Disguised Lovers (complete)

    Ages ago, my family made a deal with one of the noblemen in the land. That’s how it always was with my parents, they schemed and plotted, trying to find ways to get richer faster. I was just another one of their tools it felt like.

    Now, this nobleman had a son, and I’m not sure how my parent’s finessed it, but they made the nobleman promised his son to me. When we both came of age, we would be married. It wasn’t ideal, I didn’t want to marry someone under false pretenses. My parents assured me though, that even if the marriage is a designed one, I would still have a comfortable life. Now more struggling and fighting to keep up appearances. I could relax and enjoy my new life. Part of me knew though, that even if my new life would be comfortable, I would still have my parents to attend to. And they always had their hands stretched out for an offering.

    As the years went on, I was never even introduced to my betrothed. I hoped beyond hopes that it was forgotten and that me and this boy would be set free. Well, it was too much to expect I suppose, because one day, just shy of my birthday, my parents told me to pack up everything I had. They were taking me to live with my betrothed and his family.

    “Make sure this face is on,” my mother whispers to me. “Keep it on now,” she tells me with a hushed voice. “You can’t be letting him see what’s beneath too soon.” She smooths down my hair and smiles at me. “Ain’t that a lovely one now. Good job.”

    I look down at my hands, feeling wrong. I don’t want this, and I highly doubt this boy wants it either. As my parents take me to this home, I watch the countryside fly past me. The trees start to thin out, and I see long lines of trimmed hedges. The hedges turn into ornate, delicately crafted shapes like lions and bears. We went through a set of iron gates and onto the grounds of his home. I was gobsmacked by the beauty of the place. White stone and ironwork everywhere. I felt like I was looking at something from a picture book.

    “This will all be ours someday!” Your mother giggles with glee. 

    As you step out of the carriage, you feel horribly out of place. Your parents tried to keep you in beautiful clothes, but as you gaze at the mansion, you can’t help but feel ugly and small. You clutch onto your necklace, rubbing the beads along your fingers as you walk towards the steps.

    From above, an older man appears with a young man by his side. My guts turn to cold slush, and they start to churn about. The young man is handsome indeed! He’s tall with dark hair and a warm complexion. He has thick eyebrows and a hooked nose. He descends the stairs, and I duck my head, looking aside.

    “Thank you for having us!” My father cheers. “It will be so nice to finally have us all as one big happy family.”

    The older man turns and furrows his brow. “I only invited the girl,” he motions his cane towards me. 

    “Oh but...we don’t want to leave her alone!” My mother wraps her arm around me and squeezes. I should have known, they had something else up their sleeve.

    “They traveled all this one,” the young man says.

    “No, Henry,” his father scoffs. “I invited just the girl like you asked, that way you can get to know her before the wedding.”

    I glance up, seeing Henry is looking at me. His eyes are pale green and are so beautiful. I quickly tuck my chin down again. 

    “I am not up to keeping the parents too. I have no reason to!” The old man scoffs. “I’m afraid you two will have to go. After last time, I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you.”

    I hear my mother cuss under her breath and she lets me go. She makes a rush of unpacking my things from the carriage. They tell me a swift goodbye and then they are on their way.

    “Here,” Henry comes to me, offering his hand. “Are you alright?”

    I look at him, feeling my insides churn again. “I’m fine,” I murmur.

    “No offense, good lady,” the old man says, “my good riddance. Your parents are a pain in the ass.”

    “No need to complain to me sir, I know,” I murmur.

    Henry stoops down and picks something up from the ground. “You dropped this.”

    I look down, seeing my handkerchief in his hand. “Thank you,” I murmur softly and take it from him. 

    He then takes my hand and smiles at me. “You must be exhausted from the journey. Why don’t I show you to your room? From there you can rest, and I can give you the grand tour later.”

    I was taken by his kindness. He smelled good too, like clean linen and soap with a dash of spice. I smile softly at him, feeling a bit awkward. “Thank you,” I say again. “Uhm...I’m Minuette,” I say, feeling horribly embarrassed by my name. “You can call me Minnie.”

    “Such an odd name,” he chuckles. “Forgive me, I know you are stuck with it. But it sounds like such a forced name.”

    “Well, I was forced into it,” I sigh, shrugging my shoulders.

    He chuckles and beams at me. I am wowed, his smile is crooked, and he has a gap in his front teeth, but it is the most beautiful smile I have ever seen. “I wasn’t prepared for you to be funny,” he says.

