Chapter 21


Lilia woke up early on the big day. She had slept in Marco's cave so they would only see each other once the wedding started. Marco would be arriving shortly. Was there anything she should do before the wedding started? The potion was already prepared in a glass pitcher sitting on a table on the alter. She checked her hand. She was still wearing her wedding ring. She twisted it off and laid it on the table. She changed into her wedding dress and started brushing her hair. Never before had it felt so important. Marco would be here any minute, and she wanted to look nice for the occasion. 
        Rinaldo had already arrived and was checking over his notes. Wildflowers had been scattered around the alter. 
Marco showed up carrying flowers in his mouth. His scales were all clean and shiny for the occasion. Even though the wedding had no audience, they both seemed anxious. Rinaldo read the ceremony recital from the parchment note he had written yesterday and let them say their vows.
"I, Marco of Rakulia, do take Princess Lilia to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part." As Marco said that, his face cracked a warm smile for the first time. 
"I, Lilia of Astoria, do take Marco to be my husband. In sickness and in health, if he's a man or a dragon, I will love him and be his wife until death do I part."
Rinaldo continued, "Then with this
Just before they said “I do”. A voice from outside the cave yelled “hold it!”
Who could be all the way out here? And how dare they interrupt her wedding. Several armed soldiers charged into the cave. The soldiers had them surrounded. 
A soldier wearing ornate shoulder pads spoke up. "As head of the royal guard of Engor, I command you to cease all activities and come with us." he was addressing her, but was announcing it for all of them to hear. 
Their eyes must have just adjusted to the dim light of the cave, because it was only then that their heads all turned to look at Marco. A few of them backed up to keep their distance from him. They clearly hadn't been expecting a dragon. 
Then an armored knight wielding a shield and broadsword entered the cave. Marco looked nervous with the armed soldiers surrounding them. But when he saw the knight advancing towards them, his pupils widened and his tail trembled. Marco backed away, but the knight kept advancing. His shield held up, ready for Marco to attack. But Marco did nothing until he back up into a corner. Two soldiers wielding spears trapped Marco in a corner with their weapons at his neck. 
"I thought dragons were tougher than this." one of the soldiers remarked.
"Yeah, was a lot easier than I anticipated." said the other one with a sneer
        The other soldiers turned their attention to her again. "You're coming with us." said one standing next to her forcefully. He grabbed her by the wrist. There's no way they would take her with them. They had no right. She twisted and struggled her way out of his grip. Another one took her arm. She wouldn't stop squirming until they grabbed her around the sleeves of her dress.
What's going on?!” Rinaldo protested.
The nearby soldier hit Rinaldo over the head. "Silence! You've done enough to anger the Prince."
        Wait, who? A horse stepped into view in the cave entrance. The man riding the horse was dressed in polished armor with elaborate gold trimming. The armor had obviously never been used in combat and seemed mostly decorative. He also didn't have a helmet on. Instead he was wearing one of those stupid capes royalty wears to make themselves look bigger. He stepped down and walked into the cave with a triumphant stride. Another knight followed him in, acting as his bodyguard. He must have been Prince Melvyn of Engor.
        "I'm just here to admire the handiwork of his men." His gaze fell on her and a smug grin spread across his face. "It seems like they've done quite well."
        "What do you want?"
        "I just want what I was promised, your hand in marriage. 
That's too bad. I'm not going to marry you."
He walked up to her to speak to her face. "I don't think you realize the situation you're in. You don't get a choice in the matter. You father signed an agreement that you would be wed to me. You don't have a choice in the matter. I always get what I want, and there's nothing you can do about it."
        Lilia glared daggers at him. "There's no other way a miserable sod like you can get a wife, is there?"
        "You'd better clear up that temper before we get back. No matter what nonsense you're doing here, you're coming back and getting married to me." he turned and headed towards the cave entrance. "Bring her out to the carriage. We're ready to go." he said to his men.
        There's no way she was coming back with him. After that little exchange, the thought made her furious. But the guard was pulling her away. She would be dragged into that nightmare before the day was over. This would be the list time she saw him, and her last chance at freedom. As she was being tugged away, she made one last desperate act of defiance. With all her strength, she gave a sharp tug away from the guard's grip. The sleeves and of her wedding dress tore off in his hands letting her barely slip away. All the other guards rushed to catch her. Time seemed to slow down during those precious few moments. She darted back to the altar, hoisted up the vase, and tipped it back. She couldn't escape the prince, but maybe she could sour his victory. 
Seeing what she was doing, Rinaldo yelled, “Lilia, don’t!”
But it was too late. The potion was already streaming into her mouth. Acting quickly she made one continuous pour. She drank as much as she could. Most splashed down the front of her dress.
Two men grabbed her and pulled her away. She dropped the vase. It fell to the ground and shattered in slow motion. Marco could only watch helplessly in horror. 
In her panicked rush, she forgot to stop and breath while drinking. She gagged as she was yanked back. She choked and coughed desperately for breath as some had gone down the wrong pipe.  She was so busy fighting for her breath, she couldn't put up much resistance to being pulled out of the cave. 
        She only caught a glimpse of Melvyn as they carried her out. He was grinding his teeth in anger. "Get her out of here, and make sure she doesn't pull any more stunts like that!".
        The soldiers muttered to her as they took her down to the carriage. Their voices grew faint and distorted, and she couldn't understand what they were saying. The ground started moving away from her feet with each step. The worst headache of her life started, and her vision slowed to a series of images seconds apart from one another that simply blurred into the next one. She saw her feet which blurred into the image of the trees which then blurred into the shape of the horse drawn carriage. After that it just faded to dark.