Chapter 5

The moon. Last night I felt some sort of force or call coming from the moon up in the heavens. I have no idea how or why, but I’ve felt the moon watching me ever since I left the room buried deep in the earth. I may have escaped my prison, but now I am in a terrifying foreign world I am not familiar with. I have been living in my room my entire life, and I have no idea what this world would look or be like. I only know the world based on the stories shared by the few that took care of me. These are only stories, but I have no idea how the outside world works. Only my hero named Makku can guide me through this world that I’ve woken up into.

The moon flashed a beam of light into my mind. In a matter of moments, I have been blessed with knowledge to be able to communicate with the people I now live among. I now know their language. I can start remembering things from the distant past. And most importantly, I have an idea what just happened to me. The ring Makku placed on my finger is no ordinary ring. It is a symbol of holy matrimony. I have woken up to become my hero’s bride. I am now wed to Makku. I am no longer a princess, I am now his queen! So from this day forward, I shall support him like the queen I was born to be.

A week has passed since Mark married Keira inside his home in Forget-Me-Not Valley. Now that they can speak the same language, things have gotten much easier between them. Mark can properly explain to Keira what happened. How much time has passed since she was trapped underground. What happened to her kingdom. And the many things that has changed since then. All this while leaving out the parts that involves Witch Princess. He is not sure if Keira is ready to learn the truth about Witch Princess and what she did to the castle. For now, he just tries his best to learn about Keira and get her used to modern times.

Since Keira woke up speaking a new language, she also started to eat and sleep like a normal person; or at least what can be considered normal due to the circumstances. Her eating habits are much different than other people. Mark needed to find creative ways to help the princess from the Middle Ages eat. She can only eat curry and drink tea or water. All other foods are too new for her. Luckily for modern conveniences, Mark is able to find a way to help Keira adjust comfortably.

Neither of them has left the farm since the wedding. Mark is too afraid to leave her in the house alone, and Keira is too timid to leave. Mark had to hire Takakura to help around the farm until he can get Keira adjusted to living in the farm alone. He spent the whole week teaching Keira about the dangers of living in a modern house to keep her safe.

At the end of the week, Flora pays Mark a visit to check on Keira. She is shocked to find Keira eating and talking like a normal person. While Keira eats her lunch, Mark and Flora sits nearby so they can discuss what happened since she last visited.

“So let me get this straight. Keira just woke up one morning and started talking like you? How did that happen?”

“I have no idea to be honest. She did say something about the moon, but I didn’t get it. I just left it alone. I’m just happy that we can talk to each other now. I did ask Witch Princess about it too, and she was just as clueless as I am. She assumes that it might just be a side effect of the curse once it was properly broken. How it happened is not important, as long as she’s fine.”

“And she’s okay with being married to you?”

“Barely an inconvenience. She seems happy about getting married despite being total strangers. So all this time I’ve been worried for no reason.”

Their conversation suddenly gets interrupted by the sound of Keira who is eating at the table nearby. They turn around and watch in horror as Keira shovels curry rice down her throat uncontrollably. They look to her left and find a stack of plates cleaned of any trace of food. Once she cleans another plate, she reaches to her right where there are several plates of curry and starts eating again.

“You know, I’m glad that Keira is eating now. But wow, she can really put it away,” said Flora.

Mark sighs then whispers, “she’s been like this ever since we got married. Witch Princess said that this is definitely a side effect of the curse. She has four hundred years of eating to catch up on. Lucky for me that this is temporary. She’s eating me out of house and home!”

“No wonder you asked me to make a whole pot of curry. Where did you even get those chopsticks?”

“I had them imported from Konohana from the eastern villages. Turns out that Keira has no idea what a spoon or fork is. She has a lot to learn before she can live normally in modern times, but she’s catching up pretty quickly.”

