Disguised for Love

Part 11

-Nature's beauty is a gift that cultivates appreciation and gratitude. - -Louie Schwartzberg-

Draco waved his free hand after she took the other one he offered, and then the two winged horses pulling a chariot appeared. Faye runs near the two animals to touch them, delighted at both of them. Their shiny hairs feel like silk, but Draco came, scooped her in his arm, and carried her to the chariot.

"What are you doing? I am still trying to get to know them," she scowled at him.

He just smiled and then put her inside the chariot, gets in behind her back to encircle her in his embrace. He then signaled the two winged horses to start their journey.

But it seems like in a blink of an eye, and they landed on the seashore. The spread of blue water stretched to every direction of Faye's range of vision, and as the breeze kissed her cheeks, she tasted the saltiness of the water. 

A path appeared in which they took, and they moved through the perfect white sand to go further into the depths while the waves are dancing above them. Faye started to enjoy the sight. Heart fluttering with excitement and fear of the unknown, but the arms of Draco's wrapped around her waist made her relax. Suddenly they stopped in front of a glistening entrance of the underwater kingdom. The gate opens to welcome them.

"We are entering the North Sea Kingdom," Draco whispered on her ears.

She turned sideways, "Oh! Are we going to see the palace of Princess Isabel?"

"No, we will not go that far, I just want you to see the beautiful corals that had fascinated me when I passed it by and then we will leave."

Faye looked around their surrounding as they moved onward, teeming with fish that stopped from swimming when they pass by as if in greetings. She raised her hands to touch it, but all she doesn't feel anything, no wetness or slickness of it.

She turned to Draco, and when he saw her questioning eyes, he bends his head. "What bothers you?"

"Draco, why I don't feel them, are they an illusion only?" she opened her hands to let him see.

"They are real; we are just inside the cocoon of the magic spell, so you don't feel them."

"Oh..." then Faye was distracted when she saw bright lights ahead of them. Eager to know where that brilliance came from, she asked Draco to make haste. He laughed at her reaction and did what she asked.

The winged horses galloped to cover the short distance, and then it stopped. Draco helped her get down from the chariot and then moved to where the lights are brighter.

"Draco, it is so bright, and I love the colors."

She saw yellow, orange, red, purple, green, and even blue ones. Their shapes varied too. She looked around and feels like being inside a garden. Some formed like a flower and mushroom-shaped. Also a feathered -shaped ones, but what fascinates her most is the round table one with a vase-like atop of it.

She faced him with wonder in her eyes. "I feel like I'm in the garden under the sea, it's so amazing."

She got nearer the mushroom-shaped and turned her head to him, "What are they called?"

"They are the corals that I told you," he answered while walking two steps to be near her.

"Can I touch it?"

"No, we cannot touch live ones; not only will it destroy them, but they sting, and it will be painful." 

He looked down on the seafloor to look for some dead corals. Near the chariot he found a small one, he picked it up and then walked back to Faye who looks so disappointed for being not able to touch the one outside of the magic spell.

"Faye, here," he hands her the dead coral, "feel it."

She took it from him and touched it, "It's rough, "and then she scrutinized it, "why it has so many tiny halls?" she asked while letting him see it, and then she looks at the one that is alive to compare.

"It is where the small creatures were attached," Atticus pointed to her and continues when he saw her looking at the live ones, "Those you see moving are their limbs, used to feel, grasp and catch foods. Once they catch something, they put it in the mouth located in the middle of at least six limbs."

"Hmm, okay." She returned the coral in her hand on the seafloor, and then she took one look at the scenery and then told Draco that they would go.

Atticus saw her unhappy and then walked near her, put his arms on her shoulder, pulled her closer to him, and said, "Faye, are you angry because I did not allow you to touch the live one, you see...,"

She interrupted what he is going to say by putting her finger between his lips and then said, "I am not unhappy if my touch can damage them. I don't want to hurt them, but listen, what is that sound?"

Atticus then listened, and heard the sound of the galloping horses.

"Don't worry. Those riders are not going to pass on us. They are using the other pathway, but better if we go now. " He then leads her back to the chariot. 

Leaving the undersea, they landed on a valley without Faye  noticing how they had arrived. Was it by a mist or the winged horses? Still, a bit confused, she stepped down from the chariot and looked around.

She saw a vibrant, luxurious brown colored small house with a wooden fence in not too distant from where she is. Hair escaping from its tie, blown by air, she turned around to ask Draco about their whereabouts, but he was already in front of the two-winged horses talking to them. Suddenly, their means of transport disappeared. She looked at him as he walked back towards her.

While she was waiting for him, she tried to arrange her hair, and when he is near her, he put his arm around her shoulder and walked in the direction of the wooden gate.

"Where are we?" she inquired and stopped walking.

"We are in Zibeth," Draco comes to a standstill too.

"Oh..." she looked at him and then to her surroundings, "Isn't it where the Pantheocelesian spend their time to hunt or when they do not want to be inside the City?"

"Yes, it is, now you will see where we hunt."

She can see the dense forest on her right side, going to the Zibeth Mountain.