    Be still my stupid heart. “What were you prepared for.”

    He shakes his head. “No. I promised my father I would not repeat what he said.” He then winks. “All about your parents at least.”

    “They are not the kindest of folk,” I admit. “I don’t even know the complete story of how they trapped your father into this plea bargain.”

    “Plea bargain! Ha!” His father walks up beside us. “Was blackmail!” He walks by us, grumbling and muttering under his breath. 

    “He doesn’t like to talk about it,” Henry whispers to me. “But he loves to complain about it all the time.”

    I giggle, and he offers his arm to me. I eagerly take it, wondering if this would last throughout my stay here.

    He takes me to my room and opens up the curtains. “I thought you might enjoy the view here. I insisted we clear out this room so you could have it,” he says. “Come on.” He takes my hand and brings me to the glass. 

    I glance out, seeing below my room is the vast, almost endless garden. “Oh my,” I whisper softly in awe. 

    “I wanted you to have something to look forward to, even if you didn’t like being here,” he murmurs.

    I glance up at him. “What makes you think I wouldn’t want to be here.”

    He shrugs. “No one wants a forced marriage,” he says. 

    “It isn’t ideal,” I agree. “But you didn’t have to go so out of your way to make me feel comfortable. The fact you’re so kind is a huge weight off my heart.”

    He glances back out the window. “The mornings here are the best. When the fog rolls in from the rivers and covers the garden, it looks like a whole other world.”

    I look him over and sigh. “Was this your room?”

    He looks at me, his cheeks going slightly dark.

    “Why would you give me your room?” I gasp.

    He chuckles and walks away. “I should let you rest, Ms. Minnie,” he says. “I’ll save some stories to share later. When you’re ready for the tour, please, send for me.”

    I watch as he goes and turns back to look out over the garden. I smile to myself, wondering what I did to deserve such kindness from someone so lovely. I go and unpack the few bags I had and wander about my new room. It’s bigger than I’m used to. In fact, half my old house could easily fit in this one room. I have my own bathroom, and it could comfortably house a small bedroom inside it. I have a walk-in closet, which to my shock is stocked full of clothes already. And then there’s the bed! A gorgeous four post with canopy and curtains. I flop down onto it, letting the down comforter fluff up around me. I sigh, a big grin on my face. No wonder my parents wanted to weasel their way in. 

    I fall asleep, only to wake up in darkness. I step out of the canopy and look around. I must have slept into the wee hours. I feel awful, I wonder if Henry had been waiting on me all this time. I go to the window and glance outside, the fog has rolled in over the garden, and with the heavy moon above, I can see what Henry was talking about. It looks like another world out there, so beautiful and ethereal.

    There’s a loud yawn behind me, and I turn and see Henry rising off the couch. “You awake?” he rubs his eyes.

    “What are you doing here?” I whisper and shout, somehow at the same time.

    “I came to check on you, but you were still asleep.” he stands up, and I realize his shirt is unbuttoned and open. 

My cheeks burn, and I avert my eyes from him. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here!” My voice cracks.

“Oh, I just decided to take a nap,” he says as simply as that.

“Why?” I ask.

He comes to the window as he buttons up his shirt. “Why not?” He smirks at me, and my heart starts to hammer. “Do you still want that tour?”

“It’s late!” I gasp.

“Even better,” he smirks. “No one to bother. Plus, everything is better at night.”

I feel like I would be a fool to turn him down. The way he talks makes everything sound so much more fun. I wrap a shawl around me, and he grabs my hand. He leads me through the halls. Everything has an air of mystery and eerie to it, it makes it seem like we’re doing something sinister when really, he is just showing me his house!

He presses his finger to his lips. “Over here, is where my father insists we always have tea,” he whispers to me. “And this room here is where my mother sews.”

“She sews?” I ask with a hushed voice.

“If she didn’t do that then she’d be making the cats put on shows, we figured it was best she stuck with sewing.” He grins at me, and we rush through the house, giggling quietly. We then step out into the garden. Fog swirls around our feet, and the chill in the air nips my toes.

“Come on,” he says. He vanishes into the mist, and I gasp, trying to keep up with him and chase after him.

“Henry! Wait!” I rush into the fog, turning this way and that, barely able to see my hand in front of my face.

