II. The Maiden With Hair Like Fire

Conrí did not know how to find himself. He wandered for a while not far from where he parted ways with Liliana. He offered his service to a few local lords in defeating beasts and rescuing princesses, but he knew this was not what he should be doing. Conrí thought of returning to Liliana, but he didn't want to stay trapped in that endlessly blooming garden either. With no direction, he moved on aimlessly as he always had. While traveling through some forest he did not know the name of, he heard a woman crying. Conrí followed the voice to a large garden outside of a small castle. He saw a young woman in the garden. She had hair like fire and eyes the color of emeralds. The woman was taller than most ladies he chased after, but he was also quite tall himself and found her height attractive. Her dress left little to wonder on her figure. She was quite busty, he noticed that right away. Painted red lips nearly matched the vibrancy of her long hair. Conrí was certain, for the moment, that he had never seen such a beautiful woman before. He was supposed to be finding himself so that he may return to his beloved nymph on the other side of the waterfall in Cailean. Conrí hadn't forgotten that purpose when he saw the beautiful lady, but he could not help himself from wanting to know her. Conrí decided to approach the woman. The woman heard him coming into the garden. She unsheathed a small sword from her side and pointed the blade at him. "Who are you sneaking into my garden?" Conrí held up his hands to show he meant no ill will. "I am merely a lost knight. I came into the garden looking to see who may need help after I heard your lovely voice." "I see what you're after, you bad wolf. Leave me be." The woman lunged at him with the sword. "You've caught me, but won't you let me stay for a while?" Conrí dodged her attack. He kept his own sword sheathed. "Not all wolves are bad, I assure you." "You're quite the handsome devil, but you are a devil all the same." She said, unconsciously smiling at him. She forced herself to not laugh at him. He smiled back at her. "Your smile says you don't mind my company." "What do you really want?" She asked. "Are you a spy? Or a kidnapper come to take me and ransom me for a high price to my father?" "I am neither. I don't even know where I am." He bowed to her. "Actually, I am quite lost. I was hoping I could receive some information in exchange for helping you. You've been crying. What's wrong?" "It's nothing you can help me with, whoever you are, strange wolf." The red haired woman said. "I have nothing to offer you. Will you go now?" "Do you wish to be left alone?" Conrí asked. "I am quite a good entertainer. If nothing else, I could offer you some momentary fun." The woman rolled her eyes and put away her sword. She sat down on a stone bench. "Do whatever it is you came here for. I have no time for you." Conrí sat down on the bench beside her. "No time? Is something happening soon? You're not being offered as a sacrifice to some dragon or anything like that, are you?" "No, it's nothing like that. My problem is a man." The woman said. She looked over at the castle, then back to Conrí. "Are you not going to attack me?" "For what?" He asked. "I assumed if you weren't here to take me hostage, you came to defile me." She said bluntly. "If you mean by force, no, I would never do that." He said, then grinned. "Though if you would like those services, I am more than willing to offer them." The woman was taken aback by his words. She stared at him for a moment, then laughed. "Do these silly lines of yours work on anyone? Your mouth spills nothing but confidence and foolishness." Conrí laughed with her. "Oh, my words get me quite far. Look, I've made you laugh twice now and you've put away your sword. How silly are my words now?" She shook her head and laughed again. "Who are you really? Where are you from?" "My name is Conrí Fuiréast. Where I'm from doesn't matter anymore. I've long lost myself." He said. "What do you mean by that?" Conrí leaned back slightly. "Well, it's a very strange story. I was on my way to slay a dragon, when..." A loud bell rang several times. The red-haired woman stood up. "I must go." "Already?" Conrí stood up with her. He asked. "Will you be here tomorrow?" "Yes." She said. "I'll meet you here again tomorrow." "I never said I wanted to meet you again." The woman said. "You didn't have to." He smiled at her. Conrí took her hand and kissed it. "What time should we meet here, my lady?" The red haired woman went quiet. She looked over at the castle, then back at him. "Around ten tomorrow, here in the garden." "I look forward to meeting you then." He said. The woman ran off to the castle soon after. Conrí sat back down on the bench. He sighed and said to himself. "What have I gotten myself into now?" He waited for her in the garden around ten the next day. She seemed surprised to see him there when she arrived. He greeted her with a bow. "Good day, lady. I've been waiting for you." "So you have." She said. "And what are you waiting for, my dear wolf?" Conrí took a seat on the bench. "You wanted to know who I am. I didn't get to tell you my story yesterday. Do you still wish to listen?" She sat down beside him. "I suppose. I've got nowhere else I want to be." Conrí noticed her gaze returned to the castle. "You're filled with as much sorrow as yesterday. What pains you so deeply?" "Nothing you can change." She said. "Now, what is this grand story of yours? It better be good for me to come here." "I assure you it is quite interesting." Conrí leaned slightly closer to her. Grinning widely, he said. "For you see my dear, I am immortal." Her eyes widened. "Immortal?" "Yes." "How do I know you're telling the truth?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "Watch." Conrí pulled up one of his sleeves. He took a knife from his bag and cut across his skin. He winced as the blade went into his skin. "What are you doing?!" The woman put her hand to her mouth in shock. "It'll heal soon enough. It hurts, mind you, but it won't kill me." He said. Blood dripped from the wound. Then, it began healing itself. The red haired lady watched in amazement. "It's true...Then, are you from the other realm?" "No, I am human. Or well, at least, I think I still I am. A nymph gifted me with immortality because she found me entertaining enough to keep around." Conrí said. "How did you escape her?" She asked. Conrí put the knife away. "Oh, I didn't need to escape. She let me leave. Actually, she was the one who pushed me to go." "Imagine that." The woman said sarcastically. Conrí laughed. "Don't be so cold. She didn't throw me out. I am certain she loves me. She sensed I felt trapped staying there after gifting me immortality and sent me out into the world to find a purpose for myself." "What are you planning on doing?" The lady asked. "That's the thing...I haven't sorted that part out yet." Conrí scratched the back of his head. "I haven't been wandering very long and I don't know where I'm going. I've been letting the wind carry me." "You said this nymph loves you. What are you doing flirting so shamelessly with me? Aren't you the cold one?" The woman poked him on the arm. "No, she wouldn't mind it. We shared others plenty of times. It's in her nature to be with many. She won't see anything wrong with it." Conrí said. "That doesn't mean others would share her whims." The lady said. "Well, yes, but that's besides the point." Conrí rolled his sleeve back down. "I haven't gotten your name yet. Please, tell me your name. What should I call you, my dear lady?" "Ceara Gráinseach, soon to be Ó Rinn." She said, her voice heavy with sadness at those last words. "Ah, you are betrothed to someone." Conrí said. "No