Mark and Flora continue to watch Keira. When they found her deep in the earth, Keira was pale and frail looking. They smile seeing how healthy and pretty she looks now. How they got to this point is still quite vague, but they are happy to have a new addition to the valley. She isn’t stressed or upset about being in a different time and place than what she is used to. Instead, she seems quite cheerful about her unique situation. There are so many questions they want to ask her, but they would rather let things play out and let her story unfold on its own.

Once she is finished with her last plate of curry, she places her chopsticks on her final plate and stands. “Wow, that was so good, I am satisfied now.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” said Flora chuckling. “Must be nice to have a fresh cooked meal for a change.”

“It is. Your curry is very good, but I prefer Mark’s curry a little more.”

“Oh really,” asked Flora. Deep in her mind she is saying, “hold up, she likes Mark’s curry over mine? But I make homemade curry while Mark makes instant curry from a box. So she’s saying that my curry is less tasty than instant?”

Keira then bows at Flora gracefully and says, “I shall retreat to my room and rest now. Take care, I hope to see you again soon Lady Flora.”

With that she walks to her room where she lays down to take a nap. Once Keira goes into her bedroom, Flora looks over to the pile of dishes left behind on the table. They both need to remind themselves that Keira is a princess from the Middle Ages and has no idea how to clean up after herself. They assume she had servants who took care of her in the castle. Mark can only hope that Keira can learn to help out around the house over time. For now, the house chores are all on him.

“You need any help with those dishes,” asked Flora.

Mark sighs, “no, I got this. I’m used to it by now.”

“So what’s the plan? Are you really going through with this marriage? Are you two planning to be a real couple?”

“I’m not too sure. But Keira has been acting like a real wife, so I guess it’s the real deal. I still would like to get to know her better before I can fully commit to being a husband though. Anything is possible at this point.”

“Have you told anyone else?”

“No. I don’t even know how to tell anyone. How should I even introduce her? ‘Hey everyone, meet my wife I just met two weeks ago’ It sounds crazy. For now, I’m just taking my time with things and figuring things out as I go.”

Flora nods. She was just as worried about Mark getting married to Keira when she first heard about it last week. Now that everything seems fine, she can breathe easier knowing that Mark is taking good care of his new wife. She can’t wait to see how this strange love story will progress over time as Keira continues to live in the valley.

After discussing things a bit more, Flora’s free time comes to an end and she needs to return to the dig site. Just before she leaves Mark’s house, she faces him and asks, “so tell me, anyone else came to visit since I last was here?”

“No.”

“Well. . . In case someone does. . . Sorry.”

“Sorry? About what?” Flora remains quiet and leaves. Mark scratches his head and continues, “that was weird, I wonder what she meant by that?”

Mark returns to the kitchen where he is once again greeted by the stack of dishes that need to be washed. Rather than complain, he moves them to the sink and gets started. As he washes the dishes, Mark begins to think for a while. It has been a week since he took off of work. He will need to go back sooner than later and leave Keira alone in the house. He has been preparing her for that, so he is confident enough to start farming again tomorrow. He only hopes that Keira won’t be lonely while he does his job.

The next morning, Mark prepares himself for his first day in the farm since the wedding. The only thing he does differently is to make sure Keira is well fed before leaving the house. Once he is ready to leave, he grabs his rucksack and turns around to see Keira ready to see him off. He feels odd having someone in the house to say goodbye to every morning now. Seeing Keira’s smile before he walks out the door makes him feel good.

“I’m off to work,” Mark said awkwardly.

Keira bows gracefully. “Be safe my king. I pray that you return home safely.”

Mark chuckles sheepishly. “You know, calling me a king feels a little weird. Why don’t we try something a bit less dramatic.”

Keira nods, “I understand. Be safe my dear husband.”

“Wow, that feels a little bit too embarrassing. Why don’t you just call me Mark instead.”

“Very well.” Keira then tilts her head a little and smiles for Mark saying, “Be safe Mark. I pray that you return home safely.”

