Wife For Sale

Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The Dame and The Brute – Part 1            

Once upon a time a seven year old girl named Leia got lost in the forest. An old couple found her in the ruins of a burnt carriage. The girl couldn’t remember anything. But she had a golden necklace with a locket pendant engraved with the name Leia. Inside the locket were also images of a man and a woman.

Nobody had searched for her and so she was raised by the old couple as a daughter in a small village deep in the forest. They only had few neighbors and the distances from every home were far. The old couple had showered her with their love. They had taught her how to grow vegetable in their backyard and how to take care of chickens and cows. The old couple also taught her of the healing art – their knowledge of herbs and natural remedies.

Leia grew up to be a not so pretty young lady. Her fair skin had already been tanned. Her naturally curled light brown hair was not so smooth and silky. Her palms were coarse due to manual work.  She loved growing flowering plants especially carnations.

Meanwhile on a faraway land, there lived a happy go lucky prince. He loved hunting. A lot of princesses and ladies from nearby kingdoms adored him. But he wasn’t keen about getting married despite his parents’ persuasion. He was a daredevil. He was also considered a brute because he wasn’t a perfect gentleman around ladies. When the young dame he had fallen in love was killed by the rebels, he had trained very hard to become a skilled swordsman and archer. He can also use other fighting gears well. He had fought many battles to subdue the rebels. He was ferocious in the battlefield. He was especially skilled in sword fighting and in archery. But his most recent battle with the rebels had almost cost him his life because he was a daredevil in the battlefield and so his parents had pulled him away from anymore battles.

One winter afternoon, he went out with a few soldiers to hunt in the forest. He was so keen to hunt a deer that it led him and his soldiers to an icy lake hidden by a layer of snow. When he looked back, he saw the terrible sight of horses and soldiers, one by one sinking into the icy cold water. He urged his horse to flee but his frightened horse had panicked, reared up and thrown him off. His right foot was tangled in the stirrup as he was thrown up causing a painful twisting of flesh and bone. His ankle had badly hurt and soon the ice beneath him cracked and gave away.

Leia was collecting wood near the lake when she heard a sound of terror. It was already dark. She felt eerie and so she ran back to their home and called her adoptive parents. She told them what she had heard and so they all rushed to the lake.

They saw three men floating lifelessly on the surface of the lake with chunks of broken ice around them. Their horses had escaped the icy cold water and were on the opposite shore.

Afterwards, Leia saw a stallion by the tree a few meters away from them. The animal was shivering. She rushed to the poor beast then her adoptive parents searched the area for possible survivors. Leia had managed to tame the stallion as she spoke to it soothingly. She also managed to get hold of its reins. Judging the expensive gear of the stallion, she knew that it wasn’t owned by just an ordinary soldier. She glanced around and she saw under the branches of a pine tree. She saw a body of a very handsome man. Leia cried out to her parents. She knelt beside the man. Her parents joined her. They were shocked upon seeing the man.

Her father exclaimed, “Oh God Almighty! He is Prince Rigor.” Her father leaned down, pressing his ear against the prince’s chest and then to his mouth.

Leia uttered a prayer. Lord, have mercy on the prince.

Her father rose up quickly and said, “His heart beats but he doesn’t breathe. He reached for his bag and found a small bellows. With shaking fingers, her adoptive mother held the prince’s mouth as her father squeezed the bellows forcing air into the prince’s lungs. After a few moments, a gush of water expelled from the prince’s mouth, followed by a sound of babbling and then a sound of coughing.