Lucid was holding Shantra tightly until he felt her relaxing
and he let her detach from his embrace and gently stroked
her hair. "I've seen you in my dreams, Shantra" Lucid
repeated, "I knew that I would one day find you." He paused
a moment and asked "what are you doing here in the forest on
your own?"
Shantra lifted her scorpion-looking hands for him to see
"this is why I'm in the forest alone," she said "when I was
ten years old I decided to run away from home. I couldn't
live with my deformity around normal people, so I ran away
and found a new home here in the forest."
Lucid looked at her "you've been on your own for too long,
Shantra," he said soothingly, "I want to take you to my
home, I know that not only you will make me happy, but that
you will also find a much happier life for yourself."
Lucid was waiting for her response but she did not move her
lips. They simply sat there together looking deep into each
other's eyes.
As Lucid was falling deeper and deeper in love with Shantra,
his heart was beating faster, for in the moon light he began
to see Shantra's eyes clearly for the first time. Her eyes
were big and bright purple. Once Lucid noticed this he
looked up at Shantra and said "you have the eyes of
'human'." "What do you mean by 'human'?" Shantra asked
curiously.
"'Human' is the best sesnsation you could get from our
herbs. It can give you spiritual strenght you never dreamt
you could have."
"Lucid," pleaded Shantra, "if I go with you, do you promise
that you will always be faithful to me and that you will
never leave me?"
"Shantra, one day I will make you my queen." Lucid promised,
"See, I am the son of the emperor and you can be sure that
with me you will always be safe." He reached over and kissed
Shantra's lips, and realized that he never felt such gentle
purity in his life. Shantra didn't hold back now that she
was his.