VALOR P.O.V

  She laughs. Seeing her laugh is strange, she have been angry and scary, even sad. But this is the first time I hear her laugh. If only she did not laugh at me. Even though it is laughable, for me to suggest us to get married. Oh God, what am I even thinking, my father would never approve of this.

  I caress the part of my throat that hurts from the rope. My body aches all over, from being hurled down the stairs and being beaten up by that elf. I do not want to meet him again. Where is that man now? She mentioned we need to leave before he returns, I could not be more agreeable. But I am not leaving without her.

  "That is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard, me married to you. -" She keeps laughing through her words. "What would people not say, why suggest such an absurd thing." Why would she care what people say? In any case, it does not matter, as my wife no one would dare to speak ill about her. I scowl, this is a serious situation but she keeps laughing.

  "If we were edged together by marriage, we would not only be bound by law, but by God himself." I scowl, this is a serious situation and she keeps laughing.

  She sits up straight, a few giggles escaping her. "Be serious Your Royal Highness.-" She said my title harshly as if to remind me of it. "The woman you marry will become the future Queen of Martraigh. I have no title, no money. Hell, I do not even have a slight grasp of the behaviour and qualities that a noble lady is expected to possess."

  "You can learn," I say shortly.

  She turns away from me. In her state, she seems fragile, as if she is going to break. "I am not proper, I have no poise. I am a fighter, I killed people. Hell, I killed a guard yesterday-"I know she is not a saint and it doesn't matter what she has done in the past, nothing she says will change my mind.

  "Damm it, I am not even a virgin." Even though my stomach twists, I try not to express my discomfort. I should have anticipated her being tainted as a possibility. Even though this is not appropriate, I cannot let it deter me. After all "Neither am I."

  "You are insane," she replies. But I am not, I am desperate, we both are. "I am to marry for the good of this kingdom, and the best thing for Martraigh, would be for me to be free of this curse. Lorelei, I was brought to you by fate. Maybe even by God. I need you in my life." I believe she may be the answer to my prayers. What else are the chances of us meeting?

  "What brought you here is a toxic mix of curiosity and obsession." She stands and walks over to the dead rat. Pulling out the knife she used to kill it. I tremble at the sight of the bloody blade. What is she going to do with it?

  Hurt her, kill her. Grab her face, and shove it into the ground, she should be choking on the dirt. The voices whisper.

  She doesn't understand what I have gone through, how can she? "Lorelei. I played the clavichord as my hands cramped. Stroken harp strings to my fingers bleed. Because I would prefer to endure physical pain rather than face the relentless voices echoing in my mind. I am willing to do anything to stop them. I might come to regret this marriage. But I'd rather be in an unhappy marriage for the rest of my life than endure another day without your powers."

  I can't continue this nightmare alone. I need her, I need her to never leave me. To do so, she needs to legally and spiritually belong to me. My father's anger be dammed, I am marrying her, and he like evryone else will have to accept it.

  "Are you certain this is what you want?" She ask. No, if I got what I wanted I would not be cursed, and I could marry Alva. But she is leaving me. Unlike the curse which never will. "It is what we have to do."

  She walks behind me. Is this it, is my want too much? Will she kill me? "What are you doing?" My voice is shaking. And then I feel the rope around my wrists being cut. "We talked enough, let's get out of here before he returns."

  After standing up I felt a dizziness comes over me. I haven't eaten for at least a day, and the only thing I had to drink, was that disgusting potion, at least my voice is mostly back.

  As we step outside I feel the wind has picked up, making my still damp garments feel considerably colder. Seeing the brothel on the other side shocks me. We weren't any further?

  On the sky, the sun is setting, it's late. Without a word, Lorelei began walking. I hurry to follow. Her feet are bare and her steps are unsteady. The burns she suffered must be behind her struggle. It starts to dawn on me, how hurt she must be. Is this why she was willing to make a deal with me? Because of the severe pain I caused? The way she acts makes it seem as if what happened was not that bad. But how could it not be? She was in flames.

  "You can support against me if you want?" I say. But the scowl she sends me, clearly states that I have just insulted her by offering to help.

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  Beat her ,harm her. Take her arm and..."Would it be too much to ask you to sing?"

  "So that is why you offered to help." She mumbled. Is she assuming I only offered to help because I wanted something? I am about to tell her she is wrong, but then she starts singing. And as the tones mute the curse, all my pain and rage vanished. What she said no longer mattered. Only her music does.

  She stops singing after a few minutes and asks coldly, "Happy." I nod, unable to express what I think. That as long as she sings for me, I will always be happy.

  I want to ask her so many questions, what she loves, what she hates. All the ways I can make her happy, so that she will want to stay with me. And most of all, I want to know why she left. "Do you mind me asking, why did you desert your position as a guard?"

  "Why would you want to know that? " She has a sour expression on her face.