matter. I will entertain any, regardless of another man's presence." "A naughty wolf, you are." Ceara crossed her legs. She took hold of his braid and wrapped it around her hand. "What was the other realm like?" "I didn't go far into that place. My days were spent with her around her river, but there...it was eternal spring. Flowers bloomed every day, the weather was always warm, and others were always coming to us--humans, fairies, unicorns. Everyone came to us, and everyone left. She told me everything always flowed away from her, and that I too was destined to leave her side. It was a beautiful place, but her soul was a sad one and every rose carried her sadness in the morning dew." Conrí thought longingly of Liliana. He wanted to see her once more, but he didn't want to return to how their days were. "My soul was sad there too. You call me a wolf, but I am more like a bird. When I stay anywhere for too long, I can feel iron closing in around me. I need to travel." "Oh, is that your beautiful excuse for abandoning women?" Ceara teased him. "You may think of me like that if you wish, but it is a real terror that lurks at my back. I don't want to be trapped anywhere." Conrí said. "Then you are a wolf." She said. "Wolves are dogs that can't be tamed and trapped. They roam the forest freely." He laughed. "Many have called me a dog, the king of dogs--as many as have called me king of wolves. The implication is the same. I don't mind which you call me, but I know I am a bird. A robin that's in search of something beyond the horizon." "A robin, are you? Your voice has carried sweet words to me, as insincere as they may be." Ceara tugged at the braid. "Is it my blood you've come to covet or is it my blood you intend to stain yourself with?" "Still, you fear me. I mean you no harm. I am only passing through, searching for whatever secrets the wind may have for me. The gales of yesterday carried your cries to me. I must be meant to meet with you." Conrí leaned forward and looked into her eyes. "I have told you my story. Now tell me, what ails you, my lady?" "Persistent." She let go of his hair. "My wedding is soon." "Not excited, I take it." Conrí asked. "Of course not. I hate that man." Ceara said. "He's a sour man, plain, and never spilled anything from his mouth that isn't rancid. Amaranths and roses could never dress up that filth." "Well, that is unfortunate. However...there may be more to him beneath the surface. He may become another man in private. Most put on masks for the public. Perhaps, in time, you could come to be on friendly terms at least?" Conrí tried to ease her pain. "Everyone keeps telling me that, but I don't want to be in the same room as him." She put her hands to her face. "And then, I have to produce heirs for him. I don't want his children. Also, I am afraid..." "Afraid of him?" "No, of having a baby. My mother died giving birth. I'm scared. What if that happens to me too?" Her eyes watered. A single tear slid down her face. Conrí wiped away the tear. "Shh. It'll be alright. You've got to be strong. If you keep your strength up, surely you'll survive." "I have never been strong." She said. Conrí put his hand on hers. "My lady, if you would allow me, let me hold you for a moment. Let my shoulder be the hiding place for your tears and my heart a container for all the sounds you wish for no one else to hear." She tried to hold back her tears, but they flowed out in spite of her wants. She buried her face in his chest. He held her close. Her pain tumbled out of her in her words. "It's not fair...If I were born a man, I could go anywhere I wanted." "You can run as you are now, but you have forbidden yourself." Conrí stroked her hair. "I can't." She cried. "I wish the sky would spill over and strike me down a thousand times so that there was not the slightest chance I may survive." "No, my lady, do not wish for such things." He kissed her forehead. "I have wandered the world, and I have seen Death's hands in all of them. Slow, quick, bloody, broken, I have seen everything--inside and out. Do not wish for your own end. As much as it pains you, you should search for happiness instead among the living. You may hate that man, but this arrangement may gift you with children you love, it may move you to a place with stars that move your heart and birds that come to greet only you in the morning light. A friend you do not yet know, a lover to be, an undiscovered wonder...don't give up yet. I cannot tell you suffering does not await you in some regard, but you must find your happiness too. If you do find any such joy, keep hold of it deep within you." Ceara dried her eyes. "Your words are kind, but I find these the hardest to believe in. What joy could possibly be waiting for me? He will get on top of me, dirty my sheets, and kill me with what he's put inside me." "No." He said. "You are too strong to be killed by anything like that. I swear it to you." "What do you know, prowling beast? You control nothing, not even yourself." She said. A bell rang. Ceara rose from the bench. "Are you going?" Conrí asked. "I must. I am expected somewhere else." She said. Conrí gently took her hand. He kissed it. "Forgive me if I have offended you. I know your pain is great. If there is any way I can alleviate even a small piece of that, I would." Ceara let him hold her hand. "Tomorrow...at the same time, tomorrow...you may meet with me. Tell me another story, or be gone with you." "As you wish." He kissed her hand again. "Tomorrow, I will wait here for you." She hesitated, then ran. Tomorrow came soon enough. Conrí told her of adventures and quests he went on in the past, of lovers he held for a brief time and monsters he slew. She laughed more that day, and cried just as much by the end. It had been some time since Conrí had encountered a person with so much grief inside of them, but he was not unfamiliar with how to handle that. He had consoled many a widow and bride alike. As the days passed, she became less worried over him, but he couldn't diminish her sorrow. It grew each day as the date of her wedding approached. Conrí wondered if this might be his purpose, to comfort others. He had infinite patience for it. He couldn't stop himself from helping others when he found someone in pain. That was his nature as much as seducing was. But that was an ill defined purpose. There had to be more to it. He knew he was missing something critical. Conrí decided it was best to stay by Ceara's side for now, both to help her and to think more on himself. As best as he tried to break through, she kept up a wall between them. Though she seemed to no longer fear that he would harm her, she never allowed him to get too close. Soon, only a week remained before the date of her wedding. They planned to meet at their usual time. Before then, early in the morning, Conrí decided to bathe in a nearby creek. He left his clothes, bag, and sword by the water's edge and tied up his long hair so that none of it hung below his shoulders. The morning air was cool on his bare skin. He stepped into the shallow creek and sat down, the cold water refreshing him. He cupped his hands together to gather water and wash his face. He stretched his legs out in the water. The water here was so clear he could see everything below the surface. Liliana's river was the same. He wondered what she was doing right then. Did she think of him? Conrí laughed at himself. He never bothered wondering on if other people thought of him. He always presumed they didn't. Whether that was maidens and young men he briefly shared the night with or his family, he had always moved through life like a ghost--only noticed here and there when someone else's mind wandered to a place deeply hidden. He had never minded that before. Conrí