-2 days later-
Location: Zaad Ziener; Captivant's house
Φ Standing in front of a mirror in his room, Captivant turns all around, and then says, "It's time, it's finally time. I'm wondering if my clothes from abroad are good enough. But I doubt someone like her has ever seen fashion this good anyway, so it should all be fine, right?"
Slapping both of his hands against his face cheeks, Captivant says, "It will be more than fine, it will all be perfect. You saw her love, you know what to do."
From downstairs, a series of words screech into his ears, causing him to say, "Argh, she can't even stop belching on this wondrous day of mine. I can't believe her. Silent most of the time, then releases bursts of sound at random intervals."
Turning to his window, Captivant says, "But she can't stop my joy now."
Rushing towards it, he jumps outside and starts running as he says, "It's time to get married."
-Break-
Location: Zaad Ziener; Northern Forest
Φ Moving my hand through the mounds of grass scattered about, I pick flower after flower, as I say, "She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she adores me, she is enthralled by me, she is obsessed with me, she wishes to always be with me always!"
Swipping around over and over again, I say, "Ahh, what a great feeling this is that dominates my mind, my soul, my heart, granting me strength to break free of the demons at heart."
As a realisation crosses my mind, my rotations stop as I say, "Though I'm sure I should pick her? When I turn into a great hero, I am sure many princesses and other maidens will take my hand wherever I go. I might be lowering my standards a bit too much this early on."
Φ With a creepy smile rising from his face, Captivant says, "Though maybe that's what makes me special. There aren't many stories of brave heroes marrying mundane girls. If anything, it's in the spirit of this boring, normal country. Maybe that makes me a patriot, but I wouldn't ever refer to myself as such, sounds far too normative. Who cares about such things? I should start moving."
He keeps walking forward, but soon those steps turn into skips with turns into a full-on sprint as he rushes through the forest with the moonlight shining down on him the entire time.
Reaching the pond that he brought her to, he looks forward, and there he sees her in the same dress she wore when they met, standing in front of the pond facing it.
As the moonlight strikes the water, a series of small droplets shaped like stars rise up from it, flowing into the sky, and walking up beside her slowly, Captivant says, "It's amazing, isn't it?"
She moves her head, turning to him, and in the same instant, he hands her the messy bouquet of flowers. Taking them from him, she holds them close to her heart and says, "You're right about that. It's beyond my wildest imagination. Does Mister Genius have any idea how it works?"
"To be honest, not really. To my knowledge, this place actually serves as a grave to someone who once helped my family long ago, and apparently, the Messiah blessed these waters to show where her soul went after her death to give them peace."
"I wonder who could be such a great person that the Messiah would be so kind as to bring their soul up to him."
Seeing her eyes lost in wonder at the sight, Captivant says, "That's only what my family says; in all honesty, I think it's probably just the effect of a Nightmare being buried here, or something to that effect."
"I see, I guess that's an idea that could take place. Though I wish it weren't true, I wish for such beauty to really exist for the faithful."
"But beauty grander than that exists."
"Really, were?"
Staring directly at her, he says, "In front of my eyes."
Her face turns red slightly, and she faces him, then says while hiding her face with her hair, "Really?"
"Of course, and that's why I have to say this to you. Valda, I love you. I love you far more than any words could ever get across to your ears. You are nothing but a wonder, and I wish to spend the rest of my life with you. Hugging you, kissing you, loving you, and sleeping each day knowing you will faithfully be with me until the day I die. Because, deep in my heart, and your heart, you know that we are destined to be together. So, please will you be mine?"
She rubs her face with her hair, completely covering it from view, then slightly revealing it, she says, "I think I love you, Adrian."
In that instant, a surge of emotion races through Captivant's mind, as he imagines every single moment from this moment on till death, with Valda burying her hand in his in every single instant.
Turning bright red, he says, "Really!"
Running behind a close tree, she hides her body, then slowly pokes it out and says, "Yes."
His knees give out, but summoning all the strength he has within his vessel, he keeps himself standing as a smile roars across his face. "If I love you, and you love me. Then I think we should get married."
Sticking herself further behind the tree, she says, "Okay, but I don't think I have the strength to come face you any more, so could you come over here to me?"
Slamming his chest with his fist, Captivant says, "Of course, I will. What kind of husband wouldn't help his wife through whatever struggle she can't get through?"
