34.

Luke and Kyara weather the storm.

34.

 

The thunderstorms did not ease up by dawn, the cold rain continuing to fall so hard that it kept everyone inside.

Luke woke shortly after dawn and knew that it would be useless for them to try to travel that day.    The roads would be a river of mud and there was no point in putting themselves and their horses through such misery.     The old hay barn was at the very end of a large field, far removed from the farmhouse and main barn.    The farmers would probably not venture far out of their homes today.   They’d feed their livestock in the barn near their houses and would certainly not do any field work.    Luke also knew that it was almost certain that there would be no search for them by the local sheriff or constable in this terrible weather.

So they could stay in the barn and give their horses another day’s rest.    In the grey light of the rainy morning, he glanced down at Kyara sleeping soundly against him.    It was the second time since his ‘rebirth’ that he had been spellbound by her beauty as she slept.     In spite of her short hair and militia solidier’s garb, she was gracefully feminine.    Her loveliness radiated through her attempt to look plain and it was clear that she would have more and more trouble passing for a male.

She clutched his hand tightly as she slept and seemed to almost be smiling in her sleep.   He wondered what she was dreaming about.   Luke pulled the cloak over them and gently wrapped his arm around her, listening to her soft breathing and pondering what would become of him.    He was growing more and more physically attracted to her each day as his body resumed its normal functions.    He’d fallen in love with her almost from the start of their journey, for she had such charisma that it would be impossible for any man - even a eunuch- to not succumb to her charm.

But now he felt a growing sexual longing for her which was stronger than anything he had ever felt for any woman by a huge margin.

So what could he do?

He couldn’t imagine how he’d handle seeing her courted and then married to someone else, but she was a princess (whether there still was her father’s kingdom or not) and deserved a royal spouse, not just a landless knight.

She seemed attracted to him, which thrilled him, but she was still young and it could merely be the drama and adventure of the situation.    Once it was resolved, her attraction might wane.

Luke sighed, staring down at her gorgeous face for a long time.   They still had a lot of danger ahead of them and who knew what would happen.   For now he had to simply focus on that and see what happened.    If he acted properly and respectfully to her and served her loyally, perhaps Yesh would see his problem and enable him to find a solution.

Outside it began to storm again, the wind causing the old barn to tremble as it tried to blow through it.     He pulled the cloak they were sharing around her more and then embraced her closely to keep her warm.     Though she was still asleep, she made a slight purring sound and nestled back against him, still smiling in her sleep as if deep into a pleasant dream.    He wondered for a second time what she was dreaming and was still pondering this when he fell asleep again.

 

***

 

He was standing in the audience chamber of the royal palace in Trilyum, along with a huge number of elven knights.    Some he recognized, many were just shadows, though he knew they were in attendance to watch something that was about to occur.

“What is going on?”  He asked one of the knights standing next to him.

“The Princess’ wedding,”   The knight replied, gesturing to the end of the room, where the King was escorting a veiled girl with long blonde hair.    It obviously was Princess Avalynn and he stood respectfully as the bride ceremonially proceeded toward the dais where Brother Dorrom waited.    Though Brother Dorrom had been dead for several years, this did not alarm or concern him.    He came back for this special occasion, Luke thought as if that simple explanation was enough.

He began to wonder who Avalynn was going to marry and he couldn’t think of anyone.     As she approached the dais, Luke found himself almost panicking as he realized that Avalynn had no groom.

“They forgot a groom!”  He began to call out to warn them of the oversight.    He didn’t want the royal family embarrassed.

He raced down the aisle calling out the warning and the room seemed far larger as he ran forward, trying to get anyone to hear him.

But his voice seemed very small and weak and the ceremony was beginning when he finally rushed up onto the platform and blurted out, “She can’t get married - you’ve forgotten a groom!”

This time everyone heard him and the King and Avalynn looked horrified as if (somehow) this small fact had been completely overlooked.

Everyone in the audience began to roar with mocking laughter which caused the king to bow over in shame, and Avalynn turned and ran from the room, weeping.

Mortified at the uproar, Luke turned to his right and suddenly Kyara was standing next to him, dressed as she had been while they travelled.

“They forgot a groom for her!”   He yelled to her over the roaring laughter, “She’ll never live down the embarrassment.   Your poor father is so ashamed.   What can we do?”

“Father!”  Kyara cried out as she grabbed Luke’s hand, “Father, we can redeem you!   We’ll get married!”

As soon as she said this, she was dressed in a long, flowing wedding gown of the purest white, her red hair now cascading down to her waist.

Luke glanced down at himself and he was wearing plate armor that seemed to be made of pure silver.

“Kyara, I can’t marry you; you’re a Princess and I’m only a lowly knight!”  He said to her, fearful of another round of embarrassment for the royal family.

“It’s too late,”   Brother Dorrom said behind them and they both turned, to hear him repeat, “It’s too late for both of you!”

He took their joined hands and on Kyara’s ring finger was a wedding band.     It was too late because they were already married.

 

***

A loud boom of thunder brought both of them awake, each jumping and wide-eyed in dazed confusion for an instant.    Outside it was storming again.    Kyara turned and looked at Luke with a bit of apprehension, mixed with amazement.   He just met her stare; suddenly very afraid to ask her what was causing her to look at him like that.

Unconsciously, he glanced down at her left hand and she saw his eyes fall to look, which drew a gasp from her.

“You were there!”  She said, her green eyes big as saucers, “You were in my dream!”

“What?”  He stammered, his heart racing and his mind spinning.

“The dream!    Avalynn’s wedding!   You were there too!   You were looking for my wedding ring!”

Luke sat up, “It was just a dream, Yara!    Just a dream.”

“Luke!   We shared a dream; don’t you know what that means?”

“It doesn’t mean anything!”  He protested wildly, “It was just a crazy thing that happens sometimes!”

“Has it ever happened to you before?”

“No, but-“

“You’ve heard the legends, you know what it means, don’t you?”

“Yara, please, you’ve got to stop, okay?!    We don’t know what exactly happened and this isn’t the time or place to ponder it.    We’re in considerable danger and we have a long way to ride when this weather clears up.”

“Why are you so scared?”

“I’m…I’m not scared, I just don’t want you to make a mistake… it wasn’t what you thought it was.”

“I can’t believe you are so upset by this.     I thought this would thrill you.”

Luke hung his head, “It would be the greatest honor imaginable for someone like me.    But I know my place, Yara, and I am only a knight and you are still a Princess.”

“That doesn’t matter, Luke; you heard what Brother Dorrom said to us.”

“It was just a dream, Yara.    One dream.”

Kyara frowned, but nodded, “Alright then, let’s go back to sleep.   It’s storming outside and clearly we aren’t riding anywhere today.   It would make most sense to rest.    So let’s get some more sleep, Luke.”

“Maybe we should stay awake,”  Luke suggested.

“Luke!”  Yara warned and reluctantly he laid back down and was preparing to throw his cloak over himself, but the redheaded princess slid down in front of him, turning her back to him but pushing back against his chest as she threw her cloak over both of them.   He knew when he was defeated, and so Luke flung his cloak on top of hers and nestled down beside her.    Soon he felt her hand feeling for his arm and she wrapped it around her.

“Please, Luke, don’t be scared!”  She said tenderly.

“It was only a dream, Yara; it won’t happen again.”

“Well, let’s find out.”

She closed her eyes and fell quickly to sleep, and though he vowed that he would stay awake, it wasn’t long before he too drifted back off into a deep slumber as the rain beat furiously on the roof of the old barn.