Marriage Of Convenience: Part 7

“My name is Lord Karson. May I please have yours?”

Kirby hesitated for a moment but then shook the man’s hand. “Kirby,” he said, holding his hand tighter than necessary and smiling at him.

The man nodded. “Now, Kirby,” he said, gesturing towards the entrance, “Let’s go see the village.”

***

Kirby was scared. He had never seen the outside of the castle before. He felt slightly intimidated by the huge building towering above him and the beautiful scenery around him. However, despite being nervous about it, he tried to ignore any feelings he might’ve had and followed the man along the streets leading towards the village. He didn’t dare to say a word, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of these people. They already looked kind enough towards him. He didn’t want to cause them to dislike him even further.

They entered a large courtyard near the middle of the village. From the looks of the place, he was sure that the entire village was contained within. But when he looked inside there weren’t too many people inside the buildings, just several servants carrying baskets and carts of goods back and forth through the square. Some of them glanced curiously at him as he passed but none of them stopped to talk to him or introduce themselves. It was probably because he looked different. His robes hung loosely around him as he moved, the material hanging off his body in several places. He had never been dressed so casually.

After walking for a few more minutes the two men arrived at a large house at the edge of the village. It was bigger and grander than anything he had ever seen before. At least ten tall pillars stretched across the roof in a perfect circle, supporting each side of the house. In between them, a large open balcony led straight to the door of the main room. Large windows surrounded the top half of the balcony, and in between each window, various statues lined the length of the balcony, pointing down at the area surrounding the garden beneath.

The walls of the house were decorated with paintings and sculptures. On the inside, there were several tables and chairs set up, arranged neatly and covered with a white tablecloth. Two guards were stationed at the entrance, and they immediately saluted at the sight of the man approaching. Then they opened the big wooden doors and stepped aside, allowing Karson to walk ahead of Kirby. Karson smiled kindly and motioned for him to join him in entering the mansion. Kirby followed him through the doorway and into the hallways beyond. Paintings were lining almost every wall, and paintings depicting scenes from the story of the king and queen. Kirby didn’t know much about history but he couldn’t help but notice how beautiful they were. He found himself mesmerised by the artworks.

Eventually, they arrived at a door and Karson knocked twice on it. Moments later the door opened and three people walked out. One of them was a short woman; she wore her black hair in multiple braids and held a small basket on her arm. At that moment, Kirby's eyes sparked. She was the woman he has been searching for all this while, his one true love. The woman who he had grown to love so much. The woman who made him happier than anything else in the entire universe. The woman he would gladly sacrifice everything for if that meant he could keep seeing her. The woman he loved so dearly.

“Your highness!” the little woman exclaimed joyfully as she reached up to embrace him. “Is it really you?” she asked after pulling away from the hug. Her eyes shone brightly with hope and excitement.

To be continued…