Captivant rushes forward, and standing with her full body behind the tree, she whispers, "Sorry."
Walking forward, he says, "I couldn't hear that properly, could you speak u-."
As his foot lands in front of the tree, a rope springs forth and wraps itself around his leg, before yanking him up into the sky. He hands by his left foot in the air, and soon a barrage of rotten eggs slams into his body from every single direction.
He moves his arms towards his face to defend himself, as he says, "Dammit, stop!"
From all around him, later bursts out, and following it, a giant group of kids from the village all walk out of the forest, and with a good look at his face, their laughter only increases.
Φ What's going on? Why is everyone here? No one should know where this place is except for my family and Valda? Why is everyone laughing at me? Why are they throwing eggs at me? Why do they keep staring and pointing at me with those looks of superiority when they are just trash? It all doesn't make sens-.
In front of my eyes, I see Valda from behind the tree walk out in front of the crowd, and covering her hands with her mouth. She struggles to hold back her laughter as she says, "How lame."
Φ The heart of the boy sinks deep into depths he never thought possible. His mind, his body, his very soul go numb as he tries to process it all, yet through it, the words from the kids continue to come to him like anchors trapping him in that state.
"Look how nicely he dressed up, probably thought something nice was going to happen."
"Maybe he will actually have to clean around his house once in a while, and help his mama out."
"I doubt Mr Captivant here will ever have the strength to do some actually labour."
"Let's hope he at least has the strength to take a bath and get all those rotten eggs off."
Their words of mockery bury his mind so far down that his emotions surge to an uncontrollable point, forcing tears to start to form, but as his eyes land on Valda he quickly bites the side of his cheek forcing his mind to focus on the pain yet it only exuberates the situation making the tears in his eyes form faster, until they start falling making all the kids laugh harder.
As their mouths start to dry up, they stare at Captivant, and walking forward, one says, "We're heading home, Adrian, but don't worry, the way we tied the knot will make it come undone in about an hour. Don't cry yourself to a grave by then, you big baby."
Soon, all of the kids start to walk away, yet as they all leave, Valda says, "I will join you all later. I need to finish some things here."
One of the children, turning to her, says, "Are you sure you're going to be okay? He is a weirdo?"
"Don't worry, it's not like a child who spends every day of his life at home could ever beat me. I will handle this, then return."
"Okay."
Turning around, she walks over and faces Captivant, staring at the boy whose eyes are closed in anger, then bringing out a blade from her dress, she cuts him free, then catches his body.
In her arms, he pushes away from her, landing on the floor, causing her to say, "Don't do such things, you could mess up and get a concussion."
"WHY!"
"Huh?"
"DON'T BE A DUMB BITCH! WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME!"
"Isn't it obvious, to curry favour with the powerful. Before I was a sheep and an outcast, but after taking someone who was on the same level as me and presenting them as prey, I have been accepted by the pack."
With his eyes open wide in shock, he says, "You did this for power? Are you that shallow a woman that you'd betray a man who loved you for the sake of something as pointless as power?"
"You call it pointless, but you love it as well. Back when I first saw those kids, you brought up the fact that you would one day have control of the land and such power to hurt them in the future. You had no reason to say or do that other than to show some form of superiority, because you know as well as I do that power is the be-all, end-all of our existence. As of now, I have gained quite a bit and can use it to form a home for all my allies here."
Slamming his fist into the ground, Captivant says, "Is that what you think? When I become the head of this village, I will make every single one of you hurt like you've done to me until you're begging on your knees for forgiveness."
Sighing, she says, "Another lie. Your father, knowing the damage your grandfather caused, has enacted a series of laws across the land that stop abuse from the leader. It is a safety measure to make sure that if the leader ever goes against the principles of the village, the village can defend itself within their own lands. You have no direct control over them by law. The kids know this; it's the reason why, despite your position, they still treat you like trash. To think you'd lie to me like that, what a sack of shit you are, though I guess I am no better."
Gripping onto the ground, Captivant asks, "Was it real? Were the feelings and discussions had between the two of us ever real? Did the stories I told you touch your heart? Was the dream we shared together ever truly ours? Was the expression you made when I bore my heart to you nothing but a lie? Or was it just some manipulation because you didn't know if I had power over the village or not? Was it just a trick so that the strong could prey on the weak? Did you ever really wish for me to bend reality to our will? Valda, did you enjoy being with me?"