Married to a Monster

Chapter 6

Sometimes life turns in the strangest ways.

One moment you’re sitting with your classmates, celebrating graduation, and a few years later you meet your best school friend in another world, where she works as a maid in the house of the Master of Waters.

And if you add the fact that you yourself met that same Master only this morning, married him, and now were, essentially, the Mistress…

Yes. Sometimes things turned in very strange ways indeed.

Now if only I knew how to turn this particular way back out.

I was in a mild stupor after meeting Alyonka, and now I urgently needed to talk to her somewhere in… simply somewhere. I grabbed her by the hand, afraid she might run off to some place where I’d have to search for her for ages afterward, and turned around.

Why?

I don’t know.

Maybe I was hoping to see something that would push me toward a clever thought.

It did: I had only just left my own room, and I didn’t think I’d had time to forget the way back. So I headed there as quickly as possible. Once inside, unable to focus on details, I picked out a small sofa among all the furniture and pulled my friend toward it.

Notably, she didn’t say a single word the entire way.

And that was already strange.

“So,” I sat so we were facing each other, “the last time I saw you was at graduation. Now tell me, clearly and in detail, how you ended up here.”

At first, Alyonka stared at me in complete shock.

Then she suddenly burst into tears.

In principle, I had considered that possibility. I thought I understood her feelings. After all, ending up in another world, no matter how it happened, was a shock. I didn’t know what she had gone through before I appeared, but I could imagine what a blow it must have been when I suddenly appeared before her eyes—a person from a far, far, yet painfully close past.

If I remembered correctly, Alyonka had always been emotional. If she was happy, everyone around her knew it. If she was upset, she cried. School subjects hadn’t always gone smoothly for her, but physical education had been her thing. She lived for running, jumping, basketball, and volleyball.

I was the exact opposite. I tried to keep my emotions under control and got top marks everywhere.

Only if all academic subjects came easily to me, then physical education…

Well, I’ll be honest. If that grade hadn’t mattered for my gold medal, I would never have forced myself to pass all those standards. Running had always been especially difficult. It wasn’t as if I was that overweight, but my breathing always betrayed me, making me choke after three minutes of jogging. I tried different techniques, trained, and alas—nothing worked.

Gymnastics, yes. I loved it. Very much. Flexibility came to me naturally, thanks to Mom and Dad. But running, sports games, strength exercises—no. I understood that I would never be a track-and-field athlete, unlike my friend, so I always passed the standards at the lowest possible level for an excellent grade.

While I was remembering our school years, Alyonka had already cried a little. I gently stroked her back and didn’t ask anything else. I was sure she would tell me herself.

And indeed, Alyonka finally raised her tear-streaked little face, sniffled, and began.

“It was so long ago, Asya. We were naive youngsters. Children who had only just finished school. I remember our graduation evening like it was… stupid!” she suddenly snapped angrily. “Little idiots! We made plans completely unsuitable for life, dreamed about foolish, unrealistic things. We were…”

Her fire died out as abruptly as it had appeared.

“We were so stupid and had no idea how to live. You left early back then so you wouldn’t stay out too late. You were always proper, the only sober person that evening, an island of calm and stability. And I was a fool.

“Do you remember I was dating Kirill? He was two years older than us. By then Kira had already gone to study in another city. We called each other, talked, and sometimes he came to see me. But I wanted to live and enjoy life. Back then I was so naive. I wanted to love and was drunk on my own love. And you know, I was happy. Then. No, don’t think badly of him. Kira was a good guy. I think he loved me too. At least a little, but he loved me, spoiled me, put up with my childish whims. And I was a fool. And maybe I still am, Asya.

“You also left to study, and I decided to go to him. I don’t know what I was thinking when I stole my documents from my parents. They wouldn’t let me go, Asya. They wouldn’t let me go alone to another city. And for some reason I decided they were against our love. No, really, I felt like that famous Juliet who wasn’t being allowed to see the person she loved. I stole the documents, took a little money—basically only enough for a ticket—and left. Yes… Except, Asya, I never made it.”

“What do you mean?” I didn’t understand. “Were you in an accident?”

“I didn’t make it to him, my friend. Only to him. I did reach the city. Shot up and giggling disgustingly, hanging off someone just like me. Sorry. I barely remember that part.”

“They drugged you?” My voice caught from the shock.

“Oh, if only. Then I could have justified myself. Like, I’d gotten into trouble, poor unfortunate me. Asya, I did it myself.”

“What? What do you mean, yourself? Why?”

“Just like that. Everything was fine. I was riding along, listening to music. And then someone offered me a smoke.”

“You didn’t smoke.”

“Yes, I didn’t. But back then I was riding there thinking: I’ll come to Kira all grown-up and be a good match for him. And when they offered me a cigarette, I thought it would look cool. I took a drag at a stop. The smoke was sweet, which seemed strange, and I asked what kind of tobacco it was. I don’t know, maybe that one puff had already taken effect, but when they answered ‘a little relaxing herb,’ I just kept quiet and took another drag. The smoke warmed me nicely from the inside.”

