied. He swept me up off my feet and carried me out of the bathroom and marriage room into my own wing and bedroom, gently placing me on the bed.

"That's enough for today," he said with one more lingering kiss to the lips and then strode out of the room, adjusting his trousers. "Go and enjoy your bath. It won't be long before we can enjoy it together."

Every night after that, I was taken for a walk and a tour of our shared marriage room and bathroom again. Somehow and for almost no reason, the duke would end up kissing me. He'd kiss me silly, until I was a melted pool of jelly. Although I usually started out wanting to refuse, his gentle persuasion led me to give way to him more and more. Slowly, I had learnt to return his kisses and reciprocate. It wasn't so bad. Not as bad as I had thought it would be. At least, spending time with the man was enjoyable in the evenings.

Daytime was filled with my head being crammed with names and faces of the various nobles who would be attending the wedding ceremony, as well as tea party after flower viewing after arts appreciation in order to get in as much practice in social gatherings and hosting as possible before I formally had to be perfect.

With these more intense and intimate evenings with him, I felt that perhaps the man wasn't as cold and unfeeling as I had thought him to be. Perhaps I might really be satisfied being married to him.

He would listen to my day with interest and give me advice or more information about the various noble ladies I had been permitted to meet with. At times, he would encourage me to refer to Matron Olivia for detailed advice on how things should have been done. After all, male socialising was different from female socialising.

His relatively thin lips no longer seemed so sarcastic and sneering. I learnt also to read his micro expressions. Those ghastly smiles that seemed full of disdain and ice were actually his attempts to show me some warmth, horrible though they seemed. Only once did I ever see a sincere smile from him. Just the once I had remembered and called him by his name during a kissing session in an attempt to get him to stop so that I could breathe and rest.

I noticed that he paid attention to my likes and dislikes, asking me more about myself and my thoughts, although seldom sharing about himself. Since he seemed more interested in me, I tried to learn more about him through Butler Mint and Housekeeper Rosemary. They shared with me his favourite foods, such as a type of iced shortbread cookie and dried strawberries, and pet hates, such as being nagged or clung to.

The day before our wedding, I had left a plate of his favourite childhood cookies on his study desk. We weren't allowed to meet that day and I was meant to stay in my rooms to get ready, however I hadn't been able to sleep that night. As a result, I had gotten up, snuck down to the kitchens with Amethyst's help, since she had been on night duty in my room and we had baked a thousand cookies.

I had returned to my room just in time with Amethyst when the beautician had arrived with a crew of makeup artists and a a hairdresser. Then it was five hours of various light scented bathing rituals, thankfully using things I wasn't allergic to, getting rid my of body hairs, and getting all around prettied up.

By the time it was all done, I was nodding off in my seat. I was given liquid food to sip on, while we moved on to the ceremony in an ancient carriage drawn by four horses. In the local Sanctuary of Quietude, the equivalent to a church or temple where solemn or formal civil gatherings took place, I was helped down the carriage and led to a winding footpath lined by well wishers. On the other end of the winding footpath, on the other end of the garden, I saw the duke waiting. This was where the first of the marriage rituals would begin.

Along the winding path were said to be various trials. I had to walk and break through every trial until I reached the centre of the garden to meet with my marriage partner. If either partner failed these tests, the marriage would be cancelled.

Balancing in my high heels, I walked carefully down the footpath, slowing down where the ground became rough or uneven and taking my shoes off when I came to muddy ground. There was no way I would be able to walk through with high heels on. It seemed that these trials were easy. I was the first to reach the central platform in the garden with shoes in one hand and skirt in the other to the cheers of the crowd, waiting for my groom who appeared to pause or stop in the midst of every change of pavement. Almost as if he was seeing and hearing something nobody else could.

Eventually though, he arrived, holding his socks and shoes in one hand. The corners of his lips had twitched when he had seen me standing there, waiting for him. Whatever strange thought had crossed his mind was banished when he nodded his acknowledgement to my smile.

We waded through a shallow rectangular pool of water to the other end, representing a washing away of our past and determination to be together in the future. Stepping out onto towels, we were allowed to sit and dry our feet, putting our shoes back on.

After that was the next ritual.

As a woman, I had to go through one final check for cleanliness and purity in order to prove that I had no diseases and was indeed a virgin. The man went through a checking of his prostate and equipment as well in order to prove he had nothing to hide.

The nurse within the room was quick and professional. With a gloved fingers, she inserted a large amount of a certain type of ointment, all the way up to where the hymen was located, ostensibly to reduce the pain and increase the pleasure of my hymen being broken. As was the custom, a quick dissolving suppository was inserted into both holes to deliver a medication that would help protect both passages during intercourse. I was told that it would completely dissolve within three minutes. I had been given them before so that I would know what to expect, but even so, it wasn't comfortable. Finally, plug like things with strings attached were placed inside me. Before long, despite the discomfort, I was walking out the little room and to the centre of the aisle. Everyone had already seated themselves. There, I met the duke. Together, we faced the back of the hall to bow, representing our thanks to our parents and families for bringing us up.