“Henry!” I hiss out. I walk forward, stepping cautiously on the cold stones. The thick, ghostly mist wraps around me. I breathe it in and feel the coldness on me. It’s beautiful to look at through the window, but now, lost inside it, I start to feel scared. I feel alone and cold.

I sniffle and feel the few warm tears roll down my cheeks. I whimper, and a sob escapes my mouth. I cup my hands over my mouth and start to cry.

“Oh no,” Henry comes to me. “Oh my sweet Minnie, don’t cry.” he tilts my head up and wipes away my tears. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Minnie. Come here.” He puts his arms around me. He’s so warm, and he smells so good.

“I love the mist,” he tells me. “It reminds me of home. I used to sneak out here often as a kid and just let it take me. I feel safe inside it.” He pulls back and looks down at me. “I forget it can be scary for others.” He gives me a great big smile. “It’s ok, my Minnie. I’m here.” He wipes away my tears again.

He leads me out of the mist, and we sit on the stairs for a moment. He keeps his strong arm around me, and I lean into him. How strange it is that already I feel so comfortable with him. He makes me feel safe even in this strange place.

“You know, my father called me odd when he told me about our betrothal all those years ago,” he says.

“Odd?” I ask. “How come? Did you do something?”

He smirks. “I guess to him it was strange,” he answers. “When he told me, I guess he expected me to be upset and pitch a tantrum or something like that.” He glances down at me, and I swear, those pale green eyes could steal my soul. “I got excited.”

I can't help but smile. “Really?”

“Oh yes,” he nods. “I got extremely excited. I wanted to meet you then and there. I thought, back then, that if we got married, I would always have a friend and a playmate.”

I can’t help but giggle. “You do sound like a very strange child!”

“I’m a strange man too!” He announces with pride. “Never grew out of it.” he smiles into the fog. “I’m still excited about marrying you.”

My heart leaps from my body, through the air, and slams through my spine to get back into my chest. “Wuh-what?” My voice cracks.

“Same reasons too,” he replies. He glances down at me, looking very bashful. “I’m excited I get to have a friend. Someone who I get to see every day and who might actually be excited to see me.” He glances away. “I mean, I understand if you don’t feel that way. It could take a while for that. You know?”

I lean into his side. “I know.”

Over the next few days, Henry continues to show around the grounds. He takes me horseback riding, which I have never done before. He rides with me, sitting behind me, and I must confess, I indulged a bit in how close he was to me. We ride out beyond the garden and towards the river that the fog rolls off of.

We go there often, sometimes taking a picnic lunch with us. It’s become my most favorite spot in the entire world. Being there with Henry makes me feel like I’m at home. I’ve never had that feeling of security and calm before.

One day as he’s teaching me to skip stones across the water, he dips down, kissing me softly on the lips. I gasp, dropping my stone and nearly slipping on the moss. I turn and look up at him, feeling my heart hammering like mad.

“What was that for?” My voice cracks.

“Because,” he says in a sing-song way. 

I place my palms on his chest. “Because why?”

He rests his hands around my waist. “Because I’ve been wanting to,” he starts to sway with me.

I smile softly at him. “Will you want to do it again?”

He grins. “I want to do it right now.” He dips his head, kissing me again. This time he lingers, and I feel the stubble of his beard. I reach up, touching his cheek as I return his kiss.

He wiggles his brows. “You kiss me.”

“I suppose I did,” I answer.

“Why would you want to do that?” He sways with me more, spinning me as we dance.

I giggle and wrap my arms around him. “Because I wanted to.”

He lifts me and spins me, kissing me again before he sets me back down on the mossy bank.

I feel so happy. It’s better than I ever could have hoped and that scares me too. Not only do I like Henry, but he likes me. In fact, it’s more than that. We’ve both fallen for one another. And that makes me feel guilty. I don’t want to keep hiding my true self from him, but I know if I were to reveal my true self to him, he probably wouldn’t like me anymore. I want to stay with Henry for as long as I can. I don’t want my parents’ lies to rip us apart.

Henry is such a charmer, there aren’t many people on the grounds who don’t like him. Although, there are times I notice a mischievous glint to his eyes. A sly smirk will spread across his lips and the next thing I know, the stable boy who laughed at him tripping as fallen off a haystack. He then looks at me, same soft smile as always. Another time I thought I saw that strange glint in his eyes, the maid who sniffed at me dropped the tray she was carrying and made a huge mess. 