  "Because I want to get to know you, I want to know why you left, what you have seen and what you have done. I want to know everything about you"

  "No you dont,-" She whispers. After a short pause, she says "I tell you how I vanished from the city back then, if you tell me how you snuck out of the castle."

  Without thinking I answer, "We went through the old gate in the Ater river." As the words leave my mouth, I realize I just told her how to get out of the castle.

  No, I can't think of that. She won't flee. She won't be allowed to, even if it means I have to have guards follow her every step. However, the Ater river is far from the only way out. I should be careful with what else I say, at least until I am confident that she wants to stay. "Now, tell me about how you fled back then."

  She takes a while to respond, perhaps considering her words. "At the end of a guard training, we pupils are told where we would place on duty. Narin was top of his class, so there was no doubt he become a royal guard. Neary on the other hand, despite putting in just as much work, the royal guards are only for the best of the best, and well she can not talk..." We walk past some boxes, and she sits down on one.

  "We were under the impression Neary would become a city guard, but instead she was informed that she would be one of them their was being outposted to Daingneach, those who go there are those who failed and the wounded. Neary is neither. And only God knows where she would go from there. The twins knew they needed to disappear before they got separated."

  I take a seat beside her and ask "And you, why did you choose to leave with them?"

  "I found out I did not want to die for someone who sees me as a nobody." She stand up and continue forward, I hurry to follow.

  She already told me she did not want to die for the King. But that can not be all there is to it. You do not abandon your entire life, risking execution. Simply because you don't feel validated. And why does she keep saying dying? You should think she meant she do not want to serve. But she is so specific about not wanting to die, did someone close to her die on duty?

  But before I can ask, she continues her story. "The twins came to me because they knew they needed help. We did not have long to devise a plan, because Neary was leaving the day after the pledge ceremony. We knew we couldn't leave before the ceremonoy, so it had to be after."

  "It is tradition to go out and celebrate after taking the pledge. So we planned to disappear that night. I followed them as chaparon and with some persuasion, Neary was allowed to come too. By the time it grew dark, most people were too drunk to notice our disappearing. After that, we just... well, we bought some horses and galloped away on them." There was something about the last sentence, for some reason, I think she is hiding something. Maybe she do not want to admit they stole the horses.

  "It was a big risk you took. How far did you travel? Did you see any beautiful places, or encounter some enticing men." I may have asked too many questions at once, and the last one I shouldn't have asked at all.

  Lorelei stopped and turned to look at me. Her lips are pressed together and eyes squinting. "Do you think I am some kind of whore? For your information, I only been with one man. And I am not about to make you my second." She spins and walks on.

  "My apologies, I did not mean to question your doings, I am just curious about your life. Was this man, him, Narin?"

  "Ew, gross, he is my brother?" I do not understand how she can call him brother. He is not blood. It's strange, isn't it? To call him brother, is it because they grew up together? But I grew up with Alva, and while I love her, I never imagined her as my sister. Father always has said that family is blood. And Alva isn't blood.

  "In any case, it does not matter who he is, because he is dead." Lorelei tells.

  "Oh I am sorry."

  "if your truly sorry, stop talking to me." I keep quiet the rest of the way. I will have plenty of time to ask more questions. Preferable when she is in a better mood.

  The castle begins to appear in the distance. Just above the wall, the orange light of the sunset leaves a glow that spreads into a dark blue sky. Lorelei comes to a stop at the sight of the castle's gate. "Do not tell me you have doubts?"

  "I am contemplating if I am making a mistake in trusting you, or if I should turn and run."

  I take a step towards her and reach for her hand. "You can trust one thing. That I will never harm or betray you. Because I need you too much to ever risk hurting you." I am being sincere. I need her, and I will not let her go.

  Still holding onto her hand, I proceed towards the gate. Nearing it, a guard calls out. "Who goes there?" Perhaps it would have been better to sneak in. "It is I, His Royal Highness, Prince Valor. I demand to be let in." I talk in a voice of authority, mimicking the way my father speaks when barking orders.

  The guards are talking among themselves, I hear some of what they are saying, "It is the Prince." "Get the Captain." "Tell the King." When the gate finally opens, I am still holding Lorelei's hand. I can feel her pull but I refuse to let go. Fearing that if I do, she will flee.

  On the inside of the gate, several guards stand side by side. They stare at us. "Is that Lorelei?" Someone whispers. The guard next to him knocks his albue into him, to make him silent.

  "She has willingly surrendered and is coming with me." I say. "My apologies your Highness, but are you certain about this, we have orders from the King, to arrest her?" Another guard ask.

  "Are you questioning your Prince?"

  "Of course not, but we are concerned for your safety. She is potentially dangerous."

  "I am safe." I start walking, pulling Lorelei with me past the guards. She looks back. "Was that Harbin?" She asks. But I can not tell as I have no idea who that is.