Mark’s face blushes beet red as he looks at Keira’s pretty smile. He can barely handle how cute, jolly, and cheerful Keira looks. He wonders if this feeling of happiness is normal for a married couple. They may still be strangers, but Mark is tempted to give her a goodbye kiss. In his mind, it wouldn’t be strange since they are married. After thinking for a moment, he decides against it. He doesn’t have the courage to try something like that, and he is too worried about how Keira would feel about it.

“Well, umm. . . I’m leaving now. Keep watch of the house while I’m away.”

Keira nods. “I shall do my best.”

Mark nods back and finally walks out to get started on the farm. He marches himself to the field and starts to water his crops. Keira takes a seat on the couch and begins to wait for her husband like she was taught to do by her parents.

As Mark walks through the aisles of crops looking for anything to harvest, his mind keeps drifting off to Keira who is in the house. As he inspects a cucumber hanging from a vine, he can’t get him mind off Keira’s beautiful smile. It is hard enough to imagine being married to begin with, but his wife is a literal princess. Trying to figure out how he even managed to get to this point is overwhelming for him.

His mind drifts off to an image of how a perfect marriage would even look like between Keira and himself. He imagines walking through the valley with his lovely wife by his side greeting the neighbors. She would greet them gracefully with her pretty smile. He would get invites to have dinner with the other families around the valley and have interesting conversations.

Every day when he comes home from work, Keira would be there to greet him. The house would be clean, the bath would be ready, and a nice warm meal is waiting for him. With all the time saved, Mark would watch TV with his wife sitting next to him laughing at the jokes or cry at the emotional moments. Maybe they could play some board games and talk about whatever is on their minds.

They would then retire to the same bedroom and kiss each other goodnight. Sleeping alone would be a distant memory now that he is married. Of course they sleep in separate bedrooms now, but he looks forward to changing that someday. At least that’s how he imagines married life would be. He needs to remind himself that Keira is a member of a royal family and there should be differences in culture that he needs to be sensitive about. Keira might have a different idea how married life will look like and he will need to respect that.

Back at the house, Keira continues to wait for her husband on the couch. She starts to caress the couch’s soft cushions. It may not be a throne, but it is quite comfortable. A perfect place to run a kingdom as queen. All she needs are subjects to rule while her husband is away.

Things start to get very boring quickly. She sighs as she reminds herself that she is not in a castle anymore, and there will be nobody visiting her to use all the royal training she took as a child. If she were still in the castle, the people of her kingdom would be coming to her to address their concerns or requests. She would then meet with her council members about the politics within the city around the castle. Even though she was not looking forward to taking up such a responsibility, this is all she knows how to do. She ended up as the queen of a farmer, so many of those years of royal training has been wasted.

As she sits in the couch with nothing to do, she hums an old tune her mother taught her. She then turns her attention to the large box with a black glass panel in front. She starts to wonder what it is and what it’s used for. Mark did spend the last week explaining to Keira the dangers of living in the house alone and things she should never touch. She looks around to see the stove in the kitchen that Mark said was used for cooking. She then turns to the fireplace which burns wood to keep the house warm in the colder seasons. There are so many things around the house that Mark warned her against touching until she gets used to life in Forget-Me-Not Valley. But Mark has never said anything about the box in front of her. She figures that just in case, she won’t touch it until Mark says it’s safe.

After waiting for several more hours, Mark finally arrives home. Keira stands up and walks towards him to greet him back. “Hello Mark, and welcome home. How was your time away,” said Keira with a graceful bow.

Mark drops his rucksack by the door. “Hey Keira. How are you feeling? Were you okay staying in the house by yourself?”

“I am well. It was a bit difficult waiting for you to come home, but I am sure that I’ll be able to endure it.”

“That’s good. So what did you do while I was gone?”

“I waited.”