was content with not being thought of once he left somewhere. He hated to be caged. But, he thought, it might be nice to have places to return where someone's thoughts did linger on him longer than a passing dream. When he was young, though he was his father's technical heir, his father always put more responsibilities on his true first born son. No one ever showed him any hate nor cruelty. He was simply left to his own devices. As a page, he served under four knights, as he grew bored of them if they didn't travel often. As a squire, he served under nine for the same reason. He had been sent to battles before and after he was knighted, but he spent most of his time as a knight wandering on whatever quest caught his attention. From there, he'd find another and then another. He rarely went to the place that was his home. His family never demanded him to think of marriage or children. He was never invited to weddings either, only funerals. People would remark when he arrived that they knew it was him because no one noticed his footsteps. While his reputation with women and men gained him comparisons to wolves and dogs, and his wandering nature to birds, his quietness gifted him another--a wild cat. He loved and accepted every comparison, but they were only comparisons. He didn't know what to see himself as. He had told Ceara he was a bird, and he felt as much in that moment, but as he washed in the river, he saw himself as a cat instead. Tomorrow, he might be a dog again. He never saw himself as anything for long. He looked down in the water. Rather than focusing on his face's reflection, his eyes only noticed the sun dancing on the flowing water. He picked up a flat stone from under the water and skipped it across the water's surface downstream. "Of course none think of me. I do not know what to call myself. I am nothing. How can you recall something that is nothing?" Conrí leaned back against the bank and stared up at the sunlight peeking through the branches above. The wind swayed the limbs, moving the beams. Conrí glanced in the direction of the small castle Ceara stayed at. He watched the sunflecks on the grass and flowers shifting as erratically as the sparkling on the water. "She'll forget me soon. Should I really stay here?" He closed his eyes. Should he want her to remember him? After all, he was immortal now. They weren't that far off in age now, but no matter where he wandered, he would stay in place; and if she spent all her days in that castle, she would long surpass him in what would now be only a moment for him. In little time, time he used to not have to spare, she would be gone and no one would be thinking of him. Conrí's family would be gone soon enough, with a new generation replacing them over and over until their bloodline died out or they were so distant from him he would no longer recognize anything in their faces. He was human, or at least, he thought he was. He had no magic like Liliana. But humans don't live long lives. Most of those he knew as a child died before they were ten. Those who survived births and battles, injuries and illnesses, and were lucky enough to meet with grey may see sixty or seventy years. Around sixty, deaths increased as they did with very young children. Very few made it to a century. Not long ago, he saw himself in his prime of life. What did that mean now? What did tomorrow mean? The hours no longer mattered. Before, he would be impatiently waiting on his meeting time with a pretty lady. He barely noticed the flow of time. Now, he had to be careful to not miss their meeting. The world somehow seemed both faster and slower than before. Everything was moving away from him for once. If he moved, what he left may as well vanish. Conrí closed his eyes and listed to the wind. "Liliana, what did you wish for me to understand? What am I supposed to do?" A cry carried in the breeze. Conrí heard someone running. "Leave me be!" Conrí saw Ceara running through the woods. A man chased behind her. "Get back here, you wicked girl! You are not wasting a year's worth of preparations over your own selfishness!" Ceara ran into the creek water, stumbling forward. As she rose up, she noticed Conrí there. The man chasing behind her saw him too. He grabbed Ceara by the arm. "Is this what this is about? Are you running to this man?" "No, I don't know him!" She cried. The man, who Conrí assumed was her father, unsheathed a sword and walked toward Conrí. He pointed the blade at him. "Who are you? Answer me now, or I will end you." "I am a traveller passing through, a hermit, nothing more. I am sorry if I have trespassed on your property. I didn't know this land belonged to anyone." Conrí put his hands up in the air to show he did not intend to fight. He might have been able to lunge for his sword, but chose not to. "A hermit..." The man used his sword to lift part of Conrí's hair up. "With hair like this and such a clean shaven face? A bag full of dried meats and clothes finer than any peasant could afford? Do you take me for a fool? Who are you really?" Conrí backed up slightly in the water to put more distance between him and the blade. "I was once a knight, but my family does not need me. I am nobody of importance." "You were exiled. All the more reason I should kill you. What have you come here to do? Take my treasures?" The man stepped forward and cut across Conrí's chest. "Father, no! Please, he has nothing to do with me!" Ceara tugged at his arm. "Silence, you stupid girl." Her father said. He raised his sword to cut deeper. He stopped midway down as he saw his first strike disappearing. He backed up. "Fairy demon. Come to eat my daughter, water horse?" "I am no such thing." Conrí stood up. His long hair came untied as he rose. He held his hands up. "I mean you no harm. Please, let me leave." "If not that beast, another. How shameless you are to be disrobed in front of an unwed woman." Her father raised his blade again. "I'll bring your head on a silver platter and have that hair of yours spun into golden thread to add to her dowry." The man swung across, aiming for Conrí's neck, but he cut nothing. The water rose up, creating a wall between them. Conrí used the shield of water to rush over to his things and grab them. The man followed him out of the water and swung again. Conrí quickly countered with his own sword. The creek water chased after the man and wrapped around his ankles, dragging him back into the water. Conrí ran. Ahead of him, a unicorn ran toward him. It wore a golden bridle and a golden saddle. The elegant, powerful beast bowed its head to Conrí. He mounted it, all his things clutched against his chest in his right hand. He held onto the bridle with his left hand. Conrí looked back at Ceara and her father once more before riding away. The unicorn took him to a cave behind a waterfall farther into the woods. Conrí thanked the creature. "Thank you for your help. Did Liliana send you?" A light surrounded the creature. When it vanished, a beautiful young woman stood where the beast once was. She was dressed in a sheer white dress, so thin the fabric hid nothing at all. Gold jewelry decorated her. She had a golden belt around her waist. On her head, she wore a diadem with a diamond in the center. There were no shoes on her, but her feet were not bare. Anklets and rings decorated her feet in a way that mirrored her hands and wrists. She bowed to Conrí. Her voice was much deeper than he expected. "I was sent by her, yes. She saw you in danger through the water." "I didn't know she was watching me." Conrí said. "She watches you from time to time." The unicorn said. "You've been discovered by that maiden's father. It would be unwise to stay here any longer." "Yes, it would be." "You are going to stay, aren't