“But you said…”

“Yes. It all started with that drag. Then we took funny little pills. Asya, honestly, I thought I was in complete control of myself. At first it felt like being lightly drunk. Everything around you spins, you feel good, but your head seems to still be working.”

“And after the pills, you didn’t care anymore.”

“Yes. Then came the heavy artillery. My head started hurting. The pills really were fairly light; the effect passed quickly, leaving only the consequences behind. For the headache, they offered me a ‘miracle cure’ in an ampoule. And after that—nothing. Just scraps of chaos.”

I said nothing, understanding that this was only a pause in the story.

“Asya, I got hooked. Hard. I lived on the street, stole, begged. All just to continue existing in a narcotic haze. The doses were interrupted by vomiting, terrible headaches, and my body’s complete inability to do anything. I remember that time badly. I only remember coming to myself once, and it felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over me. As if I suddenly saw all of it from the outside. Who knows how many times I walked past Kirill. Who knows how many times he saw me like that? I didn’t remember three years of my life, Asya. Three years. They passed like fog. And then I stood on a roof and understood that there was nothing left inside. Emptiness. And the edge was so close, so tempting.”

“You jumped?” My voice sounded too calm.

Even for me.

“No. I didn’t have time.” Alyonka also calmed and sat straighter. “A portal pulled me out. Here.”

“For what? Don’t tell me…”

“Well, I don’t know what they expected to see, but when I found myself face-to-face with some guy, I simply screamed. He wasn’t human. I got scared and somehow abruptly changed my mind about dying. Apparently, interworld portals clean out the brain pretty well. And then that frightening man gave me a job. He promised that someday he would find a way to return me home and offered me shelter, food, anything I wanted. But you know, I’m afraid. Of this world, of the master of this house, of his guests and relatives. I’m afraid, Asya. I just want to go home.”

Alyonka sniffled again, then froze and slowly lifted her gaze.

“Who are you?” she suddenly asked sharply and jumped away from the sofa.

“Alyona, what are you talking about?” Now it was my turn to be surprised.

“The Anastasia I know could never have ended up here. Who are you?”

“Oh, I’m Asya. The one you know.” I smiled sadly. “Only we’ve all changed. Each of us had our own path. And we arrived where we arrived. You fell into a trap and survived only by a miracle, while I spent my whole life being proper, acting according to plans and schedules. And now look: you work in the house of a being who frightens you and wait to return home, while I managed to turn my life upside down in two days and marry someone I only met this morning. Someone who frightens you and seems beautiful to me. We all change, Alyona. But we are still us. Inside, there remains what we were born with, and outside we have experience, pain, tragedies and failures, achievements and desires. All together—that is us. What is, and what will be.”

“Wait.” Alyonka froze, digesting my little speech. “You got married?”

“Well, yes.”

“To the master?”

“If you mean the Vodyanoy, the master of this house, then yes.”

My friend stared at me in shock.

“I don’t know how it happened,” I grumbled quietly. “Or rather, I do know, but I’m still processing the last few days. In short: the guy I dated for a whole year turned out to be a goat, I got drunk and ended up in another world, in the village of Graninskaya. There they sacrificed me to WOC as a bride. Basically, I was—and still am—in a state of reckless acts, so I spat on everything and married the one they intended me for. He’s beautiful, kind to me, I like this world, and I have nothing left to lose. There.”

“It frightens me,” Alyonka whispered. “This world frightens me. The Master of Waters frightens me. The other beings living in the house frighten me. I’m simply scared. Every day I’m afraid I’ll lose myself, that I’ll never go home again. And I want to go home so much, to the familiar gray world, without bright colors, without chaos. I want to come to my parents and ask their forgiveness, find Kirill, or at least learn how he’s living. I so badly want to live again in the most ordinary, boring world.”

“Alyona, you’ll return. I’m sure Noy will help, and I won’t stand aside either. They told me a little about these portals, about traveling between worlds. If it were that simple, they wouldn’t have to pull people out of other worlds.”

“Asya, I still can’t understand.”

“What exactly?”

“How did we end up like this? I mean, you and I—in another world. For you it’s fantasy and a chance to change your life, and for me it’s a nightmare I can’t wake up from.”

“I don’t know, Alyona. For me everything is happening too quickly, too chaotically, but that’s exactly why I like it. The life I had before was… not boring exactly, more monotonous. Proper. Planned. Every day I knew what would happen tomorrow. I knew what stages I was supposed to go through in a relationship with the guy I was dating. Everything was stable, even. And when Andrey betrayed me, I realized my life had led nowhere.

“When everything goes off plan, there’s only one way out: pretend it was supposed to happen. And you know what I definitely don’t regret? My marriage. Yes, I barely know him. I met him only this morning. I haven’t learned much yet about the person I’ll spend my whole life with. But this marriage has given me something else, the thing I always wanted—trust.