Then I took the duke's elbow to be led toward the altar at the front of the sacruary. As we entered the area directly around the altar, a screen arose around the altar, blocking all sound and sight of the audience.

The next ritual was the one I had last been looking forwards to and had been most apprehensive about. Apparently , the matrimonial altar required blood and the liquids of intercourse to be shed on the altar. On this hard altar, in front of a crowd, despite the privacy screen, we would be expected to do the deed.

The duke led me up the steps onto the altar to make me kneel upon on my hands and knees. He lifted up my voluminous skirts in order to expose my nether regions get them out of the way and pulled down my underwear, taking it off me. Then he pushed my knees apart. From between my arms and legs, I saw him pick up various items lying on a tray beside the altar.

"Forgive me. Bear with it," he told me in a soft voice. "It'll be over soon. I will be as gentle as possible."

I heard the sound of gel being squeezed from a tube and then the hanging strings were pulled, removing the 'plugs' that had been inside me. Then he touched me with his cold hands, making me stiffen. Slowly, very slowly, I grew used to the feeling of his hands on me.

A finger [redacted].

Then something cold, sharp and wider than the four fingers was pushed in. A split second of sharp pain made me squeal and squirm, [redacted]. The icy cold tool was [redacted], making my arms collapse and my head rest upon the altar.

The tool was pulled out and I gasped with both relief and some heat.

"The first blood of my beloved, Lady Misty Glory, has been shed," said the duke, placing the bloodied tool down onto the altar and allowing some fluids to drip out of me onto the top of the altar.

Twisting my head around, I saw him climb up onto the altar with his lower body bared. I immediately closed my eyes and put my head back down. I didn't want to know. Didn't want to see. When was this painful ordeal going to be over?

"Forgive me," he said to me, "for the insult."

And then he was inside me. He held me tight by the hips while I unconsciously made noises. The duke started off carefully and then [redacted]. It didn't take as long as I expected before I felt him releasing seed inside me, dripping as he pulled out.

We both panted on the altar, while in a hoarse, shaky voice, he said, "I, Lissotrichous Mullein of Vervain, Duke of Verbena, spill my seed upon the altar as an offering with the first blood of my beloved. I seal my vow with my blood, that my beloved and I might be bound together to share and partake of each other joys and pains until the end of this life."

I heard the clatter of tools and then there was a searing and burning pain around my right ankle, making me yelp and try to get up. Unexpectedly, I couldn't move. I was held frozen in place while there was a flash beneath me from the altar.

A trembling hand used a warm cloth to wipe and clean me up. My underwear was replaced while I collapsed onto the altar with a moan. The burning pain around my ankle had settled somewhat but I was now, suddenly exhausted.

A pale faced duke helped rearrange my clothes and picked me up with a tired grunt. He placed my feet on the ground and held me steady while I swayed, trying to find my balance again.

We descended the altar and we both took a moment to catch our breaths while I leaned tiredly against him. With our arms around each other, we turned around and saw that the altar was now filled with flowers. Purple verbena flowers. It was amazing and beautiful. Like magic. The scent of the flowers filled the air.

"We still have to show our ankles and then we can go and take a short rest before the banquet," my newly wedded husband reminded me.

I could only nod in reply.

"Ready?"

I nodded once more and he pressed a button at the base of the altar with his foot. The big white screen descended while we helped each other walk around the altar almost overflowing with purple flowers belonging to the verbena family. As we neared the front of the altar, I stumbled and reached out to touch the altar in order to stabilise myself.

The duke stumbled because of me, holding me tighter but also having to touch the altar to catch his balance.

In that moment, a power that felt like it could crush us enveloped us with a blinding flash of light. The burning around my ankle grew in intensity, as it it were spreading, making me cry out with pain. The duke also emitted a hiss.

Cool water caressed my cheeks from above and I looked up to see a fine, misty rain falling upon the purple flowers on the altar. In amidst the mist, a rainbow took shape. The audience below gasped with surprise. Over the rainbow, the 'sky' grew dark, like the night sky, spotted with twinkling stars that each created miniature rainbows of their own through the falling mist.

The cooling misty rain wreathed in rainbows and the twinkling dark sky melded and intertwined together like a cord of string, looping down to wrap itself around both my and the duke's burning ankles, soothing the pain.

I couldn't help sighing with relief.

Looking down, I saw a patterned red line tattooing my right ankle, looking like a crown of verbena flowers and leaves encircling my ankle. Woven around the red lines were blue and black lines that gradually faded.