you?" The unicorn asked. "I likely will." Conrí admitted. "This isn't the first time a lady's father has nearly killed me, and I doubt it will be the last. How is Liliana?" "She is a bit lonely, but she is always like that." The unicorn said. "You miss her." "I do, but I can't live there. I don't know what to do with myself." Conrí said. "Is there a way I could speak to her now?" "Wherever there is water, so is she." The unicorn turned her head in the direction of the waterfall. "Ask for her yourself, aimless knight." Conrí stood up. He walked over to the river. "Liliana, can you hear me?" The water glowed. "I can see you, my love." Conrí put his hands to the water. "Can you show me yourself?" The light vanished. He saw his reflection, then it too left him. In its place, he saw her in the water. She put her hand up to where his met with the water. He could not feel her touch, but it was enough for him for now. "You rescued me." Conrí smiled. "I am sure that man certainly would take my head as a trophy if he could. Thank you, my dearest." "Dearest?" She laughed. "What of that maiden with hair like flames?" "I think I may love her too." He said. "But it is you I miss. I am afraid I don't feel any closer to finding a purpose yet. I wish you would tell me what I should do." "I can't answer that for you." Liliana said. "There is someone I know who can read the future, but I warn you...you may find knowing the truth that way causes you more suffering. Journey slowly, my dear, and find that answer for yourself." "What if I can't?" He asked. "If you are so lost, I will send you to that person, but you have barely left me. Keep searching for now." Liliana pressed herself against the waterfall. "And know that, wherever you go, whether it is to the sea or through a rainstorm, over rivers or across lakes, I will be watching over you. Let your heart guide you under my shield." Conrí kissed her through the water. "I will try my best to not disappoint you. I miss you so. Please forgive my foolish youth, but my heart has never felt like this before. I am always thinking of you and your flowers and your river. But more than ever before, my feet want me to go somewhere. I don't know where it is I am wanting to go. You cast me out to find myself, and I know you are wiser than me, but there is fear in me of where I may be when I find that place. What if I can't return to you? What if my soul will always stay this restless and I can never be anywhere?" "Don't fear where you are going, for it is where you should be. Everything flows away from me, and you will too. The passion you feel for me will fade in time, but I will be happy that your soul has found its place." She said. "My love for you will never fade." He said. "If I have any magic in me that can bind, I curse myself to that." She gasped, then laughed. "You are a silly man. Wherever you go, I will always keep your waters clear. Now go on, my dear. I will always be here, for whenever you need me." "I know." He pulled his hand away. "I love you." "And I you." Liliana disappeared from the water. The unicorn looked at him. "You are a strange man, indeed." "What makes you say that?" He asked her. "By gaining immortality, you are somehow more human than before." She walked to the waterfall. "I must go now as well. Good luck on your journey, knight." "Thank you." He said. The unicorn walked through the waterfall. Conrí walked out of the waterfall himself, but no one was on the other side. He finally dressed himself. He snuck back to the castle to see what happened to Ceara. From the whispers of servants, he gathered her father had locked her up in the highest tower. She was to stay there until tomorrow morning, when she would be transported to her future husband's land for the wedding. The wedding would be the day after they arrived. Conrí waited until nightfall to sneak into the tower. Her father didn't bother keeping any guards outside her door. A single, heavy lock was all that stood in the way of him and the lady. He picked the lock, a skill he learned as a young teen. Conrí quietly entered the room. Ceara was crying on a cot on the floor. She was wrapped up in blankets. Her room was well lit with lanterns and candles, showing how dirty and dusty the place was. The place appeared to have been mostly used for storage of things no one really needed. The cot of blankets on the floor was much too thin, he thought, for a lady like her to sleep on comfortably. "My poor lady, what have they done to you, locking you away in such a wretched place?" Conrí spoke as he closed the door. Ceara stopped crying. She looked up. "You...you came back?" "I was worried he might have hurt you, but I couldn't return right away. I knew he would be looking for me." Conrí said. He bowed. "Please forgive me for being so late. Are you hurt, my lady?" She wiped her face off and fixed her dress. "No. He only slapped me." Conrí kneeled beside her cot. "Only? To lay a hand on a lady--how barbaric! You poor thing. And look at this. This is no place for you to sleep." "He said it would make me appreciate the comfort of my husband's bed more." Ceara faced the ground. "Such cruelty." Conrí caressed her face. He unclasped his cloak and laid it over the sheets. "Here. Tonight, use this. It's not good enough to replace the comfort of your bed, but it will help ease the suffering a little." "Thank you, but I can't use this. If he found this on me...I don't know what he'd do." "I'll take it back before he gets here in the morning." Conrí took his shoes off and got on the cot with her. Ceara pulled the blanket on her up higher. "Have you come to finally get what you want too?" "What I want?" "It may be a makeshift one, but this is a bed. For a man to sit on an unmarried woman's bed...what other intentions could there be?" She asked him. "Oh, I was always willing to do that with you, whether it was on a bed or in your garden. The place doesn't matter to me. I'd be happy if it happened anywhere. What a lucky man I would be to hold such a beautiful woman for any moment at all." He leaned closer to her. "But that is not why I am here. Are you really alright? He didn't do anything else to harm you, did he?" "No, he didn't." She said. Her stomach growled. "Well...I suppose, if you count being denied food today as harm..." "Oh, that certainly counts." Conrí opened his bag. He offered her some dried meat and berries. "Go on, eat." She examined the food. "I was always told to never eat food offered by fairies." "I heard that often as a child too, but I am no fairy. I am only a man." He said. "Only? How can you say that to me after earlier that you are human? Only a fairy would leave in such a way." She teased him. "Shamelessly stark naked, riding away on a unicorn, golden bridle in hand and commanding the water to trap my father." "None of that was my doing. Well, except the nakedness...I was in the middle of a bath when he interrupted me. The rest was done by the nymph who granted me immortality. I have no magic of my own." "She rescued you? And you do not stay by her side?" Ceara asked. "As I've told you, she was the one who sent me on my way. I will not claim to know her thoughts. She is much older than the both of us. Whatever she sees is beyond us." Conrí said. "I told you she granted me immortality, but that was not very long ago. I'm not used to this body, or the change in my time. Perhaps, one day, I will understand her reasonings better. For now, I am quite human. And though I have abandoned my home, I was a knight once. I should at least care for a lady in need to repent for straying so far from the responsibilities I had been given." She laughed and accepted the food. "If you weren't so handsome, I doubt your words would sway any." "That may be." He lie down on her