Why Would I Marry My Cousin (Part IV)

The next day Desmond and Emery woke up to find themselves sitting in a cell in the dark and dismal dungeon that was located at the very foundation of the castle. It was made out of dark stone and wrought iron bars. They were alone and sat in silence. Emery had a look of disdain on her face, and refused to look at Desmond.

“So… you are a Princess, Emery,” the Prince stared, not sure what to say. “Why didn’t you tell me before?” It took several minutes for her to respond.

“You’re Prince of Riverside. Why didn’t you tell me that before?” she snapped back, still sitting with her back to Desmond.

“It doesn’t matter now. What matters is what your father is going to do to me. I am not supposed to even be near this place. How am I going to get out?” He felt utterly hopeless and trapped. Emery turned towards him with a condescending smile.

“My normal punishment growing up in this castle was to throw me down here.” Emery continued talking and walked over to the stone wall in their cell. “I was down here often, as you can imagine. With all that free time down here, I made a secret escape route out of here.”

Emery pushed one stone out of the wall that made a thud as it hit the ground outside. The bright morning light illuminated their gloomy cell. Emery continued removing the stones out of the wall and gradually made a big enough hole for both of them to leave through. Emery lifted her skirts and climbed through the hole. The prince followed after her. They were both free and Desmond was amazed at Emery. He was still desperately in love with her.

“Thank you,” Desmond said. He stood in front of Emery and she smiled back.

“No problem,” she said. “Let’s keep going so we don’t get caught again.” Emery led Desmond to the huge stable that was located at the side of the castle. They sneaked in and got two horses. Together they trotted out to the road in the soft morning light. The sun was just rising up over the Monstrous Mountains and cast shadows upon the earth.

The Prince spoke.

“It seems we have come to the end of journey.” He realized that they must go their separate ways and he became downcast. “But…” he continued, “I do not want it to end here. Emery, I fathom we are from different kingdoms-- I from Riverside and you from Corivas-- but I have loved you from the moment I laid my eyes upon you.” He took a deep breath and Emery was silent. “I will only ask you this once more and I promise if the answer is ‘no,’ I will never bother you again.” Desmond looked into her glowing face that he adored, and knew he could not live without her. “Will you marry me?”

“Once again, I don’t think I can marry you. Do you not realize that you are but my cousin?” Desmond’s adrenaline rush instantly subsided and he was dumbfounded.

In the midst of their awkward moment there was the sound of the flapping of large wings. A great shadow flew over the sun and an eerie silence fell upon the world. The evil dragon, Scorpio, had come into view. He swooped down with his mighty outstretched talons and grabbed the Prince off his horse. It was all a huge blur of green when Scorpio had swooped down. Desmond had been kidnapped and the only thing left was the faint sound of flapping wings echoing into the distance. For Emery there was no confusion in what she knew she must do. She knew she must save her cousin from the foul demon that had taken him. Scorpio’s lair was located in the Monstrous Mountains to the west. Emery galloped on her horse as fast as she could out of Corivas and towards the looming mountain range.