"Who dares touch my daughter!!!"
Coming out of the carriage was a handsome young man with green-silver hair and greenish-hazelnut eyes. He was fairly tall but falls a little short of his daughter, who stands at 6 ft and 1 inch. He had a luxurious outfit with jewel-like crystals embedded in the seams. A crown of silver branches with a green gem in the center adorned his head.
He rushed toward the group and started yelling.
"Who! Who did it?! Who dares touch my precious daughter!"
Everyone looked at a black-haired man.
"Was it You! How dare... you... gulp*"
The king upon looking at Kane was baffled by his looks.
'If I didn't know he was human, I would've thought he was an Elf!'
'Who the hell is this kid, and how did he get here?'
A manly voice echoed in his ears.
"Excuse me, father-in-law, I apologize for not introducing myself. My name is Kane Vond, and I... married your daughter."
A nervous smirk can be seen on Kane's face and Laura has a blush on her cheeks.
The king stared at the young man, then yelled.
"How did you marry my daughter? You're a complete outsider who trespassed on my kingdom and then suddenly married a princess? Isn't that too absurd?"
He then waved his hand around and continued.
"Don't you know where you are? This is the holy plains! And you dare take your dirty feet and trampled our sacred land! The audacity!"
The king was obviously furious, but the sweat on his back proved otherwise. The king began huffing and his face turned pale. Warmth quickly returned to his face then he looked toward Laura and started lecturing her.
"And you... Laura, how could you do this? You have a fiance for crying out loud! What will we do with the alliance now? Your marriage with the prince of Niðavellir was already set for next week!? How can we explain to them that you married some bandit that trespassed our kingdom?"
Laura stared at the King calmly, then said.
"Father, I have never agreed upon marrying him, it was you who did. I... I don't wanna get married off to just some kingdom."
She stared at her father calmly.
"I wanna marry the one I love, and this man next to me is that person."
Laura stated without hesitation. She looked to her right and saw Kane looking at her with a surprised look. She gave him a soft smile, then gently wrapped her arms intimately around his.
Kane was even more surprised, feeling the warm sensation on his left arm, the coldness in his chest was alleviated ever so slightly.
Kane unknowingly looked at her with some joy in his eyes. Sensing his gaze, Laura looked back at him. Feeling a slight warmth he gave out made her smile deeply.
'Don't worry my husband... I'll be there for you."
Seeing the atmosphere grow warm the king was taken aback.
'My daughter can make a face like that?"
'Ever since her mother died, her smile died along with her.'
Seeing her bright, sincere smile, the king closed his eyes and calmed down.
'She's right, it was my decision to have her marry that prince... sigh*. Losing my wife and my daughter's happiness is too much even for someone like me.'
The king opened his eyes again and watched their intimacy.
'I guess I have to cancel the marriage ceremony. Hahh* what should I say to Alfred? He'll definitely be mad.'
"Sigh*... I take it that you love this man, Laura?"
"His name is Kane, father. And yes I love him with all my heart. Not only is he the man of my life, but he also saved me from my curse."
"What!"
His eyes widened in surprise and stepped back a few steps.
'I knew he was powerful, but how did he cure her curse?'
The king recollected his thoughts, then yelled.
"You're cured! How is that possible, even the saintess was unable to cure you. Not even the apple of Eden did anything. So how did he..."
The king strayed from his words, then Laura stepped up and said.
"When our souls were connected, a light entered my body. The constant pain within me disappeared, and instead, my strength grew. I know for certain, that the curse comepletely vanished, and it's all because of him."
He looked at Kane seemingly understanding his daughter's words. He closed his eyes, then said.
"If he really did cure you of your curse, then we need to head back to the castle to make sure it's not there."
He looked at Kane and nodded his head, then gestured for them to follow him into the carriage.
Kane was surprised, he thought there would be a separate carriage for them to ride on, but as soon as he went inside a gasp escaped his mouth.
A large circular room made of marble was in his view. Pillars made of wood were placed around a fountain and a glass dome was on the roof. Plants were growing around the walls and flowers were in full bloom releasing a sweet floral scent. Glowing crystals were placed all around, fully lighting up the room. Two rows of beautiful women with butterfly wings on their backs dressed in maid outfits were standing neatly in front of the Elven king.
"Greetings your majesty." They said in unison.
The king looked at Kane with a smug look on his face and said.
"Surprised? This carriage is enchanted with space expansion. It even has an observatory, a kitchen, and a pool. The bathroom is also special, I might say it's better than the ones in the palace."
He pointed to the side and a massive elegant-looking door with a sign in the Elven language which says 'bathroom'.
'That's a bit much.'
He continued showing them the inside, then stopped and turned around.
"There are a couple of rooms down this hall. You can choose which one you want to stay in. I'll be in my room at the end of the corridor, knock if you need anything."
The king walked a few steps then stopped mid-way.
"Keep in mind, there may be walls in between, but they're very thin. So be modest."
The king turned his head and steadily walked to his room.
The room was silent, then Laura's face turned completely red and the rest of the elves were blushing as well. Angelica had a dazed look on her face while hugging kobo in her arms. Laura while blushing, was excited after understanding the underlying approval of her father. She looked at Kane expecting him to call out for her. Seeing him standing there absentmindedly, her hopes began to dwindle.
A couple seconds later Kane said,"Umm, I think we should unpack first."
He walked towards the room closest to him and stood in front of it, he looked back and looked at Laura.
"I'll go take a nap for a little bit..."
He opened the door and walked in.
Laura was upset, since she was expecting Kane to bring her along with him. She kept it inside, knowing Kane needed some space. She shook her head, then strolled down the hallway and went inside a room next to her father's. The girls soon followed, but Angelica stared at the room Kane was in.
She touched the door with her fingertips and whispered something on the door then walked away.
Kane on the other side heard what she said. He was actually slumped down on the ground next to the front of the door. His legs were stretched while his hands were clenching his chest.
He fiddled with his clothes a little bit, then walked toward the bed. The room was pretty spacious, a queen-sized bed, with green walls and a wooden desk in the corner decorated his room.
Kane sat down on the side of the bed, contemplating something.
'It's been a long day...'
'I'm tired...'
He unfolded the blanket and climbed inside. He placed his arms nehind his head and stared at the white ceiling.
His eyelids started drooping and his breathing became rhythmic, feeling exhaustion finally seep in, he felt his consciousness slowly drift to sleep.
***
Feeling a slight breeze brush his face, Kane woke up. But what he saw was not the ceiling but a clear blue sky.
Surprised, he quickly stood up finding himself in a field of flowers as far as the eye can see. His eyes started quivering and a soft melodious voice echoed in his ears.
"... Hello Kane. It's been a while."