The Heartwood Box: A Fairy Tale (15 page)

“You are truly mine now, my love,”
he said so only she could hear
and then leaned her over one arm so he could give her a passionate kiss
.
Genevieve batted his arms, mortified to be kissed like that before Declan, the pries
tess, her parents…
.
But Damian deepened the kiss, until she could only cling to him lest she collapse
.

The crowd erupted in loud cheers and whistles
.
When he finally pulled her up, she was breathless and red-faced
.
She
covered her face with her hands
and then slapped at his arm, which led to loud guffaws from Donal and the other men
.

Damian pulled out the key and gave it another kiss
.
T
he last task before the party on the green was the unlocking of her
heartwood
box, which still sat in the little parlor
at the cottage
.
He took
her hand in his,
and
they started back to the town
.

The
trip
home went much more
slow
ly
as innumerable neighbors
stopped to
wish
them joy
.
Everyone’s tone was warm and friendly
.
Genevieve knew part of it was due to the
staggering
amount
of
ale the Blacks had provided,
which Emily and Jane had spoken of as a great marvel,
but she felt a
n
unexpected burst of satisfaction that everyone seemed happy for her
.
Somehow in finding Damian, she had ended her long isolation
.

They were
close to home
when Declan and the priestess overtook them
.
The priestess took her arm and said, “Genevieve, child, truly I have never seen you so happy
.
I knew from the beginning that you were bringing great joy to the Blacks, but I find now that they are bringing you the same happiness
.
I rejoice for it
—
you deserve it.”  The priestess glanced at Declan
.
“Genevieve, for most couples, I am present to bless the unlocking of the
heartwood
box, but Declan
prefers
to perform this for his own family
.
I hope you don’t mind.” 

Genevieve’s eyes widened
.
Unlike the other parts of the marriage ceremony, that part was never spoken of, so she’d had no expectations of who would be present
.

The priestess gave her a wry look, silently acknowledging that no matter what either of them felt, it would be unthinkable to refuse a request from the
Black
Prince
.

“Of course,” she said shyly
.

She looked to Damian, but his expression was suddenly closed and careful
.
They’d reached her home
.
The priestess gave
her
hand
a gentle squeeze
and left them
.

The door was unlocked
,
and the three of them stepped into the parlor where all of her trunks were waiting
.
As soon as they were done, servants from the fortress were
going
to load everything into a cart to bring to
her
new
home
.

The
heartwood
box would go as well, but for now it stood in its spot in the middle of the
parlor
.
She wondered if she would ever become used to the sight of it
.
No paint or stain could produce such a deep
,
unreflecting black—the shade of Declan’s hair
.

Damian made a low cough, and Genevieve recall
ed tardily that she was hostess
.
“Forgive me…
.
Please, w
elcome…
.
M
ake yoursel
ves
at home…
” she stammered
.

She pressed her lips together lest she make a greater fool of herself
—
and before Declan of all peopl
e
.
Damian held her by the chin
and kissed her forehead
.

“Please don’t distress yourself, daughter,” Declan said kindly
.
“There is nothing for you to fear in this
—
it will take only a moment
.
I would ask you to kneel down.” 

She couldn’t help looking to Damian for reassurance as she obeyed
.
In her wildest imaginings, she never would have dreamt that she’d be knee
ling on the floor of her parent
s
’
parlor before a Fae Prince
.

Declan nodded to
Damian, who without further ado
took the key from his neck, turned the lock, and opened the box
.
The box was turned so she could see nothing of its contents
.
Damian and Declan looked for only a few seconds, and then Damian closed the box, relocked it, and replaced the key around his neck
.

Declan then said, “As your husband, Damian has become guardian of your box and its contents
.
I have always believed that a bride of our family must learn to rely upon her husband absolutely
—
trust that he knows best what she needs to ensure her happiness
.
For that reason, she is almost never allowed to look within her
heartwood
box
.
I have recommended that Damian follow this, and he has agreed
.
As head of this family, your family now, I forbid you to look within the box; likewise I forbid you to question Damian about it, or try by any direct or indirect means to find out what is within
.
Most brides chafe at this restriction at first, but you will find as they did, that you may trust your husband to understand what you need to be happy in this marriage.” 