“Oh dear,” Henry says. “Wonder what that was all about?”

Things like that seem to happen a lot around here, especially around Henry. I guess it could all be a coincidence. After all, stuff like this does happen.

One evening, Henry sneaks into my room. I’m up reading before the fireplace. He scares me, kissing my neck and cheek.

“Henry! You nearly made my heart jump out of my throat!” I pout with him.

“Sorry my love,” he leaps over the back of the sofa and joins me. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his lap. “I just wanted to see you.”

    “You could have knocked too,” I kiss his cheek. 

    “I like surprising you,” he chuckles, and he looks at the book I’m reading. “Wedding gowns?” he asks.

    “Your mother gave it to me. She told me to find something I liked,” I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. “I honestly don’t even know what to look for.”

    He takes the book, briskly looking through the pages. “You’d look pretty in any of these, really,” he tells me. “I’d be happy to see you walk down the aisle in any dress.”

    I blush and smile up at him. “It should be special though.”

    He kisses my cheek and neck greedily. I have to push him back, smooshing his face with the book. “Hey, hey! Hands where I can see them.”

    He raises his hands above his head. “There they are,” he laughs. “See them?”

    I lower the book and sigh. “Good,” I grunt.

    He tilts his head. “Is something wrong?” He asks. He brushes away the hair that falls on my face. “You seem nervous about something.”

    I avert my gaze.

    “Oh shit. You’re pregnant!” He gasps.

    I snap my neck looking up at him. “What?” I snap.

    He gasps and covers his mouth with the back of his hand. “Oh no! You are pregnant! I should have been more careful!”

    “Henry! What the heck are you talking about?” I snap at him and start hitting his thigh with the book.

    He chuckles and snorts, and he wrestles the book from my hands. “Come on, love.” he steals a quick, sweet kiss. “Tell me, what has you so scared?”

    I smile up at him, seeing the loving, gentle expression in his eyes. I touch his cheek, and he nuzzles to my palm. “Just all this wedding nonsense,” I’m technically not entirely lying.

    “I say we run away and just elope. Find some little moss covered shaman to marry us in the rushing river,” he says. “What do you say? Get rid of all the pomp and frivolity. Forget wedding gowns and massive banquets. Let’s make it just us.”

     My smile grows, and I tug him down, kissing him. “I wish we could do that,” I say, looping my arms around his neck. “But I don’t want to upset your mother. She seems so intent on making this a magical wedding.”

    He scoffs. “Aren’t you worried about your parents?”

    “Of course I am,” I murmur. “I’m surprised they haven’t shown up any sooner.”

    He kisses the top of my hair and rubs his nose to my hair. “If you tell me that they ever hurt you, I would gladly have then banished from here. Any wrong hand laid upon you will be quickly slapped away. I’ll see to it myself.”

    I lean into him. “I was alone a lot,” I murmur to him. “I can remember there were days I was just left alone in my room. It didn’t matter how much I cried, no one ever came.”

    He holds me tight.

    “That's why, even when you scare me, I like when you show up out of the blue. It’s almost as if you can sense when I need you the very most,” I rub my cheek to his chest. “Even just now, I was thinking how much I wanted to see you.”

    “Well, I’m here now, love.” He kisses the top of my head. “I’m here as long as you need me. I promise.”

    The day of the wedding arrives. I am all nerves and terrified. I know that that night, Henry and I will become partners. I am very excited about that, but what frightens me is me. As I’m getting my hair ready the doors open and my mother comes in.

    “There she is!” She comes up to me and hugs me, chasing away the woman doing my hair. “Look at you! Like a delicate little angel.”

    I brush her hand away from my face.

    “What?” She scoffs. “Aren’t you happy to see me?” She snaps her hands to her waist and glares down at me. This was a stance that, a few months ago would have terrified me. But right now, I just wanted her gone.

    “I’m just nervous!” I tell her.

    “Aww, you should be,” she has me sit down, and she frets over my hair. “As long as you keep up this pretty little face of yours, there is nothing to worry about! From what I’ve heard you’ve got him wrapped around your delicate little fingers.”

    I slap her hand away again, and in the mirror I see her eyes go dark. She hunches over, and she grabs me, whipping me around to look at her. “You wouldn’t want to disappoint me and your father, would you?” her voice is low.

    I struggle, trying to free my wrist from her strong clutches. 