pillow. "But you should take advantage of that." "Take advantage?" Conrí ate some of the food with her. "Whatever you wish for. There's little I wouldn't do for a lady. What would you like of me?" "What I want? You aren't fooling me." She ate more. Her eyes watered. "What's wrong?" "I wish you had given me poison." She cried. "I don't want to get married. I don't want to be here. I don't want to be anywhere." "Is your fiance really that awful?" Conrí asked. "Your father seems a disturbed man. Might you be safer in another home?" "I haven't spoken to him many times. Every time I've seen him, he is always speaking to my father and other men. I might as well be invisible. The few words we have exchanged, he was cold and stared at me with disgust in his eyes." Tears drenched her face. Conrí turned over toward her. "His disgust may not have been with you. What if he has a lover and it is being forced to wed another that he is actually disgusted with?" "And if he comes to hate me because of that?" She asked. "If he loves another, why not suggest to him to continue seeing his love? After all, you do not love him." Conrí said. "Though if you are that afraid of him, I could take you somewhere else. Is there anyone who would shelter you? Some place you would want to go? I've stolen princesses and taken them to nuns and distant aunts before." "Was that official business you did?" "Haha, well, no. I often got very...distracted...during quests." Conrí admitted. He often found himself doing several additional tasks for strangers before he made his way home, but none seemed to mind. He had been gone so long now. Did his family assume he was busy now? Playing around? Or was he now with Death in their minds? "I wish I had somewhere to go, but I do not. If I go to a church or a nunnery, my father would surely find me. He may do awful things to those people." She wiped her eyes off. "Wherever I go, if it is not where he wants, I will bring misery to whoever protects me." "No, you would not." Conrí corrected her. "He is the only one responsible for his actions. But I understand you don't wish to get anyone else hurt in fleeing him. If you won't take that route, you must learn to live with your future husband then. He might not be as bad as you think. And if he is, well, I've never turned down a request from a lady. My blade is not for decoration." "What would I do after that? How could I ask to have a man killed?!" "If he is truly a wicked person, you would be doing a service to yourself and everyone else. Say you did have a child by him. Would you want your child to be raised by a violent monster? Wouldn't protecting a child be worth killing for?" Conrí said. "If he is cruel and I slay him, you will be free again, but now as a widow. Women who've been married once have more freedom than women who haven't in some ways." "I don't want to kill him without knowing for certain he is as I think he is. It would be wrong to harm a man without evidence of wickedness." "Yes, I do agree with that. Our minds often deceive us. He may not be looking at you strangely at all. Perhaps his face just looks a certain way sometimes for no reason at all. Some people can look angry when they're distracted or thinking of something else." She wiped her tears way. "The beast may be a kind prince in disguise, is what you mean." "You never know." "But if I marry him, on our wedding night...I'll still..." She turned her face away. "Yes, there is that." "My maidservants have told me it will be painful. I've never seen a man naked up close before. I've heard they can be quite ugly." She said. "Never? You saw me naked today." She blushed. "You were not that close to me then, and I wasn't really looking at you as much as my father. I saw very little anyway. I averted my eyes from there." Conrí laughed again. "How noble. But surely you've seen your father naked? Do you not have any brothers you've bathed with?" She shook her head. "The maids have always cared for me." "Ugly, you say? I wouldn't say so, but I've heard some women find us a bit ugly down there when it's not in use." "What do you mean by that? In use? Why would it be different then?" Conrí laughed without thinking. He stopped himself. "Forgive me, dear. Perhaps I should explain some things to you before you reach your wedding night. I fear you will be quite confused and terrified then. It gets bigger." "Bigger? How big?" "Depends on the man." Conrí said. He puts his hands on his belt. "Would you like to see?" "That...that sounds indecent, whatever you are suggesting!" Ceara's face turned as red as her hair. "Since you didn't see me well earlier, why don't I undress for you and let you get a better look? I won't touch you." Conrí pulled his belt off. "But you may touch me as much as you'd like and stare as long as you want. I don't mind." "This is...a trick to seduce me!" "No, there is no trick. I made it clear to you I'd love to do anything with you tonight. Whatever that is will be up to you." Conrí said. "If all you'd like to do is view my body to prepare for your wedding night, then that is as far as it will go." She glanced to the side, then back at him. Ceara bit her lip. "It might...be good to see for myself...to prepare. From what you've said, I am less prepared than most women." Conrí stripped his clothes off quickly. He lie back down on the cot, legs spread. "If you'd like, you can touch anywhere." Ceara's cheeks were burning hot and her heart beating fast, but her curiosity led her to stare. She looked now where she had avoided peeking at earlier. "Hmm...it is...a little strange." She worked up the courage to touch him there, then pulled her hand away. "What's wrong?" Conrí asked. "It's...not what I expected. Everything here looks so...delicate." She said, touching him again. "You're not wrong. I am rather vulnerable there. If you kicked me there with all your strength, I would be taken down. I don't know how long it would be before I'd be able to get back up." Conrí said. "If a man forces himself on you, this is an excellent target to help you escape him." "That fragile?" "Oh, very much so." Conrí laughed. "Thinking about that happening to myself is making me nervous." "You said it gets bigger. Is that something you can control?" "Ah, well, sometimes? Sometimes no. Sometimes it does whatever it wants against my wishes or my thoughts." He sat up. Conrí laughed at himself, thinking of a memory from a few of years ago. "Once, I was at a party with my family and a few of the other big families neighboring us and it did it on its own. I wasn't thinking of anything exciting. I was looking out the window at the moon, and then suddenly...oh no! I quickly excused myself to take care of matters in a more private location. It's worse for boys when they're beginning to change. It happens so much." "Oh, I see. Can you, if you want, make it happen now? Can you make that happen right now?" She leaned in closer to him. "Yes, I should be able to. You want to see, don't you?" "Well, I suppose it would be good to know what I will be dealing with later." Her eyes shifted from staring between his legs to his eyes, then back down. "If that is what my lady wishes for..." Conrí smirked. He was confident at this point they would not be stopping there. He could see in her eyes she was already more interested than she was letting on. Conrí touched himself in front of her. She watched him closely. He watched her shift the way she was sitting several times. Her nipples were visible through her dress. It didn't take him long for him to show her what she wanted to see. "This...this as big as mine will get..." Her eyes were wide. "It's grown so much...so quickly...Are all men this big?!" "I'm a bit above average, from what I've seen. I can't guess for you what your