Bride to the Dark Lord

one

Opal sat up in bed, eyes drawn to the sun rising outside. For the first time in over a week, she would have the day to herself.

Excited, she threw off the bed covers and blew out the candle burnt low on her nightstand. She dressed quickly, throwing on her underskirt and a dress before tugging the satin slippers over the heels over her feet. Long silver hair was tied in a braid to the side with a blue ribbon.

Downstairs was quiet. The only noise being that of the servants in the kitchen preparing the morning meal. Opal wrapped herself with a shawl and slipped out the back door.

Morning smelled of few and fresh grass. Flowers waved hello Along the path. Opal brushed her fingers lightly against a blossoming pear tree. A breeze drifted lightly from the ocean to her left.

Hurrying through the town, she hoped noone would be awake to see her. She loved these quiet mornings. She loved the solitude. The need to be alone to breathe had never made her long for something more. Viscerally cutting her whenever she was in a crowd. It became her single goal for the days of freedom becoming few and far between.

The wind greeted her at the top of the cliffs and Opal lifted her arms to welcome it. Beaming a smile to the rising sun, she danced down the slope to the other side of the mountain, where a valley of tall grass crested the water and sky.

Settling in, Opal lay in the grass. Despite the morning chill, it had been long warmed by the sun. She basked in it, breathing the fresh air like new life in her lungs. This was it. This was freedom.

She sat up to gather wildflowers both white and blue, intertwining their branches into a crown. Placing it atop her head, she gave a bow and a curtsy. "Your highness. I am the princess Opal...why of course you can have this dance."

She lifted an arm and swayed gently, the wind her partner and the flowers her audience. A family of rabbits observed her curiously from above their den. Strange, this girl dancing with herself. Talking to herself. Smiling.

Opal curtsied to allow another suitor when a twig snapped. Her heart clutched, breath caught, as her eyes roved over to a nearby thicket she hadn't noticed. Most swirled near the base of the tree trunks and obscured the path. Darkness lay in it's depths, and she smelled smoldering leaves. The rabbits had gone.

Opal felt a chill run up her spine. Carefully, she clutched her skirts and began to back away. Eyes remained on the thicket, sure that if she dared to remove them, something would emerge. Something was watching her, and that something would follow of she turned her back.

She did not turn to run until she was well on the other side of the slope and the thicket had faded from view.