The Dragon Prince's Bride
Chapter 50. Swap your faces.

Chapter 50: 50. Swap your faces.

"Aria. Aria I can not do this. I cannot marry that man. Do you know the kind of nightmares I had! I could not sleep in peace. Those nightmares were visions, I tell you."

"Visions?" Aria asked as she wondered when her mistress began to see visions.

"Aye! Visions of what my life would be like if I truly were to take that man as a husband. Oh Aria. It was horrid and unimaginable. He tortured me in many different ways. He caused me to slave away as his maid. He made me draw his bath and then wash his body!" She cried and shrieked as she remembered the horrible dreams.

Aria could only wonder if this was actually her mistress’s dream or just her vivid imaginations.

"How dare he! That barbarian. Just wait till I meet him in person. I will make sure I show him who is boss. How dare he torment you in your dreams!" Riri flew around and hmphed angrily.

"Oh Aria, Riri, those were visions, I tell you. Visions from the goddess herself. Warning me not to marry that man." Neriah cried further and Aria just nodded agreeably.

"I have to escape." Neriah whispered.

"What! My Lady, how will you even do it? How will you make it past the guards at your door, the ones on the passages and corridors, the ones at the bottom of your window, the ones at the gate of the princess’s palace, the many more guards on the way to the castle’s main gate and lastly the guards at the castle gate." Aria breathed out loudly at the end of her speech.

She needed not explain further for Neriah. It was impossible. And Neriah began to cry all over again and fell face flat on her bed.

"Oh dear goddess. What have I done to deserve this? Have not I been faithful to you all my life? I prayed harder than all your worshippers combined. I have offered offerings to you dear Aveliana, so why do you forsake me now!" she cried and banged her hands on her bed.

It was almost noon. Lady Bretton had told her she would return at noon and then commence dressing her up for her wedding. More like, for her destruction! Oh goddess what more could she do.

"There must be a way! Surely there must. There must be something. I have to escape these walls." She cried and soaked her pillow with tears.

Aria sat next to her stroking her hair gently as she cried her heart out. While Riri flew back and forth around the room restlessly.

"It is all going to be alright. Who knows, the barbarian might not be as bad as you think. And the kingdom of Trago might be different from what we have heard." Aria tried to comfort her with her words but once again her words were not comforting at all.

"You speak this way because you have not met the brute! Did I tell you that he made me kneel before him? He made me beg for mercy at his feet and relished the moment."

Aria let out a sigh and nodded, "Aye my lady. You did."

"The bastard is the most wicked person I have met. Father slapped me for the first time in my life because of that barbarian. And what did you say? That the kingdom of Trago might not be as bad as we have heard. Trust me Aria, it will surely be worse. To think they have no soft beds." She cried at the thought of sleeping on wooden beds.

"Did you know that they do not have clean water in Trago? Neither do they have fertile land for growing crops. All their food is half rotten. Aria_a_a_a," She bawled and thought of herself eating food that was not fresh. "Oh lords Aria. I am finished, I tell you. Completely fini—"

"Ahh! I got it! I got it! I got it! I thought of a way!" Riri screamed and Neriah instantly rose from the bed.

"What? What is Riri?" She asked with her eyes widely opened with expectation. At that point anything was a sign of hope. Anything at all.

"I can swap your faces with my powers." She screamed and then covered her mouth, looking around her as if there were more than just one the three of them in the room.

"What! What do you mean you can swap our faces, what are you talking about?" Neriah asked.

"I mean," Riri started to explain but then switched to a whisper even though her voice was already tiny enough. "I mean we fairies have that power. I had briefly forgotten because I have never really had to use it. But then I thought long and hard and I remember we do have that kind if power to switch faces."

"WHA—" Neriah almost screamed but Aria quickly covered her mouth.

"Scream silently your highness, what if the guards hear you." She cautioned and Neriah nodded and screamed in a lower pitch.

"How could you forget you have that sort of power?" Neriah scolded Riri and then fairly blushed and giggled.

"We fairies are not really good with our memories." She shrugged. "But the point is, I do have this sort of power and it will help us. All I have to do is swap your face. I will give Aria your face and princess, you will take Neriah’s face." Riri explained.

"That means I can pretend to be the princess which will give My Lady the time to escape. And nobody will suspect a thing because they would believe you are me!" Aria pointed out and lords, Neriah seriously wanted to scream out loud but she was being cautious so instead she rolled and slammed her hands and feet on the bed with joy!

"But there is one problem." Riri’s words halted Neriah’s jubilation.

"What? What do you mean?" Aria asked.

"Aye Riri, you just said you have the power so what problem is there?" Neriah inquired.

"Well, well the thing is that..." She faltered not knowing how to break it to them lightly. "Actually it is more than one problem." She giggles.

"More than one! What are you—" Neriah was losing her mind. They were all trying to make her go crazy. Everyone.

"Be calm, My Lady, let us listen to her first." Aria gently held her down and nodded to Riri to continue.

"First, I can only swap the face, which means your hair, head, body shape and other things will remain the same. Even the voice will still be the same." Neriah and Aria stared at themselves for a while and then slowly they began to smile.

"That is not a problem. We shall hide her hair underneath a scarf or a cloak. But it is no issue. As for the voice, I just won’t speak." She said and Aria nodded in agreement. I thought it was something bad." Neriah waved her hand casually and laughed.

"I am glad there is a solution to that. But then you have not heard the second problem yet." Riri spoke again and once again she took away their laughter. Neriah held on to Aria for dear life as she nodded to Riri to say the next problem.

"I am ashamed to say but I am not the best of my kind, my powers are not great either. So even though I put in all I can, the swap shall only last for about fifteen minutes." She said it. And her lashes swept over her eyes, "I am sorry, My Lady. If only I was a little more powerful." She lamented.

Aria knew Neriah’s hope had been somewhat shattered and it hurt her to see her dear princess being hopeless like that. She wished there was something she could do. But there was nothing. Nothing at all.

"Aria," Neriah suddenly called.

"How many minutes will it take to get to the princess’s gate from my room."

"My Lady, for you it should take at least fifteen minutes."

"Why did you say for me?" Neriah asked. "Would it be different for you?"

"Well of course my Lady. Because you are a princess and you walk with finesse and grace. Slow and steady. While I am a mere maid. If I walk without you then I would cover that distance in less than eight minutes." Aria shrugged and Neriah nodded.

"I see. Then how long will it take me to make it to the main castle gate?" Neriah asked.

"Well, from here to the main castle gate for you would be nothing less than twenty-five minutes."

"I’ll reach it in fifteen minutes." Neriah said.

"Ah, I see." Aria nodded, but then she realized what Neriah just said and her eyes widened. "What! In fifteen minutes! That is not possible? Are you going to run? Princesses don’t run, they—"

"Aria..." Neriah calmly called her. "I shall make it to the castle gates in fifteen minutes."

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