He turns to Keira who is smiling and unbothered by what she admitted. He takes a look around and notices that it is the same exact condition that he left it that morning. He then looks at the couch which looks like someone has been sitting on it for hours. He is shocked imagining her sitting there with nothing to do. He shouldn’t be surprised, considering her old lifestyle. He could never imagine himself doing that, the boredom would kill him!

“So Keira, let me get this straight. You’re telling me that the whole time I was gone, you sat at the couch and waited for me to come home?” Keira nods. “Holy cow! Weren’t you bored?”

“Of course not! I kept watch of the house like you asked. Did I do a good job?”

“I’m not worried about the house! Are you okay? Are you sore from sitting for so long? Are you even hungry?”

Suddenly Keira’s stomach rumbles loudly. Her face red with embarrassment as the sound is neither ladylike nor elegant. She has been hungry for a long time, but she has no idea how to cook. She doesn’t want to bother her husband, so she endured it without complaining. Mark sighs just before saying, “I figured that you would be. Give me a little while, I’ll make us something to eat.”

Soon enough, Mark is in the kitchen doing his best to Make Keira some curry. He may not cook as well as his neighbors around the valley, but it’s enough to take care of himself. Now that he has Keira to care for, he will need to step up his culinary skills.

Homemade curry is too complicated for him to make, so he stocked up on instant curry. Just add the pack of instant curry to a pot of water and pour the mixture over rice. It’s simple enough to make, and Keira enjoys it. Considering that Curry is the only thing Keira eats, he makes a big pot of curry rice and keeps plates of it in the fridge. All he needs to do is teach Keira how to use the microwave and she can eat as much as she wants while he works around the farm.

At the dinner table, Mark tries to eat his curry. He is constantly distracted by Keira shoveling her plate of curry in her mouth. While her appetite has slowed down a little since they got married, it is still unnaturally high. She eats as if she is starving. He wonders how long it will take before Keira can eat like a normal girl. For now, he will need to be patient and hope things will be more manageable soon.

“You really like curry,” asked Mark curiously. “I have no idea how healthy it is to eat that everyday though. Can’t you eat anything else?”

“Oh I love a lot of different kinds of foods. Curry is the only food that I recognize from my time in the castle. Norad traders would bring it to my kingdom, and the royal chef would make some for my family. I would like to eat other foods, but everything else you eat looks and smells too strange.”

“What other foods did you eat back then?”

“Let’s see. . . I loved Tsukemono, Tempura, Sushi, and Kimchi. But I would also eat shoujin every now and then.”

A bead of sweat forms on Mark’s temple as he says, “yeah, sorry. I have never heard of those dishes. I wonder if anyone these days knows how to make them.”

“I hope so. I do like curry, but I would like to diversify my diet sooner than later. I can’t imagine myself eating curry every day.”

“I’m sure we can figure something out.” Mark then takes a bit of his food and decides to change the topic. “So how was your old life in the castle? Do you miss it?”

“I do miss my mother and father. But life as a princess was very lonely. I was living in my secret chamber in the castle and never allowed to leave. My mother told me that bandits could kidnap me and sell my body in the brothels. I would be too afraid to leave my room because of that, but I have always dreamed of living a life outside the castle walls. I never would have expected my dream to come true in this way.”

“So, it was just you and your parents?”

“There were a few others who helped take care of me. I had instructors who would prepare me for my duties as queen. They would teach me language arts, mathematics, and politics. Then there was my caretaker Namonaki.”

“Namonaki? That’s a strange name.”

Keira nods. “As my caretaker, she would bring me food, escort me to the washroom, read me books, and use her magic to entertain me. Even though I only knew a few people, I was never bored.”

The moment Keira mentioned magic, Mark gasps as he remembers Witch Princess saying that she cared for her when she was younger. He begins to wonder if Namonaki is her real name, and why she never uses it. He then remembers that Keira and Witch Princess were in the same room recently, why didn't she recognize her that moment? So many questions flood his mind, and he isn’t sure if they should be asked.

“Are you okay,” asked Keira.

