Eternity

Celi's heart pounded in her chest as she read the papers her father had brought her. She closed her eyes. Her father put his hand on her slender shoulder, but she jerked away and ripped the paper she was holding in half.1

"No!" she cried, her eyes wild with panic. "No! You can't do this, father. I should be able to marry for love, not for power and fortune."2

Her father frowned. He pushed a lock of her hair away from her rich, chocolate-brown eyes before she could pull away again.3

"I know it isn't fair," he said slowly, "but it's for the best for all of--"4

"For you!" Celi stomped her foot angrily, like she had done when she was younger when her mother didn't get her something she'd wanted. "I hate you! How can you do this to me?"5

He picked up the two pieces of paper on the floor and put them back on the table.6

"It's for the best," he repeated. His eyes were sad and told her, "Please, Celi! Listen to me; I don't like this as much as you do, believe me. But the kingdom needs us to make this decision."7

She looked away quickly before he saw the tears in her eyes.8

"How long have you been planning this behind my back?" she asked, her voice nearly breaking in half.9

"Celi, please, listen to me, your mother and I just decided to do this--"10

"Be quiet!" she snapped. "I love another man, and now you're forcing me to marry a man I despise!"11

There was a moment's worth of silence while her father registered this bit of information. She wasn't allowed to love anyone until she was married, or she would have to be banished from the kingdom.12

"Who is this man?" He looked at her with questioning eyes full of shock and anger.13

"You don't need to know," she sniffed, turning her head and crossing her arms.14

"Celi!" He turned her back around roughly like a rag-doll. "Tell me...now."15

Celi jutted out her lower lip. Then she sighed, and her shoulders drooped reluctantly, rarely a thing you saw with the arrogant princess nowadays.16

"His name is Derek," she told him hesitantly. "Father, I didn't mean for this to happ--"17

"Excellent!" her father boomed excitedly. "You can marry him instead of Prince Van Edwards!"18

"Really?" Her eyes were sparkling with love.19

"Actually," her father said thoughtfully, stroking his small stubble on his chin, "it depends. How rich is he?"20

"Rich?" Celi looked like she was about to laugh, but remembered the seriousness of the situation. "Father, he's a peasant." She slapped a hand onto her ruby red lips when she realized that her father hadn't known this.21

At first he looked dazed, but then he found out that he had a voice and he could scream.22

"A peasant?" he roared at her, outraged. "How dare you! I should have you locked in the coldest, bleakest tower for three months because of this!"23

"I don't care!" Celi hollered back. "It's better than having your own father decide who you should wed!"24

"Guards!" her father called. "Guards! Get this disgusting wretch out of my sight."25

Celi opened her mouth to speak, then realized that two guards were now surrounding her. She ducked when one of them tried to hit her across the face and ran through the small gap between their bodies.26

"Celi!" her father thundered after her. "Celi! You'll be hung for this, mark my words!"27

She didn't dare turn around to see his red face, or to see how close the guards were to catching her. She ran across the vast courtyard, through the forest, and to a small hut at the end of a long-forgotten path.28

"Derek!" she gasped, her lungs screaming for air. "Derek!"29

"Celi?" The door to the hut opened. "What're you doing here?" He saw how weak she was and caught her just before her legs gave in.30

"Derek," she murmured. "Father...he said he'd hang me, and....and...."31

"Shhhh." She hadn't noticed that Derek had carried her into his house and placed her on a sagging couch. Her head was hot and she felt dizzy.32

"Now," he said, sitting at her feet, "tell me what happened."33

"Father brought me some papers and they said that I had to marry Prince Van Edwards next week," she said faintly, her mind racing with all of the horrible events that had just happened in the past three hours.34

Derek seemed alarmed, but his voice was level and calm.35

"What happened next?" he urged her gently.36

"I told him...I told him I loved you, and he thought you were a prince, I guess." Derek laughed hoarsely when the words passed her lips.37

"Me?" he said incredulously. "A prince?"38

Celi cracked a smile. Her panting had turned to normal, steady breaths but her head was still burning.39

"And then he asked how rich you were, and I told him you were a peasant. He got really angry at that and I yelled some things at him and then he called the guards to get me." She shuddered, remembering the tall guard's warm breath on her cheek.40

"It's okay," Derek told her. "You're safe now."41

Celi smiled sadly.42

"I love you, Derek," she told him.43

"I love you too, my precious little gem," he whispered, stroking her cheek tenderly. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep, her soft breath tickling Derek's nose.44

-------45

"Derek..." she murmured. "Derek, stop it. I'm trying to sleep."46

Something soft was brushing against her arm. She snapped her eyes open and stretched. It seemed colder than Derek's hut, but a gust of wind probably just blew through the cracks in the wooden planks that made up the small house. She looked around sleepily and let out an astonished gasp at what she saw.47

She was laying on a rough surface in a dark, shadowy place. A peacock was strutting purposefully around her body, its feathers touching her arm now and then.48

She looked around again before slowly getting up. Where was she?49

There didn't seem to be a beginning or end to this place. There was no wind and no air, but she could still breathe freely. She looked up into the sky that had its limits yet stretched on forever and discovered two doves flying above her head.50

They seemed to smile and wave at her before continuing their flight to go around in circles until the end of time.51

"Do you know where I am?" she asked helplessly, not knowing what else to do. The peacock pulled on her dress that she'd sworn she hadn't been sleeping in. It seemed to be a wedding dress. She remembered Prince Van Edwards and shuddered.52

"Eternity," the peacock croaked in a hoarse voice. Celi stared questioningly at it.53

"P-pardon me?" she stammer nervously. "Did you just talk to me?"54

"Yes," the peacock said, and it gave off a crude screech, which Celi interpreted as a mocking laugh.55

"And...and you said I was in...Eternity?" she said. She was now thinking whether or not she should doubt her sanity. This peacock couldn't really be speaking to her! But, sure enough, it opened its mouth again and began to talk again.56

"It's been a long time since we've had a visitor," he said in a friendly manner. He ruffled his pure white feathers and smiled at her.57

"Why am I here?" she asked, bending down to the large bird's level.58

The peacock blinked its beady black eyes at her and tilted its head.59

"You needed Hope, didn't you?"60

"I...I don't know," Celi admitted. "Did I?"61

"I guess you did," the peacock said, "or you wouldn't have been sent here."62

Celi was silent for a while. She looked around her surroundings once more. The doves flying overhead fluttered down and each sat on either shoulder. She stroked their heads and they cooed appreciatively.63

"You're fading," the peacock told her. "You must be close to waking up."64

She looked down at her body, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The white peacock strutted over toward her.65

"You have Hope now," he said. "Use it wisely."66

Celi opened her mouth to speak, but the ground underneath her opened up and sent her spiraling down, down, down, until she fell onto something soft.67

She opened her eyes.68

"Good!" Derek said happily. "You're awake!" He was kneeling beside her on his couch.69

"I...Derek?" Celi blinked. It was a dream, all a dream...was this one, too?70

He tilted his head to the side.71

"Yes?" he asked patiently. Then he blinked and looked confused.72

"What is it?" she asked, sitting up. Her head was cooler now, but it still made her feel a bit dizzy.73

"You have something in your hair..." He pulled at something on top of her head and handed it to her. She looked at it strangely and inspected it.74

It was a feather, pure white and soft to the touch.