(13) The Palace

How had John found me? He looked odd. His hair was blonde instead of black. His features were all there but the expression they made was foreign to me. There was a haughty look in his eyes that I had never seen before. I was going to spring out of the water at him, but then I realized that I was in my underwear. I sank lower into the water and pulled my long, waist length hair around me to cover myself. He laughed an unusually cold laugh. I wondered how long he had been standing there. I was so embarrassed and cursed my own carelessness, but wait. Why was he watching me? Didn’t he have more honor than that?

“Turn around” I called with an angry tone in my voice. He looked at me incredulously and said,

“Why would I do that?” His leering expression appalled me and I felt sick. Could this be the John I knew? When I saw that he had no intention of looking away I swam to the edge of the water where my clothes were and pulled them into the water. He shook his head, laughing that cold laugh as I struggled to dress under the water. When I had managed it I stood up snatched my boots off the grass and marched away from John, angry tears streaming hotly down my face. He caught up with me in a moment and grabbed my arm.

“Where do you think you are going, I’ve spent years looking for you.” I looked into this now-blonde John’s face and thought about what he had said.

“What do you mean, years?” I asked slowly. He looked at me with a smirk and said,

“I’ve jumped through time and space looking for you, I found this planet, but I was 10 years too early. I’ve made a home here while I waited for you to arrive. I still love you and I’m dying to get married to you.” He knelt down on one knee and offered me a ring with a diamond the size of a large pea. I was flabbergasted. I knew I had wanted to marry John, but this John was different. What had happened to the John I knew?

“I…I need some time before I give you an answer.” I stammered. “I need to adjust to my new surroundings.” John rolled his eyes and snapped the ring box shut. He took my arm and led me firmly over to the hilltop where the waterfall fell from. He gestured grandly to the palace in the distance,

“This is my kingdom Elaine, you should think about what you will miss out on if you refuse me. I’ll give you till sundown tomorrow to give me an answer.” I looked at him with wonder at what could have turned him this way. He dragged me over to his large white, winged horse and placed me upon her back before climbing up himself and sending her into the air.I hugged his waist from behind and leaned my head on his back. He seemed to like this. His pegasus flew to the orange palace and landed on a large spire with a circular top. John dismounted and pulled me off. He held out his arm to me, I took it. There was no spark when we touched, no magical moment. Perhaps it would take time for me to understand this new John. Maybe I would learn to love him too. I walked with him, still damp, past servant after servant who stared at me, some dropped what they were holding. I wondered what made me so odd, before I realized that all these people had straight blonde hair and bright orange lips. Their garments were long and flowing layers of thin materials. We reached a door that John opened for me. I stepped inside and found a gorgeous room of blue...everything. A blue floor, blue walls, a blue crystal chandelier, blue tables, blue soft chairs, and a large blue canopy bed with blue sheer drapes. I turned to face him and saw him looking at me with a calculated look on his face. He took my hand and kissed it. I blushed a bit. 
“I’m sorry for my rudeness, he said, “I have been under a lot of pain without you here. I’m afraid that my hunger for you has made me temporarily forget myself. I shall leave you to get changed and freshen up. I shall return in a few hours to present you to the court.” Then he winked at me, turned on his heal, and was out the door. I stood there for a moment before I heard a rustling sound behind me. I spun around and saw a woman were standing there, in a white dress with long, fine flaxen hair. She looked at me and stepped forward to tug on my red curls. I must be an oddity here because of my hair.
“Have you never seen red curls before?” I questioned. The woman shook her head and said in a high voice,
“Everyone here has hair like mine. I shall have to do something about yours.” I clutched at my hair.
“You will not changed my hair, I like it this way!” The woman looked taken aback, as though I was mad. She shook her head and stepped back. Bowing slightly she receded and opened a large closet and stood aside so I could examine it’s contents.