husband's size will be like." She touched him again to feel the difference. "It's...it's so much harder now...Do all men look the same?" "Mostly, I would say, in the same way women do. There is variance here and there, but he won't look that much different. I have seen some men who were ugly looking there, but most aren't from my perspective." She unconsciously copied what she saw him do earlier as she touched him, then stopped. "Will something this big really fit inside me? Oh, this will surely be more painful than I feared!" "Ah, it might not be as bad as you're expecting. Few women I've been with have told me I hurt them in any way. The part of you that will connect with that part goes deeper than you're thinking it does. Our bodies are meant to fit together. You may find you actually enjoy it. Many women do." He tried to calm her fears. "But some women were hurt by you?" She asked. "Yes. For a virgin, it can still be somewhat painful as the body is not used to accommodating something that large there, but there are ways to decrease the pain. Some men are not that kind though. Some make it hurt more on purpose, but that is a vile thing to do, I say." She touched him there again, then pulled away once more. "But even if it doesn't hurt, I may die anyway if he gets me pregnant." Conrí went quiet. She moved away from him. Tears welled in her eyes. "It's not fair. If I must risk my life, can't it at least be for the child of a man I actually like?" "I can't tell you that you will be able to survive that. I won't lie to you, but plenty of women go on to have seven children and live to sixty-five. I don't think you should speak of yourself as if you are doomed to die. I understand your fear and your rage. I wouldn't want to put my life at risk for a man I didn't love, but none of us know the future." He put his hand on her shoulder. "You know, you could always have an affair. I'm sure you know very well it is common in these sorts of situations." "What if I'm caught?" She wiped away the tears before they could fall. "You'll have to be very careful. Is there any man you fancy right now?" Conrí asked. "There are none who dwell within his or my home that I want." She said. "I'm sure one day there will be someone who you will want, if only for a while. If that person ever comes, you should go after them right away." He said. "You think so?" "You never know how long someone will be in your life or how long your life will be. It's best to make the most of every moment. For all the cruelty in the world we all must endure, it is only right we should seize happiness when it stands before us." He said, taking her hand in his. "Perhaps it means nothing coming from me, but if you find a man you want, you should catch him and take him for yourself. As many times as you want, as many men as you want. Give yourself the freedom to be sneaky. It's your life, and no one else has to live with your regrets nor feel your happiness. Please yourself before the world's demands." She stared deeply in his eyes before she threw herself into his arms. "Then, why don't you take me already, you bad wolf?" He wrapped his arms around her. "I thought you didn't want anyone." "I said none who dwell within our homes. You are from somewhere else." She clung tightly to him. "If I must endure laying underneath that man, let me have this. Even if it's only once, I will have this memory forever." "If that is what you wish, I will grant it." He kissed her forehead and petted her hair. "But if you'd like, it doesn't have to be only once." "Is this...really alright? I'm a wicked woman." She buried her face in his chest. "A wicked woman? Oh, you could never be. This world has only convinced you that your body itself contains wickedness whenever it feels pleasure. These are lies." He gently tilted her head up with his hand. "You are as pure as a unicorn, and so shall you be by sunrise. That purity lies within the depths of your mind and heart, and may only be taken by the deepest of sorrows. Don't let the world poison you. A unicorn can spear a man, mate, give birth, and the beast will be as pure as before no matter what the creature does. If they are not wicked, how could you be when your hearts are so similar?" "You've captured me and you are still casting magic on me with your words." She smiled slightly. Her voice was soft. "Whether I am pure or not for this, I suppose it doesn't matter. My father already demanded this date would come soon anyway. If purity is something another can decide to take from me and diminish me for, I don't care if I have it. But your words are kind. Perhaps you are right and your version is the real one. A unicorn is what every girl wishes she could see, if only for a moment in silence. And through you, I did see one today. Such ancient magic, I wish I could become as wild and untameable as that. I'm afraid I will likely settle into being like all other married noblewomen, but perhaps I can hold onto some small piece of that beast within me." "You could always give yourself over to that beast's service, escape to some land beyond human hands." "I cannot. I am not suited to such a place. I don't wish to die young, but eternity...I wouldn't want to live that long either. I've suffered much in my life. I will be content with finding happiness here. Perhaps...life won't be as bad as I am thinking it will be. After all, I won't belong to my father anymore. That's at least something to look forward to." She cuddled her face against him. "And you are here right now. I am glad I met you." Conrí caressed her face. He kissed her, pushing her gently down. He slid her dress halfway up her body. She helped him the other half of the way. With one hand, he cupped her breast. He rubbed himself against her as they kissed. He could feel how wet she was. He kissed down her neck and chest, stopping at her other breast. He licked her. Ceara gasped. "What...what are you doing?!" "You don't like it?" "I...I thought only babies should...do that..." He alternated between licking and sucking. "How does it feel?" She covered her face. "I...I can't say...that's too embarrassing!" He laughed under his breath. Conrí kissed his way down her abdomen, then got between her legs. He lowered his face down. Ceara blushed deeply. "What...what are you doing now?" "This will feel good. Trust me." Conrí licked her gently, gauging the subtle reactions of her body. She bit her lip and scrunched up her toes. "It feels...strange..." "You haven't touched yourself before, have you?" He asked. Conrí felt over her farther down with his fingers. He rubbed over her, pushing the tip of his finger in ever so slightly to test her tolerance. She was already very wet. Getting in was easy. Her scent was causing an intense reaction in his own body. Conrí wanted to move things along faster, but he knew that would have to wait for a different day. Ceara shook her head. "What will happen...?" "Right here, this spot...feels really good for women." He licked her again several times as he slid his finger in deeper. Conrí didn't move the finger. He felt her tenseness and waited for her to relax more. "You should touch yourself too. It might make being with your new husband a little more bearable." "I don't want...to think about him right now..." Ceara tried to hide her voice. Her mind was all over the place. "I...I..." Conrí tested to see if he could get another finger inside. The second one went in more easily than the first. When she was comfortable with that, he went up to three. Ceara covered her mouth to stop herself from making noise. Conrí kept at the pace he had set with his tongue and his fingers, a little faster paced than he started with but relatively slow. Ceara's body began to tense again. He watched her face contort and