Dark Desire, A Reylo Camelot

A forest Beckoned

" How can something so wrong feel so right?" Forbidden ,   Tabitha Suzuma

           Peace and quite. That's all he ever wanted.

       King Poe Dameron's life was never that. All his life was a exhausting exercise in making others happy.
As a young boy , he was no more than a slave to his overbearing guardian, then as a page to a forgetful and slovenly knight.

The times he lived in were dark and desperate as there was no king.   Law and order was almost nonexistent.
Whoever it was who thought to hold a jousting  tournament to find the next king , was either a genius or  the most ludicrous idiot there ever was on gods green earth. The lucky man who won would be declared Lord of all the land.

      Poe had gone along as a page and was sent on an errand to find a sword to replace one that was thoughtlessly left behind.

          Fate had guided him to  what he thought was a war memorial, but in fact was the famous sword in the stone. Who ever pulled the sword from the stone would be the new king.

      Simple right?

Then the miracle happened. Well,  that's what everyone said. He pulled the rusty sword from that blasted stone and it changed his young naive life forever.

Now he found himself literally up a tree, hiding in the freezing winter forest.

The air crackled and hummed around him as he made himself as comfortable as possible . He had to admit to himself this was cowardly, even for him.
Poe had become king at a very young age and was suddenly thrown into a maelstrom of  political confusion and violent turmoil.
He had faced the enemy bravely, fought battles without flinching. He had ruled a country with sobriety and justice....but now......

        He must take a bride to produce an heir and he was scared out of his wits.
He knew she was coming, so he did the only thing a well respected and revered king would do when faced with this  challenge..... he tossed aside his royal robes, found a beggars  cloak and cap  and Ran!

*******////
        Princess Reyna sat back amongst the thick furs and plush blankets and sighed out her frustrations.  She was tired of being jostled and bounced around  in her conveyance. This trip was taking forever.  Why did she have to do this anyway?

        So what if her country was small and vulnerable and going broke. It wasn't her fault!  She was still young and beautiful, not to mention available to many a handsome prince.
Why was her father forcing her to marry now?  She was constrained to throw away her beauty and youth for an old and potentially ugly king.  She felt like a sacrificial lamb going to its doom.
        Has there ever been a more inconvenient marriage of convenience ?

         Reyna's entourage  had been traveling for three exhausting and  days and nights. The snow was deep in this part of the forest making progress agonizingly slow.
      Boredom almost frightened Reyna, she was used to learning and improving  her mind . Dancing and singing , reading and studying were a big part of her day.
       Now , she was afraid all her life would amount to  nothing. She would be no more than a pretty thing on the old kings arm, with a belly full of the next heir. The she would grow wrinkled and fat.

She could think of nothing worse.

    As they traveled Rena had time to daydream about all the adventures and excitement she could be having. She craved  thrills and new experiences.
Why couldn't a highway man jump out from behind a thick tree and kidnap her ?

How thrilling that would be!

     She was jostled out of her musings when the entire entourage stoped and someone shouted,  " Princess Reyna will stop here while she is being readied to be received by the king!"

      "Rose, I require hot tea while I  am being prepared to meet my future husband."Rey commanded. Her ladies in waiting all scurried off to do the princesses bidding.

     She had no idea why she had to impress him. More rouge and perfume wasn't going to impress him.
   They were to be married if he liked what he saw or not.  You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit.
Royal arranged marriages weren't for the benefit of the bride and groom, but for the benefit of entire countries.

Reyna was from the neighboring  kingdom . Her kingdom needed protection from invaders and  as Reyna was the only child , she needed to give both countries an heir. 
That was her one soul purpose in life, make babies, look pretty and be a good wife.

           As she sat waiting for her tea, she gazed out into the forest. It looked enchanted, almost  magical.
    The ancient trees were dark and foreboding with mist swirling  around them. Their twisted trunks and limbs looking like  hands that were ready to grab and squeeze and tear.

         Reyna's imagined  all sorts of  strange and frightening creatures living in the forest. Maybe  outlaws and villains. She pulled her blankets closer around her self and sunk deeper into her furs.

       Then she looked up and quickly realized there was no one around.  Where was  everyone?
She had never been alone before . There was always someone there to see to her every comfort . Some one just waiting to do her bidding.

     She looked back into the forest then down to where people were supposed to be , then back to the forest.

        It beckoned and called to her and without hesitation, she pulled her cloak closer around her shoulders and  stepped  carefully onto the ground.
       She had to bite down on her lip to stop herself from gasping out loud as the snow filled her dainty satin slippers . The deep snow chilled her ankles  as her feet sank  into the snow.

   The magical forest was just that , pure enchantment. 

The clouds parted as she ran.  The suns rays caused the gnarled and rough trees to change their appearance. Now they were friendly, a welcome invitation to go deeper and deeper into the enchanted forest.

        Finally she felt she was far enough way to stop and catch her breath.  She looked around and a faint smile formed on her lips. She had done it! She had successfully escaped her  entourage !

          She must thank her patron saint.  Pray  in thanksgiving for her help in the miraculous deliverance .

           " Genieve, Saint Genieve, where were you when my youth was sold?  I beseech you to take me far from here.  Everything I hold dear was taken away from me. Now I must find away to go far away.
                Thank you for providing me an escape.  How can I ever repay your kindness....."

             As she kneeled in the snow , she was startled out of her  praying by a loud cracking sound.  A limb broke and down tumbled a complete stranger.

          Poe had been eavesdropping. He was happily passing the time lounging in the tree tops when he heard  some one speaking.
A beautiful sing song voice of a young women.

         She had been praying and he didn't want to disturb her but was drawn to  the sound of her  voice.

      He had  inched out onto the limb of the tree and before he knew what was happening , found himself  at her feet with a loud thud.