'For Here Evil Things Reside'
For Here Evil Things Reside
“How long do I have before then?” I asked, afraid.
“One week, maybe a little more. Next full moon, you will be converted. I like you better as a human, but as I do not have a Greek on board to heal you, this is what must happen.”
As it dawned on me we had little time to save me, I quickly spoke as he was leaving.
“How close are we?”
“We will be there tomorrow.”
“Are we getting married then?”
“Yes as soon as we arrive, if that is what you wish? There is no rush,”* he said..
“I would rather get it over with, ye..yes,” I stammered.
“As you wish.”
With that he bowed out of the cabin.
'Itna!' I thought.
'Yes?' he replied.
'I am turning into a demon, and the only way to stop it is to be healed within a week. We arrive to Romania tomorrow, and he has agreed to marry me then.'
'As long as he marries you before you become a demon.'
'You have to bring Kries home. You have to tell him where to find me tomorrow. All of you must be there.'
I waited and waited for Itna to respond, but heard nothing back. Scared some block had been placed, I knew I needed to test it on Dumitro.
Dumitro came in multiple times
during the rest of the day, trying to assure me it would all be alright. He told me that he had a dress already laid out for me, and that the minister and church were prepared as well.
'What do you need a minister for? Isn't that kind of counterproductive?' I thought to Dumitro.
'I heard that,' he thought back.
"Does any of this please you?" he asked, sincerely.
“Oh yes. It's always been my dream to marry a slimy, heart-eating demon.”
“Good. I am glad.”
He reached over and kissed my cheek.
I shivered, trying to turn away as he grabbed my chin. That night I did not sleep well at all. I tossed and turned all night. I kept having horrifying nightmares about an emptiness that I could not fill with anything.
I woke up screaming at about one in the morning. As I lied there wishing Kries were here to comfort me, I had a vision. All I could see was me, holding my stomach, crying and rocking back and forth. When I came out of it, I was stunned.
'Man, I pray that whatever Itna has planned works,' I thought to myself.
The next day when we arrived,
I walked carefully down the ramp, holding my stomach, trying not to slip. Dumitro noticed. He came up next to me and picked up my luggage for me.
“Why are you being so careful? Seasick are we?” he smiled.
“Uh…”
“Ana, hit her in the stomach,” Dumitro commanded.
“No!” I screamed, attempting to block Ana.
“Just as I thought, thank you Ana, your services are not required.”
I stared at Dumitro as I realized I had completely given it away.
“You realize I cannot allow you to have this baby right? A Hatfield baby? In my house? I don’t think so.”
He gave me a pitied look.
With that, what felt like a boulder smashed into my stomach; flying me halfway across the dock. I began to scream as I felt the enormous pain of a miscarriage. When it was over, all I could do was lie in my blood, holding my stomach, and cry. Dumitro stood next to me.
“Cheer up, my dear. You are getting married in two hours.”
After I was brought to his castle, and cleaned up, they put the gown on me. I had never felt more horrible in my life. I had lost Kries’s baby, the only thing I had left of him.
'Please, dear God, let them come today,' I thought.
As I stood in the room by myself,
looking in the mirror, I started to hear singing.
“Turn back, turn back, you beautiful bride, in this house you should not bide, for here evil things reside.”
I turned around to see a much older looking Turkish woman.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I am your future mother-in-law, Clarissa.”
She smiled and bowed slightly. I was stunned her name was so similar to mine.
“What were you singing?” I referred back.
“You should not be marrying Dumitro. He has forgotten many things, but I have not.”
She started to circle me like a vulture
that had spotted a dead animal.
“I don’t have a choice. I certainly would not have chosen this,” I answered nervously.
“Mother, leave her alone.”
Dumitro came into the room.
“Clara, you look beautiful. Are you ready?” he asked, with his hand outstretched.
“Yes.”
I glanced at Clarissa as I accepted his hand. There was something vaguely familiar about her.
“Just remember my song Clara.”
I turned to look at her as we walked out, but she was gone. As we walked down the halls, I couldn’t help but ask.
“How long have you lived here?”
“Not too long, I think it’s been eight years, maybe less maybe more, it’s hard to keep track. It’s a beautiful castle isn’t it? It was abandoned when I took over it. It is now rumored to be referred to as Hunedoara Castle, among the townsfolk below, at any rate. Can't imagine why."
“Where do we need to go, as far as a church?”
“Conveniently enough, we have a chapel in the castle, which is where we will be marrying, if that is of no contest?”
“It’s fine.”
'Now Itna,' I thought.
As we stepped inside the church,
old wedding music began to play from an organ in the back. There was a demon playing it. The pews were all completely filled with demons. Dumitro went to the head of the church, and waited while I slowly walked up the aisle, escorted by an older demon. I closed my eyes as I walked, remembering everything I could about Kries.
“Dumitro really isn’t that bad once you get to know him,” the demon walking me up the aisle whispered.
I looked up at him, and saw his face was full of love and sincerity, which surprised me greatly.
“I’m sorry, but I feel like only a parent could say that, and even if he was a great man, I am already in love, and this is the last thing I want to be doing.”
“Well, I am his father. If I know anything about Dumitro, and I know a little, if he is marrying you against your will, the man you’re in love with must be... a Hatfield?”
“Yes.”
I was surprised Dumitro’s father could be so nice.
“And, considering he is marrying you so quickly, you must be in love with a Hatfield he really dislikes… could it be Alexis's grandson?” he guessed.
I looked at him surprised.
“Well I will say this: you picked a good man to love, so I’ve heard. And I truly hope everything works out for you.”
Before I could respond he handed me to Dumitro, as we had reached the altar. I felt my stomach turn over, as I looked at Dumitro.
“Do you, Clara Jostany, take Dumitro, Leader of the Demon Clan, to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, till death you two part?”
The minister asked me first. No words were harder and more heartbreaking to say than the next.
“I…I do.”
The words fell like a ton of bricks on my heart.
“And do you, Dumitro, take Clara Jostany to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, till death you two part?”
“I do.”
Dumitro spoke with no hesitance.
Your post is golden... i thik writing might have its advantages as well as thanks for sharing...
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-Frolicking Raptors
Great writing love
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-Frolicking Raptors