Beyond The Veil

Chapter 10

I had to double blink when I woke up to a blinding light.

"Ah!"

"Sorry! I thought you were still asleep." Tulip's soft girly voice brought me back to life. As I got up, I could feel a burning sensation on my neck. I went to touch it.

"Oh, I would not do that. I put a healing ointment on it, so it will take a while to heal."

"W-what?" I said as I tried to gather in my mind what had happened earlier. I remember Tulip's voice and the measuring and-oh my god...

"The wedding...I flooded the hall and-"

"Yes, but the king had you tranquilized," Tulip said as she sat on the corner of my bed. Now I remembered everything. I went to confront Airell about it, but I just got so angry, and I couldn't control myself. I hide my face in between my knees and could feel the flush of my skin heat up. Me and my stupid emotions.

"Hey, it's okay. I don't think the king will have you kicked out. You were just...surprised?"

"Surprised? No, what I felt wasn't surprised." I sighed and got up off the bed, my dress was damp, and it clung to my body like wet leaves. "You don't get it, Tulip. Airell lied to me, he never told me about this, and he kissed my lips and acted as if he cared for me. Someone who cares for you does not lie straight to your face. Lying is a coward's way out." I said as I held myself tight in my own arms. How was I able to trust anyone here? Airell made it seem like he was a very just guy, but he could lie so easily...

I bit my tongue, wishing I could take back the kiss. The door slightly opened. "Tulip, is she up?"

I rolled my eyes, I knew that voice all too well, and I really did not care to see him right now.

"Yes, Sire, she is awake." I heard Tulip leave the room and door close behind her but did not dear look at him.

"Emery, let me explain, the way my father acted him-"

"Nymph. That's what he called me Airell."

I heard him sigh heavily and come towards me. "Emery, look at me." He said as he gently grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look in his direction. He was still in his wet clothes from the flood I caused. "My father does not like my decision; he had someone already picked out for me, but when I saw you..." He trailed off, just staring into my eyes. "I couldn't get you out of my mind. Thinking of anyone else was nearly impossible. I know I should have told you about the wedding; I just thought that if I gave you time to get to know me, then you would be more up to it."

"What?" I ripped myself away from him, aghast at his excuse for not telling me. "You were deceitful. Why would I trust you again, knowing you could lie to me so easily. I mean...was that kiss even real, or was it just a ploy to get to me?"

Hurt flashed in Airell's eyes. He looked to the side of him for a moment before looking back at me. "That kiss was real, Emery, as real as you are here, standing right in front of me."

Mother of nature...I wanted to believe him, but lies were what formed our courtship, and I wanted nothing to do with it now.

"I won't. I won't marry you, Airell." I said, looking down at my feet, still bare and still wet.

"Emery, please let me make it up to you. Don't be so fast as to dismiss me. I promise you-" Airell took my hands in his. They were cold, and he kisses the back of my hand gently. "let me make it up to you." He said he did not look away from my eyes. I could not understand it; why would he want someone like me? What was it about me that made him want me so much?

"Let me ask you something. Why, why do you want me?" I asked. Airell sighed and shook his head. 

"Well, isn't it obvious? Emery, your beautiful." He said with a smile on his face, but that only left me with an empty feeling inside of me. Once again, the world of perfection looked upon beauty, which I did not think I had in the first place, but apparently, others thought differently. I rolled my eyes and turned away from him.

"What? That's not enough for you?" Airell asked. I narrowed my eyes at him and looked over my shoulder.

"No, Airell, it is not." I wanted someone to love me genuinely. The real me. The one who loved to get messy and wet and didn't care about the dirt in her hair. The one who wanted to explore Mother natures land and what she had to offer. Being a wife and bearing children was something I was not ready for at all, and Airell surely was not the one I would share my life with.

"Look, I understand you still angry with me, so I'll give you your space right now. Maybe later you will come to your senses." He said as he walked out the door, leaving me alone in this bare room. I wanted to scream and pull my hair out. Once upon a time, I wished I had a guy's affection, and now I wanted nothing to do with it. Beauty and perfection were what this world ran on; it was the water for the great oak to fed on, but what happens when it dries up when there's nothing left? Will we end up like the demons on the other side of the Veil? I wondered and then remembered the letter I had written to Micha. I looked out the window, measuring the height, and figured it would not be a risky fall. I jumped out the window to the ground below. I wanted answers, and maybe Micha was curious enough about us that he would give them to me.

My hopes were high again, but I didn't know if it was because of the demon on the other side of the veil or knowledge he had about the other side and the death of my friend...