"We have time to explore if you want to see, but we better go inside first in the log cabin," he holds her hands to guide her.

They entered the wooden gate and stepped on the stony pathway that will lead them to the three steps stairs of the cabin. The stairway handles feel smooth and look new as if the wood was cut, dried, and used immediately. There are two reclining chairs on the terrace that seems comfortable to sit while drinking an afternoon tea and wait for the sunset.

Draco took a key from a pot of flower beside the door, opens it, and then come to sweep her off her feet. He carries her on the threshold, mouth gaping open she was left in surprise by his action. He smiled at her before putting her down gently on the floor once inside.

She looked at him and asked, "Why did you do that?"

"In the mortal world, it is a tradition for a man to carry his bride on the threshold of their home to avoid bad luck," he explained.

"You believe in it? Besides, I am not your bride, and we are immortal."

He laughed and then responded, "When I am out of the Pantheocelesian City, I do what I found good in each Kingdom, so expect me to do things not in my tradition when we are alone."

Then he bent his head to hers and whispered, "It is also an excuse to carry you, "and then winked at her.

She just grinned at his boldness, and then she turned to look around the cabin.

The inside is comfortable, well-kept, and on her right side, a cabinet made of wood leans on the wall, and at the end of it is a door. She walked in that direction and opened it, the scent of lemon and violet leaves combined with musk and a touch of cardamom, confronted her. She inhaled deeply to savor the freshness of the room, though it is small but lovely.

The canopied bed in the middle with its white covers added to the tidiness of the place, and it is so inviting that she can't resist its summons to try its comfort. She hurriedly runs and lay down on it to spread her hands while looking at the ceiling. Thoughts of Draco and how he behaves earlier in the market occupied her mind.

He becomes more protective of her to the extent that it is becoming possessive, but she doesn't feel intimidated but rather likes it. She is supposed to be firmed on her resolve to stay away from him. Here she is again spending time alone with him. She even didn't think about the consequences.

She heard the growling of her stomach reminding her that she had not eaten her breakfast earlier, sitting up she then went out of the room to look for Draco.

"Draco, where are you?" she shouted.

No one answered.

She looks around the house, but he is nowhere to find. It was then she saw another door at the rear end. She went there to check where it will lead her and when she opens it, she smells something good that it made her salivate but swallow it. There he is, roasting a whole chicken in a spit. A pot and a kettle are at the stove beside it and an opened container of spices beside it. No wonder he didn't hear her calling his name, he is so preoccupied with his cooking.

She looks behind his back, sees a sink where she can wash her hands. In it, a mortar and pestle that needs cleaning,  and a container full of water are on the floor. She enters the kitchen to go to the sink and wash those needs washing when she changed her mind and went to Draco, to see him cooking makes him so attractive that she can't resist hugging him on his back.

He turned his head and said with a smile, "I thought when you go inside the room you want to sleep, just stay inside and wait for me to finish this."

She looks in his eyes and then answered, "No, I will help you.

He turned his head to what he is doing, but still, she continues, "Two of us will eat it, so I have to do my share of work too."

He turned around the chicken and left it to swing and face her. He then hugs her and takes two steps away from the stove without releasing her from his embrace. 

"Do you know how to cook?" he asked.

"Yes, I do know. The old fox that lives in the mountain taught me. Every time I visit her, she makes sure that I will not eat anything that I didn't cook.

He touched her face and looked in her eyes, "If you want to help me, it's better if you wait inside so I can finish cooking and we can eat. You can help me wash the dishes later on."

She pouted her lips at what he said, but when she saw his gaze keenly directed to her lips, she coughed, "Okay, I will wait for you outside, but if you need me, just call my name."

"Okay," he affirmed.

He loosens his hold on her, and when he felt that she is not moving an inch away from him, he teased, "Do you want me to do my cooking or we will continue..."

She rushes to the door before he can finish what he is going to say.

She can still hear his laughter before she closed the door on him, gasping, and with her back on the door, she lightly tapped her heated cheeks.

"I am so shameful. Why can I not resist Draco? He let me go already, but I was there as if waiting to be kissed."

Ashamed for her herself because of how she behaves, she went back to the room and lie down on the bed. Lately, she realized that her mind becomes preoccupied with Draco, and her will to achieve the eternal love of her fiance is gradually disappearing. Every time he is around, it seems like her day is complete, and if he is not,  she feels like a sunflower deprived of the sun that withers and die.

Kissing him should make her guilty. She is an engaged one, but when his lips touch her, she forgot propriety. Weary in mind and body, she was lull into sleep.

A light touch on her lips awakens her. Draco's eyes were the first one she saw when she opened hers. She averted her eyes from his. She hears him laugh, and the bed sank up as he stands up.

"Come on, Faye, get up, and let us eat. I can hear your stomach complaining while I was still at the door."

She turned to look at him," you are lying, I am not hungry yet," she lied.

He chuckled before scooping her upon his arm, a sound of protest escape from her mouth.

"Draco, can you please leave me in bed so I can rest, I will eat later." with pleading eyes, she groaned, but he didn't listen. He continued to carry her outside and sit her down on the table.