“I’m fine,” answered Mark nervously. He then builds the courage to ask, “hey about this Namonaki person. What did she look like?”

“To be honest., I don’t fully remember. My memories may be coming back steadily, but there are things I have trouble remembering. Like people’s faces. I’m sure they will come back soon enough.”

“I see.” Mark then takes a sigh of relief. As long as she doesn’t remember Witch Princess, she might have a shot of living a peaceful life in the valley. Witch Princess wants nothing to do with her and she mostly stays in her hut not bothering people. As long as they keep their distance, there shouldn’t be any drama. But he also can’t pretend that this is not a temporary solution. Keira will remember eventually, and they may run into each other in the future. What will he do when that day comes. How will he explain things to her. There is still time for Mark to figure that out for now.

The rest of lunch is quiet and peaceful. Things are peaceful now and Mark would rather not say anything that could jog Keira’s memories. All he wants to do is finish eating, teach Keira how to warm up food in the microwave, and go back to work. From now on, Mark will do everything he can to avoid talking about the past to keep things peaceful.

Once Mark is ready to go back to work, he grabs his rucksack and tries to leave. Before he does, he turns around and sees Keira prepared to see him off. He knows that Keira is used to living alone, but Mark feels bad leaving her there with nothing to entertain herself. He finds himself unable to leave until Keira has something to do.

“So Keira, what do you plan to do while I’m working?”

“I’ll just watch the house while you are gone. I’ll make sure no one steals any of your valuables.”

“That’s sweet of you, but maybe you could find some way to entertain yourself.”

Keira thinks for a moment then answers, “I guess I could, but what should I do?”

“How about you watch some TV,” answered Mark.

“What’s TV,” she asked.

“It’s that thing over there,” Mark said as he points at the television in front of the couch.

Keira approaches the television and asks, “oh, so this is a TV? And you wish for me to watch it?”

Mark nods. “I would feel a lot better if you did that than just sitting on the couch all afternoon until I get home.”

“Very well, I shall do my best.” She then fans her hair out and takes a seat in front of the television. She just sits there motionless staring at the black screen making no attempt at turning it on.

Mark stares at her wondering why is she staring at the blank television. He then chuckles sheepishly before asking, “umm, Keira? What are you doing?”

“I am watching over the TV as you asked. This must be an important heirloom if you wish for me to watch over it. Do not worry, I shall make sure no harm comes to your valuable TV.”

“No, no! That’s not what I meant when I said watch TV.”

Keira turns to Mark and asks, “really? What did you mean then?”

“Let me show you.” He walks up to the TV and grabs the remote. With a click of a button, the TV comes on and music begins to play. The image of a long-haired guitarist playing and screaming loudly at a microphone appears on the screen. This frightens Keira enough for her to run and hide behind Mark.

A few seconds later, Keira looks at the television screen and watches the guitarist on the screen for a while wondering what is going on. She then looks at Mark and says, “amazing! I had no idea that you are a wizard!”

“A wizard? This isn’t magic, it’s technology. Anyone can do this.”

“I do not know what this technology is, but please release your prisoner! I don’t know what sort of crimes this man committed, but the punishment is excessive and cruel!”

“Wait, what? Prisoner? He’s not trapped in there. He’s singing, it’s a music video.”

“Then why is he yelling as if he is being tortured?”

Mark sighs. “Yeah, I guess this might be a little too modern for you. Let’s change the channel and watch something else.”

Mark clicks the remote again and the channel changes. They now see a single person on a stage surrounded by a seated crowd. Laughter and cheers are coming from the television as the person on stage walks around with a microphone in hand. Keira then rushes to the television and stares at it curiously.

“Oh my goodness, the prisoner magically vanished! Who is this man,” asked Keira.

“He’s a comedian, he tells jokes.”