felt her body twitch around his fingers. She forgot about covering her mouth, grabbing onto the the sheets around them. Her voice grew gradually louder. She made an effort to suppress it, but she couldn't hold it back. With her on the verge of climaxing, Conrí thought about stopping. He had wanted to get her wet and used to things to make things easier, but she was enjoying herself so much he couldn't bring himself to stop. He took her the rest of the way. Ceara moaned loudly. Conrí feared it was a little too loudly. He kept an ear out for anyone approaching. Ceara relaxed, breathing heavily. She stared at the ceiling with empty eyes. Conrí smirked. He wiped his face off. "Did it feel good?" Ceara looked at him, still dazed. "What was...that at the end?" "An orgasm." He said. "I didn't know...that women could have those..." Ceara looked down between her legs. She stared at the mess on the sheets. "I'm sorry...Did I do that? I'm so embarrassed..." "Don't be. This is good. It'll be easier for me to get inside you without you feeling as much pain. The wetter, the better." He cleaned off a bit of saliva from her face. "I can't believe...even my face is a mess." She turned bright red. "You're quite beautiful right now. You'd drive any man mad looking like this." He kissed her cheek, then kissed her on the lips. "But you must stay calm. It'll hurt less if you're relaxed when I put it in." "Wait...I want..." Ceara's face turned an even deeper red. She put her hands to her face. "I can't say it." "You can tell me. What is it you desire? There is no reason to be ashamed." Conrí reassured her. She whispered to him. "M-may I...touch you the way you touched me?" Conrí was surprised by her request. He teased her a little. "You want to taste me? Is that what you're asking?" Ceara covered her face with her hands. "I am sorry...what a crude request...I am so dirty..." "No, you are not dirty. If you'd like to try it, you may. Perhaps, you'll find you enjoy it." He kissed her again. "I quite like doing it myself." "Ah, you mean doing this to women?" She asked. Conrí laughed. He chose not to correct her and rolled over onto his back. "Are you ready?" Ceara was now where Conrí had been. "I...um...am not sure what I should do for you..." "You could start with your hand." He took her hand and used it to stroke himself. "This feels good, as you already know." She kept at it as she positioned herself more comfortably on the ground. "Uh...where should I lick it at?" "You could start here." He pointed to the tip. "But you can lick anywhere. It all feels good. If something feels strange or hurts, I'll tell you." "And...should I put it in my mouth?" Her face was as red as he'd ever seen it. "If you want." He ran his fingers through her hair. "I'd like that." She hesitated at first, but quickly threw herself into experimenting to see how he reacted. While she pleasured him, she slipped her hand between her legs and touched herself where Conrí had touched her before. He noticed what she was doing, pleased to see that. She felt him watching her and looked up. "Please, don't look at me...I am so ashamed..." "Why? You're making me feel really good. Don't be ashamed." He played with her hair. "Though we should move on to what you originally wanted. I'm getting close to reaching my limit with this." "Please...can't I continue? I..." She asked, facing away from him. She was too embarrassed to look at him. "If I must do this for my husband at any point, I want to have already done it with you. Please..." "Alright, but if we do that, you'll have to wait a bit before I can be inside you. I'll need to get you ready again too." He said. "You'll touch me again like before? Would you really?" Without thinking, she looked up at him again, eyes full of desire and excitement. Her face reddened when she realized how enthusiastic she sounded. "Well, I want you to enjoy yourself." He said. "Then, I will wait. No one will bother me at this hour." She rested her head against the upper part of his thigh, eyes wet. Ceara begged him in a soft voice. "Please, may I?" Conrí felt his own face getting hot. "How could I possibly say no when you look at me like that? But I should warn you. You may not like how I taste." "I don't care. I want it to be you I taste first." She said, unbothered by his warning. She was more aggressive in her movements now. Conrí knew he wouldn't last very much longer. He gave her a second warning. "I'm...almost there...if you had any second thoughts...about not wanting to..." Ceara ignored him and kept going. Conrí couldn't hold it back any longer. He kept his voice near silent, only allowing the depth of his breath to give him away. For his own protection, he had learned to be very quiet a long time ago. His cheeks burned. Ceara coughed and spit it all out. She grimaced. "I'm sorry...I did warn you." Conrí offered her a rag from his bag to wipe her mouth off with. "Do I taste like that? It's so..." She wiped herself off. "You taste different, but it is...an acquired taste. I didn't like it at first, but now I find I enjoy it. It's something you have to become accustomed to as well." Conrí steadied his breathing. "Oh, I see." She tossed the rag aside and climbed on top of him, grinding against him. "Could you do that thing to me again now?" "Ah, of course." He put his hands on her. Conrí was a little taken aback. He didn't expect she would be so eager for that, but he was glad for it. They kissed for a while before swapping positions around again. Ceara was much less shy about hiding her voice this time. Conrí considered suggesting for her to be a little quieter, but he thought it would be rude to say anything and her vocal approval of his actions stirred up desire in him as much as touching her body did. When he knew she was close, he stopped. "Why'd you stop? I was almost..." She sat up, disappointed. "I know. That's where I want you at." He sat up and leaned over her, rubbing himself against her. "You're really wet now." Ceara's face lit up. She covered her face with her hands. "Don't hide your beautiful face. I want to see you." He lightly pushed her hands aside. "Are you ready? This might hurt some, since you've never done it before. It won't always be like that." "I suppose I must get through this part..." She felt over him. "It's so big...will that really fit in me?" "It will, but it may take some time. I'll take it slow. I don't need to put it all in to enjoy myself either." Conrí smirked hearing her words. He pushed himself inside a little. She wrapped her arms around him. Her legs shook. "Are you alright? Does it hurt too much?" "No, it's...not really painful yet, but I..." She whispered. "I am very nervous." "Shh...We can stop here for now, if you'd like." "No, I want to continue." "If you're too nervous, it'll hurt more." He kissed her and brushed her hair off her face. "Try to relax. It's not going to be as scary as you're thinking it is. Why don't you try touching yourself again like earlier? Do that for a while and when you've calmed down more, I'll try going in deeper." "Will that help?" "It might." She did as he suggested. Slowly, he pushed in more. When he was halfway in, she tensed up and bit down on her lip. He stopped moving. "So, this is it for now. I won't go in any deeper than this." "What? Why?" She asked. "I can tell you're in a lot of pain. I'll wait until you're used to it before moving, but any more than this will probably hurt you a lot. It's alright. This is far enough for me to enjoy myself." He kissed her again. "But all the women in the castle told me I should...expect a man to please himself and let the tears and blood flow." She said. "Well, there are plenty of men who would expect that, but that would make me quite uncomfortable myself. I don't want you to be in any pain. I'm not going to make it any worse than it has to be. I don't need the whole thing to be in you to get off. This is enough, trust me." "Really?" He nodded. "I am a very experienced man. I was never good at my academic studies, but I took a lot of interest in skills related to this. It's a point of pride for me to be able to please someone well. Allow me to spoil you in any way I can." She cried. "What's wrong?" "I was so frightened about doing this with him...and it being so painful my first time...I'm glad you came here." "I'll take care of you." He kissed her forehead. Conrí moved slowly until she became more accustomed to him. Conrí thought about her fears of the future. He thought, if he gave her a child instead of her husband, that would make her happy. He was unable to give that to Liliana, but Ceara didn't have the physical inability for that as far as he knew. 