Genevieve tried to hold them back, but tears started streaming down her face
.
As Declan spoke an image had arisen in her mind: Declan staring down at her with cold fury because of some unforgivable action of hers, Damian looking at her with a mixture of disgust and dismay that he should be cursed with her for a bride
.

The real Declan and Damian suddenly seemed far less real than those she imagined, and it seemed a foregone conclusion that she would soon commit some act that would utterly ali
enate her new family.

“Damian
,
leave us.” 

“Sire…”
Damian protested.

“You will obey me in this!” he commanded in such an iron tone, she understood where Damian had
learned his
.
Declan moved closer
and bent to one knee
.
“
Y
ou wished so much to see wha
t is in your box, little one?”

Genevieve looked up surpris
ed
.
“No, I wouldn’t want to!”

She’d never even thought of it before now, but she couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to
—
what
horrors would they find there?

Declan
took
her
by the
chin
and turned her to meet his gaze
.
She tried to
pull
away, but he wouldn’t allow it, something else Damian must have learned from him.

After a moment he said, “You fear my anger then
—
or Damian’s
—
should you disobey me.”

“I’m not good,” she cried
.
“I told Damian…
.
I tried to explain, but I don’t think he believed me
.
This all happened so
fast, but he doesn’t know me.
”

“Rise daughter,” he said, pulling her up
and bringing her to the sofa.

She quickly wiped her eyes while he took a seat opposite
.
To her surprise his smile was humorous
.
“You must forgive an old man who sounds dire alarms that the wolves have raided the chicken coop, when really two puppies have stolen his wife’s drawers from the clothes line.” 

The image was so comical, so unexpected, it stoppe
d Genevieve’s tears instantly.

“
Really, I have no excuse at all
.
I’ve long known the uselessness of making such pronouncements having raised
Donal
.
To forbid him anything was virtually to guarantee that he would spare no effort to do the thing forbid
den
.
I became convinced that if he would apply even a tenth of that effort to his studies, he’d rival the most
learned university scholars.”

Genevieve couldn’t help giggling
.
She would never have imagined that the fierce Decla
n could have a sense of humor.

“I don’t expect you to fully believe me yet, my dear, but you need never fear my anger.”  She tried to interrupt, but he said, “I spoke to the priestess
.
Maura told me of your t
roubles.”

Genevieve was silenced.

“We will address those at another time, should it be necessary
.
I forb
a
d
e
you the box not because there is any ugliness within that I would protect yo
u from, so stop fearing that.”

He
spoke so firmly she shivered.

“Had I known better, I would have phrased my request differently: I
would ask as a favor to Damian
that you put your trust in him
.
For a man such as he,
it is a gift beyond measure.”

He stood, and Genevieve had no choice but to nod her acquiescence, though she found his remarks needlessly cryptic
.
“Thank you, sir,” she said
because t
he moment seemed to demand it.

He smiled knowingly
.
“There are privileges to being my daughter, and one is that I
would have you call me Declan.”

“Sir!” she cried
.
He raised his eyebrows until she couldn’t help biting her lip
.
“Declan,” she said tentatively.

“See, lightning did not strike you do
wn.”  He pulled her in
and kissed her on the top of her head
.
“Welcome to our family, Genevieve
.
You will do well.
”  He called out loudly, “
Damian, you lazy rogue, come fetch your bride before she misses the whole celebration.”  Genevieve was still giggling when Damian returned
.
“You’d better hurry before your brothers come looking for you
.
I would have the third dance, daug
hter.”

“Thank you
,
Declan
, I look forward to it.”  She looked up nervously at Damian to see what he thought of her calling the
Black
Prince by his first name.

“I see she has worked her witchcraft on you as well, sire,” he said laughingly
.
“She
even
charmed Derek, who has never spoken civilly to a woman in his life
.
But
now, we are late to the feast!”

Damian gave her a quick kiss and then pulled her out the door and started runnin
g full bore towards the tents.

“Damian,” she protested
.
“I can’t run in this dress, please it will tear…
.
”

“Vanity, thy name is w
oman,” he lamented dramatically
and
swung
her
up
into his arms
,
jogging
quickly
until they reached the tents on the
green
.