Lekhshey had no intention
to marry. Quite the contrary
really. She was on the run and happened
to stumble upon a gathering and when asked if she was Chesa, she had answered
‘yes’ and before she knew it, she was standing at the front of a ceremony where
a young man blinked at her slowly, seeing her for the first time as this was an
arranged marriage.
She had been bathed in
perfumed water and dressed in the finest silk robes, her arms were adorned with
golden bracelets, her waist was encircled with glittering chains, her fingers
were decorated with jeweled rings. She
said nary a word, not wanting to break the spell, not wanting to lose the
chance to own all the finery.
After the ceremony and
the reception, the newlywed couple were ensconced in the wedding suite where
the groom calmly turned to his new bride and said, “When I was told I was to
marry Chesa, I was overcome with curiosity and arranged to meet her
secretly. We met and fell in love. You, of course, are not her.”
He walked to the door and
opened it a crack, peering into the darkness.
He turned back to her and nodded.
“There is no one around.” He stepped
aside. “You should run.”
She hesitated and slipped
out of the exquisite robes and removed the priceless jewels from around her
neck. “These things were meant for your
bride,” she murmured. She removed the
heavy gold bracelets from her arms and slipped the rings from her fingers. As she removed the wedding band from her
finger, the groom took it from her and strung it on a golden chain. He removed his own band and added it to its
mate, then draped the necklace around her neck.
“These will give you safe passage.”
She studied him, giving
him a hard stare, before she snatched up his hand and kissed it. With that, she melted into the night.