“I don’t know what force connected Noy and me, but I feel him. As if a shadow of him has appeared beside my soul, my heart. I feel warmth. I feel echoes of his emotions, his mood, his desires. Not everything, of course, but I feel them. It’s as if someone always stands beside you, behind your back. I asked him, and he promised that he would always protect me, never betray me, and stay by my side. And that is exactly what I want. As for love… It will come later. It will grow on respect, trust, and loyalty. And that will definitely be love, not passion or youthful infatuation.

“And besides, I have a whole new world and a whole new life. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Alyonka smiled a little sadly.

“Maybe that really is what you need. I’m happy for you.”

Then she suddenly switched to a businesslike tone.

“But what you also need is to learn your way around the house. At first glance, it seems sweet, bright, and cozy, but this little house is a proper prankster.” She stood. “Let’s start with your room.”

My room turned out to be fairly large. I would have called it chambers, like in a castle.

I would have.

Maybe.

Only the wooden walls and furniture made it look more like a Russian terem. Big, bright, as if pierced through by sunbeams, so that at some point you forgot you were underwater.

“Oh, Alyona, do you know why we can breathe underwater?”

“No idea. Maybe the master ordered the water to let us?”

“How does that work?”

“Ask your husband. I can’t know everything,” she grumbled. “Right, look. Everything is wood, but if you want, you can ask for rugs, pillows, different furniture. In short, whatever you want.”

“Ask whom?”

“Just ask. You can ask for food too, if you get really hungry. There’s no kitchen in the house. No matter how smart and powerful the master is, eating underwater still isn’t very convenient. When you ask for food, they’ll give it to you, but it’s better to eat on the surface.”

“All right. I’ll figure it out as I go.”

“Good. Next, this room where we are now is the sitting room. Meaning it’s good for receiving guests if someone comes to see you. Here”—my friend opened an almost invisible door—“is your bedroom.”

“Tell me something…” I thoughtfully looked around the cozy but clearly single-person bedroom. “I’m married, right?”

“Well, yes.” Alyona didn’t understand.

“Then question: in this world, do husbands and wives not sleep in the same bed? Do they have separate rooms? Or am I the only one who got ‘lucky’ like this?”

She froze for a moment, thinking over my words.

“No, I don’t think so. It should be like everywhere else here. I haven’t heard anything like that.”

“Ah,” I muttered quietly. “So I’m the one who got lucky. All right, we’ll deal with that.” I turned back to my friend. “What’s next?”

“Nothing special.” She shrugged. “Almost everything is like with people. There’s only one feature I still can’t get used to.” She smirked. “Have you noticed there isn’t a single toilet anywhere?”

“Huh?”

And indeed.

No, of course I hadn’t specifically examined anything, and when would I have had time? I’d only seen two rooms. Apparently, my friend had forgotten that. But now I suddenly thought about it.

When you read books, you somehow don’t pay attention to the fact that the main characters need not only to weave intrigue, get into adventures, and defeat enemies, but also to eat, wash, and go to the toilet. Those things are so mundane that authors somehow forget about them.

But I wasn’t the heroine of a book.

My body had ordinary physiological needs.

By the way…

“Alyona, how do you tell time?”

“Very simply. Look.”

She pointed to a woven strap on her wrist made of… wood? Yes. And some blue ribbons.

“These are our work hours. They aren’t called that, of course, but the concept is more familiar and convenient. Everyone who serves in the house is given one. They can also transmit messages. It works like this.”

She touched the bracelet with her fingers, and the ribbons suddenly moved neatly, flowing from place to place like little streams, intertwining differently and forming numbers I could understand.

“The hours adjust to the wearer. They’ll show you time the way you’re used to seeing it. They can even create a classic clock face, not just ordinary electronic-style digits. Right now, for example, it’s ten in the morning.”

“That’s amazing!” I was sincerely delighted by such things. No technology, and yet so interesting.

“Yes, not bad. But if I’m honest, I still liked ordinary Earth ones more,” my friend sighed. “At first you really are amazed. While something is new, it’s interesting. And then, when time passes, you want to return to the old and familiar.”

“Let’s not get gloomy, Alyonka.” I smiled at her, feeling her slipping back into depression. “You know I’ll pull you out of this world and send you home.”

“Ha. You never give up.” My friend smirked. “All right, let’s continue. Back to earthly matters—basic conveniences. The thing is, when you enter WOC, it reconfigures you. You can never guess in which direction, but here’s one convenient part: all natural needs stop being natural. Processed food and water disappear from your body. You don’t need the toilet, and you don’t sweat. Underwater, at least, definitely not. You can still get food poisoning and throw up. You can get sick if you catch a cold. Though that’s rare. Underwater, again, it’s hard to catch a cold. But you never know; anything can happen.

“So, what I’m getting at is that your rooms basically include a bedroom, a sitting room, and a dressing room. You can look at that one yourself later. Lady Amphitrite fills it every year with various dresses in the hope that the master will marry and they’ll all come in handy. So right now, there’s barely room to move in there. The girls will sort everything onto shelves, and then we’ll dress you up.”

“Whoa.”

A wardrobe?

Seriously?

How many things were in there if it took several pairs of hands to sort them?