In his relief and excitement of seeing his bride, he realized that he had neglected to ask her those basic things. “She’s…she’s made some friends since her arrival here.” he improvised. “She has their support and their care.”

“That is unacceptable.” Artemis growled. “A princess living among common people is simply unacceptable!”

“…I…was a ‘common person’ once.” Avalon reminded her husband, irritably.

Artemis cleared his throat, realizing that he had let the anger get the better of him and his words. “That is not what I meant, Dearest.” he began again. “What I meant was, she has lived a sheltered life her entire life. She’s never left her palace home without an escort and never lived among people without the protection befitting a princess. She has never been on her own and that is exactly where she is, now.”

“And that, Father, is exactly why she left.” Arjuna said. “She’s never seen the world on her own and with her own eyes. Her decisions were made for her and even her engagement to me was something not of her own choosing. …well, not until now.”

“Until now?” Avalon repeated.

“Well, when I found her I…I told her that if she ran away for not wanting to marry me, that…that she didn’t have to and I would have the engagement annulled.”

“ARJUNA!” Artemis gasped.

“It’s alright! It’s alright!” Arjuna added, quickly. “After I told her that I would dissolve the engagement, she asked ME if I would have her as my wife. She had never been given the opportunity to choose, but now that she did, she chose to be my bride.”

“So, there is still going to be a wedding?” Artemis asked.

“Yes. I told her that I would come to fetch her a week before the wedding.”

“Yet, since you do not know where she lives, how will you do that?”

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