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The priest sucked in a sharp gasp, and 'Beta held my eyes and shook her head firmly. "Not like that, my love. Not like that." And then she turned to the priest. "Marry us, or don't. You'll not be harmed either way. We shall simply leave this place and find another who will."

He agreed, not because of her reasoning, but out of fear of me. He knew I did not make threats I would not carry out, and didn't trust this mite of a woman's ability to temper my rage. Nodding his acceptance, he said, "I will meet with you in the castle's chapel in an hour. Is that acceptable?"Advertisement

"It is," I told him, and with my bride in the circle of my arms, I tugged her from the cottage.

From there we mounted my horse and rode to the castle, where we woke every servant and friend, relative and guest of the king. He still hadn't returned from whatever journey he'd undertaken, which worried me. The man believed me to be his son, despite that it wasn't so. He didn't often keep things from me.

At any rate, I shouted orders in a way that must have shocked and surprised them all, for I tended to keep to myself and to remain quiet and undemanding, so long as my privacy was respected. Not tonight.

Tonight my often morose expression was replaced with a beaming smile, and my orders were given joyfully.

By the time the hour had passed, the servants had located a beautiful gown for my lady - the color of rich cream. They had gathered flowers for her to carry, and even tucked a few blossoms into her hair; forget-me-nots, their tiny blue heads as delicate as 'Beta herself. They had awakened minstrels and the cook to alert them to the impending celebration and set them to work preparing the hall.

"You are so beautiful," I told my bride as she came to stand beside me before the priest. "I am almost convinced this is all no more than a sweet dream, and that I will awaken to the lonely reality of my life as it was before."

"It is a dream," she told me softly. "A dream come true."

The tiny stone chapel was filled with people - strangers, servants and people who feared me - as my beloved and I knelt at the altar that night, and she pledged to be mine forever, and I pledged to cherish her always. Little did those gathered to witness our vows know just how much more those promises meant when spoken by a man who would never die.

And then it was done, and I took her into my arms and sealed our bond by pressing my lips to hers. I thought that fate, for once, had smiled upon me. I was glad to be alive for the first time in centuries. I relished this life; I thanked the fates that it was eternal, for surely I thought 'Beta would agree to let me share the dark gift with her. To make her as I was. To be with me for all eternity.

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