A Beautiful Sacrifice

Chapter Eight

She needed clothes. He watched her fall asleep, the past day and half he had tried to get her to stay awake as long as possible so she fell asleep during the day. And now it was night again. The moon was high, glowing silver in the dark blue background. He loved the sight, had even tried to paint it on many occasions. Right now though that moon was simply a guide. He rose before she did, and prayed she stayed asleep long. He knew that if he didn’t go near her, she tended to not wake up. Taking note of that he wrote her a little letter. ‘Lily,’ he began, ‘I am not far away, though not with you. I ask that you do not try the door, do not try to escape; you will only be more afraid. Trust me, wait for me and on my return, I will have a surprise for you. My love, Perttu.’

                He placed it on the chair he normally sat by, right by her bed and hoped she saw it. He was trusting her, trusting her to be alone and not do anything silly, but he still locked the door behind him as he left her alone. He would not risk her running from him. He did not want to track her through the woods, or find her in the village. He didn’t want to scare her like that, because the truth was; he would never let her go. Not now. He wanted time to woo her, to get her to feel for him what he felt for her.

                So he left feeling scared at what she would do to elude him. She could not however continue to roam about in his shirts. He wanted her in pretty feminine dresses that while made her looked wonderful would not make him lust after her. He let his coat fly around his legs, not bothering to fasten it all the way to the bottom. He boots made little work of the snow, he too marred the white blanket, but the illusion of perfection had already disappeared from his mind. He never looked down at it again. The woods loomed before him but he was confident in the night now. He had been raised in the dark and the closed off spaces of the world. He had met wild animals and had found himself dominate over even wolves. He was not afraid of anything; except that his Bride would disappear from his side.

Lily woke up to find a candle had been lit for her. She rubbed her eyes at the little light and the slight sting that had her thinking she needed a bit more sleep. She was alone, he wasn’t with her. Casting a glance at the hourglass she saw that while she had slept, the sand had crept down seemingly too fast for her. It was running out in her eyes, though in all honesty there was still a while to go.

                Sliding out of the bed she walked over to the bathroom, sure enough there was a filled bath tub, still warm, as usual but just as she was going to grab a towel something caught her eye. The chair he always sat on was void of his presence but a single sheet of paper lay on the seat. She reached for it and brought it to the candle light and read it. He was gone. He had left her to her devices and this was her time to escape.

                She suddenly felt as if she didn’t want to leave the house. As if she belonged here nod to leave it would be too foreign for her. Her confusion at these new thoughts running in her head made her feel slightly dizzy and she hurried for the bath to calm down and think logically. Rationally. She needed to try to figure out what she should do.

                He had not told her when he would be back. She could be long gone by the time her got back and figured out she was missing. He could also come back in minutes and find her trying to run. He could be angry if she ran. And where would she go though? Back to the village that condemned her? She was afraid they would try to send her back. But she longed to see her mother. Would he find her again if she did run?