    “Stay pretty,” she growls at me. “Smile and do whatever he tells you to do.” My wrist pops, and she’s starting to hurt me. At that moment all I want is Henry.

    “Let go of me!” I cry.

    Suddenly my mother is wrenched back, and Henry places himself between her and me. “I think it’s best you go find your seat now,” he says. “Let the bride finish getting ready.”

    “Oh my! I didn’t realize you were there,” my mother does her best fake laugh. “I was helping Minuette with her-”

    “Go away,” Henry snarls. “Now.”

    My mother smiles nervously and turns to leave. As she does the door swings, hitting and making her fall just outside the door.

    I gasp and go to stand, but Henry sits me down. “Are you ok?”

    I look up at him, feeling tears in my eyes. “I’m so glad you here,” I sniffle.

    He holds my face in his hands. With the gentlest of touches, he wipes away my tears, making sure they don’t smudge my makeup. “I’m here, no need to be afraid. I’ll see they’re shown off the residence,” he tells me with a serious tone. “They will not be allowed to see you at all unless you want to. They will never see a penny, and they will never hurt you again. That is my vow to you as your husband.”

    I sniffle. “Henry-” I whimper, wanting to confess to him here and now.

    He gives me a soft kiss. “No more sad tears,” he whispers. “Only happy ones from here on out. No matter what, I will always love you.”

    “No, wait,” I grab his hand as he stands to leave. “Henry, there’s something you should know.” I stand up with him. “Something you need to know before we go through with this.” I touch my chest. “This...isn’t me.”

    He furrows his brow at me. “Minnie, what are you talking about?”

    I sigh and close my eyes. “This isn’t my face,” I tell him. “This isn’t really what I look like.” I take off my necklace, and as I lay it aside, my true form takes shape. My skin grows violet purple, and my hair goes dark. Tusks grow from my bottom lip. I shoot up a few inches, and my shoulders get broader, and my arms get thicker and longer.

    “This is me,” I murmur. “I’m a troll,” I confess to him with a shaky voice. “I’m not the pretty face you fell in love with.”

    “Oh,” he gasps. “Well then,” he fidgets and then he grins. “This makes what I have to tell you a little easier.” Suddenly, his dark hair goes pure white and loses its curl. It cascades like spider’s silk down his back. His skin goes near translucent and pearly. His features get sharper, and he gets taller as well, his limbs are long and gangly. He looks at me, and I gaze back at him with awe.

    “I’m not the handsome face you fell for either.” He runs his long fingers through his hair and sighs. “I’m an Unseelie fairy.” He reaches out and touches my face, catching the few tears that spill. “And I still love you, Minnie,” he whispers. “Whatever shape you take, whatever face you hold, I will love you for what really matters.” When he smiles, he still has the gap in his teeth.

    I whimper and sob, wrapping my arms around him in a tight embrace. “I love you too!”

    “My beautiful girl,” he whispers. He kisses me and chuckles. “We best change back,” he says. “The wedding is starting soon.”

    “Oh!” I gasp and pick up my necklace. “You’re right.”

    “Not that I wouldn’t mind giving our guests this lovely shock,” he says as he places his glamour back on. “But For the best, we must keep up this silly appearance.” He winks.

    I place my necklace back on. “Silly,” I agree.

    During the ceremony, I feel much better going through it. Now that Henry and I both know the truth, I can honestly say this is the best day of my life. 

    After the wedding, Henry and I travel to the boat we’re spending our honeymoon on. In our secluded cabin, he touches y necklace. “Do you mind if I remove this?”

    I move my hair away from the clasp. “By all means,” I tell him.

    He kisses the nape of my neck as he removes the necklace. He then sets it aside gently and touches my purple skin. “I didn’t get the best look before. Now, I get to study you up close.”

    I touch his hair, feeling how soft and angelic it is. The whiteness is still a shock, he looks so strange and unearthly. “No wonder you like the fog so much.”

    “I did say it felt like home,” he chuckles. “But now,” he murmurs. “Here with you, is all the home I’ll ever need.”

    I beam up at him. “Even when I look like this?”

    “Especially when you look like this!” He insists. “Ok, another vow,” he tells me. “Anyone who dares call you anything but beautiful will be at my mercy.” I see the glint in his eye, and I giggle.

    “Just don’t hurt anyone,” I add.

    He leans up and grins. “Deal!” He says as he shoves me into bed.