'Please, please, let the fates align. Please, let me give this woman a child. Let me fulfill her wishes.' As he felt both of them getting close, he kissed her deeply. She came first. He wasn't far behind her, nearly reaching that point at the same time as her. Catching his breath, he was a little amused at how much he let out compared to his typical encounters. Conrí had always quickly vanished from people's lives, and no one ran after him. He always wondered if he had children somewhere, though he typically pulled out to avoid that. Tonight, he couldn't tell how, but he sensed his hopes would likely come true. Both exhausted, they cleaned up, dressed, and rested in bed. "How was it? Was it what you expected?" Conrí asked her. "It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. It only hurt a little. It's more of a sore kind of pain than what I was imagining." "That part depends a lot on the two people involved." Conrí said. "It felt good, for the most part. Oh, I wish I could marry you instead. My husband is so plain looking." She nuzzled her face against his chest. "Haha, I'm sorry. I can't do anything about that." He laughed. Conrí thought to himself. 'Is it that you fear him or do you simply find him unpleasing to look at?' "I hope...I hope you got me pregnant." She said. "So desperate to deceive your future husband, are you, my lady?" He put his arm around her. "I want it to be yours. That way, when I look at that child, I will always know this wasn't a wonderful dream. It was real." Her eyes widened. "Oh, but what will I do on my wedding night?" "My mother pricked herself with a pin she hid in her hair, then let some of the blood drip onto the sheets. I heard from the servants. I'm my father's bastard child. My real father was the man I called my uncle. He died at sea." Conrí said. "You could do something like that." "What if he notices I'm not as...tight as before?" "Oh, he won't know. Women have been tricking men over that for centuries. Put on a show for him, leave a little blood on the sheets, and it'll be fine." Conrí said. "I don't...think I bled any today. Did I?" "No, you didn't." Conrí grinned. "I told you. I am quite skilled. When you are with your husband, remember the things I told you about. It should make it more tolerable. I know you do not care for him, but you could try asking him to touch you as well. He may like the idea, you never know. At the very least, it's worth a try." "What if he asks why I know about such things?" Ceara asked. "Disguise your knowledge behind a little white lie. Tell him you read about it in a book in your father's library and were curious what it would feel like. Pretend you don't know how it feels. Act as innocent as you can." "I see. If I pretend I saw it in one of those kind of books, he might not think anything of it. Oh, but what if he thinks I am dirty for looking at a book like that?" "Tell him it was an accident. You stumbled upon it while looking for something new to read." Conrí said. "Thank you for helping me with all this. It must seem a strange thing to request." "No, it's not really. You're not the first woman to ask this of me. Many women do not care for the men they are betrothed to. Some are bold enough to ask for a little attention for themselves." Conrí said. "And how many women have you serviced in such a way?" Ceara ran her fingers down his chest. "Oh, I would say at least ten women have requested that of me." Conrí lied about the number. "You'll go after any woman, then, won't you?" "No, not at all. Actually, some of those women I wouldn't have normally slept with, but I wanted to help them. One lady was so distraught by the idea of marrying her husband that she thought of throwing herself off a cliff. I agreed to sleep with her if she swore to me not to harm herself. By luck, her fiance died the next night and her father chose another man she preferred more for her to marry." Conrí elaborated. "By luck?" Ceara raised an eyebrow. "Well...a little guided luck." "What did you do to him?" She asked. "I may have given him a drink he couldn't handle." Conrí admitted. "It really was none of my business, the affairs of that area, but the man was a known tyrant. The people there were better off without him." "You haven't gotten around my words. How many women?" She asked. "How many women what? I told you, it was ten." He reiterated. "Have you slept with?" She clarified her question. Conrí looked away and laughed nervously. "My lady, you cannot ask me such a thing. That is private." "Is the number that high?" "It is more I simply do not keep track of such things. It feels indecent to think of counting people up like that." Conrí said, lying again. He knew very well what the number of women and men were, as he never forgot anyone he had been with, but he did find it impolite to say the numbers. "You are a bad little wolf." "Yes, but I don't mean any harm. I simply fall in and out of love easily. But I always love honestly." He played with her hair. "I love you." "What power do those words hold when you say them after telling me you will likely disappear soon?" She asked. "I don't know when my love will end, and I don't think on it. Also, I am not the same man I was." Conrí reminded her. "Time has changed for me. The length of a summer cannot compare in feeling to how short a gale used to feel to me. Now, those months are inconsequential. My love may last longer than your life." She rolled her eyes at him and smiled. "Is that your angle of deception now?" "I have never deceived anyone I've held." He said. Conrí whispered to her. "I wish that your first born be mine, with my hair and my eyes, so that you may never deny it to yourself that child is mine." "In the morning, I will be leaving these lands for my wedding. I'll never see you again, will I?" Her demeanor changed. She spoke with great sadness in her voice. Conrí suggested something he had never done before. "I belong to nowhere. I can be anywhere for you." "How will I hide you from him?" She asked. "There are many ways. It's not that difficult. Nobility have been hiding their affairs since before we were born. One of the upper class loyal to their spouse is either in a rare perfect match of love or a fool denying themselves happiness for meaningless honor. I will make sure nothing goes wrong. Let me keep you happy longer." Conrí said. "You will really come with me? How?" "I'll pretend to be one of your servants coming with you to the wedding." He said. "I'll follow along behind you and your family on the way there out of sight, then introduce myself to your husband as a manservant once your family leaves." "Truly...do you promise me this?" She sat up, eyes watering. Conrí pulled her back down. He kissed her forehead. "I will deny you nothing." For the second time in his life, Conrí allowed himself to be contained by another. III. The Little Wolf