A soft wind blew through the building, causing people to look around at the closed doors, wondering where this wind came from. The flowers growing on the altar swayed in the wind and released a rain of fragrant flowers and petals that cascaded down on everyone in the sanctuary, making people look up with awe and delight.

Children shrieked and jumped around for joy, trying to catch the falling flowers and petals, only to see them melt into the skin of their hands.

The sanctuary doors all opened with a bang and several audience members screamed in fright. A stronger wind rushed in and swirled around the hall, as if searching for something, and then finding it, came directly for the duke and I.

The duke wrapped me in his arms and we closed out eyes against the strong wind that whirled around us with merriment. There was the distant sound of trumpets, horses neighing, weapons clashing against shields in a salute and ethereal music. Other 'natural' elements joined the wind in swirling around us at the altar, including water, fire, sparkling sand and various other things that I did not recognise. My hand was still glued to the altar. I couldn't remove it.

All the elements seemed to be celebrating something as they danced, each one raining blessings on my husband and I. I was surrounded by a dancing rainbow of wind and then felt the blessings filling me until I almost had no more space for them anymore. And yet, they continued jamming themselves into me.

The duke's arms tightened around me and he buried his face in my neck with a groan. I supposed he was receiving the over exhuberance of blessings as well.

And just when I thought I might never end, the wind and all those elements with it showered the audience below with a bang of exploding colours, before leaving through the open doors, shutting the doors behind them.

There was silence. Utter and complete silence.

The well wishers looked as stunned as we, the bride and groom felt.

My hand was finally free, but I discovered that the flowers on the altar had turned into carpet of wildflowers and herbs that spilled out all over the duke and I, clothing us in them with crowns and veils, and long cloaks with trains that reach toward the back of the stage. The entire dais was covered in flowers and they didn't stop there. They cascaded down the steps and into the central aisle, carpeting a path of honour for us all the way through the main doors, which opened of their own accord. The carpet of flowers grew all the way out of the Sanctuary of Quietude, out through the gardens, all the way out of the sanctuary grounds.

The duke and I took a few deep breaths and people muttered and murmured nervously.

"This has never happened before in the entire history of our world," I heard people say. "What's going on?"

"The altar is only supposed to show the flowers of our duchy. Why is it showing the flowers of all the duchies?"

"I believe we have been invited somewhere," the duke breathed in my ear, renewing his grip on me. "Let's go."

The duke and I walked slowly, shakily and carefully out of the sanctuary building to scattered and confused applause, with everyone getting up behind us to follow us through the carpet of wildflowers. Outside, we were met with the watchful eyes of thousands of birds and creatures of all kinds which had gathered to line the carpet of flowers. They were silent. Those closest to us, bowed their heads or reached out to nuzzle my hands or the duke's hands.

Almost in a daze, we walked and walked and walked, while behind us followed all the creatures and muttering, frightened but curious people. When my feet failed, the duke knelt down to carry me on his back.

The carpet of flowers led us all the way up toward the top of the closest mountain where the dancing wind and elements stirred up a frenzy at our arrival, throwing leaves and dust, flowers and all sorts of things up into the air.

Glancing behind me, I saw that the long trains of the robes trailing behind us were gathering up the carpet of flowers, causing the path to disappear and those following being pushed further and further back as the trains of our wildflower and herbal robes grew longer and longer.

At the very top of the mountain, darkness fell and shrouded the peak. A heavy thunderstorm with thick, smoky clouds and a horrifyingly heavy presence filled the air. Lightning flashed and burned the rock, melting it into molten streams that were cooled by the heavy rain. We didn't dare go any closer and yet, the carpet of flowers led directly into the storm.

We stopped outside the dark clouds and I could feel cold sweat soaking through the duke's clothes. His heavy breath could barely be heard above the sound of the storm but I could feel it.

The duke lowered me down and I kicked off my shoes, placing them to one side. The flowers tickled the soles of my feet. I didn't think I'd be able to walk in my high heels. After a moment's hesitation, the duke did the same, but he left his socks on.

The dark cloud opened a tunnel for us, held up by arches of lightning.

My small sweaty hand in his big sweaty hand, my husband and I walked into the dark cloud and all the sounds of the storm faded away around us, as if we were stepping into a special enclosed space.

A man stood there in a resplendent gown and robes of white trimmed with gold. He held his hands out toward us with a loving and gentle smile. He looked familiar. I knew him. I should know his name. Who was he?

"Congratulations, Daughter. Congratulations, Son," said his soft but resonant voice.

I frowned, struggling and trying to remember who he was.

I put my hand in his and the duke also put his hand in the familiar man's, looking as if he too, was trying to remember something.

"I came to congratulate the two of you on this happy day," he said, "and to bless you."

And with those words, I passed out.