She has heard of a manzai comedian and wonders if this is the same. Curious to know more, she decides to watch and see what’s going on. Soon enough the comedian speaks, “so anyways, I asked the Harvest Goddess to give me some sprites to work on my farm. Then the goddess said, ‘I can give you some, but Coca-Cola isn’t going to be happy about that!’”

The room fills with laughter, and Mark laughs along with them. “Wow, I love this guy! His jokes are a real knee slapper.”

“I don’t understand. What is a Coca-Cola,” asked Keira.

Mark sighs again, “yeah, I should have guessed that you wouldn’t get the joke. Why don’t we try something a little more old fashioned?”

Once again Mark clicks on the remote to change the channel. This time the television is playing a drama that is set in the Middle Ages. On the screen, they see a young woman being restrained by some rough looking men. They laugh while the young woman screams for help. Keira quickly rushes to Mark and tugs on his arm yelling, “look Mark! Bandits! And they are attacking that young girl! You must help her!”

“Calm down, it’s not real.”

“It’s not?”

“It’s just a TV show. Think of it like a play filled with actors who entertain a crowd. I’m sure they had those back in your time.”

Keira isn’t sure what he’s talking about, but she has heard of plays from the people who took care of her growing up. She decides to give it a chance and watch what’s going on in the television. Soon enough, an armored warrior arrives on the scene. The bandits see the warrior and draw their weapons. The warrior draws his blade as well and prepares to fight.

“It is you, the legendary bounty hunter and man slayer,” cried one of the bandits.

“Release the young maiden or taste the cold steel of Musashi the man slayer,” answered the armored warrior.

The bandits and the warrior charge at each other screaming and flailing their weapons. No matter how outnumbered the warrior is, the skill and grace of his swordsmanship keeps the enemy at bay. The fight draws Keira closer to the screen. She then fans out her hair once again and takes a seat in front of the television. She has heard of stories of battles from her father, but this is the first time she is seeing one. Her mind drifts to her father and what it must look like when he fought in the battlefield. Her eyes are glued to the television, and she cannot look away.

“I’m leaving now,” said Mark. Keira just sits there; her attention is completely on the television and can no longer hear him. “I guess she won’t be bored anymore,” he whispered just before leaving the house so he can resume his work around the farm.

Later that afternoon, Mark is done with work around the farm. He returns to the house to check on Keira before moving on to the next thing he must do. He drops the rucksack by the door and finds Keira still watching the television. He smiles seeing that Keira is fine and entertained. He was a bit nervous exposing her to so much at one time, but Keira is adjusting well.

Soon enough, Keira notices Mark watching her by the front door. She gets up and walks to him to greet him back home. She bows gracefully and says, “welcome home Mark.”

“Hey Keira. Did you enjoy watching TV while I was gone?”

She nods cheerfully. “Everything is so interesting in the TV. I have never seen so much of the world without traveling. I wish we had such a magical creation back in the castle!”

“I’m glad that you found something you like to do while I am away.”

She smiles cheerfully as she continues, “my favorite part was this act where an evil witch tries to conquer the world with her army of monsters. She summoned a group of humanoid creatures to enslave the human race, and they were very scary! But a group of young warriors rushed in to fight the witch and her monsters. I was shocked, how was a group of unarmed men and women going to fight them?

“They took out some magical coins and used them to transform into colorful masked warriors. They wielded powerful weapons to fight the monster army and slayed them one by one. I could not look away as the monsters exploded into stone and dust. Their skill and grace left me speechless! The final monster was outnumbered, and the warriors were going to finish the battle.

“Even with the battle turned against the witch, she did not give up. With her magical scepter, she used her magic to grow the monster to the size of a castle. I gasped; how will the warriors fight such a giant enemy with their weapons? But they showed no fear and challenged the massive enemy valiantly.

“They cried out for help and summoned five metal beasts to aid them. They jumped high into the air to mount the beast and charged into battle. I had goosebumps as the beasts fought the monster. The beasts fought bravely, but the monster was still too much for them. I hugged my knees worried that the warriors would perish.

