My head began to feel light as I desperately tried to convince myself that this was not a mirage -that this was Densel Riverdome, staring at me, in the flesh. When my brain finally caught up to my eyes -which took 5 confusing minutes- I managed to stumble forward and slap Densel on the side of his cheek.

But Densel had anticipated this, so he quickly stepped back at the last second, making me helplessly trip and stumble to the ground. The ground was slowly approaching, and even though it was only 5'5" from my face, I still felt the dread of pain.

However, Densel caught me just inches from the ground. He lifted me up, and held me in his arms for a second, before dropping me onto a nearby chair.

"So, you must be wondering why I would kidnap you, correct?" Densel stated, his eyes filled with boredom.

I looked at him fearfully, my mouth not yet working. Densel pressed on, "Is that correct, Miss Emancius?"

I slowly nodded. Densel sent me a quick smirk before walking toward the window across from me.

"Fathers can be so stubborn sometimes, can't they? Thinking they know everything and control everyone. At least, that was what my father was like. How was yours, Celeana?" Densel muttered, his fists rapidly clenching and unclenching.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. How can this relate to why Densel kidnapped me? Then I realized that he had directed a question toward me, a question that I had answered for him many times before.

"You know my father died in the Battle of the Sixes, long before I was born. If you want to know how my father was, why don't you ask my dead siblings?!" I slowly choked out.

He knew I was sensitive when it came to talking about my family, and I could tell he realized that by the way his posture slightly slumped over, and his voice was slightly softer.

"Well, Celeana, do you remember when I told you that my father was going to take a wagon to Firelight?"

I nodded, still not sure as to where this was going.

"Well, at the very last minute, a big 'work-related issue' came up. He ditched us, and told us to go steal one of your horses from your stable if we wanted to get to Firelight on time. At this point, we were desperate. So we went to visit your house and ask for one of your horses. But you weren't there. Your house was ransacked, and blood covered the stairway."

"At first, I thought that you had been killed, so I searched for your body in every nick and corner around and in your house. Then, it occurred to me that you could have been kidnapped. Now, I had no clue as to why you were kidnapped, so I told my mother to head to Firelight without me while I searched for you."

"There, my mother ran into my father, and my father -quite begrudgingly, if you will- let my mother stay in his luxurious cabin. Meanwhile, I had followed a helpful piece of information from Brother Vance, which led me to Firelight."

"Of course, I didn't find you at once. Rather, Father let me stay with Mother -in the same room, sharing one bed, I might add. Over the next few days, Father's mood swings and tempers were getting out of control. Usually, I would suffer the occasional blow every four days. But now, I could hardly move without being physically assaulted by my father. And Mother...Mother dealt with it far more often than I did. We had to take several clinic trips, which ultimately didn't help with Father's problem."

"Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. One day, I snuck into Father's room. He was fast asleep, even though it was midday. I had a moment of hesitation before I glanced down at my hand and saw the faint outline of a rather nasty scar he had given me a month earlier. This strengthened my resolve, and I slit my father's throat with the knife I had found in the kitchen."

"His eyes quickly slid open as I proceeded to slide the knife against his neck. He managed to utter the word, 'Why', before collapsing onto the bed, motionless."

"He didn't trust my mother with money, obviously. So, my father left everything to me, should he die or be killed." Densel shifted his gaze away from the window and looked deep into my eyes.

"In the Riverdome Will of Old, it clearly states that any heir must be married before the Will can be enacted. As you can see, I am not married. So..." Densel trailed off, waiting for me to connect the dots.

I looked at him, my brain desperately trying to think of the importance of this. Finally, something clicked inside my brain, and it dawned on me.

"You kidnapped me...to get me to marry you?!" I accused, waiting for him to deny it.

He never did.