It's Here
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 118255
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Bella spent the entire ride weeping, totally inaudible. She should have journeyed farther, bypassing Wenda's hut entirely. She shouldn't have stopped in the first town. She shouldn't have trusted anyone. She had no idea where Nate had gone, and though she hated the thought, she found herself longing to be rescued. Her wrists and ankles were rubbed raw by the ropes by the time they were at last loosened, and her blindfold removed. She blinked, nearly blinded at once by the harshness of the sun, from which she had been shielded for many days. She was placed on her feet, and Phelyp's gruff voice came from beside her: "Sorry about all this, princess. But you'll be wanting to look at least a little presentable. This way." She tried to resist, but she was weak, she always had been, and her knees shook with every step, such that he practically carried her anyway. She heard his voice explaining to the guards who she was, and she heard the shock in theirs as they admitted him. Plate mail clanged as some ran off to inform Prince Jasper, and all at once she burst into tears yet again, using the last of her remaining strength. When she woke up, there was some kind of salve spread around her wrists and ankles, and she was lying alone in a luxurious bedchamber. Tears immediately welled up again in her eyes. Suddenly she ached to be Bella. She had had precious few time in that life, but she would choose it a thousand times over before this. She didn't want to be Lilith. She couldn't be Lilith. Shortly, the prince entered the room. He was aged by a few years, his hair a bit longer, his beard grown out, but he was just as handsome as ever, and he cried out and rushed to Lilith's bedside, crying, "My darling, my love, I cannot believe you are back! I don't know how I have survived these years without you. I hope never to have to again. We shall be wed at once. Not next week—not tomorrow—now. I know you are weak and weary from your travels, but all will be taken care of for you." As he spoke, ladies-in-waiting flooded into the room behind him, and he kissed her delicate hand tenderly before rushing back out. The women chattered in excitement as they presented her dress, her makeup, her shoes. Lilith could not stop sobbing, and though some of them looked uncomfortable, they had clearly been instructed not to notice. They spent much of the time holding her up, moving her limbs about for her, and—heaven help her—at some point she began to cooperate, her tears drying up, because she realized how beautiful they were making her—more beautiful than she'd been in years of living in the woods. They curled her hair, piled it atop her head, and filled it with flowers. Her dress was adorned with pearls and diamonds and billowed out around her so far she could get lost in it. She felt radiant. And, suddenly, she thought of at least one good thing about this arrangement: she'd be able to make herself beautiful every day. It was something, at least. It was a matter of two, perhaps three hours that she was brought down to a small room adjacent to the throne room, where the ceremony would happen. She could hear the murmurings of a huge crowd through the walls, and when she appeared at the back of the room, hundreds of pairs of eyes turned to her. She nearly fainted. It was here. The day she'd spent three years running from, hiding from, had caught up to her. She walked down the aisle in a daze, still feeling the urge to cry, but unable to do so now that she was wearing flawless makeup. The ceremony began. Jasper, in a fine navy blue tunic trimmed with gold, gazed lovingly at her all the while.
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7/2/2021 10:59:21 PM
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