“The warriors surprised me once again when they chanted some sort of spell. The beasts came together and merged into a giant metal armored warrior. I could hardly breathe as they fought to the death. With a swing of the warrior’s massive blade, the monster admitted defeat and exploded into dust. The brave warriors saved the people, and I couldn’t be more impressed!”

“Yeah, I love that show. I think they are called the rainbow rangers,” said Mark.

Keira nods. “That’s right! They were so brave; I wish I can meet them someday and thank them for saving us! Oh wait, you did say that the fights on the TV are not real?”

“Afraid not. Just actors. But I am glad that you are having fun. I would like to watch TV with you, but I still have some stuff to do. Why don’t you watch some more TV until I get back? There is plenty of food in the fridge if you get hungry.”

Keira bows. “Understood. Please have a safe journey and come home safely.”

“I will,” answered Mark.

Confident that Keira will be fine home alone, Mark goes to his storage shed and starts to load his bags for delivery. He then travels across the valley to deliver goods to his neighbors. One stop after another Mark delivers the requests curious what has the other villagers been up to. While most of the residents of the valley are happy to see him return to his duties in the farm, some of them act a bit stranger than normal. Celia, Nami, and Leia are a bit too cheerful and giggly to see Mark. Muffy is not at the Blue Bar, which is odd considering she is carrying a child. Each time he asks what’s going on, nobody gives him any answers. So he just ignores them and carries on.

It’s getting dark and Mark finally arrives home so he can relax for the rest of the day. As soon as he walks in the door he shouts, “Keira, I’m home.” He can hear the television, but Keira doesn’t go to him like she did before. He walks into the living room and sees her sleeping on the couch next to a bunch of empty plates. He sighs figuring that Keira must have watched so much TV that she got tired and fell asleep after eating her fill of curry rice.

He slowly walks up to her and moves a few strands of hair away from her face. Mark smiles as he looks into her happy and peaceful looking face wondering what a princess who just discovered TV is dreaming about. Even though they have been living under the same roof for two weeks, this is the first time Mark sees her sleeping. His heart melts seeing how comfortable and cute she looks. All his worries about being married to a princess from the Middle Ages fade away. Once again, the feeling of happiness consumes him.

He continues to watch her for a few more minutes. He then feels that it’s not a good idea to leave her on the couch. She could catch a cold. He wants to wake her up but decides against it. Instead, he decides to carry Keira to her room like a princess in a fairy tale. They are married, so he feels that it shouldn’t be weird doing that. Carefully not to wake her, Mark slips his arms under her and lifts.

A shock of pain runs down Mark’s spine once she is lifted. He grits his teeth and looks at her face asking himself, “why is she so heavy? She so small and thin, it looks like she weighs no more than ninety pounds soaking wet! Come on Mark, don’t wimp out on her now! I can do this! Her room is not far away!”

Taking small and careful steps, Mark carries Keira quietly. He would be too embarrassed to have Keira wake up and watch him struggle so much. She feels heavier as he gets closer to her room, but he makes it using sheer willpower. He carefully places Keira on the bed and covers her with the blanket. Mark then breathes heavily while rubbing his back. He has no idea how such a small woman can weigh so much, but he won’t be doing that again anytime soon.

“Thank you. . . My dear husband,” said Keira softly in her sleep. Mark looks over and sees Keira smile as she holds her blanket tightly. He just smiles back, wondering how he ended up getting married to such a pretty and young princess. Even if they both are strangers and still have a lot to learn about each other, seeing Keira like this makes his heart tingle. He was afraid that he would regret getting married, but everything is working out well so far. He hopes that things stay like this for a long time.

Once his back stops hurting, he moves himself to the living room where he starts to clean up. As he washes the dishes, he once again imagines how a life being married to a princess would be like. He knows that life will never be the same ever again, but he might enjoy this new life. There may be challenges up ahead, but he will just take things one day at a time.