Vanished (I LUV U.) - Abide With Me Book 1

Chapter 4 - Married

 Introduction: (NOTE: You may have to read Chapter 3 again, 'cos this is where things get a little...confusing) Zenzu accidentally kisses a girl from the fifteenth century. What happens next?

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Chapter Four - MARRIED

 May 20, 1497

“Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!”

Crud. Crud. Crud! Zenzu immediately stood away from the girl. He was bad at estimating age, but she looked about thirteen. Whoa! he thought. A little too young to get married, I see. Her eyes stared blankly into space. She couldn’t move because of the shock. Despite that, one of her fingers kept twitching. The girl looked like she’d been electrocuted.

“Sorry!” Zenzu repeated.

He backed away and tried not to stare at the wedding guests, whose jaws were hanging in surprise. Still, Zenzu couldn’t help but spot four people wearing ornate necklaces of teeth. Their mouths were opened a little wider than everyone else. Must be the parents, he thought.

“Sorry!” he said to them.

The fifteen year old continued backing away until he bumped into someone. Zenzu slowly looked over his shoulder and found a young bald man with a red Z-band around his head. His white tribal clothes, clenching fists and steaming hot face made Zenzu say, “Oh, you must be the groom. Sorry about the-”

WHAM! Zenzu felt the punch of a lifetime. He fell back to the dirty ground with a loud thud next to the young girl’s feet. For a beautiful girl, her feet were certainly not as clean as her face. Wear some shoes! he wanted to say. And feet deodorant!

Looking around, he could tell he was in a tent. From the cone-like shape, it could be a tepee. The crimson pigment sent chills down his spine. One thing’s for sure though - it was really big. It had to be to house so many people.

Dazed, Zenzu looked up and saw the groom’s arms blazing with fire. He gave a beastly roar and unleashed a stream of flames. Zenzu quickly rolled out of the way, but for the girl, it was too late.

Her bridal skirt was now ablaze. Suddenly, the girl came to life, screaming and bravely putting out the fire with her bare hands.

Before the groom could set his arms ablaze again, a wrinkly old man stepped between him and his bride with a face more wrinkled than a bulldog’s. He had some sort of cloak with several layers of animal pelt and a skull that looked like a giant rat on his head. In his hand was a staff adorned with creepy-looking animal skulls. His puny arms were thick with sweat and his knees were shaking. The man sure didn’t look scared. Probably it was the heavy rat skull straining his puny skeleton.

The old man pointed his staff at Zenzu. “You!” he wheezed. “Evil!”

Everyone gasped. The groom glared at him with the eyes of a tiger, while the bride stared at him in disbelief, wiping her lips with her sleeve.

Then, the old man pointed his staff at the girl. Her eyes widened. She tried to back away, but her long, many-layered skirt was making it impossible.

“You!” he wheezed. “Alaya, princess of the Hachen Village! You were born on the winter solstice - a curse from the Great Gnomon!”

Everyone gasped again, except Zenzu. He couldn’t understand what was wrong. And who was Gnomon? Looking at the girl, her eyes were becoming more watery by the second.

“You! Alaya, cursed daughter of the King and the Priestess of the Hachen Village! By kissing this evil before us,-” The old man’s staff swung to Zenzu. “you have condemned yourself to be his wife forever!”